Month: March 2025

INDUSTRY LEADERS URGED TO GET BEHIND LANDMARK CALL FOR EVIDENCE

Posted on by Mandy Tan

17 January 2024

 

JCB today called on industry leaders to get behind the Government’s call for evidence on how non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) might be powered in the future.

Evidence is being sought on how NRMM might decarbonise as part of the Government’s wider net zero ambitions. As the clock ticks down to the March 26th submissions deadline, JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford called on industry to embrace a unique opportunity to shape the future.

 

“The call for evidence is a crucial milestone that should be taken very seriously by everyone who is affected, from trade associations to owners and users of non-road mobile machinery. This is a historic landmark for many industries, particularly the construction and agricultural sectors which JCB has supplied for nearly 80 years.“

 

Lord Bamford | JCB Chairman

 

“It is vital everyone affected engages in this process to help determine which technologies are appropriate to achieve a net zero future. In JCB’s case, we will highlighting the important role that hydrogen will play alongside electric technology for smaller products.”

JCB has been at the forefront of the development of super-efficient hydrogen combustion engines as part of a £100 million investment to develop a zero-carbon emission solution for construction and agricultural equipment. JCB has also led the way in electric technology, which is suitable for smaller machines which do less hours and typically use less fuel than larger machines which have a higher energy requirement.

The call for evidence is being led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Transport. It focuses on the potential ways of decarbonising at least 58 diverse NRMM products covering construction and agricultural equipment, and also machinery used in warehousing, logistics, mines and quarries.

To participate in the call for evidence visit:

Non-road mobile machinery: decarbonisation options

DIAMOND DAY AS ANTHONY BAMFORD MARKS 60 YEARS JCB SERVICE

Posted on by Mandy Tan

23 February 2024

AJCB Chairman Anthony Bamford celebrates an unprecedented milestone with the family firm this weekend – 60 years’ service.

Having completed an engineering apprenticeship with Massey Ferguson in France, he first walked through the doors of the company’s Rocester factory as an employee on February 24th, 1964 aged just 18 and started work on the shop floor. Fast forward 60 years and Lord Bamford’s thirst for work continues at the age of 78 as he leads a £100 million project to develop hydrogen combustion engines to power the JCB machines of the future.

Lord Bamford was presented with his long service award at the JCB World Headquarters by JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald. He also received a gift of an oak tree from company Directors.

As he reflected on the 60-year milestone, Lord Bamford said: “It is hard to imagine that I have been here that long, but I really haven’t known anything else. As a family company, I was introduced to the business at a very young age and have been involved in it ever since. In fact, my earliest memory was going with my mother to take tea and sandwiches to a handful of men who were working for my father when the business was based in stables at Crakemarsh Hall, near Uttoxeter. So much has happened over the past 60 years. When I first worked at JCB, we had one factory. Now there are 22 all over the world employing more than 19,000 people. We were also making around 3,000 machines a year in 1964 and today we manufacture well over 100,000 every year. JCB’s success is very much down to the whole team around the world and, while it’s nice to reflect on the achievements of the past, my focus is very much on what our team can achieve in the future.”

JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “The whole JCB team sends its congratulations to Lord Bamford on what is a momentous milestone. Such an achievement is unprecedented at JCB and almost certainly unmatched in British industry. Lord Bamford’s contribution to JCB and the business world over the past 60 years has been truly remarkable.”

Anthony Bamford’s personal career highlights include the establishment of JCB’s first overseas subsidiary in France in 1969. In 1979, four years after taking over as Chairman from his father, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE, he established JCB’s business in India, which has since grown into the company’s biggest single market for construction equipment.

 

“The whole JCB team sends its congratulations to Lord Bamford on what is a momentous milestone. Such an achievement is unprecedented at JCB and almost certainly unmatched in British industry. Lord Bamford’s contribution to JCB and the business world over the past 60 years has been truly remarkable.“

 

Graeme Macdonald | JCB CEO

 

Under Lord Bamford’s leadership, JCB has grown to into one of the world’s largest and most successful construction equipment manufacturers with 11 factories in the UK, and others in India, North America, Brazil, and China. When Lord Bamford joined JCB in 1964, the company’s turnover was £8.9 million; in 2022 it had risen to £5.7 billion.

Lord Bamford was also instrumental in setting up The JCB Academy in Rocester, which opened in September 2010, a £22 million school for 13-18 year-old students aspiring to become the engineers and business leaders of the future. The Academy currently has more than 800 students studying there and more than 3,200 students have attended since it first opened. The Academy also provides training for apprentices and more than 600 have graduated from the JCB Academy Apprenticeship Programme since it started in 2013.