JCB has sealed a GBP18million (USD29.2 million) two-year deal to supply hundreds of Loadall telescopic handlers to Fork Rent plc, one of the UK's leading plant hire firms.
The two companies have worked together for 17 years but the order, one of the biggest in JCB's history, will give Fork Rent up to 500 units from JCB's updated Loadall range.
Fork Rent chairman Trudi Nicholls said the machines' health and safety features and JCB's support network secured the deal.
"JCB has always been at the forefront of innovation and the new machines not only give high levels of operator comfort, but improved visibility, which is an issue we take very seriously," she said.
JCB launched the latest version of the side engine Loadall range at the Intermat show in Paris in May. A JCB spokesman said Fork Rent was one of the first companies to buy the new machines in bulk.