Half a million and counting
JCB mark a major milestone in the company’s history with the production of their 500,000th backhoe loader
JCB have this week marked the production of their half-millionth backhoe loader – the type of machine that made the company famous around the world.
The first backhoe rolled off the company’s production line in Rocester, Staffordshire, in 1953. Called the Mark One, it brought the new wonder of hydraulic power to construction equipment for the first time.
In 1954 – the first full year of production – just 35 of the machines were built and it took more than 20 years for the first 50,000 to be made. Today, one JCB backhoe loader rolls off the company’s production lines every three minutes.
Despite the maturity of the backhoe loader, it is still one of the biggest-selling pieces of construction machinery and remains the world’s fourth most popular machine in the construction equipment sales league table.
Earlier this week JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford joined hundreds of employees at the company’s world headquarters to celebrate the 500,000th milestone.
He said: ‘When my father pioneered this machine all those years ago we could never have imagined how successful it would be and how it would totally mechanize jobs that, until then, had been done by hand. The backhoe is the world’s most versatile piece of construction machinery and that is what ensures the product will continue to thrive.’
JCB have always invested heavily in their backhoe loader range and an early catalyst for growth was in 1980, which saw the £24 million launch of the technologically advanced 3CX. Fast-forward to the present and the company says its customers are about to starting reaping the fuel-saving benefits of the launch of JCB backhoes powered by the JCB Ecomax engine, a development which will save them up to 11% in fuel costs.
Sir Anthony added: ‘The original 3CX launch was a pivotal moment in JCB’s backhoe history and from there the product went from strength to strength and laid the foundations for growth of the company and the introduction of a product range of more than 300 machines you see today.’
The 500,000th JCB backhoe produced this week was a 5CX model, which is the most powerful commercially available backhoe JCB have ever made. The machine is destined for a customer in Russia, which is regarded as one of the key markets for the product.
