JCB has just thrown the biggest birthday bash in its history, as more than 23,000 employees and their families partied to performances by Robbie Williams and ex-Blur bassist Alex James.
The venue for the 80th anniversary celebration was the Wootton Estate in Staffordshire - ust a few miles from where JCB’s business was founded in Uttoxeter in 1945. The two-day JCB Family Festival was to thank employees past and present for all they have done to propel the company from a one-man operation to company that currently has 22 factories and employs over 20,000 people worldwide.
From sheep shows to celebrity cookery demonstrations, parachute displays and ferret racing, there was something for everyone. The JCB 'Dancing Diggers' took several bows to loud applause from the crowds, who were also delighted by a fly past from a Hurricane and a Spitfire.
In the stage area, hosted by comedian and actor Paddy McGuinness, a day of musical entertainment kicked off with the UK’s premier wartime group the D-Day Darlings. As the day progressed, Taylor Swift, Abba, Take That and Oasis tribute acts also perfomed.
The loudest cheers were reserved for Alex James' 'Brit Pop Classical', who closed the show on Saturday night. Then Staffordshire’s own Robbie Williams brought the curtain down on the weekend on Sunday.
“This whole event was to say thank you to every employee, past and present, for helping make JCB the global success it is today," said JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford. "JCB competes on the world stage and we could not have achieved that without the efforts of the whole team. It was a magnificent weekend and gave me particular pleasure that our two headline acts had links with Staffordshire, where our business began 80 years ago.”
Meanwhile, Robbie Williams picked a woman from the crowd on Sunday evening to serenade her with ‘She’s The One’. The lucky lady was Jules Taylor, wife of Nick Taylor, Sales Director at JCB Finance. Jules had written ‘Robbie we love you’ on the reverse of a paper JCB carrier bag to turn it into a banner which she held over the barrier.
After the concert, she said: “It was absolutely amazing – my legs were shaking! I’m a huge Robbie fan. I think he’s an amazing showman. I shouted to Nick to get the camera ready when he came near. I felt star struck. What an absolutely brilliant day.”
https://www.jcb.com/en-GB
