Engine investment set to create jobs

The programme is set to get under way after the company was awarded £4.5 million towards the cost from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

Design and research into the new engine project will take place at JCB Power Systems in Foston, Derbyshire, where the company’s world-beating JCB Dieselmax engine is manufactured.

The development of the new engine – which will be installed in JCB’s own products and also sold to third parties – means almost 50 new advanced engineering jobs are available immediately at JCB Power Systems, with recruitment already under way.

The roles include engine design and development engineers, engine electronics and software engineers, quality technicians, manufacturing engineers, applications engineers, supplier development engineers and buyers. When the engine goes into production, more than 300 additional jobs will be created across JCB’s Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham factories between 2016 and 2021.

JCB Chief Executive Alan Blake said: “The new JCB engine will give our products a huge competitive edge across global markets which we anticipate will lead to substantially increased sales between 2016 and 2021.

“That rise in demand will result in the creation of an additional 300 positions at our UK factories in addition to almost 50 engineering roles we are recruiting for immediately.”

The company has recently developed the new JCB Ecomax T4 4.4 litre engine – the latest generation of the JCB Dieselmax engine. The investment has delivered an industry-first solution that eliminates the need for any exhaust after-treatment and delivers cost savings for customers. Indeed the 55kW (74hp) Ecomax engine requires no after-treatment for Tier 4 Final.