British construction equipment manufacturer JCB has announced plans to double the size of its new US factory, in response to President Trump’s newly imposed 10% tariffs on all UK imports.
The Staffordshire-based company, one of Britain’s largest privately owned firms, will expand its planned San Antonio facility in Texas from 500,000 to 1 million sq ft, as part of a strategy to scale up American manufacturing operations and protect its market position in North America.
The $500 million plant, which is set to begin production in 2026, will employ up to 1,500 workers and manufacture Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment for the US market.
Lord Bamford, chairman of JCB, said: “President Trump has galvanised us into evaluating how we can make even more products in the USA, which has been an important market for JCB since we sold our first machine there in 1964.”
He added that the company was “well accustomed to change” and that the US remained “the largest market for construction equipment in the world”.
JCB already operates a plant in Savannah, Georgia, which employs around 1,000 people. The company purchased a 400-acre site for its new Texas facility last year, but the revised plans reflect an urgent need to localise production as the impact of new US trade tariffs looms.
Graeme Macdonald, JCB’s chief executive, said the tariffs would have a “significant impact” on the business but stressed that the expanded San Antonio factory would help mitigate those effects over the medium term.
“We are thankful that the tariff is only 10 per cent and we can only hope that the UK government will conclude negotiations on a trade deal in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has responded by urging calm, stating that the government remains “committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced”.
Founded in 1945, JCB now operates 22 manufacturing sites across four continents and employs more than 12,000 people globally. Owned by the billionaire Bamford family, the company reported a 14% rise in turnover in 2023 to £6.5 billion, and a 44% jump in pre-tax profits to £805.8 million.
JCB’s North American business has grown strongly, buoyed in part by significant contracts with the US military. In 2020, it secured a £217 million deal to supply a fleet of high-speed excavators to the military. More recently, the company received a $19 million order from the US Marine Corps to deliver up to 206 telescopic compact track loaders.
As the geopolitical landscape continues to shift, JCB’s latest move signals how British manufacturers may increasingly look to de-risk operations by investing in localised supply chains — and strengthening ties with key markets such as the United States.
