With just more than a year until construction equipment starts rolling out of its new South Side factory, JCB is kicking its hiring and its construction into a higher gear.
The Great Britain-based manufacturer has plants around the world, but its largest — a one million-square-foot factory — will be in San Antonio.
Now the company is hiring so it can have 500 workers ready when the facility opens at the end of 2026. JCB will add another 1,000 workers over the next five years, said David Carver, the operations director for JCB Texas, to meet its plans for 1,500 workers by 2030 or 2031.
“We have a full map of the 1,500 people, and when we believe we will hire people. That includes that training piece built in,” Carver said. “Next year, we’ll get close to 500 people and then, as the next products come on board, some of the access equipment, then that will start to grow.”
JCB leaders shared details about their hiring plans and construction Thursday, showcasing the equipment that will be produced at the site and the skeleton of a new manufacturing facility rising near Palo Alto Road.
JCB 32-foot and 42-foot scissor lifts, a straight boom and a telescopic forklift sit at the JCB manufacturing plant site near Palo Alto Road on Oct. 16, 2025. Credit: Jasper Kenzo Sundeen / San Antonio Report
The facility will first produce telescopic forklifts, also known as telehandlers, and lifts for construction workers, at first. Richard Fox-Marrs, who heads JCB’s operations in the U.S., said demand for those products has increased.
“JCB is growing globally, but nowhere faster than North America,” he said. “Demand has never been higher.”
The new San Antonio location is important due to Texas’ status as the country’s largest construction equipment market, and has easier access to other North American customers.
Carver said JCB has begun to fill out its staff to meet that demand.
“There’s 24 people with us today, on site today. As we start to ramp up, we’ve built a training pathway for each one of those [planned] roles,” Carver said. “People will have to be onboarded early to make sure they have the correct training.”
Training and preparing workers is one of Carver’s focuses. He’s working with local schools and technical programs to make sure San Antonio workers are ready to take on the welding, assembling or technician jobs JCB is hiring for. JCB has also opened a small apprenticeship program, paying for some workers’ education to prepare them for a role at the new facility.
In Savannah, Georgia, that program involved 30 to 40 workers a year.
On Thursday, JCB shared where it plans to hire workers from. Around 5%, or 75 workers, will be hired through local organizations like Haven for Hope, Goodwill, Greater:SATX and other nonprofits. More than 200 hires will be focused on veterans and military spouses, 450 will be hired from local technical schools and programs and about half of the 1,500 workers will be hired through direct advertising or recruitment services.
Carver said JCB arrived at those estimates by hearing about recruiting from other local manufacturers in the Southside area near the plant.
Carver added that JCB has already built a list of more than 700 prospective employees, but was still looking to add interested workers.
JCB committed to pay a $20.54 hourly minimum wage when it came to San Antonio, and has plans to add other amenities to entice workers to join the team.
The new factory space will have 120 skylights to bring natural light to the factory floor. A 50,000-square-foot office space will include a cafeteria and gym.
“We want to be an employer of choice,” Carver said.