JCB on June 4 hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for its new, $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, where the company will produce Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment. The 720,000 square foot factory is being constructed on a 400-acre site, making it JCB's largest plant, second only to the company's headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, England. Company officials said the Texas factory will create 1,500 new jobs over five years. Production is expected to begin in 2026.
“The Loadall telescopic handler is JCB’s biggest selling product in North America and it is also the single largest market for aerial access equipment worldwide, and therefore, it makes great sense to build these two ranges here," said Richard Fox-Marrs, president and CEO of JCB North America.
The factory will also have the capacity to expand and build other products in the future.
“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 sold its first machine in North America in 1964 and opened its first U.S. manufacturing plant in 2001 in Savannah, Georgia, which employs 1,000 people. The new facility will manufacture machines for customers specifically in North America. JCB employs 19,000 people globally and operates 22 factories around the world. The company will mark its 80th anniversary in 2025.
