JCB: Growth through Innovation

Jamais Content (Never Content) was the catchphrase that Joseph Cyril Bamford constantly used to describe his nature and approach to his company. Playing on his own initials, which incidentally also form the name of his company-JCB, Bamford essentially described the need to constantly innovate in a simple slogan. His words couldn’t have been more apt for today’s times as the need to innovate is the need of the hour in order to maintain the dominance that JCB has enjoyed over the years in the construction and agri equipment manufacturing business. The current global market uncertainties have had their effect on everyone and JCB too has borne the weight that this slowdown has caused. Despite that, the company has been steadily moving ahead and not leaving anything to chance, JCB has strived to continuously cater to the ever changing needs laid out by their customers.

On the outside, the plan is simple enough-offer products that are of the highest quality, durability and workmanship in order for them to be the product of choice for customers. No doubt that is easier said than done, however one walk around JCB’s innovation center and you will realize that the company isn’t just tossing around catch phrases but putting their money where their mouth is. Whether its product related, process related or man power related, JCB is looking at tackling each aspect through innovative methods that not only help built better products, but enable the company to take push the envelope and maintain a lead over their competition by being a step ahead; a case in point being the development of their own engine range.

New Diesel Engine

In just over eight years JCB has gone from a new entrant in the engine manufacturing business to become a major global producer with a reputation for fuel efficiency and innovation. The first engine, namely the four cylinder 4.4 litre Dieselmax, rolled off the production line in the UK in November 2004 and since then production has also extended to JCB India’s HQ at Ballabgarh, where the first engine was manufactured in 2011 and does duty in a number of JCB India products. To date more than 250,000 engines have been produced globally and the number is set to increase exponentially with the addition of new products to the ever growing portfolio that JCB has.

Keeping with the demand for their engines, JCB has now gone on to introduce their all new six cylinder engine, namely the 7.2 litre JCB Dieselmax 672, that will go into full production later this year. With an investment of around Rs 410 crore (£45 million) gone into the development of this new engine, JCB has made sure that it will live up to the high expectations that customers have from the company.  The engines have already completed more than 50,000 hours of testing, 30,000 of which have been in machines working in the field. With no pun intended, JCB is literally leaving no stone unturned when it comes their new state of the art engine.

The Dieselmax 672 is based on the 4.8 litre Dieselmax engine and shares a high degree of parts with the smaller unit.  Currently designed to do duty in markets where it has to meet Stage II emission norms such as Russia, China and Brazil, the engine is set to make its debut on the JS 360 crawler excavator. However, in the future the engine will debut on a number of machines that require the large engine. 

The six-cylinder engine will be offered with ratings of 140kW (188hp), 165kW (221hp), 190kW (255hp) and with a maximum output of 225kW (302hp). Maximum torque is an impressive 1,200Nm. Further to that, the new engine promises to be more fuel efficient than its counterparts and according to JCBs own testing, the 672 offers up to 8 per cent increase in fuel efficiency as compared to the previous engines that JCB employed in this category. 

Speaking about the new engine, JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said, “In a relatively short space of time we have become a major producer of engines and today more than 70% of JCB’s machines are powered by the engines we manufacture. The move into six cylinder engine production is a historic moment for our business and a natural step to take and we look forward to setting new standards in performance and fuel efficiency.”

Currently the new six cylinder engine will be built at a dedicated line at JCB Power Systems’ facility in Derbyshire, UK and will also be offered as part of the company’s OEM product line for use in non-JCB machinery. There isn’t any talk of this engine coming to India in the immediately, however as demand and time progresses its debut cannot be ruled out at some point in the future. 

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Innovation is JCB’s Backbone 

The story of JCB goes back to 1945 when Joseph Cyril Bamford designed a tipping trailer out of war surplus materials. Built in a garage just 12 feet by 15 feet, J.C Bamford managed to sell the trailer and immediately built another one. It was his drive to innovate and make a trailer easier to use that he implemented certain basic features in it which was lapped up by the customers. This is where the seed to innovate was planted and has remained the backbone of the family owned multinational company ever since.

Today the company makes over 300 products ranging from their bestseller, namely the backhoe loader, to the loadalls, track excavators, demolition equipment, tractors, wheeled loaders, compactors, fork lifts, military vehicles, skidsteers, lighting towers, generators and articulated dump trucks. The company dominates global sales of backhoe loaders where globally one out of every two backhoe loaders sold is a JCB. In India this number is even higher, where close to 75 per cent of all backhoe loaders sold is a JCB! With such a vast product portfolio and a solid name in the business, JCB is amongst the world’s top construction and agriculture equipment manufacturers, but the game doesn’t end on these laurels.

