abstract
| - The company decided to go into excavator production during the 1930s to utilise there foundry capacity and engineering skills. They negotiated with P&H (Pawling and Harnischfeger)of America, to build under licence the P&H 150, a ½ cubic yard Universal excavator. This being known as the NCH. It was fitted with a D4 Caterpillar engine, and mechanical controls. Hydraulic controls being fitted from 1940. All machine went to the War Office. Later they built versions of the P&H 125 & 150, thus being sold as NCH 125 & NCH 150. Basically the same machine with different tracks 14" or 16" and 38hp or 50hp engine respectively. The could be configured for Crowd shovel,Trencher, or skimmer, crane, Dragline or grab excavator operation, hence the 'Universal' tag. In 1946 the License from P&H expired, thus ending production. A new factory was built in 1938/9 for excavator production, but the second world war saw it being used for tank production. After the war it was switched to Excavator production to meet demand from rebuilding works. Some of this factory complex still stands today, the whole Newton Chambers site being 750 acres, just a few miles north of Sheffield next to the M1 motorway. A large part has been redeveloped, with TCH (JCB)Ltd having a dealership on part of the site.
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