JCB director Jo Bamford recently spent a week in Australia meeting some of the British heavy machinery manufacturer’s customers with JCB Construction Equipment Australia (CEA) executive general manager Hylton Taylor.
“The visit was a great opportunity to meet with Australian customers in the construction, hire and rental markets and talk to them directly about their industries,” says Bamford, who is the son of JCB chairman Lord Bamford and grandson of JCB founder Joseph Cyril Bamford.
“JCB is very committed to understanding, in detail, the markets in which it sells and strives very hard to offer innovative machine solutions which suit exactly the conditions of the countries where they operate,” he adds.
“JCB is already the No.1 supplier of backhoe loaders and telescopic handlers in Australia and, given our expanding product range, there are many opportunities for growth for JCB in this very important market.”
Taylor says the visits, which gave customers the opportunity to speak directly to JCB and JCB CEA about what they are looking for in new product development, were very productive.
“We met with the heads of excavation and hire companies to really get to the heart of their businesses and understand what drives them and what they need in order to improve productivity and profitability in their operations,” he says.
“Many of the latest JCB products in Australia have been specifically modified for the industry. The latest skid steer loaders, for example, have been designed with an extra powerful and efficient cooling system that makes the machine resilient in the Australian heat and also assists in keeping the engine components clean in dusty environments.
“JCB recognises that there are specific needs here and that what works in the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily work for Australian conditions,” Taylor adds.
JCB was founded in a lock-up garage in the market town of Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England, 70 years ago. It now has 22 plants around the world, employs more than 12,000 people and offers more than 300 products.
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