JCB's £50m investment in new plant creating hundreds of jobs

The new factory at Beamhurst on the A50, near Uttoxeter, will replace the existing JCB Cab Systems site at Riverside, Rugeley, where more than 400 work.

Plans to move to the new site 15 miles away were first revealed in December 2013

Work is underway on the 350,000 sq ft factory, next to two existing JCB plants. The hi-tech factory will have the capacity to produce around 100,000 cabs a year. It will include a computer-controlled production line, fully-automated painting facility and robotic welding and will create more than 200 new jobs by 2022.

JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: “This new factory will be the most advanced and productive cab facility in the world and will bring even greater levels of efficiency to the business. The investment is one of the biggest in the company’s history and underlines our commitment to manufacturing in Britain and in our home county of Staffordshire.”

Burton and Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths, who is also Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said said: “This is fantastic news for Uttoxeter, for Staffordshire and also the wider Midlands’ economy. This investment represents a massive boost for the area and underlines what a great place Staffordshire is to do business. It’s wonderful to see JCB continuing to invest in the county and in British manufacturing – something that can only attract even more inward investment.”

JCB Cab Systems, which was formed in 1975, provides cabs for all the JCB range of machines.

The new plant is scheduled to open in the summer of 2019.

JCB Cab Systems general manager David Carver said: “While new jobs will be created, moving to the new factory will enable us to double capacity without doubling the workforce thanks to high levels of automation. The whole plant is being designed to improve productivity, reduce waste and provide unprecedented quality levels.”

JCB said in 2013 that it had outgrown the Riverside site and had tried unsuccessfully to find a suitable replacement plot in the Rugeley area.

It planned to keep the whole workforce and lay on transport for the Rugeley workers to get to the new site, next to its existing heavy goods plant.

Staffordshire County Council leader Councillor Philip Atkins said the new factory was a huge boost for UK manufacturing and demonstrates investor confidence.

“JCB is one of Staffordshire’s flagship companies and a major employer with a skilled local workforce.

“Its expansion is therefore a huge boost to Staffordshire and UK manufacturing. It will increase local job creation and shows confidence in our economy. This is great news for businesses in the supply chain and for local communities.

“At the county council we are doing all we can to support this and other business developments – delivering the essential road infrastructure they need with our partners Midlands Engine and Highways England. We’re also working with the Staffordshire local enterprise partnership to ensure there are centres of learning in key subjects to provide a local workforce for the future. JCB Academy is one example with others thriving across the county.”