Joseph Cyril Bamford, the colourful founder of the JC Bamford Excavator Group of Companies and the man whose initials became a dictionary definition for a mechanical digger, has died aged 84.
Bamford died peacefully on 1 March in hospital while visiting London.
Joe Bamford was a legend in the British construction industry. Born on 21 June 1916 in Uttoxeter,Staffordshire. In October 1945 he set up on his own in a lock-up garage in Uttoxeter. He made his first product there, a tipping trailer using army surplus material and a second-hand welding machine. He sold it at Uttoxeter market for £45.
From humble beginnings in the garage, Bamford introduced hydraulic engineering into his work in 1948 and his business began to prosper.
In succeeding years, he built and marketed the famous backhoe loader – the classic JCB which was to become the foundation of the company’s fortunes. In 1989 the word JCB was included in the Oxford English Dictionary, meaning earthmoving equipment.
Bamford retired in 1975 and handed over to his son Anthony (now Sir Anthony) who was then just 29.
JCB is now one of the world’s top five manufacturers of construction equipment, producing machines on three continents. The company has 4,500 employees worldwide and in 1999 had sales of £833m ($1,250m) and a profit of £91.2m ($137m).
