Engineering body honours JCB’s Lord Bamford

One of the United Kingdom’s leading professional engineering bodies has bestowed its highest honour on JCB chairman Lord Bamford for his “huge impact” on UK manufacturing.

Lord Bamford was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) – which has 112,000 members in more than 140 countries – at a ceremony in London.

IMechE president Professor Richard Folkson made the presentation to Lord Bamford, who has spent more than 50 years in manufacturing.

Professor Folkson said: “I would like to congratulate Lord Bamford on his appointment as Honorary Fellow of the IMechE. This is a very well deserved honour, recognising the huge impact he has made on 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 Staffordshire, in 1964. He has been chairman of JCB since 1975.