JCB launch event: Britain’s next top models

Established by Joseph Cyril Bamford in 1945, JCB has a proud history of innovation within the fields of construction and agriculture. It was Bamford who invented the backhoe loader in 1953, and his company has since laid claim to the world’s first telehandler, the fastest diesel engine, and even in-cab electric kettles to boost operator productivity.

With a heritage as strong as this, our expectation levels were at fever pitch in the lead-up to the conference. Fortunately, the seven-hour flight paid off. JCB didn’t disappoint.

First to be unveiled was a modestly-sized appetiser: the JCB 65R-1 midi-excavator. This 6.5-tonne, low-tail-swing unit is designed to offer high performance on confined job sites.

When slewed by 90°, the model boasts a track overhang of just 185mm. In order to compensate for its petite derriere, the unit features a four-plate dipper design, and internal baffle plates have been installed throughout the machine.

The 65R-1 has also been designed with ease of maintenance in mind.

As Rob White, product sales manager, explained: “Every single pivot point that you see – right from the king post, all the way through to the very end bucket link – is 500-hour greasing. This is completely unique in the industry. No longer do you have to grease the machine on a daily or weekly basis; you only have to grease it when you need to service it.”

The 65R-1 is the fourth midi-model to be introduced by JCB this year, joining the 67C-1 conventional-tail-swing model and two eight-tonne midis – the 86C-1 and the 85Z-1 – launched at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014.

The next morning, following tours of some of JCB’s Staffordshire facilities, we were guided into the company’s theatre. Lying in wait were a selection of JCB’s divisional heads, eager to show off their latest pieces of kit.

What followed was a spectrum-spanning re-imagining of JCB’s equipment line-up, with six tracked excavators, three wheeled excavators, four Loadall telehandlers, 11 gensets, a wheel loader, a compactor, three backhoe loaders, and a duo of novel attachments, each receiving the red-carpet treatment.

Due to practicalities of space, we can’t detail every one of these products [for full coverage, check out ConstructionWeekOnline.com]. However, there were several units that stood out, especially in terms of their potential applications for end users in the Middle East.

JCB’s JS220 tracked excavator, for example, is powered by a 4.8L Tier 2 Dieselmax engine equipped to cope with the region’s dirty fuel. Owing to a revamped hydraulics system, optimised pump settings, and a revised spool configuration, the model boasts 24% improved fuel efficiency over its predecessor, whilst maintaining an identical 129kW power rating.

The 540-200 Loadall, meanwhile, is one of the most impressive telehandlers that we here at PMV have ever seen. With its 20m reach, four-tonne lift capacity, and five-stage boom, this is the highest-reaching Loadall telescopic telehandler ever produced by JCB.

Honourable mentions go to the 422ZX, a 12-tonne wheel loader designed for emerging markets; the 1CXT, a tracked backhoe loader that looks as nimble as a compact track loader; and the InteliHybrid genset, the world’s first diesel-electric generator, according to the British manufacturer.

However, the climax of the launch event was undoubtably the unveiling of the 3CXG, an entry-level take on JCB’s iconic 3CX backhoe loader.

The ‘G’, which stands for ‘global’, reflects the fact that the model has been designed with an eye on contractors operating in emerging markets. This working man’s backhoe will initially be rolled out in Russia and CIS countries, with its Middle East launch slated for 2015.

As Burnhope explained: “The JCB 3CX has a long-standing reputation as a premium product that continues to deliver value for discerning customers around the world.

“However, as a full-range supplier of construction equipment, we work very hard to deliver solutions for different customer requirements, so we’ve recently come up with an alternative offering. It’s an entry-level 3CX backhoe loader designed specifically for arduous applications in developing economies…our 3CX Global backhoe.”

If this launch line-up tells us anything, it’s that JCB is taking emerging territories such as the Middle East very seriously. As Burnhope told PMV, these models have been engineered to work in the most demanding conditions.

“The Middle East is a hard-dig area, so with the 3CXG – the structure and simplicity of it – we’ve designed a digging machine capable of working 3,500 hours per year,” he explained.

“It’s about getting back to the basics of digging, trenching, and high-hour action. We’ve very much focused on building a machine for contractors who really go to town in these harsh environments,” Burnhope added.

The range of products revealed by the British manufacturer is certainly impressive, especially considering the somewhat lacklustre international market. As JCB’s CEO, Graeme Macdonald, explained, the firm remains “extremely cautious” about business during 2014.

“The global market remains very challenging due to the extraordinary geopolitical times that we live in,” he told attendees.

“For example, the Russia-Ukraine crisis, what’s happening in the Middle East, [and] the recent and forthcoming elections in India and Brazil [are all] creating huge uncertainty in our markets,” Macdonald added.

The CEO continued to offer a reserved assessment of the global construction equipment sector, during which he pointed out that emerging economies are struggling amidst regional uncertainty.

“For the first six months to June 2014, Brazil was down 23% compared to the same period last year,” he said.
“Russia was down 22%, India was down 20%, and China was down by 8%. Other emerging economies are also struggling.

“The CIS countries were down by 39%, Turkey was down by 31%, Latin America down by 20%, and Asia and Africa were down by 17% and 8% respectively,” outlined Macdonald.

Luckily, it’s not all bad news on the world stage. Demand for construction kit is comparatively healthy in more developed economies.

“For the first six months of 2014, the UK and Ireland – our home market – was up by 44%, but the growth is slowing. North America – the second-largest market in the world – was up by 10%,” said Macdonald.

“Germany and France – the two largest markets on mainland Europe – were both up by 10%. And Europe’s smallest markets, Spain and Portugal, are growing by 41% and 48% respectively, but from a very low base,” he added.

