British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week opened JCB’s newest factory in India as the company strengthens its global manufacturing presence.

With 11 factories in the UK employing more than 7,500 people, JCB first began manufacturing in India in 1979, and is now the country’s leading producer of construction equipment.

Johnson visited JCB’s latest factory in Gujarat which will fabricate parts for global production lines. The new factory is located in Vadodara, near the port city of Surat on the West Coast of India.

At the opening, JCB chairman Lord Bamford said: “In its first year of full production, JCB India manufactured just 39 machines and, by next year, will have made a total of half a million. This country is now a major engineering power and being here has transformed our business. It has been a fabulous success, with so much more potential for growth. Such progress has only been possible by continued investment and the opening of our new Gujarat facility is an important step in growing our business here and around the world.”

“This new facility will create around 1,200 direct jobs when complete and thousands more in the supply chain,” according to  JCB India CEO and MD Deepak Shetty. “It will also be a benchmark in the industry on gender diversity and modern technologies in laser cutting, welding and machining. 

“Vadodara is a strategic location for JCB India given its proximity to ports and availability of raw materials and skilled talent.”

India has been JCB’s biggest market every year since 2007 and one in two of every construction machines sold in India today is made by JCB.  The new facility, which is on a 47-acre site, will be capable of processing 85,000 T of steel annually.