JCB celebrates double wheeled loading shovel milestone

JCB is celebrating 50 years of wheeled loading shovel manufacture – with production hitting record highs. Over those five decades, the company’s award-winning loader range has expanded beyond recognition, introducing many market-leading technologies and establishing JCB as a global leader in the loader business.

Over those five decades, the company’s award-winning loader range has expanded beyond recognition, introducing many market-leading technologies and establishing JCB as a global leader in the loader business.

The company entered the wheeled loader market with the acquisition UK-based Chaseside Engineering, taking on its seven rigid axle machines. Relocation of production lines from Chaseside’s plant in Blackburn, Lancashire took several months and it was all systems go by the start of 1969, which marked the start of the first full year of shovel manufacturing at JCB’s expanding Rocester factory in Staffordshire. In that first year, the fledgling wheeled loader division would build just 298 machines, catering primarily for domestic customer demand.

As the 50th anniversary is marked, JCB now produces wheeled loaders in their thousands on production lines around the world, including the UK, India, Brazil and China. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of JCB opening a multi-million pound factory in Cheadle, Staffordshire dedicated to the production of wheeled loaders.

Over the past 50 years, JCB’s wheeled loader range has evolved into a major part of our product portfolio. Fifty years is a long time but our sights are firmly on the future and we are committed to bringing new levels of innovation to this range. The launch of the spacious CommandPlus cab on our wheeled loaders was a pivotal moment in this machine’s history and this innovation really did put operator comfort at the heart of the design.

Tim Burnhope|JCB Chief Innovation and Growth Officer

Tim Burnhope continued to say; “JCB now offers 25 different wheeled loader models and manufactures the product on three continents. With our innovative range we are very well placed to increase our sales in a sector which has grown rapidly around the world for three consecutive years.”