To celebrate 70 years of backhoe production, JCB has revealed limited-run Platinum Editions of its 3CX and 4CX models. Only 70 anniversary models will be manufactured.
JCB says the 3CX and 4CX Platinum Pro will feature servo excavator controls, Powerslide, air conditioning and bi-directional auxiliary flow hydraulics.
The machines will also be decked out with limited edition platinum decals and grill badge and platinum-colored wheels. Inside the cab, the carpet will don an embroidered graphic and the upgraded seat material and steering wheel center cap will feature 70th anniversary branding.
Each machine also comes with a plaque, and customers will receive a special platinum gift pack with the backhoe loader. (Take a closer look at the machines in the video below.)
Though there has been some debate over the years, JCB claims company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE invented the backhoe concept by combining a lightweight backhoe with a Major Loadall tractor loader. The first JCB model was manufactured in 1953, creating a single machine which combined a front shovel and rear excavator arm.
[Related: These Are the Forgotten Inventors of the Backhoe, New Book Claims]
It took 20 years for JCB to build 50,000 backhoes, but under the leadership of Chairman Anthony Bamford, more than 900,000 have been produced. The company’s backhoes are manufactured in the UK, India and Brazil.
Lord Bamford said: “The backhoe loader is an incredibly versatile machine, and thanks to continued innovation and evolution, it remains just as relevant today as the day it was first invented. The JCB backhoe loader remains one of the most popular pieces of construction equipment in the world, and it has a very exciting future ahead of it.”
Since its inception in 1953, JCB has continued to develop and enhance its backhoe loaders, with turbocharged engines, powershift transmissions, all-wheel drive and extending dipper arms.
Today, the product line includes the skid steer-based 1CX, the all-wheel steer 3CX Compact and the larger 4CX and 5CX equal-sized wheel machines.
