JCB announces new investment plan - graduate jobs

Staffordshire firm JCB, which specialises in construction machinery goods, has announced a new investment plan for its plants in the UK, sparking jobs hope for graduates.

The Rocester-based company said the £20 million investment package will help cater to the growing demand for its products from emerging markets.

Under the expansion strategy, JCB will hire 50 engineers to help boost production at its 11 factories in the country, while it is also planning to purchase more equipment to develop new products.

In its trading update for 2010, the company posted a 149% rise in earnings to £235 million, while sales shot up by 48% to £2 billion.

Growth in construction business in countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China has led to an increase in demand for machinery products, JCB said.

The firm also reported a rise in sales in the UK and Ireland, surging by about 20%. This was recorded after a decline in sales due to the recession.

The company shed 1,800 staff as construction projects across the globe were postponed but staffing levels have since returned to the pre-recession levels of 9,000.

As well as investing in the UK, JCB is building a factory in Brazil.

The company was started 65 years ago in a garage in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, by Joseph Cyril Bamford, whose initials the company bears.

The family-owned firm has factories in China, India, the US, Germany and Brazil but most of its staff work in the UK in plants in Cheadle near Stoke-on-Trent, Rugeley in Staffordshire, Wrexham and in Foston near Derby.

Copyright Press Association 2011