JCB North America has made more than $300,000 worth of equipment available to assist with clean-up efforts in the Savannah, Ga., area, which sustained significant damage from Hurricane Matthew in early October. Preliminary estimates say that the hurricane caused nearly $100 million worth of property damage in the state of Georgia alone.
JCB has offered the use of a 3CX backhoe loader and a 437 wheel loader for cleanup efforts.
“As a global organization, JCB has assisted with relief efforts in a number of countries over the years,” said Arjun Mirdha, JCB North America president and CEO. “The residents of Savannah include our employees, our friends and our neighbors here in the United States. After seeing and experiencing the devastation left behind by Hurricane Matthew firsthand, we knew that we wanted to help Savannah and the surrounding area recover as quickly as possible.”
Following a hurricane, heavy equipment is required to clear tree and building debris from roads and driveways. Bryan County, Ga., just south of Savannah, received a JCB 3CX backhoe with a thumb attachment that grips against the machine’s bucket to help it pick up and move objects more efficiently. The JCB 437 wheel loader went to the city of Pooler, Ga., where it has been used to haul large quantities of brush and other debris to dump sites.
In recent years, JCB has made equipment available to support relief and rebuilding efforts after earthquakes in Ecuador, Nepal, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan and Haiti and relief efforts in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
