JCB workers clock up 200 years

After putting in more than 200 years at JCB between them, five employees have celebrated their long service.

Stephen Simcox, John Smith, Roger Austin, Tony Moult and Francis Redfern were joined by chief operating officer Matthew Taylor and HR director David Bell for a special lunch.

Stephen, John and Roger all celebrated 40 years with JCB during 2007, while Tony passed the 45-year milestone. They were joined by Francis – now the longest-serving with 48 years as a JCB employee.

When the men were beginning their careers with JCB the company had about 750 employees. In that year it built 3,451 machines. Today the company has more than 8,000 employees and built 70,000 vehicles.

Tony, aged 60, of Alton, is a warranty supervisor with JCB Service. He described how the company had changed over the years. He said: "It was obviously very different because there weren't as many of us here.

"When it was time to go home on a Friday, Mr Bamford used to go out and buy us fish and chips to encourage us to stay that bit longer."

Roger, 60, of Rocester, a maintenance technician, said: "I started as a welder but then I joined the Demo team where I spent many years."

John is 64-year-olds and lives in Meir. He is a fabricator in the company's backhoe loader division.

He said: "I came here from the building trade and doubled my wages on the day I started. It's been an excellent company to work for all these years on and it's given me a good living."

Mr Taylor said: "Their perseverance and commitment is a great testament to themselves and the company. They are special people."