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John Patterson, group chief executive and president and CEO of JCB in North America, has retired after 43 years of service, the company announced Monday.
Arjun Mirdha, formerly the company’s chief operating officer, has been named North American president and CEO of JCB, the world’s third largest construction equipment brand, reporting directly to Graeme Macdonald, JCB Group chief executive.
Patterson joined JCB in 1971 and went on to work for the British-based company in Canada and America before returning to the UK in 1988 as managing director of JCB Service. In 1993, he was appointed managing director of JCB Sales before becoming Group CEO — only the third person in JCB’s history to hold the position.
He went on to become the company’s second longest-serving CEO. In his 10 years in the role, sales topped $1.64 billion for the first time, eventually reaching more than $3.28 billion by the time he stepped down in 2008 to become chairman and CEO of JCB Inc., based in North America.
“During John’s time as chief executive, JCB achieved unprecedented sales growth and led the company’s transformation into a truly global company,” JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said. “I thank John for his contribution over the past 43 years and am delighted he will remain a director of the JCB Group and chairman of the board of the JCB USA companies.”
Under Patterson’s leadership as Group CEO, JCB opened facilities in Savannah, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Pune, India and Shanghai, China.
Pooler is the home for JCB’s North American headquarters and includes a 500,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility set on 1.064 acres. The $62 million plant is part of a $100 million investment by JCB in the Savannah area.
In 2010, under Patterson’s leadership, JCB retooled its Pooler plant to engineer, design and produce all JCB skid steer loaders for worldwide distribution, bringing production back up and nearly tripling a workforce once crippled by recessionary layoffs.
Today, skid steer loaders represent more than 60 percent of the construction equipment market in North America and nearly 40 percent of the market worldwide.
In 2011, the British-born Patterson was awarded the title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his services to British business development worldwide.
In 2012, with the encouragement and blessing of the state’s top officials, Patterson spearheaded the development of a formal manufacturing skills apprenticeship program at JCB. The three-year program, which provides selected high school graduates with full salary and benefits, includes on-the-job training with assigned mentors and classroom work.
At the end of the three years, apprentices who have successfully completed the program will be offered permanent positions. Those who want to pursue more education will have the opportunity to have their tuition reimbursed if they return to JCB.
JCB welcomed its first class of apprentices in the fall of 2012 and its second class last fall.
Last year, JCB announced that 2012 was the best year in its 67-year history, with earnings of $584 million on revenues of $4.3 billion and sales of 69,250 units.
“I am proof that that there are no boundaries to career development at JCB,” Patterson said. “I have had an incredible time over the past 43 years.
“I am proud to have been part of a team which has seen JCB become the world’s third largest construction equipment manufacturer and achieve market leadership for many of its products.
“JCB has made excellent progress in North America in recent years, but there are many more opportunities to be seized and I wish Arjun Mirdha well as he leads the team.”
ABOUT JCB
The world’s third-largest construction equipment brand, privately owned JCB has 22 plants on four continents: 11 in the U.K., six in India and others in Brazil, the USA, China, Germany and France. The company employs more than 10,000 people worldwide and manufactures more than 300 different machines.
ON THE WEB
For more information, go to www.jcb.com.