JCB today announced plans to pay its UK workforce a record Christmas bonus of £1,000 each after the most successful year in the company’s 62-year history.

Global sales will reach a new record in 2007 by exceeding the £2 billion mark for the first time. Production is also set to hit a new peak with more than 70,000 machines being manufactured by the end of the year - a 27 per cent rise compared to the previous 2006 record of 55,000 units.

Now all 5,500 employees at the company’s 10 UK factories in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham will share in a £5.5 million bonus giving them each an additional £1,000 in their Christmas Eve pay packets.

JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said: “We have always rewarded our people when the company has done well and this year is no exception. What’s extraordinary about this year is that we have set new records for sales and production which makes 2007 our best ever year.

“This really is something to celebrate and I thank everyone involved in this superb effort.

“As a company we continue to invest heavily in manufacturing in this country and our success also means success for Britain, particularly in the number of new jobs we have created this year to meet rising production.

“As we go into 2008 we need to be vigilant of the challenges ahead, particularly in North America, the world’s biggest construction equipment market, where the deterioration in the market continues to impact on our business.”

The biggest Christmas bonus paid to UK employees previously stood at £850 in 2006.