JCB is investing heavily in its UK manufacturing capability

255 JCB is investing €9.34 million in its British manufacturing plants as the company gears up for future growth. This is being spent on new machine tools which will further boost component quality and production efficiency. One of the biggest single investments is in €4.67 million worth of machine tools in the hydraulic ram area at JCB’s headquarters in Rocester. The new equipment includes CNC lathes, friction welders, robotic welding cells and an automated assembly cell. The new machinery will provide an additional 20% production capacity for hydraulic rams. Other investments at the headquarters include a new machining centre in the backhoe loader business unit and a new machining centre and robot welder in the loadall business unit.  At JCB’s plant in Uttoxeter over €1.17 million has been invested in robot welding equipment to increase capacity and increase quality at the tracked and wheeled excavator factory. At JCB’s transmissions facility, a new €2.34 million fully-automated axle manufacturing unit capable of producing a maximum of 130 axles/day, has just been commissioned.