JCB last week announced that the company enjoyed its most successful year ever in 2006 by setting new records for pre-tax profits, revenue, machine sales and global market share.

“Last year was undoubtedly the most successful year in JCB’s history,” said JCB managing director and CEO John Patterson. “We not only benefited from growth in the global construction equipment market but more importantly we have grown faster than the market.”

In 2006, pre-tax profits rose to $290 million, an increase of 35 percent compared to 2005 pre-tax profits of $220 million. Also in 2006 the company’s revenue increased to a record $3.5 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2005; and machine sales increased to more than 55,000, up 10,000 units from a total of 45,000 in 2005.

In addition, JCB reported its world market share rose in 2006 to 10.4 percent from 9.6 percent, and was No. 1 in market share with its lines of backhoe loaders and Loadall telescopic handlers.

In Pune, India, JCB built a new factory to produce excavators, wheeled loading shovels and compaction equipment. The plant is adjacent to a fabrication factory, which is now in its second year of production. Last year also marked the opening of a new factory in Shanghai, China, for the production of backhoe loaders and midi excavators.

During 2006 JCB unveiled a range of new products, including five new zero-tailswing mini excavators; eight new additions to its range of tracked excavators; new Robot skid-steer loaders; Mini CX and Midi CX backhoe loaders and a range of diesel-powered generators. JCB’s range of wheeled loaders was also expanded with new compact models. The company also expanded its Groundcare equipment range to include five new compact tractors.

In 2007, JCB says it has experienced increasing success in the emerging markets, particularly Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and South America. India is also performing strongly.

“In the last three years JCB has become a truly global manufacturer with the investment of over $240 million in new factories in India, China and Germany,” Patterson said. “The investment in manufacturing capacity has been one of the drivers of our growth along with innovation, the continuous development of new products and a strategy of increasing our focus on emerging markets where the potential for growth is enormous."

JCB’s North American headquarters in Savannah, Ga., have also achieved a number of milestones in 2006 including the integration of its operations in South America, the United States and Canada under one umbrella and the celebration of its 40^th year of doing business in Canada.

In line with the global growth, JCB has added a number of new positions based out of the Savannah facility and plans to continue that trend through 2008 because of its increased production programs. In 2006, JCB added the production of both telescopic handlers, and the High Mobility Engineer Excavator (HMEE), the machine specifically designed for the US Army, to the Savannah manufacturing facility. Four products including backhoes, skid-steer loaders, telescopic handlers and the HMEE are now made in America. Driven by these additions comes a significant increase in production volume. The Savannah manufacturing facility saw a 62-percent increase in production volume in 2006 and it is now exporting 40 percent of the machines it produces to South America to support the integration of that market earlier this year.

JCB will be delivering the first HMEE to the US Army this month. The order, which is the largest single contract awarded to JCB to date, has been increased to more than 600 machines.

“Being able to satisfy the US Army speaks volumes to the quality of both the product and the product support being delivered out of the Savannah facility,” Patterson said.

John Patterson, managing director and CEO of JCB, last week said the company experienced its best year ever in 2006.