JCB on June 4 began work on a $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, the biggest investment in the company’s history.

An official groundbreaking ceremony at the site marked the beginning of construction, where The Hon. Alice Bamford, the daughter of company Chairman Anthony Bamford, turned the first shovelful of dirt on the property.

Work on the 720,000 sq. ft. (67,000m²) factory is now under way on the 400-acre site. It will be the company’s second largest plant, rivalled only by JCB’s world headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, England, and create 1,500 new jobs over five years.

The factory will make Loadall telescopic handlers and aerial access equipment, with production scheduled to start in 2026. The factory will also have the capacity to expand and build other products in the future.

Chairman Lord Bamford said: “Construction equipment manufacturers sell more than 300,000 machines every year in North America, making it the single largest market in the world. JCB has been growing its share of this important market steadily over the past few years and the time is now right to invest in our manufacturing capacity in North America, where we already have one factory.”

“JCB really has come a considerable way since we sold our first machine here 60 years ago and it gives me immense pleasure to see how our business has grown in North America. Today really is a milestone day in the history of our family company,” Bamford says.