Chris Nowell (second from right) with the Barloworld team (L-R) Mick Davies, regional service manager; Scott Frankham, regional sales manager; Kevin Sharp, key accounts manager and Tony Trow, field service manager.

JCB has received an order for 94 industrial forklifts from a company it has just appointed to be its materials handling fleet service provider.

The machines, made at JCB Utility Products in Cheadle, Staffordshire, are now being put to work by Barloworld Handling at JCB's 11 plants in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wales. Barloworld Handling has agreed to a five-year contract to manage the construction equipment manufacturer's 310-strong materials handling fleet in the UK.

The "multi-million pound" deal consists of a mix of diesel and LPG powered three tonne and 3.5 tonne capacity machines.

JCB Industrial general manager Chris Nowell says the order is "one of the largest-ever deals done for JCB Teletruks" and one of the single largest industrial forklift orders in the UK this year.

"We have a great deal of experience working with Barloworld. The group mobile plant fleet has been reduced wherever possible in the drive for greater efficiencies and improved performance," Nowell says.

The total fleet, consisting of Hyster forklifts, tow tractors, side-loaders and JCB Teletruks, performs various materials handling duties at the JCB sites, including the Loadall Division and JCB World Parts, where Hyster VNA machines are used to support a fast 24-hour picking operation. The order's value was not disclosed.