JCB has spent over £20m on the design and development of its new range of diggers and has created the ultimate boys toy for Christmas.
With snow having covered parts of the country and forecasters predicting the coldest winter Britain has seen in the last 100 years, design chiefs and engineers working on the new range at JCB have come up with a novel idea – the world’s first digger with an in-cab hot water dispenser to make the perfect brew!
The new backhoe loader, JCB’s flagship 3CX Eco model, which costs from around £47,500 is also equipped with a cool box, heated front windscreen and power brakes as well as a new EcoDig hydraulic system and promises to be the ultimate gift for the man who has everything.
In addition to multi million pound investments, JCB employed innovative design to offer a 16 per cent increase in fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.
Offering a massive 440 nM of Torque, a bucket volume of 1.3 cubic metres and a lift capacity of 4638 kg the new 4CX Eco delivers incredible performance, power and productivity.
“Driver comfort is paramount and we are always looking at new, innovative ways to improve things,” explains Tim Burnhope, JCB’s group managing director for product development and commercial operations. “We have a proud tradition of product innovation and being first to introduce the latest technology and this is just another example. In fact, we believe it’s a world first!”
He continues: “We continually challenge our engineers to raise the bar when it comes to improving the operators’ working environment and our team has excelled itself this time. Digger drivers often spend a considerable amount of time in their cabs and the fact that they will now be able to enjoy more cups of tea and coffee is bound to be a real winner!”
The idea for the digger with the in-cab hot water dispenser came about after JCB conducted research with customers and operators across the UK and found having the ability to make hot drinks easily on freezing cold days was very important.
Tim added: “We all know that a happy operator is a more productive operator and so we felt everyone wins with our new innovation.”
All JCB 3CX and 4CX Eco backhoe loader models are now available with an optional hot water dispenser, capable of producing tea, coffee or soup, which locks securely into an area at the side of the cab. The machine uses the 12V supply directly from the machine and has been designed to fit into the existing cab layout.
However, in addition to the hot water dispenser, the new backhoe range also features a whole host of environmental and performance-enhancing benefits.
The new JCB EcoDig hydraulic system, which utilises three hydraulic pumps, can help cut fuel costs by up to 16 per cent, saving customers up to £3,536 over three years, and also boasts enhanced performance to further boost productivity. The models also come with JCB EcoRoad options of Smooth Ride System (SRS) and TorqueLock which can reduce fuel consumption by up to 25 per cent whilst increasing speed by up to ten per cent. Power brakes provide proportional braking, resulting in reduced effort, and the redesigned pedal box, with improved ergonomics, helps operators maintain roading speeds, contributing to a further one per cent saving in fuel consumption.
Tim concludes: “The new JCB backhoe loader range is our most efficient. It has been designed with the environment and productivity in mind and ultimately the machines work harder, yet require less fuel and driver effort.”