JCB begins work on US$500M North American factory

An official groundbreaking ceremony has been held to signal the start of construction of JCB’s new multi-million-dollar factory in San Antonio, Texas, which will take over five years to complete.

The 67,000sqm factory will be built on a 400-acre site and will create 1500 new jobs, JCB said. Once completed, it will be the company’s second largest plant, rivalled only by the manufacturer’s World HQ in Rocester, Staffordshire, UK.

The factory will make Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment, with production scheduled to start in 2026. The factory will also have the capacity to expand into the manufacture of other products in the future.

“Construction equipment manufacturers sell more than 300,000 machines every year in North America, making it the single largest market in the world,” said JCB Chairman, Lord Anthony Bamford.

"JCB has been growing its share of this important market steadily over the past few years and the time is now right to invest in our manufacturing capacity in North America, where we already have one factory."

“The Loadall telescopic handler is JCB’s biggest selling product in North America and it is also the single largest market for aerial access equipment worldwide, and therefore, it makes great sense to build these two ranges here,” said President and CEO of JCB North America, Richard Fox-Marrs.

“Texas is an obvious choice for our new North American manufacturing facility, not least because the State is the largest consumer of construction equipment in the USA. San Antonio is also the logical choice as a location for our new factory because of its central location, proximity to the supply chain and great local labour force.

“We are really excited about JCB’s new San Antonio factory and for the future of our business in North America.”

JCB sold its first machine in North America in 1964 and opened its first manufacturing plant there in 2001 in Savannah, Georgia, which employs 1,000 people. The new facility will manufacture machines for customers specifically in North America.