JCB celebrates production of its one millionth engine while looking ahead to hydrogen combustion future

JCB has marked a major manufacturing milestone with the production of its one millionth engine. The company started production in 2004 at JCB Power Systems in Foston, Derbyshire, and expanded production to JCB India in 2010 with the opening of a dedicated plant in Ballabgarh, Delhi.

This milestone reflects the company's consistently strong growth. Starting with the production of just three engines a day 20 years ago, JCB now produces around 500 a day. The company specializes in the design, development, and manufacture of diesel engines and is now leading the development of hydrogen combustion engines.

Anthony Bamford, JCB Chairman, paid tribute to the JCB teams around the world who have played a part in the engine's success. "To have made one million engines in 20 years is quite some achievement. This really is a significant moment for our teams around the world, a real achievement. The JCB engine is very well respected around the world for its reliability and very well appreciated by our customers. JCB machines work in dirt and hot and cold climates, and from the moment they go to a customer, they are working hard and doing a full day's shift. The engine really is the beating heart of that reputation for reliability."

JCB Power Systems' engines have been key in setting world records. The first was in 2006 when the JCB Dieselmax streamliner, powered by two JCB engines, became the fastest diesel-powered car in the world, achieving a speed of 350.092 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats — a record that still stands. Then In 2019,  JCB's Fastrac tractor stormed into the record books as the world's fastest tractor with a speed of 135.191 mph — thanks to JCB's 7.2 litre, six-cylinder Dieselmax engine.

"It was a major decision at the time to make our own engines, and I was directly involved in that; it has paid off, and I'm very pleased we made the decision. As we hit the milestone of producing one million engines, the time is right to acknowledge the part my father played in the design, not only of this engine, but other engines which he designed with other people in the past. My father died in 2001 so our engines were running as prototypes by that time, and he had a lot to do with it. I'm thankful he was involved in this engine so many years ago."

Currently, a team of more than 150 engineers is engaged in developing hi-tech hydrogen combustion engines for use in JCB machinery as part of a £100 million investment. More than 120 engines have come off the production line so far, and many machines powered by these engines are now undergoing evaluation.