JCB has produced a platinum edition of its famous backhoe loader to mark its 70th anniversary.

JCB is marking its 70th anniversary by introducing a limited edition backhoe loader.

It is a version of today's 3CX super backhoe model and a tribute to the product line that fueled JCB's growth. A total of 70 of the special machines will be made which feature the vintage look last seen 40 years ago on the JCB 3CIII model.

On October 23, 1945, Joseph Cyril Bamford founded the company in a tiny garage in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England, making trailers from wartime scrap. Today, the company has 22 factories, 11 in the UK with others in India, the USA, Brazil and China, employing more than 12,000 people.

Lord Bamford, who was born on the same day his father founded JCB, said, "My first memory of JCB really was my father. He was an engineering genius, there was no doubt about that and he was always dreaming of things, and dreaming of better ways of doing things. The backhoe loader my father invented was a godsend and started a mini revolution in construction machinery. Today the backhoe is one of more than 300 products we produce and sell globally."

Since JCB's first was manufactured in 1953, the company has produced more than 600,000 backhoes and now sells them in 120 countries. JCB has also been one of the world's leading manufacturers of backhoes for 15 years in succession. That's a range that spans 40 models from the compact 1CX through the mighty 5CX. Models offered vary by country. For more information go to www.jcb.com.