JCB (company)

J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited

Type	Private
Industry	Heavy equipment
Founded	1945
Headquarters	Rocester, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Key people	Anthony Bamford, Chairman
Products	Construction, agriculture, waste handling and demolition machinery
Revenue	£2.75 billion (2012)
Number of employees	Approximately 11,000
Website	http://jcb.com

J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited, universally known as JCB, is a British multinational corporation, with headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, manufacturing equipment for construction, agriculture, waste handling and demolition. It is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. It produces over 300 types of machine, including diggers (backhoes), excavators, tractors and diesel engines. It has 22 factories across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America; its products are sold in over 150 countries.

JCB was founded in 1945 by Joseph Cyril Bamford, after whom it is named; it continues to be owned by the Bamford family. In the UK and India, '' is often used colloquially as a generic description for mechanical diggers and excavators and now appears in the Oxford English Dictionary, although it is still held as a trademark.

JCB was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in October 1945 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. He rented a lock-up garage 3.7 by 4.6 m (12 by 15 ft). In it, using a welding set which he bought second-hand for £1 from English Electric, he made his first vehicle, a tipping trailer from war-surplus materials. The trailer's sides and floor were made from steel sheet that had been part of air-raid shelters. On the same day as his son Anthony was born, he sold the trailer at a nearby market for £45 (plus a part-exchanged farm cart) and at once made another trailer. At one time he made vehicles in Eckersley's coal yard in Uttoxeter. The first trailer and the welding set have been preserved.