It has invested £62m in the two factories, which represent JCB Group’s largest single construction project in its 69-year history. When fully operational they will employ more than 1,000 people.
The Indian market has this year declined by 20%, but JCB has invested in the new facilities in readiness for a return to growth driven by an increase in spending on infrastructure projects.
JCB chairman Lord Bamford was joined by Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, at the official opening of the two new plants on a 115 acre site.
It was Lord Bamford’s vision which led to JCB to begin manufacturing in India under a joint venture agreement in 1979 at a site in Ballabgarh, near Delhi, which is now JCB India’s headquarters.
India overtook the UK as JCB’s biggest single market in 2007 – a position it has maintained ever since. Since it was founded in 1945, JCB has manufactured more than one million machines and 200,000 of those have been made in India.
Lord Bamford said: “I could never have imagined when we first started out in business in India 35 years ago that we would have become as successful as we have. One of the keys to that success is to continually invest for growth and that is exactly what we have done with these two new factories in Jaipur. When the market returns to growth we will be very well placed to meet the increased demand.
“The growth of JCB India has been phenomenal and India has been our biggest market now for seven years now. With the support of the Rajasthan Government we can expand further in this wonderful country with the two new plants here in Jaipur.”
JCB now has five factories in India in addition to 12 in the UK and others in Brazil, China and the USA. JCB India is a leading manufacturer of construction equipment and its factory near Delhi produces backhoe loaders and engines.
Component manufacturing is already under way at one of the Jaipur plants and next year production will begin of telescopic handlers and skid steer loaders for the Indian market. The facility will also provide additional backhoe loader capacity from 2015.
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