The purpose-built fleet of heavy excavators and veteran backhoes will feature fundamental upgrades across the range.
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JCB, the innovative manufacturer of construction, agricultural and demolition equipment, has unveiled its latest generation of machines which it hopes will further cement the British multinational at the forefront of the industry.
In today’s fast-paced and aggressive manufacturing landscape, efficient, sustainable and cost-effective management is critical to success.
The new and advanced machines will be gradually introduced to the UAE, Middle East and global markets over the next three months, starting this March.
The show-stopper is the latest high-tech JCB JS385LC HD crawler excavator model that has been meticulously researched and designed for mining and quarrying in the civil engineering sectors.
JCB, whose sole distributor in the UAE is Galadari-owned GBS Equipment Solutions (GBES), also unveiled the updated version of its entire 3CX range of veteran ‘backhoes’, which includes updated features that help customers to reduce costs and increase efficiency, with improved comfort, versatility and productivity when loading, moving and digging.
During the elite unveiling of JCB’s new superstars, James McMillian, Global Product Manager for Large Excavators and Edward Lovatt, Business Head of Backhoes and Site Dumpers gave Khaleej Times an insight into the exciting new machine generation
McMillian explained: “JCB has been making large construction equipment since 1945. Obviously, “We have a very strong dealer network in the UAE for our products which include backhoes and excavators.
“Given the range of products we have, JCB sees the UAE as a market with great potential for the machines we have developed and continue to develop. It is a great opportunity to test and develop our machines to suit the needs of our customers”.
Commenting on the partnership with Galadari-owned GBS Equipment Solutions (GBES), the sole and authorized distributor of JCB machines, products and parts in the UAE region, McMillian added: “Galadari is one of our distributors who we value very much as they are forward-thinking. “We have a regional team that works closely with them and with me as well. We work as closely as we can in a dealer-partner relationship to ensure that we provide them with the highest level of support and assistance as we continue developing interesting machines for the construction industry.”
“We also transfer as much knowledge as we have so that GBES is fully aware of our products and the huge amount of things you can do with them and to ensure customers are happy with their purchase and look forward to buying their next JCB machine in the future,” McMillian said.
Edward Lovatt echoed the sentiments of his JCB colleague, saying: “Galadari has been a key supporter of this launch event and has helped us with machines, location and logistics.
“The Galadari business has been a long-standing JCB dealer and a very successful dealer for us here in Dubai and the UAE. We look forward to further developing our partnership with the upcoming launch of our new generation of construction”.
Explaining the choice of Dubai to launch the JCB prototypes which are in full-scale production and will be phased into the market over the next three months, Lovatt said: “We are absolutely delighted to be in Dubai. What a better place to the world to launch a new range of backhoes designed expressly for the non-legislative market?
“Dubai is a great place for great product launches.”
Lovatt also explained the process of phasing out existing JCB machines as they plan to smoothly launch the futuristic new generation of backhoes and excavators that are widely used in the UAE and the Middle East.
“We are phasing out the previous generation of machines until March and are in full production with the new Sitemaster ‘3CX’ and ‘3CX PLUS’ models initially until April and then the high spec 3CX ‘PRO’ model will gradually introduce. May,” he revealed. “All variants will be available by the end of May.”
Highlighting the key areas of development the machines have undergone, Lovatt enthusiastically detailed how JCB is taking the driving experience to a new level.
Edward Lovatt, head of business, backhoes and dumpers with James Mcmillian, global product manager for large excavators, during the revised range event, featuring three JCB models – the 3CX, 3CX Plus and 3CX PRO in Dubai on Friday. March 1, 2024. Photo by Shihab
“The product launch has been about the operator and about the individual buying the machine,” he said. “We care about the man who spends hours on our machines, so we’ve made them easy to use and more comfortable. We have introduced a new operator environment to deliver in these areas.
“The person who buys the machine has different requirements. It is concerned with productivity, how much work the machine can do and how much it costs to do it.
“So what’s in the new generation of JCB backhoes,” continued Lovatt. “We have a new electrical system and a new hydraulic system that improves productivity and significantly improves fuel efficiency.
“In order to achieve, the machine is 24 percent more efficient in an average duty cycle than our main competitors and we are confident of maintaining this number.
“To give you an example of some of the metrics this machine can achieve, it can excavate over 150 tons of sand and rock per hour and at the end of the loader we can load 20 tons onto a truck in less than 5 minutes and we can grade stone faster than a 14-ton excavator.
“These are incredibly impressive statistics,” Lovatt said.
Operator comfort improves productivity
“For the operator, we have made the environment more comfortable and easier to use, because that does matter. So what we have done is introduce a new air-conditioned cab that is capable of operating in elevated ambient temperatures of 55 degrees Celsius when loading and digging,” he said.
“In the cab itself, the ‘PRO’ variant includes an ISO excavator control pattern for familiarizing excavator operators. We know this is important because operators are hard to come by and good operators they’re even harder to find.”
The new JCB machines have also introduced, for the first time, a new steering column to make transitions between digging and loading easy and comfortable for the operator to get in and out of the cab with the titled steering wheel (can endorse this because even someone like me could get in and out without breaking a sweat).
Lovatt continued; “We’ve gone to town with the cabin redesign. We’ve increased storage space and designated cell phone stations with a charging point and Bluetooth radio.
“So the new range of JCB machines is a big step forward and as head of the backhoe business I’m really, really excited about the new range and we know the market will jump on board.”