The CEO said that this disparity between emerging and developed economies has impacted equipment demand in different ways.

“In the first six months [of 2014], demand for backhoe loaders was down by 19% due to falling demand in markets such as India and Brazil,” said Macdonald.

“Conversely, demand for telescopic handlers was up by 15% due to strong growth in developed markets such as the UK and Ireland. Demand for compact excavators is up by 10%, but demand for heavy excavators is down by 6%. Demand for wheel loading shovels has remained broadly stable,” he added.

The global construction equipment market might be experiencing lacklustre levels demand, but for JCB itself, business remains strong, especially in the Middle East. In 2013, the firm sold just under of 1,000 units in Saudi Arabia. So far this year, it’s has shifted around 700 units in the Kingdom, and sales in excess of 1,200 are anticipated during 2014. In the UAE, meanwhile, JCB sold more than 400 units during 2013, and expects to grow this figure to 450 in 2014.

Indeed, this trend is reflected across the region. Last year, JCB sold more than 2,300 units in the GCC alone. At the time of the press conference, the firm had shipped 1,750 machines to this region in 2014, and expected to achieve total sales of almost 3,000 units in the GCC during the course of the year; impressive stuff considering the collective performance of the construction equipment industry as a whole.

Even so, Macdonald said that JCB remained “extremely cautious” about its global business during the current year. He pointed out that the anticipated return to growth in China has still not materialised, and that India’s recovery has yet to gather pace following its recent election.

Yet as Macdonald pointed out: “We remain very optimistic. Despite all the uncertainty, JCB takes a long-term view of our business, and we continue to invest in the future. In November, we plan to formally open our new $100mn factory complex in Jaipur, India. There are two factories covering 65,000m2 on a 114-acre site; all part of JCB’s plan to remain India’s number one in construction equipment.

“Last year, we announced plans to invest $240mn right here in the UK. These are important steps we are taking to consolidate JCB’s position as number one in the UK, Europe, India, and Russia CIS – and to grow as number one in backhoe loaders and telescopic handlers,” Macdonald concluded.

A range overhaul of this magnitude might seem like a bold move to some. However, the firm’s founder once said: “Jamais content – that’s very, very much me. I am never content; I’m always looking for improvement.”

Under the guidance of the late Joseph Cyril Bamford’s son and incumbent JCB chairman, Lord Bamford, Macdonald and his colleagues are keeping this philosophy very much alive at the company. Crises will pass, markets will recover, and when they do, JCB appears to be well positioned with a range of construction equipment capable of meeting the needs of end users, wherever they may operate. As far as the British manufacturer is concerned, the future’s bright; the future’s yellow.

GCC dealer perspective: Bahrain
As managing director of Gulf Equipment & Technology (GET), Bassim Al Alawi knows more than most about JCB machinery, and why it’s suited to the Middle East.

GET has been the authorised Bahraini dealer for JCB since the mid-1960s, and shares a number of similarities with its principal. The Bahrain-based equipment supplier was established by Al Alawi’s father, who worked in conjunction with JCB founder – and father of incumbent chairman, Lord Bamford – Joseph Cyril Bamford.

“As a dealer, our main strength – and the reason we’ve maintained the highest market share in Bahrain – is service,” Al Alawi told PMV.

“Service is a priority. It’s not just about selling the machine to the customer; it’s about looking after the unit effectively. The better we are in terms of aftersales support, the better JCB machines will perform in the field.”

Another area in which the two companies’ values intertwine is that of apprenticeships. Just as the British manufacturer opened the JCB Academy in its hometown of Rocester in 2010, GET is currently working to establish its own vocational institution.

“During the next year, we will be focused on opening our school for apprenticeships,” revealed Al Alawi.

“We’ve been working on this for the last six years. We want to teach students to become mechanics, technicians, and engineers. Also, our customers often run their own workshops. This facility can therefore be used to train their staff to service and maintain JCB machines effectively.

“The GET apprenticeship school should open within the next 12 months. The facility itself has already been built and we are ready to offer training immediately. It’s just a matter of getting the paperwork in order. Yes, it takes time, but it’s vital that we do things properly,” he concluded.

Trade secrets
During the conference, PMV was treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the manufacturer’s Innovation Centre. The doors to this facility are rarely opened to outsiders as it houses some of JCB’s most exciting – and closely-guarded – projects.

On entry, we were provided with bags in which to stow our phones so that no top-secret prototypes were snapped underhandedly. And ‘top secret’ is no exaggeration; taking a tour of the facility gave one an insight into James Bond’s relationship with Q.

Interestingly, Innovation Centre projects don’t necessarily have to be linked to JCB’s traditional pursuits. Bamford’s boffins are given free rein to explore ‘non-industry innovation’.

For example – and continuing with the James Bond theme – at the centre of the main office sits a bright-red Jaguar F-Type, its presence an attempt to provide some outside inspiration.

“The next generation of products has to have higher quality, which is why we’re increasingly looking at manufacturing techniques outside our own industry,” said Mike Turner, head of industrial design at JCB.

“That’s why we have the Jaguar here; we’re looking at automotive influences to drive our manufacturing quality still higher,” he explained.

Neither is there a dearth of practical tools. For instance, the facility boasts a ‘Power Wall’, upon which JCB designers can project and manipulate three-dimensional renderings of products at almost 1:1 scale.

As White explained: “The facility gives us the capability to prototype our thinking, both digitally – using our Power Wall – but also physically – through rapid prototyping and experimental facilities. This whole setup allows us to mature designs quickly and effectively. It’s important that this is a secure facility. We want to keep the innovations and ideas that we’re developing secret so that we can have maximum commercial advantage when we launch.”