JCB to build new logistics hub

Environmentally friendly distribution hub in Newcastle-under-Lyme to create hundreds of new jobs

JCB have announced plans to open a new facility in north Staffordshire in a move which will create hundreds of new jobs. The company – which currently has 11 plants in the UK and 11 overseas and is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of construction equipment – is creating a new logistics hub on land next to the A500 in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The facility will open in the environmentally friendly Blue Planet warehouse on the Chatterley Valley site. JCB have agreed a long-term lease for the building and have been conditionally offered £2.9 million from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund to support job creation at the site and to provide training programmes.

In addition, the company has also signed an option to purchase an adjacent 7.7 acres of land from Newcastle Borough Council to facilitate future expansion.

The distribution hub will be commissioned this month and by the end of the year will employ around 60 people. Employment levels are expected to rise to more than 300 people once the facility becomes fully operational in the next two years.

JCB’s chief executive officer, Alan Blake, said: ‘Staffordshire is where JCB’s business started nearly 68 years ago and I’m delighted that our latest expansion is creating jobs in the county which has been our home for so long. 

‘We are delighted to have been offered funding from the Regional Growth Fund to facilitate future growth on the site. We also thank Newcastle Borough Council for their support in reaching what is another milestone in JCB’s commitment to Staffordshire.’ 

The facility will be run by a global logistics partner, which is now undertaking a recruitment drive to fill a number of positions which are available immediately. The Blue Planet warehouse is one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly buildings with rainwater harvesting facilities, optimized use of natural light and the deployment of sustainable and recyclable materials in the construction and fitting out of the building.

The facility – which will be branded JCB – will be the central receiving hub for supplier-bought components used in the manufacture and assembly of JCB machines. It will serve JCB’s UK plants as well as JCB’s compaction equipment factory in Germany and JCB’s newest manufacturing facility in Brazil.