JCB launches €36 million engine programme
07 December 2011
UK-based manufacturer JCB has launched a £31 million (€36 million) project to develop a new generation off-highway engine, which will go into production in 2016.
Design and research will take place at JCB Power Systems in Foston, Derbyshire, where the company's Dieselmax engine is manufactured.
Production of the engines - which will be installed in JCB's own products and also sold to third parties - will take place across JCB's Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham factories.
The company was awarded £4.5 million (€5.2 million) towards the cost of the programme from the UK Government's Regional Growth Fund.
The investment comes after JCB spent around £80 million (€93 million) developing its current generation of Dieselmax engines - the new JCB Ecomax T4 4.4 l engine, which comply with the European Stage IIIB and US Tier IV interim legislation, while the 55kW model will also comply with the upcoming Tier 4 Final legislation without requiring an after-treatment system.
JCB chief executive Alan Blake said the manufacturer had focused on fuel-saving, clean and efficient engines that meet the strict emissions laws in Europe and the US since it began manufacturing its Dieselmax engine range at its Derbyshire plant in 2004.
This year the company also opened a new engine production facility in India for the production of fuel-efficient engines for its Indian-built products.
JCB said its own engines now power more than 70% of its equipment range.
