JCB has taken the wraps off a new generation of tracked excavator following one of the biggest investment programmes in its history. The company has ploughed £110 million into developing its ‘X Series’ which will compete in a global tracked excavator market where almost 190,000 machines are sold every year.
The new product is starting to roll off production lines at JCB Heavy Products in Uttoxeter and is now being launched to customers around the world. JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “The market for tracked excavators has grown enormously since JCB made its first one in 1965 and we now export these machines all over the world. The X Series is an evolutionary product which also contains high levels of innovation. While the cost of the development of the X Series is a big investment for a private company to make, we are very happy to do it because the market opportunity is huge.”
JCB’s investment in new products is running at historic levels and recent innovations launched include the JCB Hydradig wheeled excavator, a range of 14 mini and midi tracked excavators, new wheeled loading shovels and DualTech VT Loadalls, which combine the best characteristics of powershift and hydrostatic drives. With the recent announcement of 600 jobs being created at JCB, this is certainly a beacon of UK manufacturing in a global marketplace.
