JCB Bringing Telescopic Handler Production Line to Savannah
JCB is bringing production of its 505-20TC Loadall compact telescopic handler to its North American headquarters and manufacturing facility near Savannah, Ga. Installation of the new production line has begun and full production is planned for September.
The Savannah facility will continue to manufacture JCB skid-steer and compact track loaders as well as military construction machines, including the High Mobility Engineer Excavator and light capacity rough terrain forklift.
“Bringing telehandler production to JCB North America reinforces the company’s long-term commitment to Savannah and is great news for our 600-strong workforce,” said Richard Fox-Marrs, president and CEO of JCB North America. “JCB is the most popular telehandler brand in North America, and our new telehandler production line will allow us to be more responsive to local customers and win even more business in the future.”
In addition to the 505-20TC Loadall telehandler, JCB offers 14 Loadall telehandler models for the construction and rental industries in North America, and six models specifically for agricultural applications. Lift capacities range from 5,500-14,000 pounds and lift heights from 20 to 66 feet.
To accommodate the telehandler production line, JCB has moved backhoe loader production to its backhoe manufacturing facility in the U.K. The company will continue to offer seven JCB backhoe loader models in North America.
“JCB is the world’s leading backhoe manufacturer and global demand will be well met by JCB’s dedicated backhoe manufacturing facility,” said Fox-Marrs. “Utilizing our world class North American manufacturing facility to produce telehandlers allows our people to more directly contribute to the success and growth of a product that is in high demand in this market.”
JCB will also establish a dedicated parts warehouse and distribution facility in Miami, freeing up space in the Savannah factory to manufacture construction machines. The Miami parts warehouse will accommodate a significantly larger parts inventory than currently stocked in Savannah, enabling faster supply of parts to JCB customers throughout the United States Canada and Latin America.
JCB does not anticipate a significant impact to employment at its North American headquarters as a direct result of the production line and warehouse changes.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.