Yesterday, JCB, a maker of construction, agricultural and defense equipment, broke ground on a $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas. The plant represents the largest investment in the company's history.
The 720,000-square-foot factory, housed on a 400-acre site, will be the company's second-largest plant and create some 1,500 new jobs over the next five years. JCB's most significant footprint is the company's world headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, England.
The new plant will make Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment. Production is scheduled to begin in 2026.
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JCB Chairman Lord Anthony Bamford said the construction equipment market is the largest in the world. Bamford hopes the new production will help grow JCB's market share, which has steadily improved over the past few years. "The time is now right to invest in our manufacturing capacity in North America, where we already have one factory," he added.
The company's North American headquarters is a 500,000-square-foot facility in Savannah, Georgia. The factory makes skid steers and compact track loaders.
The Texas project should create more than $265 million in capital investment. Late last year, the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) extended a $5.7 million grant to JCB, as well as a Veteran Created Job Bonus of $42,000.
JCB sold its first machine in North America in 1964 and opened its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Savannah in 2001.
Globally, JCB has 19,000 employees across 22 factories, including 11 in the UK, seven in India, and others in Brazil and China.
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