JCB wins US army contract
$50m worth of HMEE backhoes for US army
JCB has won a major $50 million contract to supply high-speed backhoe loaders to the United States Army.The High Mobility Engineer Excavators (HMEEs) will be manufactured at JCB’s North American plant in Savannah, Georgia, and will be delivered by 2017.
The US Army first purchased an order of HMEEs in 2005 when it ordered 636 of the machines. The contract, worth $206 million, remains the biggest single order in JCB’s 68-year history.
Since then the company has gone on to sell the machine to armed forces in the UK, Sweden, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia, New Zealand and other countries.
“Over the past 30 years, JCB has supplied armies in 57 countries with over 4,000 machines and we are delighted to build on that success by securing this latest contract with the United States Army,” said JCB Chief Executive Graeme Macdonald.
Capable of speeds of up to 97km/h (60mph), the HMEE is able to keep up with military convoys on the road, eliminating the need to transport the machine using a truck and a low-loader.
According to Macdonald, this allows roads to be be cleared, obstacles removed and routes for the opposition blocked with great efficiency.
“This is all achieved by combining the digging and loading capabilities of the world-renowned JCB backhoe loader and the innovative high-speed JCB Fastrac tractor, the only tractor to have full suspension and anti-lock brakes.
“The machine also comes with blast protection systems, so effective that on several occasions it has saved the lives of operators who have encountered improvised explosive devices while on duty in conflict zones.”
The HMEE-1 has a 6.7 litre diesel engine and is four wheel drive and four wheel steer. It can lift 1.8 tonnes and dig to a depth of around 13 feet. It is offered in a base model, a full-crew protection model and a much enhanced protection NATO Theatre Entry Standard model.
