JCB donates $250,000 worth of equipment to Indonesian quake relief effort.
JCB, the world’s third largest manufacturer of construction equipment, is donating equipment worth $250,000 to help the disaster relief effort in the city of Padang following the devastating earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 30 September 2009.
The donation of a 20-tonne JS200 heavy excavator and a 3CX backhoe loader was offered by JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford in response to an appeal from the Indonesian authorities for foreign aid to help the relief effort.
The machines are being made available to Satkorlak, the disaster response unit of the Indonesian authorities by PT Altrak 1978, the JCB dealer in Indonesia. Three Altrak operators and a mechanic accompanied the machines from Jakarta to Padang to ensure rapid deployment with service and parts support. They will also provide any training that might be required by local operators so that the authorities leading the relief effort can secure the full benefit of the machines’ versatility.
Sir Anthony said: “Thousands of people in West Sumatra have been affected by this dreadful earthquake and there is a desperate need for heavy equipment to assist in the clear up operations and to help alleviate large-scale human suffering. The excavator and backhoe loader will be put to use straightaway in Padang and will hopefully help local people to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of this awful disaster.
“JCB machines proved invaluable in the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami and I do hope that this donation will make a difference in the same way.”
The contribution to the aid effort follows a series of other JCB machinery donations in recent years to other parts of the world hit by natural disasters, including the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province in China, when six backhoe loaders worth over $600,000 and a team of operators were sent from the company’s factory in Shanghai to help the clear-up effort in the region.
