UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson inaugurated British equipment manufacturer JCB’s Vadodra unit.

The plant was set up at an estimated investment of $127.66 million and will manufacture parts for the global production lines of the company.

PM Johnson's visit to India will focus on increasing Indo-Pacific cooperation, driving negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, and also enhance defence ties.

PM Johnson visited the Vadodra unit along with chairman Anthony Paul Bamford.

With 11 factories in the UK employing over 7,500 people, JCB first began manufacturing in India in 1979 and is the leading producer of construction equipment. The company has six factories in India, including Jaipur and Pune.

Bamford said that India is now a major engineering power, and being here has transformed its business. This new Gujarat facility is a vital step in growing business in India and worldwide.

Chief Executive and Managing Director of JCB India, Deepak Shetty, said that the new facility would create around 1,200 direct employment opportunities when complete and thousands more in the supply chain. It will become a benchmark in the industry on gender diversity and modern technologies in laser cutting, welding and machining.

JCB has had a big market in India since 2007, and most construction machinery sold in India today is manufactured by JCB. The new facility across 47 acres of the site will process 85,000 tonnes of steel annually.

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