JCB commits £100 million to new UK factory

A view of JCB’s World HQ which is undergoing £100 million investment. (Photo: JCB)

The move will see the installation of a fully automated powder paint plant costing £60 million at its plant in Rocester, Staffordshire.

JCB said the investment will also include a full modernisation of the shop floor, with new machining centres, friction welders and cylinder boring machines.

JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, said, “It makes perfect sense to invest heavily in our British factories and the £100 million we are investing now will put us at the forefront of our industry. Obviously, we are expanding overseas, not least in America, where we have been for decades. But the UK is our home.

“We directly employ more than 19,000 people around the world, more than 8,000 of whom are in the UK. And even though around three-quarters of our UK production is exported, we continue to make a huge contribution to this country and to the national economy.”

The move coincides with its 80th anniversary since being founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in 1945. 

As well as the new facility, the company has unveiled a series of limited-edition machines to mark the milestone.