It’s now 70 years since British businessman Joseph Cyril Bamford launched his revolutionary backhoe loader in Staffordshire in 1953. JCB’s innovation was to attach an excavator with hydraulic rams to the back of a front loader and so created the iconic design that we all recognise today. Globally successful and still part-owned by the Bamford family, JCB now has 11 factories and 7500 employees. Like Biro and Hoover, JCB has become a generic term for backhoe loaders and even has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. To celebrate this birthday, 70 special Platinum limited editions of the JCB 3CX are being produced for sale this year.
Joseph Bamford began his business in 1945 in a lock up garage with a second hand welding kit. He created his first vehicle using scrap metal from World War 2 air raid shelters, which he sold for £45. In 1950, employing only six people, he moved the company into an old cheese factory and began painting his products bright yellow. At first the digging and loading attachments were fixed to a tractor, powered by a Ford motor, then developed into a fully integrated machine. From these humble beginnings, JCB Excavators Ltd went from strength to strength in the following decades, becoming a global player in the industry, with operations worldwide and selling over 900 thousand machines. The milestone of a million will be reached soon.
JCB, led by Anthony Bamford (net worth £5.9 billion), continue to develop innovative products which reduce pollution, using cutting edge technology. In 2018 an all electric, mini excavator was produced; the JCB 19C-1E. It can be used both indoors and out and will last a full working day on one charge. In 2020, an industry first, hydrogen powered excavator was produced, showing that this British company is still leading the way in developing zero emissions products. Looks like a JCB can be both yellow and green and, understandably, it will be a popular choice for building contractors. In the North, find JCB and more for hire from Total Plant Hire Manchester.
Scoop, the yellow backhoe loader, and Bob’s best friend in ‘Bob the Builder’ was much loved by children and is clearly a JCB! With the other machines, Dizzy, Muck and Lofty, he helps Bob solve all of his building problems. And now JCB are getting in on the act too, producing their own range of children’s toys, including ride ons, diggers and more. There is even a range of perfect, die cast miniatures for young and not so young enthusiasts. At £55 for a 1:32 perfect scale model of a JCB, it’s a lot less than the full size version.
JCB are currently the holder of 3 world speed records, which will surprise anyone who’s ever been stuck behind a tractor on a road. In 2014, a JCB backhoe loader achieved 72 mph and in 2019, the company won the World’s Fastest Tractor category with a winning speed of 135 mph. Finally, don’t miss the JCB Dancing Diggers, a thrilling display designed to showcase the skills of these powerful and versatile machines. So, happy birthday to the JCB backhoe loader at 70 years young!
