Hundreds of jobs are set to be created in Uttoxeter after JCB announced plans hailed as "wonderful" news for the area with a new £50 million factory in the town.
JCB's new 350,000 sq ft cab-making facility off the A50, near its existing Heavy Products site, will create more than 200 new jobs by 2022.
The high-tech plant will have the capacity to manufacture 100,000 cabs a year - doubling the firm's existing production levels.
Among the technology employed at the new site will be a computer-controlled production line, fully-automated painting facility and robotic welding unit.
It is scheduled to open next summer.
JCB chief executive officer Graeme Macdonald said: "This new factory will be the most advanced and productive cab facility in the world and will bring even greater levels of efficiency to the business.
"The investment is one of the biggest in the company’s history and underlines our commitment to manufacturing in Britain and in our home county of Staffordshire."
Burton and Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: "This is fantastic news for Uttoxeter, for Staffordshire and also the wider Midlands' economy.
"This investment represents a massive boost for the area and underlines what a great place Staffordshire is to do business.
"It’s wonderful to see JCB continuing to invest in the county and in British manufacturing – something that can only attract even more inward investment."
JCB Cab Systems currently employs more than 400 people at its existing site in Rugeley.
The division's general manager, David Carver, said: "While new jobs will be created, moving to the new factory will enable us to double capacity without doubling the workforce thanks to high levels of automation.
"The whole plant is being designed to improve productivity, reduce waste and provide unprecedented quality levels."
As of January, JCB employed around 5,500 workers in the UK, the majority of which were based in the Uttoxeter area.
But bosses recently announced they needed 600 new workers at their Rocester, Uttoxeter, Cheadle and Rugeley factories to meet unprecedented global demand for their products.
A total of 250 of the jobs will be split between the digger giant's Uttoxeter and Rocester sites.
Of these, the majority will go to the Rocester factory, which is JCB's World Headquarters.
The Foston engines plant is set for 100 new jobs and 50 positions have opened up in Rugeley.
Welders, paint sprayers and assemblers are among those required to fill the vacancies.
In May, it was announced that nearly 450 agency staff had been given permanent roles to help fill some of the vacancies.
More information about the opportunities available at JCB is available online at https://www.jcb.com/en-gb/about/careers
