JCB marks 60th anniversary of JC Balls & Sons with unique X-Series crawler excavator with custom livery
JCB has presented long-standing customer JC Balls & Sons with a unique X-Series crawler excavator to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The milestone also represents 60 years of the two family businesses working in partnership after founder Jim Balls established JC Balls & Sons with a JCB 3 backhoe in 1963. It has bought JCB since then.
At 95 years of age, Jim Balls is still a director of the company which has become the leading contractor and plant contractor in the East Midlands, specializing in earthmoving and bulk excavation. Their children Kevin and Christopher, Kevin’s children Carly-Ann Balls, Hollie Marriott and Tom Balls, and Christopher’s children Jamie Balls and Lisa Freeston also now work in the business.
Family and friends met with representatives from JCB and dealer TC Harrison JCB at a special birthday event held at the JCB Golf & Country Club. At the celebration, JCB delivered the latest order from JC Balls & Sons: a one-of-a-kind 220X crawler excavator. The machine has been decked out in stunning bespoke livery, with a white cab, red bucket and retro lettering, in a nod to iconic JCB machines of the past. It has also been named after ‘Mary’, the wife of Jim Balls, after whom the company’s first JCB excavator was also named.
JC Balls & Sons director Chris Balls said: “Our family businesses have worked closely together for 60 years, and we are honored that JCB and TC Harrison JCB have marked the occasion with this event. Our business has grown and has expanded over the past 60 years with your help and support along the way, and long may the association continue.
“We are absolutely blown away by this special new machine. Our first JCB digger was a JCB 6 with red undercarriage, red bucket and white cab and it was named after my mum – Mary. So with that style we are returning a bit of history.
“We first bought a 220X when it came out, and we’ve continued to buy them ever since. The operators love them. They love the comfort and the size of the cab, and we’ve had really, really good reliability over the long time we’ve had X series models. We’d recommend them to anyone.
