.JCB CEO Alan Blake and MAGNI TH president Riccardo Magni seal the deal.

Construction equipment maker JCB has signed a long-term agreement to supply engines for a new range of rotating telescopic handlers to be launched by an Italian manufacturer.

MAGNI Telescopic Handlers, headed by Riccardo Magni, will produce up to 1,000 machines a year from a new 6,000 sqm production facility in Castelfranco Emilia, near Modena.

The agreement to supply the Ecomax engine to MAGNI TH is another significant milestone for JCB and follows a recently announced GBP3 million (USD4.7 million) a year deal to provide Johnston Sweepers, the world's leading manufacturer of street cleansing equipment, with the JCB Ecomax engine.

JCB CEO Alan Blake says MAGNI TH, also a family-owned business, "shares the same core values as JCB and is driven by innovation".

The Magni Rotos will be powered by the JCB Ecomax Tier 4i engine, which offers fuel savings of up to 10%. There will be seven models in the range, offering payloads of between 4 and 6 T and with lift heights of between 18 and 30 metres. The models will be equipped with the JCB Ecomax Tier 4 interim engine for all the present and future power ranges on an exclusive basis.

The first of the products go into production in the Northern spring and a number of the models will feature patented stabiliser technology exclusive to MAGNI TH design.

MAGNI TH president Riccardo Magni says: "JCB's innovative approach to Tier 4i engine development brings real fuel saving benefits to customers and my 30 years' experience in the design and production of rotos together with JCB Ecomax engines will be a great force to be reckoned with."

JCB is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer by volume and employs over 10,000 staff in 22 plants around the world.

MAGNI TH has deep roots in manufacturing, with Pietro Magni setting up a family business in Castelfranco Emilia for the manufacture of hydraulic cranes and telescopic forklifts.