A UK plant hire firm has placed a £68 million order for a huge fleet of JCB machines.
They have been bought by Morris Leslie Plant Hire in what is described as an expression of confidence in the UK’s housebuilding and construction market. The machines will be supplied throughout 2024.
The substantial order, landed through dealer Scot JCB, consists of a range of excavators, telehandlers, site dumpers and rollers. It also includes 50 JCB backhoe loaders – one for every year Morris Leslie has been in business.
The machines will be manufactured at JCB’s factories in Staffordshire.
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford handed over the keys to one of the backhoes to company founder Morris Leslie – a special Platinum Edition machine produced to mark the JCB backhoe’s 70th birthday.
Lord Bamford said: “We are very proud of our long association with Morris Leslie Plant Hire. Like many of our customers, the company has grown from very small beginnings into a force to be reckoned with in the plant hire sector.
Morris Leslie said: “Over the years we have bought more than 7,000 JCB machines, so our success over the past half century is very much intertwined with that of JCB and we look forward to building on our partnership in the years to come.”
Scot JCB Sales Director David Park added: “This significant order for new JCB machines in the company’s 50th anniversary year underlines Morris Leslie’s commitment and confidence in the construction industry.
The deal comes less than a year after Scotland-based Morris Leslie Plant Hire ordered £87.5 million worth of JCB machines.
