Construction Management is the highest circulation construction-based publication serving the UK built environment.
News
In pictures | JCB celebrates 80 years in construction
Nadine Buddoo CM People Editor
2004 – employees celebrate the production of the 500,000th JCB machine. Image: JCB
To mark its 80th anniversary, JCB has shared a series of images charting its history from a lock-up garage in Staffordshire to a global manufacturing company.
JCB was founded by the late Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE in the market town of Uttoxeter on 23 October 1945 – the same day his son Anthony, now Lord Bamford, was born.
1945 – JCB’s first product, a tipping trailer made from wartime scrap. Image: JCB
The company’s first product was a tipping trailer, made from wartime scrap, which today stands proudly in the showroom of JCB’s World HQ. It was produced in Bamford’s garage and sold for £45 at Uttoxeter’s market.
This is not a paywall. Registration allows us to enhance your experience across Construction Management and ensure we deliver you quality editorial content.
Registering also means you can manage your own CPDs, comments, newsletter sign-ups and privacy settings.
1958 – the production line at JCB’s Rocester site. Image: JCB
By 1947, the company was expanding and Bamford moved a few miles down the road to a stable block at Crakemarsh Hall.
However, by 1950, JCB was on the move again, this time to the site of a former cheese factory in Rocester, where its world headquarters is based today.
1962 – the JCB Dancing Diggers make their first appearance. Image: JCB
In 1962, JCB’s Dancing Diggers first took a bow, and the company’s first-ever overseas subsidiary in Holland was opened.
A year later, the JCB 3C backhoe, described by the firm as a “design classic”, was launched.
1977 – the launch of the 520 telescopic handler, which revolutionised the placing and handling of loads, JCB said. Image: JCB
Loadall launch
By 1977, the company launched the Loadall telescopic handler, a machine which aimed to transform the way loads were handled on both construction sites and farms.
The Loadall went on to become one of the most commercially successful products in JCB’s history.
1987 – prime minister Margaret Thatcher takes the controls of a backhoe at JCB’s World HQ. Image: JCB
JCB’s World HQ has welcomed various members of the UK royal family and political leaders, including Britain’s first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.
2017 – JCB launches a new range of powered access equipment after two years of secret development. Image: JCB
2017 was a momentous year for the company on two fronts. It launched a new range of powered access equipment after two years of secret development and later that year, it marked the production of its 500,000th engine.
A view of JCB’s World HQ which is undergoing a £100m investment. Image: JCB
UK investment
This week, the company announced a £100 million investment in the manufacturing facilities at its UK headquarters.
JCB is also marking its anniversary by giving its entire global workforce of more than 19,000 people an additional day’s holiday on 24 October.
Commenting on the milestone, JCB chairman Anthony Bamford said: “It makes perfect sense to invest heavily in our British factories and the £100 million we are investing now will put us at the forefront of our industry. Obviously, we are expanding overseas, not least in America, where we have been for decades. But the UK is our home.
“We directly employ more than 19,000 people around the world, more than 8,000 of whom are in the UK. And even though around three-quarters of our UK production is exported, we continue to make a huge contribution to this country and to the national economy.”
The January/February 2026 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
Powered Access
CM, in partnership with IPAF, has launched a new survey to explore the industry’s views and experiences with powered access machines on construction projects.
This is not a first step towards a paywall. We need readers to register with us to help sustain creation of quality editorial content on Construction Management. Registering also means you can manage your own CPDs, comments, newsletter sign-ups and privacy settings. Thank you.
