JCB inaugurated its newest factory in India and the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson was at hand to do the honours. The Vadodara plant entailed investment of 100 million pound and will fabricate parts for global production lines.

Also at hand was JCB Chairman Lord Bamford who was present at the of its first factory in Ballabgarh, near Delhi. Today JCB has six factories in India at locations including Jaipur and Pune. Lord Bamford said: “In its first year of full production, JCB India manufactured just 39 machines and by next year will have made a total of half a million. The opening of our new Gujarat facility is an important step in growing our business here and around the world.”

JCB India CEO and MD Deepak Shetty said: “This new facility will create around 1,200 direct jobs when complete and thousands more in the supply chain. It will also be a benchmark in the industry on gender diversity and modern technologies in laser cutting, welding and machining.”

With 11 factories in the UK employing more than 7,500 people, JCB first began manufacturing in India in 1979 and is now one of India’s leading manufacturers of construction equipment. According to a company press note, India has been JCB’s biggest market every year since 2007 and one in two of every construction machine sold in the country is made by JCB.  The new facility, which is on a 47-acre site, will be capable of processing 85,000 tonnes of steel annually.

The new plant will be a gender diverse manufacturing facility with 50 percent of those employed being women. JCB India has also set up a skills centre to train young professionals on diverse job roles in manufacturing.