A huge ‘75’ artwork visible from outer space was carved into a Staffordshire, central England, stubble field to mark JCB’s impending 75th birthday.
The giant logo was cultivated in a field eight miles away from the company’s World Headquarters at Rocester and covered almost eight acres – equivalent to four football pitches. The birthday tribute was so distinctive is could be seen by imaging satellites orbiting high above the earth.
The special artwork was created ahead of JCB’s 75th anniversary on October 23rd by one of the company’s most famous products – the Fastrac tractor, which was equipped with a hi-tech precision guidance system.
A team of JCB employees was behind the larger-than-life creation which was close to the market town of Uttoxeter, where the late Joseph Cyril Bamford founded JCB in a lock-up garage on the same day as his son Anthony, now Lord Bamford, was born.
The team comprised Fastrac sales engineer Peter Williams, of Acton Trussell, near Stafford; senior Fastrac sales engineer James Coxon, of Marchington, near Uttoxeter; JCB Agriculture product and marketing manager David Timmis, of Haughton, Stafford and Fastrac product specialist Tom Mowforth, of Stafford.
David Timmis said: “Seventy-five years is a big milestone to reach and we wanted to mark it in a big way with a product which has played a significant role in JCB’s success. Using the JCB Fastrac to create a giant JCB logo in a field which could be seen from space seemed the perfect idea, and the whole team was delighted with the result.”
The Fastrac was the perfect tractor to undertake this task; with its all-round suspension, four-wheel steering, multiple implement mountings and high road speed. The distinctive tribute was created by uploading a digital version of the artwork to the Fastrac’s automatic steering system, which then calculated the guidance paths. The Fastrac is manufactured at JCB’s plant in Cheadle, Staffordshire.
