SAVANNAH, GA (June 10, 2014) – Heavy-equipment manufacturer JCB is assisting with flood cleanup operations in Serbia and Bosnia with $200,000 in equipment donations. The region’s worst floods killed more than 50 people and displaced tens of thousands after several months of rain fell in just a few days.
The company is providing two 3CX backhoe loaders to assist in the massive relief effort. The first machine has been handed over by JCB’s dealer in Bosnia, TERRA BIH, with the support of the British Embassy at the dealer’s premises in Sarajevo. TERRA BIH is also providing training for operators of the 3CX backhoe loaders, as well as service support for the machines in the field.
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said, “JCB has a long history of supporting countries hit by natural disasters. The floods in the Balkans have left behind a terrible trail of destruction, and I hope the machines being dispatched to Serbia and Bosnia will help life return to normal as quickly as possible.”
More than 3,000 landslides have hit Serbia and Bosnia, burying houses and roads. In Serbia, a second JCB machine will be made available by dealer TERRA Serbia and put to immediate use by the Serbian Emergency Relief Committee clearing the vast swaths of mud and debris, which have engulfed parts of the country.
JCB has a history of helping countries affected by major natural disasters. Earlier this year the company reacted to the UK flood disaster by deploying a $1.26 million fleet of Fastrac tractors and backhoe loaders to assist with cleanup operations. Last year JCB provided $500,000 worth of machines and generators to the Philippines when Typhoon Haiyan struck.
About JCB
JCB, the world’s third largest construction equipment brand, has 22 plants on four continents: 11 in the UK, six in India and others in Brazil, the USA, China, Germany, France and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.
JCB manufactures more than 300 different machines including: backhoe loaders; Loadall telescopic handlers; tracked and wheeled excavators; wheeled loading shovels; articulated dump trucks; rough terrain fork lifts; mini excavators; Robot skid steer loaders and JCB Vibromax compaction equipment. For agricultural markets, the company produces a range of telescopic handlers and the unique Fastrac tractor. JCB also manufactures the Teletruk forklift for the industrial sector.
JCB is privately-owned by the Bamford family and Chairman, Sir Anthony Bamford, has been at the helm of the company since 1975. The company officially marked its 65th anniversary on June 21st, 2011, the 95th anniversary of the birth of company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford. For more information, please visit www.jcb.com.
