Prince William marks 750,000th JCB milestone

— filed under: Print Edition, Equipment at work

Prince William recently paid his first visit to JCB to help the company celebrate a major milestone, the production of its 750,000th machine.

Prince William marks 750,000th JCB milestone

William behind the controls of JCB’s 750,000th machine, a 3CX backhoe

As he arrived at the companys World Headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, UK, the Royal visitor was given a rousing welcome by flag-waving pupils from three local schools, including Dove First and Ryecroft Middle Schools in Rocester and All Saints First School in Denstone.
He was then introduced to JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford, his son Jo Bamford, daughter Alice Bamford, CEO Matthew Taylor and the MD of JCBs backhoe division, Paul Grys. Before going on a tour of the offices and shopfloor, William was shown JCBs first ever product, a screw-tipping farm trailer made by JCBs founder, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford, which now stands proudly in the companys reception.
On the shop floor, he toured the fabrication area where components for JCB machines are made, and met welding team leader Mick Grantham, 53, of Uttoxeter, who celebrates 30 years service with JCB in October.
The royal visitor was then shown the JCB high mobility engineering excavator (HMEE), the high-speed, high technology JCB backhoe. Last year the British Army invested $14.4m in a fleet of HMEEs for deployment in Afghanistan. JCB is the worlds number one manufacturer of backhoes and the HMEE is the worlds fastest version, travelling at speeds of up to 95km/h on paved roads and across open country.
At the machine, the Prince met Callum Taylor, who works for the Royal Engineers Trials and Development Unit. He was responsible for conducting the trials on the HMEE to bring it into service with the British Army. Royal Engineers warrant officer Michael Svinos, who is based with the UK Trade Investment Export Support Team at Bovington in Dorset, was also introduced. He is a trained plant operator and instructor, who spoke about the benefits the HMEE will bring to the Army.
After touring the offices, Prince William met a number of specially invited shop floor and office employees in JCBs main reception, where the production of JCBs 750,000th product, a 3CX backhoe loader, was officially marked.

Sections

Prince William marks 750,000th JCB milestone

Weekly Top Stories

Document Actions