The under-pressure politician in charge of Brexit has told JCB's suppliers they can "thrive" when Britain leaves the EU.
MP David Davis moved to reassure the firms providing digger components to JCB during a visit to the firm's World HQ on Monday.
The Brexit minister's visit came less than 24 hours before he told a Tory conference that leaving the Union without a deal "was possible".
Mr Davis told JCB's suppliers UK business' interests were of "paramount importance" - regardless of how Brexit negotiations panned out.
He toured the Rocester production line that produces the flagship backhoe loader machine and met chief executive officer Graeme Macdonald and chairman Lord Bamford, who is himself a pro-Brexit Conservative peer.
Mr Davis said: "It was a great pleasure to join JCB, one of our leading British manufacturers, today to see what they do and hear first hand how businesses large and small view the opportunities and challenges of our departure from the European Union.
"We are making solid progress in the negotiations, in the spirit of determination and pragmatism, and stand ready to begin trade talks as soon as our European partners are.
"Our aim is a trade deal that works for our great companies and the people they employ, and it’s in the interests of both sides to achieve this.
"Talking to JCB and their suppliers I am certain that our strong economy and brilliant entrepreneurs mean we are well placed to thrive into the future."
A JCB spokesman said: "Mr Davis took part in discussions with a number of specially invited JCB suppliers, most of whom were British and small-to-medium-sized businesses.
"The main purpose of the talks was to focus on the opportunities for businesses in post-Brexit Britain and to discuss the practicalities involved."
On Tuesday, November 21, Mr Davis addressed a Tory "deal or no deal" conference to update his fellow-party members on how negotiations were going.
He said it was "not in the interests of either side" for the UK to split without a deal in place.
The secretary for exiting the EU said talk of contingency plans should not be interpreted as meaning "negotiations will fail" or "we want them to fail".
