IMechE president Professor Richard Folkson presented Lord Bamford with the Honorary Fellowship. He said: “This is a very well deserved honour, recognising the huge impact Lord Bamford has made to UK manufacturing and innovation. It is thanks to his leadership and vision that JCB is the success it now is and he is one of the strongest and most inspiring ambassadors for British engineering.”
Lord Bamford’s career began with a two year engineering apprenticeship at Massey Ferguson in France before he started at the JCB World Headquarters in Rocester, Staffordshire, in 1964.He has been Chairman of JCB since 1975. He was the inspiration behind a project that resulted in the JCB Dieselmax car, powered by two JCB engines, setting the current world land speed record for a diesel-powered car at 350mph in 2006. He also spearheaded the establishment of the £22million engineering-focused JCB Academy in Rocester, which opened in 2010.
Lord Bamford said: “I’m delighted by this honour which is a tribute to all the work of JCB’s engineering team. Engineering is a very exciting profession and it offers real opportunities to make a difference to the world in which we live.”