Taking the challenge to further their fortunes and keep with the times, the products have constantly undergone upgrades. The backhoe loader is easier to use and the controls have been simplified over time. Electronics have had a major role to play in upgrading these vehicles and even today the work continues to make these machines easier to use, more robust and at the same time more efficient. 

One of the biggest areas of concern in recent times has been efficiency; much like the passenger vehicle market, however in the construction equipment business, efficiency has a direct impact on the profits of a customer and therefore efficient machines are definitely the need of the hour. In doing so, JCB has not only begun experimenting with different materials, but set out on a journey that was charted more than eight years ago in order to develop their own engine range, thereby having complete control over their product design and engine mapping in order to tackle efficiency. Today the JCB engines are capable of achieving the highest emission standards stipulated for their machines without the need of a SCR or a diesel particulate filter, while making their engines more fuel efficient than competing engines of the same size. This has allowed the company to package their products better and offer their customers the best in the business.

The seed of innovation can be found in product design as well, examples of which include the safest skidsteer with a side door, the all new Loadall that has a reach that touches 21 meters; 3 meters more than the competition and the Mini excavators which are designed for use in confined areas. Constant work to further develop these products continues at JCBs innovation center; and the products of the future are going to be anything but boring.

Having said that, JCB has extended the notion of innovation in everything they do to service and customer support as well through the groundbreaking JCB Live Link GPS enabled service. This module, which is finding its way into JCB machines, allows the owner to track the vehicle’s usage, send a message back to JCB service centers in the event of a problem as well a provide safety from theft by being able to disable the machine through a code sent via GPS. It makes it easier to monitor the use and therefore maximize efficiency. No doubt it is cutting edge and it is expected to make its debut in India, and from what I’ve been told, currently there are a few machines fitted with Live Link in India that are undergoing rigorous testing to see how the system works here. 

It’s a bold attempt to do things differently, but JCB has proved their ability to think out of the box time and time again. If the unique marketing scheme created by the ‘Dancing Diggers’ has gone on to become a global phenomenon and crowd puller, the company also proved their first company made engine’s capability by sticking it into a purpose built car to set the diesel land speed record rather than showcasing it in a digger! If the Dieselmax hit 350 mph on the Salt Flats in Bonneville, USA, in 2006, the company also built a Backhoe Loader GT powered by a 7.4 litre, 1000 hp engine that manages to touch a tremendous 120 mph in the 1990s! If that isn’t testimony to innovation, then maybe the military spec HMEE would convince you, for it is the only backhoe loader to come with suspension and keep up with convoy speeds of 88mph, while being capable of doing the duties of a typical backhoe loader. 

It is this undying spirit of JCB that powers them into the future and has worked in creating a brand that has the ability to draw the most hard core contractor as well as a little 3 year old to be associated with it. 

JCB millionth machine: JS 220 tracked excavator

On the Indian Front

JCB India already holds a prized position amongst all the JCB facilities worldwide for the Ballabgarh facility is the world’s largest backhoe loader manufacturing unit and it is with great pride that the company states that over 75 per cent of all backhoe loaders sold in the country are JCBs. With one facility in Ballabgarh and two facilities in Pune, JCB India has catered to the staggering demand created by the sheer amount of infrastructure development taking place in India, as well as exports to the Middle East, South-East Asia and Eastern Africa. While 2012 was a slow year, things are looking up and the company has also taken steps to cater to future needs by laying the foundation stone for their fourth manufacturing facility.

With an investment of Rs 500 crore, JCB India will set up their fourth facility on a 115 acre site located near Jaipur, Rajasthan. The new plant is expected to further strengthen the company’s position in the market as well as keep pace with the future economic growth expected to take place in India in the coming years.

One Million and Counting

It is said that if all the JCB machines made till date were to be laid out from end to end they would stretch from the UK all the way to Australia! So, just how many machines is that? The answer is a staggering one million machines. In the company’s 67 year history, the millionth machine to roll out was a 22 tonne JS 220 tracked excavator.

The actual machine is currently parked at JCB World HQ in Rocester, Staffordshire, UK and has received a fine silver finish. Interestingly, one third of the million machines ever produced have been made in the last six years. No doubt that is a sign of the burgeoning demand that JCB has to cater to and the company is rather bullish about achieving the two million milestone in a drastically shorter time period.

Yellow Everywhere!

For a company that has so much heritage, a quirk to their business and the undying need to constantly innovate, the vision for the future can only be summed up in the simplest of words, and much like his father, Sir Anthony Bamford sums it up simply by saying that the future is yellow! His simple statement expresses the ambition that drives JCB; to be the leaders in their business and judging from a purely emotional outlook, it is an achievement that is in their destiny.

Also read: JCB GT 1,000 HP drag racer!