JCB starts work on US$500 million North American factory
05 June 2024
Work has started on a new US$500 million JCB factory in San Antonio, Texas, North America, which is said to be the biggest-ever investment in the company’s history.
Work on the 720,000 sq. ft (67,000m²) factory is under way on a 400-acre site and will create 1,500 new jobs over five years. It will be the company’s second largest plant after the manufacturer’s World HQ in Rocester, Staffordshire, UK.
The factory will make Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment, with production scheduled to start in 2026. The factory will also have the capacity to expand into the manufacture of other products in the future.
The Loadall telescopic handler is JCB’s biggest selling product in North America
“Construction equipment manufacturers sell more than 300,000 machines every year in North America, making it the single largest market in the world,” said JCB Chairman, Lord Bamford.
“JCB has been growing its share of this important market steadily over the past few years and the time is now right to invest in our manufacturing capacity in North America, where we already have one factory.”
JCB opened its first manufacturing plant there in 2001 in Savannah, Georgia, which employs 1,000 people. The new facility will manufacture machines for customers specifically in North America.