JCB has announced plans to invest £100 million in a major overhaul of its flagship Rocester factory in Staffordshire, securing 8,000 UK jobs and boosting confidence in the country’s struggling manufacturing sector.
The project will transform the company’s historic UK headquarters, originally converted from a cheese factory in 1950, into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility capable of delivering greater efficiency and performance.
The privately owned construction and farm equipment giant, controlled by the Bamford family, said the redevelopment was a “one-off” upgrade to a site which had become “an obstacle to growth” after 75 years of continuous use.
As part of the plans, JCB will install a £60m fully automated powder coating facility, transform the workshop and modernize production lines to enable faster and leaner manufacturing.
Graeme Macdonald, JCB’s chief executive, said the investment would make the Rocester site “almost unrecognizable”: “With all the investment we have made in India, the US, China and Brazil over the last 20 years, we have had to modernize our headquarters.”
“You would never design a factory the way it is designed today. This investment will make it leaner, more efficient and more cost competitive. We just couldn’t build enough – this will finally solve that problem.”
The move follows a difficult year for JCB, which struggled with rising costs, weaker global demand and U.S. steel tariffs that squeezed margins. Despite a turnover of almost £6bn, the group cut 230 agency jobs last year as construction markets cooled.
JCB’s commitment represents a rare vote of confidence in Britain’s industrial base, amid reports that British factories are using the lowest energy in half a century – a clear indicator of a decline in production.
Britain also fell out of the top 10 global manufacturing nations last year for the first time since the Industrial Revolution.
However, the overhaul at Rocester coincides with the opening of JCB’s new $500m (£373m) factory in Texas, which is due to start production next year. The US location will help absorb North American demand, allowing the UK factory to focus on European and emerging markets.
Once both sites are operational, JCB expects to increase annual production capacity to over 200,000 machines from 120,000 last year.
The expansion comes as JCB continues its international diversification while reaffirming its domestic heritage.
Lord Anthony Bamford, JCB’s chief executive, said: “Of course we are expanding overseas, not least in America, where we have operated for decades. But Britain is our home.”
“This investment will place Rocester at the forefront of our industry and ensure we continue to lead in innovation, productivity and quality.”
Despite his optimism, Macdonald warned that recovery in construction demand could take time, predicting the market would not recover until 2026 or 2027 as companies scale back from pandemic-era equipment purchases.
Still, analysts say the investment signals JCB’s intention to future-proof its UK operations, strengthening its position against global competitors while balancing its long-term digital and sustainability goals.
