JCB has been awarded a share of a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contract as part of the DLA’s Heavy Equipment Procurement Program. The contract gives JCB eligibility to provide construction machines, some of which are manufactured at JCB’s North American Headquarters in Pooler, Georgia, to every branch of the U.S. military, Department of Defense, federal agencies, and partner and allied nations.  The contract has an estimated value of $660 million for all equipment solicited over the next five years.

JCB is proud of the confidence the U.S. military continues to place in JCB machines, which speaks to the outstanding design, engineering and manufacturing efforts exemplified by our team. The machines that will be provided to the military are commercial-off-the-shelf, which means the JCB skid steers, compact track loaders, and backhoes used by our commercial customers are the same world-class workhorses our military relies on. JCB’s commitment to innovation and quality ensures outstanding performance for all of our customers – from farmers in rural America and construction crews in urban cities, to our service men and women throughout the world.

Chris Giorgianni, vice president of Government & Defense and Product & Marketing for JCB North America.

The JCB equipment – including, backhoes, excavators, Access aerial work platforms, wheel loaders, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, and JCB’s innovative Teleskid – will be used for a wide variety of applications. U.S. military personnel operating JCB’s skid steers, Teleskids, and track loaders, which are manufactured in Pooler, GA, will experience the world’s first loader with a single-arm Power boom, designed by JCB for better visibility, greater lift, further reach, and deeper dig depth than any other loader on the market. JCB’s unique side entry door prevents operators from having to climb over dangerous attachments to enter the machine and once inside the cab, operators have 270 degrees of visibility, the best in class providing unsurpassed safety.

JCB is the world’s largest privately-owned manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment. At 22 plants spanning four continents—and countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and Brazil—JCB manufactures a range of more than 300 products including Loadall telescopic handlers, backhoe loaders, excavators, wheel loaders, compact excavators, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, Access aerial work platforms, rough terrain forklifts, and Fastrac tractors.

Source: JCB

JCB faced strong competition for this year’s award from two other shortlisted finalists: the all-electric I-PACE sports utility vehicle from Jaguar Land Rover and ecoSMRT® liquid natural gas reliquification technology from Babcock’s LGE business.

said Lord Bamford, JCB Chairman.

Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award judging panel, said:

“JCB’s electric digger is a huge engineering achievement. The team has developed all parts of the electric propulsion system to deliver system performance that matches real customer requirements. This is a huge achievement in itself, but the additional benefits of zero exhaust emissions and much lower noise has lifted the 19C-1E excavator to a new level.”

The 19C-1E excavator is the world’s first volume-produced fully electric mini excavator and with it, JCB has shown it is possible to make powerful construction machinery without an internal combustion engine. Hundreds of the machines have been sold and so far they have saved the equivalent of 33,290 lbs in CO2 emissions across 5,616 hours of work.

As well as significantly reducing carbon emissions, the electric mini excavator has zero exhaust emissions and very low noise levels. This combination makes it much better suited than traditional construction equipment for operating inside buildings or in areas where noise must be kept to a minimum, for example near hospitals and schools and in cities where night shift work is often necessary.