06.12.2013

JCB’s £150m UK expansion plan

JCB will today announce plans to invest £150 million to expand its operations in Staffordshire, UK, creating an additional 2,500 jobs by 2018.

The plans - subject to planning consent from the relevant local authorities – represent the single largest investment in JCB’s history.

The plans will be announced during a visit by the UK chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne,to the company's backhoe loader factory in Rocester, Staffordshire later today. The investment is part of a five-year plans for Staffordshire as part of a wider global growth strategy.

Plans include:

- A brand-new purpose-built 32,500 square metre factory for JCB Cab Systems in Beamhurst, near Uttoxeter, to replace the current smaller facility in Rugeley. It will also enable JCB to in-source production of cabs currently made by third party suppliers in Europe.

- Expansion of JCB’s production operations in Rocester with an additional 11,700 square metres of manufacturing space to increase hydraulic cylinder production.

- A brand-new, 20,000 square metre purpose-built facility on the Harewood Industrial Estate in Cheadle, Staffordshire to expand existing JCB Earthmovers and JCB Compact Products operations

- Relocation of the existing JCB Finance and JCB Insurance offices in Rocester to new purpose-designed, high-quality office accommodation at nearby Harper Meadow in Denstone.

- A new in-house training facility for JCB staff, to be run in conjunction with
key universities to support apprenticeship and graduate training programmes.

Chairman Anthony Bamford said: “The Chancellor’s announcement yesterday in his Autumn Statement of the major A50 road improvement project is good news for businesses in this area. It allows companies like us to plan ahead with confidence, knowing that the road network will not constrain business growth and future investment.”

He added: “Our plan to create 2,500 manufacturing jobs locally is clear evidence of the important link between infrastructure improvement and job creation. The chancellor’s decision to invest in the regional infrastructure means JCB can continue to invest locally, which is good for Staffordshire and good for Britain, especially given the wider benefits to our UK supply chain.”