A-Plant places £27 million order with JCB

UK-based rental company A-Plant has ordered over 800 machines from JCB in a deal worth more than £27 million (US$41 million).

The order is for a fleet of micro, mini and midi excavators and 240 Loadall telescopic handlers. JCB will manufacture the machines in the UK, with delivery to A-Plant’s depot network starting this month through JCB dealer Greenshields JCB.

Among the machines ordered are 1 tonne class JCB 8016 and 8018 mini excavators, which have just gone into production.

The latest deal comes on the back of 550 machines ordered by A-Plant last year – and means the company has now bought 7,500 machines in a trading relationship with JCB stretching back 25 years.

JCB CEO Alan Blake said the order was the biggest volume deal of the year for JCB from a UK customer.

“It is a huge vote of confidence not only in the quality, reliability and fuel efficiency of JCB’s products, but also in the UK hire market,” he added.

A-Plant director of purchasing and fleet management Andrew Winlow said the company – which has a hire fleet of over 110,000 pieces of equipment – was committed to offering the newest, most productive and fuel-efficient machines on the market.

“With the Loadalls powered by the innovative Ecomax engine, A-Plant and its customers both benefit; customers will use less fuel and A-Plant won’t be faced with the expense of maintaining diesel particulate filters (DPF) or the addition of Ad Blu to the engine,” Mr Winlow said.

The Loadall telescopic handlers powered by JCB’s Ecomax engine, which complies with EU Stage IIIB/US Tier 4 Interim emissions legislation without the use of a DPF or the need to add aftertreatment urea fluids such as Ad Blue. JCB claims its Loadalls use 7% less fuel than outgoing models.