A-Plant invests €44 million in JCB machines

UK rental company A-Plant has placed an order for over 1000 machines from manufacturer JCB in a deal worth £35 million (€44 million) – the best order so far this year for JCB in the UK.

The fleet investment from A-Plant, which is owned by Ashtead Group, consisted mainly of mini and midi excavators and JCB Loadalls, as well as rough terrain forklifts, Teletruks and 3CX backhoe loaders.

And for the first time, A-Plant also ordered a number of JS130 tracked excavators, expanding its range into the 13-tonne market. JCB said the latest deal cames on the back of 800 machines ordered by A-Plant last year and a further 550 in 2012.

JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said, “This is a highly significant order and the biggest of the year so far for JCB in the UK. We are delighted that our relationship with A-Plant, which now stretches back more than 25 years, continues to go from strength to strength.

Fastest growing market

“The UK market is currently the fastest growing in the world and JCB is on course for its best performance in the UK since 2007 which helps to offset downturns in markets such as Brazil, India and Latin America.”

Asif Latief, A-Plant marketing and strategic accounts director, said, “This order allows us to meet with the increasing demand in the market place and continue to supply one of the youngest and most up to date fleets in the industry."

He added, “We have also added the new JS130 tracked excavators to our fleet to service the contract with the Environment Agency because of its environmental efficiencies which address issues such as CO2 emissions and use biodegradable hydraulic oil. This is a standard requirement on the Environment Agency’s excavators.”