JCB North America history

He returned to the United Kingdom in 1944, whereupon he spent a year developing welding equipment for English Electric.

On October 23, 1945, the very same day that his first son, Anthony, was born, Bamford launched a new venture in a 12-foot-by-15-foot garage in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, that he had rented for 30 shillings ($2.48) per week.

In early 1947 Bamford moved the business to a section of the stabling and coach-house block at Crake-marsh Hall located halfway between Uttoxeter and nearby Rocester.

He developed the first European hydraulic loader, which sold initially in 1948 for £110 ($181). It was called the Major Loader, because early development work was carried out on the leading tractor of that era, the Fordson Major.

Late in 1950 Bamford moved his growing company's operations to an old milk and cheese factory in Rocester, a site that was renamed Lakeside Works.

In a further development of its corporate identity, the company in 1953 first used the JCB logo on an experimental and unsuccessful vehicle called the Loadover.

The Mark I, introduced in 1954, thus became if not the first-ever backhoe loader, as the company later claimed, at least Europe's first commercially produced backhoe loader.

By 1955 Bamford's workforce totaled more than 60, and one year later the founder officially incorporated his company as J. C. Bamford (Excavators) Limited.

Profits for 1956 totaled £10,000 on the sale of 118 machines.

JCB sold 2,000 of these before the debut of the successor model, the JCB 4, in 1960.

In 1962 JCB set up its first overseas subsidiary in the Netherlands.

He was a demanding boss but rewarded his workers with regular pay increases and annual bonuses that in 1964 totaled £250,000 ($370,000). He had also surrounded the Rocester works with 10,000 acres of landscaped grounds where the employees could shoot, fish, swim, and sail.

JCB began expanding its product line in 1965 with the introduction of the JCB 7, the firm's first crawler excavator, which was produced under a licensing deal with Warner Swasey.

Further North American expansion occurred in 1968 through the establishment of the Canadian subsidiary JCB Excavators, Ltd.

The first official appearance of what was initially called the JCB Circus came in 1970 at a celebration of the 25th birthday of Anthony Bamford, the founder's son.

In 1971, when a unionization drive began to pick up steam, Bamford headed off the move by granting his workers more paid holidays, sickness pay for the first time, life insurance coverage, and an improved pension program.

Back in Europe a French subsidiary was created in 1972.

By 1972 production had reached a record 6,000 machines. Thus in 1973 JCB built a 350,000-square-foot plant in the Welsh town of Bronington.

In June 1974, however, workers at the plant staged a 12-day strike that ended with their vote to join the General and Municipal Workers' Union.

Bamford's vigorous opposition to unions perhaps spurred his retirement in November 1975 at age 59.

Also in 1977 JCB made a bid for the financially troubled French company Poclain, the largest manufacturer of hydraulic excavators in the world, but its offer was bested by the United States firm J.I. Case Company.

A plant was subsequently built in Ballabgarh, near Delhi, and began production in 1980.

By 1984 sales exceeded 1,000 units per year, and the line became the company's second biggest seller, after the flagship backhoe loaders, which still accounted for about two-thirds of overall sales.

Also in 1986, the 100,000th back-hoe loader rolled off the Rocester plant's assembly line.

In the meantime, the company moved into the heavy end of the crawler excavator market by creating, in 1991, a joint venture with Sumitomo Construction Machinery.

Pretax profits reached a record £103.4 million ($157.2 million) in 1995 on record revenues of £704.6 million ($1.07 billion), a 25 percent jump from the previous year.

By 1996, JCB's product range included a total of more than 75 models, up from 29 at the beginning of the decade, and the workforce had expanded to more than 3,000.

July 23, 1998: Announces plans to build a $62 million, 500,000-square-foot plant in Savannah area.

5, 1999: John Patterson, chief executive, announces that JCB will move its sales and marketing operations to the new plant, making it the company headquarters for America.

February 2000: Production begins.

March 1, 2001: Joseph C. Bamford dies.

His sons and his widow, Marjorie, contested his will, leading to a protracted legal dispute that continued on after Marjorie Bamford's death in December 2003.

June 2004: Announces the creation of a compact and utility equipment division.

September 19, 2005: Announces jointly with the city of Savannah plans for an early-childhood education center in west Savannah.

June 2006: Celebrates a record year for profits, production and sales.