JCB optimistic at factory opening

The decline in plant sales may be levelling out, according to Matthew Taylor the chief operating officer of JCB Group.

"There is no sign of an upturn yet, but I hope we have reached the bottom," he told CJ.

Speaking later at the opening of JCB's new £40m heavy products factory, Taylor said the UK market for the heavier tracked and wheeled excavators produced at the new factory was 40% lower last year than in 2007. Although the new 8,000 machines-per-year capacity factory is currently running at a very low level, it still brings with it improved production efficiency, higher build quality and a new six-stage paint finish.

Machines built at the factory are now given three hot tests instead of two, and machining tolerances have been tightened to 35 microns. This has allowed JCB to double the warranty period on the 25 machine types built at the factory, to two years/3,000 hours.

One of the first machines to benefit from the longer warranty will be production versions of the JS360 first shown at Conexpo. The 36t machine's 268kN of bucket breakout is said to be best in class, whilethe fuel economy of its 212kW Isuzu engine is some 6% better than the competition.