JCB celebrates six decades of machine invented by founder
JCB's iconic backhoe loader has celebrated 60 years in production with the promise of more exciting innovations to come on a machine that has helped shape the modern world.
Company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford invented the concept of the backhoe and the first JCB model was manufactured in 1953 after he combined a lightweight backhoe with a Major Loadall tractor loader. It created, for the first time, a single machine which combined a front shovel and rear excavator arm.
It took 20 years for JCB to build the first 50,000 JCB backhoe loaders, but under the leadership of Joseph's son and current chairman Lord Bamford, the Staffordshire company has gone on to manufacture the machines in the UK, India and Brazil and to date more than half a million JCB backhoes have rolled off the production line and it still dominates the market it created.
Lord Bamford said: "It is staggering to think that it's 60 years since we produced the first JCB backhoe. The increasing versatility and innovation associated with this machine has been unrelenting and that is something that will continue apace in the future."
Tim Burnhope, JCB's chief innovation and growth officer said: "The backhoe loader is not 60 years old, it's 60 years young and this iconic machine has only just started its journey. The JCB backhoe will continue to develop and grow. It is a concept that has much to offer going forwards. It is a hugely important machine and in the next few years we will see the backhoe loader develop rapidly as a powerful and versatile tool carrier."
