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And, to make it an much more special occasion, the crew welcomed retired JCB welder Ken Harrison, aged 100, to hitch within the celebrations.
The primary JCB backhoe rolled off the manufacturing line in Rocester, Staffordshire in 1953.
Referred to as the Mark One, it introduced the brand new marvel of hydraulic energy to development tools for the primary time.
Within the first full yr of manufacturing in 1954 simply 35 of the machines have been constructed and it took greater than 20 years for the primary 50,000 to be made. It took 59 years for the primary half million JCB backhoes to be manufactured – however lower than 13 years for the following half million to be produced, culminating in immediately’s celebrations.
JCB now manufactures backhoe loaders within the UK, India, Brazil and it stays of probably the most versatile and productive machines on the planet.
Regardless of the maturity of the versatile backhoe loader, it’s nonetheless one of many greatest promoting items of development equipment and it stays the world’s 4th hottest machine within the development tools gross sales league desk.
To mark the milestone, tons of of backhoe loader staff lined the street exterior JCB’s World HQ, becoming a member of firm Chairman Anthony Bamford to look at a cavalcade of 16 backhoes from down the ages.
These spanned a 1954 Mark I by to a 2025 3CX mannequin.
Lord Bamford stated: “I’m the one particular person within the enterprise now who can bear in mind the early days after we first began to make backhoes in what was a former cheese manufacturing unit in Rocester.
“Wanting again at the moment, I may by no means have imagined that we might make a million of those diggers after such humble beginnings.
“Wanting again is a enjoyable factor to do however it’s all the time been JCB’s approach to look ahead and I’m wanting ahead to the manufacturing of the following a million backhoes.”
The one millionth JCB backhoe to be produced was a 3CX mannequin, which has been embellished in graffiti artwork and was offered to Lord Bamford on the celebrations.
Mr Harrison, who joined JCB as a welder in 1952 when solely 29 folks labored on the store flooring, was additionally current and is without doubt one of the final identified survivors of the manufacturing crew that constructed the primary JCB backhoes, retired 36 years later in 1988.
He earned 4 shillings and sixpence an hour, the equal of 22½ pence in immediately’s cash. He stayed for 36 years earlier than retiring in 1988.
Om his return, as an alternative of clocking on, he arrived in model within the firm’s chauffeur-driven Jaguar to hitch within the celebrations.
When Ken joined JCB, it was to be the beginning of a household custom. 13 different relations adopted in his footsteps and thus far Ken’s household has amassed greater than 350 years’ service to JCB.
He had been introduced up because the eldest of eight kids at Barrow Hill overlooking what would develop into the JCB manufacturing unit half a mile away. Ken was additionally the forefront of JCB’s European gross sales drive within the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties having spent six years within the Demonstration Crew driving machines to point out to clients and sellers.
Ken stated: “We put lengthy hours in on the manufacturing unit in these days, in actual fact we virtually lived there. I can bear in mind being at work at 5pm one Sunday and I used to be the one one there when Joe Bamford got here in and shouted throughout to me ‘I’m counting on you Harrison’.
“In these days, everybody was addressed by their surname. Joe was all proper; I actually appreciated him. Everybody was joyful and pleasant and everybody mucked in in these days. Sooner or later you’ll be welding and the following you’ll be working a concrete mixer. You’d be doing all types of jobs in these early days, nothing like it’s immediately.
“I bear in mind the time they have been extending the manufacturing unit; it was so draughty you actually couldn’t weld because the weld was simply blown away as a result of all we had round us was a large tarpaulin. We turned our hand to something and once I was out driving a truck, Anthony Bamford used to come back with me once I was out on native deliveries. He would solely have been about 11 and it was an actual novelty for him.”
Ed Farnley, 24, and Ken’s great-nephew joined JCB six years in the past as a Enterprise Diploma Apprentice. He works as a Product Specialist for JCB Attachments in Uttoxeter.
Ed stated: “I’m the fourth era of my household to work right here and it provides me an actual sense of satisfaction to know that we’ve contributed a lot service to JCB . My great-grandfather John Harrison and my grandfather Colin Farnley each labored right here as does my dad Alan. It’s nice that we’ve all been a part of the success story that JCB has develop into over the previous 80 years.”
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