One of the country’s leading professional engineering bodies has bestowed its highest honour on Lord Bamford for his “huge impact” on UK manufacturing.
The JCB Chairman has been appointed as an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) at a ceremony in London after more than 50 years in the industry.
Lord Bamford was presented with the Honorary Fellowship along with Ratan N Tata, who was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, for almost 20 years, by IMechE President Professor Richard Folkson.
Professor Folkson, said: “I would like to congratulate Lord Bamford on his appointment as Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 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 said: “I’m delighted by this honour which is a tribute to all the work of JCB’s engineering team. I encourage all our engineers to pursue professional accreditation with the IMechE. Engineering is a very exciting profession and it offers real opportunities to make a difference to the world in which we live.”
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 August 2006. He also spearheaded the establishment of the £22 million engineering-focused JCB Academy in Rocester, which opened in September 2010.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions and has 112,000 members in more than 140 countries. The organisation works with leading companies, universities and think tanks, to create and share knowledge to provide government, businesses and the public with fresh thinking and authoritative guidance on all aspects of mechanical engineering. The Institution also promotes the achievements of its members and the industry in schools to encourage youngsters to enter the exciting engineering profession.
IMechE currently has 50 professionally registered JCB engineers accredited to the institution, who act as mentors to JCB colleagues working towards professional registration. A further 62 JCB engineers are currently active on its professional Development Schemes with 26 graduates and higher apprentices commencing registration with IMechE currently.