JCB announces new India factory

JCB is to invest £65 million in a new plant in India as the company prepares to celebrate 40 years of manufacturing in the country, it was announced today.

The new factory will be in Vadodara near the port city of Surat in the State of Gujarat on the West Coast of India and will make parts for global production lines as the company prepares to meet increased demand.

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford laid the foundation stone for the new plant which will be JCB’s sixth in India – a country which has been JCB’s biggest single market since 2007.  The announcement follows the start of work on a new £50 million factory to build cabs for JCB machines in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England which will be completed later this year.

Lord Bamford said: “With major investment in manufacturing capacity in the UK and India, we are very well placed to grow our business in the future. This year we celebrate 40 years of JCB India and our success over those four decades is down to our continual investment. It’s fitting that we mark the 40^th anniversary with an investment in a factory which will give us enormous manufacturing capacity.”  JCB said it could not “at this stage” detail which parts will be made at the new factory.

JCB India already has factories in Delhi, Pune and Jaipur. Production at the new facility on a 44 acre site will begin next year.JCB said it will house “the most modern” laser cutting, welding and machining technology and will be a fork-lift free operation. It will be capable of processing 85,000 tonnes of steel annually.

JCB India managing director Vipin Sondhi said: “For 40 years JCB has remained committed to India. The decision to build a new world-class factory at Vadodara builds on JCB’s commitment to India. The chosen site is strategically important because it is located close to a major sea port which allows efficient transportation.”

Caption: JCB Chairman Lord Bamford, second from left, at the foundation stone laying ceremony in Gujarat yesterday. He is pictured  with (from left) Vipin Sondhi; JCB Chief Operating Officer Mark Turner and JCB India Chief Operating Officer Subir Chowdhury.