The facility will employ over 300 people in the next two years.

The planned JCB facility in North Staffordshire will create hundreds of new jobs in the British county where the construction equipment giant was founded many years ago.

JCB, which currently has 11 plants in the UK and 11 overseas, and is the world's third-largest construction equipment maker, is establishing a new logistics hub next to the A500 in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The facility will open in the environmentally friendly Blue Planet warehouse on the Chatterley Valley site. JCB has agreed on a long-term lease for the building and has been conditionally offered GBP2.9 million (USD4.4 million) from the Government's Regional Growth Fund to support job creation on the site and to provide training programs.

The company has also signed an option to purchase an adjacent 7.7 ac. (3.1 ha) of land from Newcastle Borough Council for future expansion.

To be commissioned this month, the new distribution hub will employ around 60 people by the end of the year. Once the facility is fully operational in the next two years, the facility will employ over 300 people.

JCB CEO Alan Blake explains that Staffordshire is where JCB's business started nearly 68 years ago. "I'm delighted that our latest expansion is creating jobs in the county which has been our home for so long. Staffordshire is a fantastic place to do business and this site offers some huge advantages for JCB, particularly with transport links to the A500 and M6."

British Business Secretary Vince Cable says Staffordshire needs growth that is more evenly balanced. "That is why we are supporting firms such as JCB through the Regional Growth Fund, which will enhance their infrastructure and bring long-term employment to the area.

"Our recent construction industrial strategy underlines the importance of the sector to the economy and is a further boost to the industry as a whole. It will attract further investment and create jobs at an important manufacturing hub in Staffordshire."

The facility will be run by a global logistics partner, which is now undertaking a recruitment drive to fill a number of positions which are available immediately.

The facility will be branded JCB, and will be the central receiving hub for supplier-bought components used in the manufacture and assembly of JCB machines. It will serve JCB's UK plants as well as JCB's compaction equipment factory in Germany and JCB's newest manufacturing facility in Brazil.

Blue Planet was developed by Gazeley and achieved the world's first BREEAM 'Outstanding' certification for a logistics building. It combines a highly specified logistics warehouse with cutting-edge sustainable technologies, each designed to deliver significant operational cost savings to the end user together with reduced carbon emissions.

Gazeley CEO Pat McGillycuddy says: "We are absolutely delighted to have signed JCB at Blue Planet in order to pave the way for their continued growth and global expansion."