A £5 MILLION customer attraction at digger giant JCB’s Rocester headquarters has won two prestigious awards honouring design excellence.
The 2,500sq m Story of JCB exhibition was opened with much fanfare a year ago. It includes 14 zones which take the visitor on a journey through time, starting in the 1820s, when the Bamford family were blacksmiths in Uttoxeter through to the present day when JCB has 22 plants worldwide.
The first accolade was won at the Roses Creative Awards in Manchester where the exhibition secured Gold in the Exhibition/Point of Sale category.
The Story of JCB also won gold in the Scottish Design Awards in the same category. The awards recognise creativity, entertainment value and consistency of graphic design.
JCB Worldwide marketing director Matt McClurg said: “The team behind the development of The Story of JCB did a magnificent job and these awards are very well deserved.
“The exhibition plays a very important role in securing new business for JCB and since opening 20,000 people have visited and have been full of praise for what has been created.” JCB’s internal design and advertising agency, JCB Design Works, led the project to create the exhibition and teamed up with Edinburgh-based agency Studio MB to deliver the end result.
When the exhibition was opened in October last year JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said it would have a pivotal role in winning new business, particularly in the emerging markets.
He said: “It is the first time that the history of our company and my family’s roots in manufacturing has been told in the form of a permanent exhibition.
“We are an innovative company and our success over the past 66 years has been driven by innovation and that is at the very core of The Story of JCB. It is a showcase of our unique story and something we can all be very proud of.
“The Story of JCB exhibition is also a very powerful selling tool for our customers, especially in the emerging markets where a greater appreciation of our heritage and pedigree will help them understand our business and why we are the right choice for their future machine requirements.”
