JCB expands North American presence with wheel loader, excavator
In light of the upcoming spring season, JCB held a press event March 5 at its headquarters in Savannah, Ga., to debut its new equipment.
North America is the company’s third largest market, and JCB plans to take advantage of the region’s ever-growing opportunities.
“JCB’s global sales were helped by a strong North American construction equipment market that grew by 13 percent in 2014,” said Arjun Mirdha, president and CEO of JCB North America.
With 97 dealers in about 300 locations, the company said it’s focusing on responding to the region’s needs.
JCB plans to do so with its new wheel loaders and excavators.
Rounding out JCB’s line of wheel loaders is its 457 wheel loader, which is the first machine to feature the company’s JCB CommandPlus cab.
The CommandPlus cab includes JCB’s Command Driving Position, as well as an adjustable steering column and seat-mounted hydraulic controls. In addition, it provides increased internal space, additional storage room and LED lighting.
“It’s a massive improvement on the previous cab,” says Pete Gallagher, product sales manager, wheel loading shovels. “We’ve really focused on the operator and what the operator wants.”
The Tier 4 Final wheel loader is powered by an MTU engine and does not require DPF. The JCB 457 also comes equipped with a LiveLink telematics system, which provides operators with remote access to real-time fuel consumption and machine working data.
JCB builds on its line of excavators with the introduction of Tier 4 Final engines in all of its JS models.
The excavators now feature the company’s EcoMax Tier 4 Final engine, which employs selective catalytic reduction with a diesel exhaust fluid reduction. The tanks now have a larger filler neck, which allows faster refueling, as well as a pop-up in-tank fuel indicator.
In addition, the JS220 series machines feature the latest generation of Kawasaki hydraulic pumps and a 34 percent larger cooling pack.
The company also showcased new backhoe loaders, skid-steers and compact excavators.