JCB’s new hub

JCB is creating a new logistics hub on land next to the A500 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, UK.

The company – which currently has 11 plants in the UK and 11 overseas ­– said the facility would be the central receiving hub for supplier-bought components used in the manufacture and assembly of JCB machines. It will serve JCB’s UK plants as well as JCB’s compaction equipment factory in Germany and JCB’s newest manufacturing facility in Brazil.

The facility – which will be branded JCB – will be run by a global logistics partner. JCB claimed the warehouse would be one of the UK’s most environmentally-friendly buildings, with rainwater harvesting facilities, optimised use of natural light and the deployment of sustainable and recyclable materials in the construction and fitting out of the building.

JCB has agreed a long-term lease for the building and has been conditionally offered £2.9 million (€3.4 million) from the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund to support job creation on the site and to provide training programmes. In addition, the company has also signed an option to purchase an adjacent 3.1ha of land from Newcastle Borough Council to allow for future expansion.

The distribution hub will be commissioned this month, and by the end of the year it will employ around 60 people. Employment levels are expected to rise to more than 300 people once the facility becomes fully operational in the next two years.

JCB CEO Alan Blake said, “This site offers some huge advantages for JCB, particularly with transport links to the A500 and M6.”