Immingham-based Eric Carnaby & Son has been a customer since 1959 and over the following six decades has bought more than 150 JCB machines. Now JCB is set to say thank you to the firm for its loyalty by restoring the Carnaby family’s cherished 1964 JCB 1 backhoe – a task that will be undertaken by a team of JCB apprentices.
The project was kept a closely guarded secret until George Bamford - grandson of JCB Founder Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE – sprung the restoration surprise during a visit to the company.
Eric Carnaby & Son Director Roland Carnaby Junior said: “My family and I are over the moon with this news. Our JCB 1 is precious to us and we’ve been meaning to restore it for some time, but you know how it is – a business to run, and all that!”
George Bamford said: “I was delighted to have the honour of meeting the Carnaby family and to share with them the news of the fantastic restoration. It’s an amazing project in so many ways, not least that an old machine will be brought back to life by a team of JCB apprentices who will be an important part of the next 75 years of JCB. This restoration project is a great way to kick start events for JCB’s 75th anniversary.”
Founded by Eric Carnaby in 1946, the plant hire and road haulage firm is now run by father and son team Roly Carnaby Senior and Roland Carnaby Junior. Their first JCB purchase was the newly-launched JCB 4 in 1959 and it was the JCB backhoe loader which formed the backbone of the Eric Carnaby & Son fleet for many years to come – with up to 12 in operation during the 1970s and 1980s.
The company’s latest purchase was the latest X Series excavator, which was also handed over by George Bamford.
The two family businesses have been strongly intertwined throughout the 61-year period, with 95% of the Eric Carnaby & Son fleet now made up of JCB equipment. It is estimated that more than 300 machines have been purchased, comprising of over 50 different models including: backhoe loaders, wheeled loading shovels, tracked excavators, compact excavators, wheeled excavators and JCB Loadall telescopic handlers.
The enduring relationship also includes a series of interactions between successive generations of the Carnaby and Bamford families. Founders Eric Carnaby and Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE first met at the launch of the JCB 110 crawler loader in 1971, where Eric Carnaby placed an order and Mr JCB signed the brochure. That same piece of memorabilia – still proudly kept today – was subsequently signed by Mr JCB’s son Lord Bamford at JCB’s 50th anniversary and George Bamford recently added his signature too.