British construction equipment giant JCB has announced plans to invest £100 million in modernising its flagship Rocester, Staffordshire facility — a move that marks one of the largest manufacturing overhauls in the UK in recent years. The investment aims to transform the company’s 75-year-old headquarters, originally converted from a cheese factory in 1950, into a state-of-the-art production hub.
The initiative will help safeguard around 8,000 jobs in the UK and enhance the plant’s production efficiency. JCB’s chairman, Lord Anthony Bamford, and chief executive Graeme Macdonald said the move was necessary to meet rising global demand and counter challenges such as soaring input costs, weak machinery demand, and US steel tariffs.
The revamp will include a £60 million automated powder-paint facility, upgraded production lines, and a redesigned factory layout to improve output and competitiveness. “You would never design a factory the way it’s laid out today,” said Macdonald. “We’re taking this opportunity to make it leaner, more efficient, and more cost competitive. We just couldn’t build enough — this investment will help us solve that problem.”
Founded in 1945 by Joseph Cyril Bamford, the company remains privately owned by the Bamford family and employs 19,000 people across 22 plants worldwide, generating nearly £6 billion in annual turnover.
The Rocester investment comes alongside JCB’s new $500 million (£373 million) factory in Texas, which will begin production next year. The US facility is expected to ease pressure on UK operations by handling a portion of American orders.
The announcement is a rare boost for Britain’s struggling manufacturing sector, which recently saw energy consumption fall to its lowest level in 50 years due to widespread factory shutdowns and closures.
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