March would be etched to history as JCB celebrated a unique milestone as its 750,000th backhoe loader rolled off the production line. The 750,000th model is a Special Edition of JCB’s latest 3CX backhoe loader, bearing a unique livery and comprehensive specification.
The landmark machine was driven off the line at the company’s factory in Rocester, Staffordshire – the very location where the first JCB backhoe was manufactured almost 70 years ago. It was in 1953 that company founder, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE, conceived the idea of the JCB backhoe loader, which created, for the first time, a single machine which combined a front shovel and rear excavator arm. In its first full year of production in 1954, just 35 of the machines were produced and it took more than 20 years for the first 50,000 to be made.
Despite its maturity, the backhoe loader remains hugely popular in terms of global construction equipment sales – even though new and competitive products have evolved over the past 67 years. And JCB’s iconic backhoe is the biggest selling in the world – and has been for 19 consecutive years. The company’s first backhoe was the JCB Mark I and the concept quite literally went on to change the shape of the world, mechanising many jobs, which had previously been done by hand.
The current generation of backhoe loaders feature automatic deployment of stabilisers on unlevel ground, a Smooth Ride System which cushions the loader and improves load retention when travelling and a TorqueLock feature which reduces on-road fuel consumption by up to 25%. The Backhoe Loader range by JCB leads the world in performance, innovation and reliability. 2DX Backhoe Loader takes versatility to previously inaccessible areas with its compact size. 3DX ecoXcellence, 3DX Xtra ecoXcellence, 3DX Super ecoXcellence and 4DX ecoXcellence Backhoes are the heavyweights of the range setting new standards in operator comfort, fuel efficiency & performance with the Advanced LiveLink Telematics Technology.
