UK-based JCB is pivoting its manufacturing approach in the U.S. due to the short-term impact of tariffs, detailing how it now plans to double the size of the new factory it’s building in Texas.
JCB, which has manufactured in the U.S. for 50 years, bought 400 acres in San Antonio in 2024 to produce even more machines in North America. JCB has an existing manufacturing facility in Savannah, Georgia, where it employees about 1,000 people.
In San Antonio, JCB originally planned to construct a 500,000-sq.-ft. factory. With U.S. tariffs now in effect, the company intends to double the size of its Texas factory to 1 million sq. ft.
JCB says production at the new plant is slated to begin next year. The company expects to employ up to 1,500 people there.
“JCB has been in business for 80 years this year and we are well accustomed to change,” says Anthony Bamford, JCB chairman. “The United States is the largest market for construction equipment in the world, and President Trump has galvanized us into evaluating how we can make even more products in the USA, which has been an important market for JCB since we sold our first machine there in 1964.”
Adds Graeme Macdonald, JCB CEO: “In the short term, the imposition of tariffs will have a significant impact on our business. However, in the medium term, our planned factory in San Antonio will help to mitigate the impact. We are thankful that the tariff is only 10 percent and we can only hope that the UK government will conclude negotiations on a trade deal in the coming days and weeks.”
