JCB (heavy equipment manufacturer)

J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited, commonly known as JCB, is a British multinational manufacturer of equipment for construction, agriculture, waste handling, and demolition. It was founded in 1945 and is based in Rocester, Staffordshire, England.[4]

The word "JCB" is also often used colloquially as a generic description for mechanical diggers and excavators, and the word appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, although it is still held as a trademark.[5]

History

Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Ltd. was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in October 1945 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. He rented a lock-up garage 12 by. In it, using a welding set which he bought second-hand for £1 from English Electric, he made his first vehicle, a tipping trailer from war-surplus materials. The trailer's sides and floor were made from steel sheet that had been part of air raid shelters.

Controversies and criticism

Violation of EU antitrust law

In December 2000, JCB was fined €39.6M by the European Commission for violating European Union antitrust law.[23] The fine related to restrictions on sales outside allotted territories, purchases between authorised distributors, bonuses and fees which restricted out of territory sales, and occasional joint fixing of resale prices and discounts across different territories.[24] JCB appealed the decision, with the European Court of First Instance upholding portions of the appeal and reducing the original fine by 25%. JCB appealed to the European Court of Justice but this final appeal was rejected in 2006,[25] with the court slightly increasing the reduced fine by €864,000.[26]

Tax avoidance

In 2017, a Reuters study of JCB group accounts found that between 2001 and 2013, the JCB group paid £577M to JCB Research, an unlimited company that does not have to file public accounts and which has only two shares, both owned by Anthony Bamford. JCB Research has been described as an obscure company, allegedly worth £27,000, but which donated £2M to the Conservative Party in the run up to the 2010 election, making it the largest donor. Ownership of the company which has never filed accounts is disputed by the Bamford brothers. According to a Guardian report, much of the Bamford money was held in shares in offshore trusts.[27] JCB Service, the main JCB holding company, is owned by a Dutch parent company, ‘Transmissions and engineering Netherlands BV’, which is ultimately controlled by “Bamford family interests”.[28][29] According to Ethical Consumer, JCB has six subsidiaries in jurisdictions considered to be tax havens, in Singapore, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Delaware and Switzerland.[30]

Involvement in Israeli settlements

On 12 February 2020, the United Nations published a database of all business enterprises involved in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Golan Heights.[31][32] JCB has been listed on the database in light of its involvement in activities related to "the supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructures".[33][31][32] The international community considers Israeli settlements built on land occupied by Israel to be in violation of international law.[34]

Bailout loan

In 2020, JCB received a £600M loan in emergency financial aid from the UK government, during the coronavirus pandemic, despite its ultimate ownership being in the Netherlands and having reported a record £447M profit the previous year. Its chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: “Although not a public company, we are eligible for CCF because of our contribution to the UK economy. We don’t expect to utilise it in the short-term but it gives us an insurance policy if there is further disruption from or second spike or other impact around the world.”[38][39]

Politics

JCB is a significant donor to the UK Conservative Party. Between 2007 and 2017, JCB and related Bamford entities donated £8.1m in cash or kind to the party.[40] Between 2019 and 2021 JCB donated a further £2.5m.[41]

In 2016, Anthony Bamford donated £100,000 to Vote Leave, the official pro-Brexit group,[42] and wrote to JCB's 6,500 staff explaining why he supported the UK leaving the EU.[43]

In October 2016, it was reported that JCB had left the CBI business lobby group in the summer of the same year due to the organisation's anti-Brexit stance.[42] In May 2021, Anthony Bamford rejected an invitation to rejoin CBI, after previously having called it a "waste of time" that "didn’t represent my business or private companies".

trade name	JCB
type	Private limited company
foundation	October 23, 1945
location	Rocester, Staffordshire
hq location country	England
founder	Joseph Cyril Bamford
key people	Anthony Bamford (Chairman) Graeme Macdonald (Chief Executive)
industry	Heavy equipment Agricultural machinery
products	Backhoes Excavators Dumpster Forklift trucks Loaders Telescopic handlers Tractors Diesel engines Diesel generators Axles and Gearboxes
revenue	£5.3 billion (2023)‡R1R‡
net income	£838 million (2023)
num employees	c. 10,000 (2023) ‡R2R‡‡R3R‡
website	https://www.jcb.com

JCB (heavy equipment manufacturer)

History

Products

JCB Dieselmax

Controversies and criticism

Violation of EU antitrust law

Tax avoidance

Involvement in Israeli settlements

Bailout loan

Politics

Media gallery

External links

References