JCB celebrated the production of its 100,000th compact excavator this week. The building of this 100,000th machine comes as JCB continues to grow its market share in this popular North American equipment category. 

JCB’s first compact excavator – an 801 model weighing in at 3,307 lb/1.5 ton  – rolled off the production line in 1989, a year when the global manufacturer produced just over 450 machines. By 1992, JCB’s compact excavator range had expanded to four models with 1,000 units produced annually.

Today, the company celebrated the production of its 100,000th compact excavator – a 24,250 lb/10 ton 100C-1. It is one of 22 models in today’s JCB compact excavator range. 

The compact excavator sector is one of the most competitive areas of the global construction equipment market and is worth an estimated $5.85 billion annually. More than 20 major manufacturers compete for this valuable business, and with almost 200,000 sold worldwide each year, it is the single largest sector of the annual 700,000-unit construction equipment market.

“To have produced 100,000 compact excavators is something for the whole JCB team to celebrate, and with more additions to the range due later this year, we look forward to more growth in this important sector of the market,” said JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald.

JCB has recently capitalized on the growing opportunity presented by the compact excavator sector by investing $22 million in

manufacturing technology and new product development. Over the past two years, this investment has led to the launch of brand new models including the 67C-1, 85Z-1, 86C-1 and 100C-1 models which compete in the 13,000 – 22,000 lb/six, eight and 10 metric ton weight categories.