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£5m JCB museum opens

This unique permanent exhibition has been developed at JCB’s world HQ at Rocester, Staffordshire, and charts the company back to the 1820s.

JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford, who was born on the very day his late father (Joseph Cyril Bamford) started the company on October 23, 1945, spoke of his pride at the new £5m customer experience centre’s development. Also of its pivotal role in winning new business, particularly in the emerging markets.

He said: “This is an extremely exciting development. It’s the first time that the history of our company and my family’s roots in manufacturing, has been told in the form of a permanent exhibition.

“We are an innovative company and our success over the past 66 years has been driven by that innovation, which is at the very core of ‘The Story of JCB.’ It is a showcase of our unique story and something we can all be very proud of.

“The exhibition is also a very powerful selling tool for our customers, especially in the emerging markets where a greater appreciation of our heritage and pedigree will help them understand our business and why we are the right choice for their future machine requirements.”

The exhibition covers 2500m² of floor space and includes 14 zones which take the visitor on a journey through time. Starting in the 1820s, when the Bamford family were blacksmiths in Uttoxeter, through to the present day and JCB’s ECO range of fuel-saving machines.

The area occupied by the ‘Story of JCB’ exhibition housed the JCB Design Centre and Production Drawing Office from 1970 until the early 1980s, when product-specific business units were introduced and designers and draughtsmen relocated.

Visitors today are taken by Mr Bamford’s old office, which he used from 1970 until retirement in 1975. It gave him a complete window on the world of JCB as he could access his design management and draughtsmen and from the window at the rear he could view progress of product development in the research workshop below. The office still contains Mr Bamford’s original desk, chairs and conference table. Visitors will also see a bronze bust of Mr JCB on his desk, which was a gift from his workforce in 1964, the year in which he presented in excess of £250,000 in productivity bonuses to his staff.

The exhibition is also populated by 10 of the landmark JCB machines through the ages, which had to be craned through the roof as the attraction took shape.