Britains 1:32 JCB Backhoe 3CX Loader

JCB, is a manufacturer of equipment for construction, agriculture, waste handling, and demolition, based in Rocester, England. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers (backhoes), excavators, tractors, and diesel engines, across 22 factories across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America; its products are sold in over 150 countries.

Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Ltd. was founded in 1945 by Joseph Cyril Bamford and continues to be owned by the Bamford family. In the UK, India, and Ireland, the word "JCB" is often used colloquially as a generic description for mechanical diggers and excavators and now appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, although it is still held as a trademark.

JCB was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in October 1945 in Uttoxeter, England. He rented a lock-up garage 3.7 by 4.6 m (12 by 15 ft). In it, using a welding set which he bought second-hand for £2-10s (= £2.50) from English Electric, he made his first vehicle, a tipping trailer from war-surplus materials. The trailer's sides and floor were made from steel sheet that had been part of air raid shelters. On the same day as his son Anthony was born, he sold the trailer at a nearby market for £45 (plus a part-exchanged farm cart) and at once made another trailer. At one time he made vehicles in Eckersley's coal yard in Uttoxeter. The first trailer and the welding set have been preserved.

In 1948, six people were working for the company, and it made the first hydraulic tipping trailer in Europe. In 1950, it moved to an old cheese factory in Rocester, still employing six. A year later, he began painting his products yellow. In 1953, his first backhoe loader was launched, and the JCB logo appeared for the first time. It was designed by Derby Media and advertising designer Leslie Smith. In 1957, the firm launched the "hydra-digga", incorporating the excavator and the major loader as a single all-purpose tool useful for the agricultural and construction industries.

In 1960, JCB's hydraulic tractors entered the North American market, proving a long-lasting success. JCB became, and still is, the brand leader in the world[citation needed]. By 1964, JCB had sold over 3,000 3C backhoe loaders. The next year, the first 360-degree excavator was introduced, the JCB 7.

In 1978, the Loadall machine was introduced. The next year, JCB started its operation in India. In 1991, the firm entered a joint venture with Sumitomo of Japan to produce excavators, which ended in 1998. Two years later, a JCB factory was completed in Pooler near Savannah, Georgia in the US, and the next year a factory was opened in Brazil.

JCB has 22 factories in the UK, Germany, North America, Brazil, Australia, India and China. The company employs some 12,000 people on four continents and sells its products in 150 countries through 1,500 dealer depot locations. The company has a range of more than 300 products.

JCB is headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom, which is also the production site for backhoe loaders and telescopic 'Loadall' handlers. It has a further three production plants in nearby Cheadle, Staffordshire (JCB Earthmovers, JCB Landpower and JCB Compact Products), one in Rugeley (JCB Cab Systems), three in Uttoxeter (JCB Attachments, JCB Heavy Products and JCB World Parts Centre), one in Foston in Derbyshire (JCB Power Systems) and one in Wrexham in North Wales (JCB Drivetrain Systems). In July 2013 the company opened a dedicated logistics hub in Newcastle-under-Lyme. This facility is the central hub for component distribution to production facilities, as distinct from the World Parts Centre in Uttoxeter which distributes spare parts to dealers and customers.

In December 2013 it was announced that the Rugeley Cab Systems plant would move to a new facility in Uttoxeter which would allow the in-sourcing of cab assembly currently contracted to third parties. This investment is to be accompanied by the expansion of the Rocester and Cheadle production sites by 2018.

Its Indian factories are based in Faridabad (Haryana), Jaipur and Pune, its US factory is in Pooler, Georgia, its Brazilian factory in Sorocaba, and its Chinese factory was completed in 2005 in Pudong near Shanghai. JCB also owns Vibromax, a German compaction equipment company based in Gatersleben.