JCB, headquartered in the UK, is set to double the size of a new factory currently under construction in Texas. The company confirmed today that the newly announced tariffs will impact its business in the short term. It follows President Trump’s April 2nd announcement of a sweeping set of tariffs worldwide.
JCB has been manufacturing in the United States for 50 years, and last year bought 400 acres of land in San Antonio after recognizing the need to produce even more machines in North America, where the company’s existing manufacturing plant in Savannah, Ga., has operated for 25 years and employs around 1,000 people.
The original plan for a 500,000-square-foot factory in San Antonio has now been revised, and JCB is forging ahead with plans to double its size to one million square feet. The new $500 million plant is due to start production next year, employ up to 1,500 people, and build on JCB’s growth in North America.
Today, JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford said: “JCB has been in business for 80 years this year, and we are well accustomed to change. The United States is the world’s largest market for construction equipment. President Trump has galvanized us into evaluating how we can make even more products in the USA, which has been an important market for JCB since we sold our first machine in 1964.”
JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald added: “In the short term, the imposition of tariffs will have a significant impact on our business. However, in the medium term, our planned factory in San Antonio will help to mitigate the impact. We are thankful that the tariff is only 10 per cent and we can only hope that the UK Government will conclude negotiations on a trade deal in the coming days and weeks.”
