page_title: JCB (company)
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: JCB (company) / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: The first vehicle that JCB made (a farm trailer)
context_page_description: JCB, is a manufacturer of equipment for construction, agriculture, waste handling, and demolition, based in Rocester, England. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers, excavators, tractors, and diesel engines, across 22 factories spanning Asia, Europe, North America, and South America; its products are sold in over 150 countries.
  Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Ltd. was founded in 1945 by Joseph Cyril Bamford and continues to be owned by the Bamford family. In the UK, India, and Ireland, the word "JCB" is often used colloquially as a generic description for mechanical diggers and excavators and now appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, although it is still held as a trademark.
context_section_description: JCB was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in October 1945 in Uttoxeter, England. He rented a lock-up garage 3.7 by 4.6 m (12 by 15 ft). In it, using a welding set which he bought second-hand for £2-10s (= £2.50) from English Electric, he made his first vehicle, a tipping trailer from war-surplus materials. The trailer's sides and floor were made from steel sheet that had been part of air raid shelters. On the same day as his son Anthony was born, he sold the trailer at a nearby market for £45 (plus a part-exchanged farm cart) and at once made another trailer. At one time he made vehicles in Eckersley's coal yard in Uttoxeter. The first trailer and the welding set have been preserved.
  In 1948, six people were working for the company, and it made the first hydraulic tipping trailer in Europe. In 1950, it moved to an old cheese factory in Rocester, still employing six. A year later, he began painting his products yellow. In 1953, his first backhoe loader was launched, and the JCB logo appeared for the first time. It was designed by Derby Media and advertising designer Leslie Smith. In 1957, the firm launched the "hydra-digga", incorporating the excavator and the major loader as a single all-purpose tool useful for the agricultural and construction industries.
  In 1960, JCB's hydraulic tractors entered the North American market, proving a long-lasting success. JCB became, and still is, the brand leader in the world. By 1964, JCB had sold over 3,000 3C backhoe loaders. The next year, the first 360-degree excavator was introduced, the JCB 7.
  In 1978, the Loadall machine was introduced. The next year, JCB started its operation in India. In 1991, the firm entered a joint venture with Sumitomo of Japan to produce excavators, which ended in 1998. Two years later, a JCB factory was completed in Pooler near Savannah, Georgia in the US, and the next year a factory was opened in Brazil.
caption: The first vehicle JCB made (a farm trailer)
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