JCB moves production of heavy products

JCB has started to move production of its heavy products to a new, £40m, purpose-built factory adjacent to its World Parts Centre next to the A50 at Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.

The 41,800m2 factory started to be built last year and by next spring it will house 550 employees building wheeled and tracked excavators from 7t to 46t. Production capacity is some 60% higher than at the old factory at Pinfold Street in the centre of Uttoxeter and new production equipment should help improve the quality of heavier JS excavators as well as providing employees with significantly improved working conditions.

JCB chief operating officer Matthew Taylor said: "The new Heavy Products factory represents an opportunity for JCB to grow its tracked and wheeled excavator business substantially once the global construction markets have recovered from the downturn currently being experienced."

The company is still in the statutory consultation period for making 700 redundancies due to the global downturn in construction markets.