JCB building a bright future here

Mary Carr Mayle
JCB photo A view of JCB North America's 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Pooler, where the construction equipment company builds 17 models of skid steer loaders for worldwide distribution; the new 3CX Global backhoe loader, designed for the North American rental market, as well as the High Mobility Engineer Excavator for U.S. military.

Fifteen years ago, JCB was hardly a household name in Savannah.

The private, family owned British heavy equipment manufacturer was No. 1 across the pond, its name nearly synonymous with the backhoe loader it invented in 1952 - now one of the most widely used pieces of construction equipment in the world.

But in the late 90s, although the company had been in the United States for quite some time, the name JCB was not as well-known on this side of the Atlantic.

JCB set out to change that in 1999, announcing it would build a 500,000-square-foot high tech manufacturing facility - the company's first in North America - on 1,000-plus acres fronting Interstate 95 in Pooler.

Today, as the company prepares to celebrate 15 years here, the picture has changed considerably. Now the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer, JCB is a presence - its bright yellow machines dotting construction and industrial sites, farming and landscaping operations all around the country.

Not that those 15 years have always been easy.

Clouds on horizon

On Jan. 1, 2000, the first backhoe loader built by JCB in North America came off the manufacturing floor at JCB's new North American headquarters. By early 2005, the facility boasted nearly 400 employees, 25 machinery units coming off the line daily and a 51 percent jump in U.S. sales.

Less than three years later, the company announced record pre-tax profits for 2007 of $374 million on worldwide revenues of $4.5 billion, making it the most successful year in the company's history.

But there were clouds on the horizon, as company officials cautioned that the growing credit crunch, combined with rapidly rising prices of steel and oil, could pose an economic challenge going forward.

"We made great progress in 2007," John Patterson, then CEO and chairman of JCB North America, said in June 2008. "But that's history. We don't like to rest on our laurels."

Those words would prove prophetic as less than six months later, the rapid decline in the global and North American construction equipment markets forced the Savannah operation to lay off 120 employees, about a quarter of its workforce.

Although the next few years were difficult, with even more layoffs coming in 2009, Patterson had no doubts the company would come through the recession.

"There is a long tradition at JCB of reinventing ourselves," Patterson - now Chairman of JCB Inc. - said last week. "In fact, our strongest and best investment periods tend to be during recessions."

In this case, the decision was made to restructure the Pooler plant - still JCB's only manufacturing facility in the United States - to become responsible for the engineering, design and manufacture of a new line of skid steer loaders for worldwide distribution.

"That product has proven to be the backbone of this plant," Patterson said. "Engineered, designed and built right here, our skid steer loaders are considered to be the safest and most innovative on the market, a real testament to the talent and skill of our local workforce."

'Back stronger than ever'

It's a workforce that has grown from a low of fewer than 250 at the depths of the recession to more than 600 today, said Arjun Mirdha, president and CEO of JCB North America.

"We had the most challenging years in our North American history during 2009 and 2010, but we've come back stronger than ever," Mirdha said in an interview last week.

"We've recently put up two big new facilities in India and another in Brazil," he said. "We've invested more than $60 million right here in Pooler in the throes of the downturn to restructure our North American plant."

Mirdha is particularly proud of the fact that, in addition to now producing 18 models of skid steer and compact track loaders, the Pooler facility remains the exclusive site for manufacture of the High Mobility Engineer Excavator - or HMEE.

A high-speed backhoe loader specially designed by JCB for military engineering work, the HMEE combines the capabilities of JCB's popular backhoe loader with the company's high-speed Fastrac agricultural tractor, the only one to sport full suspension and anti-lock brakes.

Used extensively by U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East since 2008, the HMEE features computer diagnostics, run-flat tires, roll-over protection and a two-person, armor-plated cab. It can travel at speeds of up to 60 mph, lift more than 2 tons, dig to a depth of 13 feet and can be transported in the military's Hercules C-130 aircraft.

The HMEE's strategic capabilities include opening up roads, counter-mobility, creating obstacles for the enemy and survivability for U.S. troops - providing water and supplies, building berms and laying electrical lines.

"One of the first things the HMEE was used for was to clear roadblocks the enemy was setting up to stop convoys in their tracks," he said. "With a HMEE at the front of a convoy, that didn't happen."

JCB was recently awarded an extended contract to produce HMEEs for the U.S. Army through 2018, and also produces the vehicle for NATO allies, he said.

"That's a big deal for us, especially with Fort Stewart right down the road," he said. "We have employees who have been or are currently deployed to Afghanistan. Building equipment that helps protect them is a huge source of pride across our entire organization."

And still growing

After coming out of the downturn, JCB has enjoyed record success worldwide, Mirdha said.

"Since 2010, the construction equipment market has been up over 75 percent," he said. "JCB has been up 193 percent during the same period.

Mirdha credits that impressive number to JCB's refusal to sit on the sidelines waiting for the recession to run its course.

"In the depths of the recession, while most companies were just holding on, JCB was actually investing, researching and creating new products," Mirdha said. "So, when the recession eased, we were ready with new products and a retooled facility."

Another area JCB addressed was its parts warehousing.

"We had one parts warehouse in the country in 2010; now we have four," Mirdha said. "The last warehouse, which we recently opened in Chicago, is twice the size of the other three combined."

With 600-plus well-paying jobs already filled, the company continues to recruit the best and brightest, Mirdha said, hinting that JCB's next major project is already on the drawing board.

While the private company isn't required to publish its numbers, Mirdha did say that 2014 has been JCB's best year ever in North America in terms of sales, market share and profit.

But it's a record that Mirdha hopes won't last past the end of this year.

"I have high hopes for 2015," he said. "I see the North American market - the U.S., Canada and Mexico to a lesser extent - remaining strong. I think we will grow market share even more."

The formula isn't really complicated, he said.

"It's our investments during the downturn and our investments in customer support, along with our investments in our people through training and leadership development -those, plus the growth of our distribution network are the things that have made the difference and allowed us to far outpace the market's growth.

"We plan to continue doing what we've been doing, so I don't see the future as anything but bright."