If given €100 million to spend on machinery it is unlikely that the first item on the list for many farmers would be a fleet of 50 backhoe loaders, but that is just what topped the list of Morris Leslie when he went shopping at Scot JCB of Glasgow.
Morris is slightly different from other farmers though, in that he also runs a successful plant hire company in Britain and this £87.5 million investment represents the biggest ever UK deal for JCB.
Working from home
With its home base in Perth, Morris Leslie Plant Hire placed this record order 50 years after founder, Morris Leslie, started the company on his parents’ farm in the Carse of Gowrie, near Perth.
Morris began in business by buying and selling construction equipment and today his company operates across the UK – with many of his firm’s customers working in the agricultural sector, particularly in Scotland.
Manufactured at JCB’s factories in Rocester and Cheadle, Staffordshire, all the new machines will be powered by Stage V engines and are to be fitted with the JCB LiveLink telematics system, enabling both the company and its customers to monitor the operation of its machines.
The order will be supplied by dealer Scot JCB to Morris Leslie’s 14 nationwide depots throughout 2023.
The backhoe is back
The order will see the company take delivery of a mixture of Loadall telescopic handlers, excavators, site dumpers, and compaction equipment, enabling its customer base to work with the most up-to-date machines available.
The inclusion of 50 JCB backhoe loaders is particularly pleasing to Morris Leslie as it underlines renewed interest in the machine type with a resurgent market growing by 12% in 2022.
The reason for this, according to Morris Leslie Plant Hire, is that the machine type offers both loading and excavating capabilities and the ability to travel directly to the site, cutting the need for costly transportation.
Morris Leslie, chairman of the group, attended Elmwood Agricultural College, Cupar and today he owns and operates four arable farms in Perthshire and Angus, covering a total of 2,000ac.
