JCB announces £150m investment and 2,500 new jobs in largest ever expansion
STAFFORDSHIRE excavator manufacturer JCB has revealed details of the largest ever expansion of its business. It plans to invest £150m in new production facilities, creating more than 2,500 jobs.
The announcement comes on the same day as fellow Midland manufacturing powerhouse Jaguar Land Rover confirmed its intention to build a new £240m factory in Brazil.
Both schemes illustrate Chancellor George Osborne’s plan to generate investment for the UK by seeking out new export markets and growing overseas trade, especially in the emerging markets.
It is no surprise therefore that the day following his Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne is set to visit JCB’s world headquarters in Rocester to learn more about the plans from chairman Lord Bamford.
The company is proposing to build a new factory in Uttoxeter, which will replace an existing operation in Rugeley, which is set to close. There will also be a new manufacturing plant in Cheadle.
The company has already undergone significant expansion this year, acquiring the 383,000 sq ft Blue Planet distribution hub in Chatterley Valley, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, while in April the firm announced record profits of £365m, up £10m on the previous year.
Its global expansion saw the opening of a £63m factory in Brazil last year and it is also set to open a new factory in India.
Lord Bamford said a key factor in the development of the new Staffordshire facilities had been the Government’s support in committing money to new infrastructure developments such as the improvement of the A50 through Uttoxeter.
He said the Chancellor’s decision to invest in the regional infrastructure meant companies such as JCB could continue to invest locally, knowing that the road network would be able to support sustained development.
He said the investment also had added benefits for the UK supply chain.
It expects the expansion from the factories in Staffordshire to lead to an increase in component production at its other sites, which include JCB Power Systems in Foston, Derbyshire, and JCB Transmissions in Wrexham.
The expansion will also see an increase in production operations at Rocester and the relocation of its finance and insurance divisions from the World HQ to new offices at nearby Denstone.
