JCB rolls out the red carpet two days in a row for CPA Stars of the Future winners following The King’s visit

At the end of February, two of the winners from last year’s CPA Stars of the Future Awards had the opportunity to complete a fantastic VIP Dig Experience courtesy of JCB.

Reece Stray and Josh Jones, both of L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage, won the Plant Operative and Young Plant Operative of the Year accolades respectively at the Stars of the Future Awards 2024.

As part of their prize, Reece and Josh were welcomed to JCB’s World Headquarters in Staffordshire to enjoy a VIP JCB Experience comprising a tour of the Story of JCB and a visit to the backhoe loader production line, before transferring over to JCB’s test and demonstration quarry to try out the JCB 3CX Pro and 4CX Pro as part of a Backhoe Loader Dig Experience.

The visit also included an overnight stay at the JCB Golf and Country Club and Reece and Josh were accompanied on the trip by their partners Olivia and Steph.

Following the visit, Reece and Josh will visit ACOP Group’s training facility in Wales to complete a week-long training course to gain their 180° Excavator CPCS card - another part of their Stars of the Future prize.

Reece and Josh’s visit came at a very exciting time for JCB, as just 24 hours prior, His Majesty The King also toured the company’s World Headquarters as part of JCB’s 80th birthday celebrations. The King was given an insight into JCB’s hydrogen technology by Chairman Anthony Bamford, and he was also shown the one millionth backhoe loader produced by JCB. Reece and Josh followed in The King’s footsteps on their tour the day after his visit.

The VIP JCB Experience was kindly organised by Georgina Williams, JCB Application and Training Manager - Backhoe Loader who said: “It has been inspiring to spend time with Reece and Josh and introduce them to the backhoe loader ahead of their 180° Excavator training course. We’ve been able to give them what we fondly refer to as the ‘yellow injection’.

“L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage is a valued JCB customer and this visit has allowed us to engage with the managers of the future. It was great to see how impressed Reece and Josh were with the backhoe loader - they really took to it and they were blown away with its capabilities. 

“At JCB we’re carrying out a great deal of work to encourage newer operators to use backhoe loaders and once they get in the machine, they realise just what it can do. JCB produces the world’s best-selling backhoe loader and it’s fitting that Reece and Josh’s visit coincided with the production of our one millionth backhoe loader,” Georgina added. 

Reece Stray, who won the Plant Operative of the Year accolade, was a talented footballer and hoped to turn professional, but a knee injury turned his career aspirations into a different direction. He tried his hand at labouring before he heard about L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage’s Careers in Plant scheme from his sister who worked at the company.

At the time, Reece felt unsure about what he wanted from life and where he was heading, but ever since the day he started at Lynch in August 2021, he has never looked back.

Given the opportunity, he jumped straight in with two feet, never taking a day off and firmly focused on learning and adding multiple machine categories to his ticket. Coming from a sports background, he understands the importance of discipline and punctuality. Reece puts a great emphasis on his family and is making every effort to lay the foundation for a prosperous future.

Reece worked on a busy HS2 site for over two and a half years and became one of the most respected Plant Operatives on site. He has recently been promoted to a Relief Plant Operator with his own van and from day-to-day can be working on different sites within a 1.5 hour travel time of Lynch’s head office in Hemel Hempstead.

After Reece tried out the backhoe loader, he told us: “I loved it! You can do so many things with a backhoe loader. Effectively it’s four machines in one - a telehandler, a loading shovel, an excavator and a dumper. It’s by far the most challenging bit of kit that I’ve ever driven but I can’t wait to do the 180° Excavator training course. I wish I was doing it right now!

“This Stars of the Future prize has really changed by perception about backhoe loaders and I would love to drive them on sites. These could prove so useful on site - you can grade with the front shovel like a Dozer and the float feature on the shovel is a great ease of use feature. I’m really pleasantly surprised and the technology inside the cab is amazing,” he added.

Josh Jones, who won the Young Plant Operative of the Year accolade, was equally impressed when he tried out the backhoe loader.

Before Josh started his Plant Operative Apprenticeship, he previously worked in a gym but he’d always had an interest in big machines. He did some labouring on a HS2 site and it was there that he found out about apprenticeship opportunities with L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage from one of his friends, and his journey in plant operating began.

Even though Josh has been in the industry for only two years, he’s worked on varied machines and gained four tickets already. Based from Lynch’s Midlands depot in Rushden, he’s had the opportunity to work on high-profile projects all around the country, including HS2 and the M4 project, and he even formed part of a Construction Live broadcast which went out to over 60,000 students all around the UK.

Once Josh had tried his hand at the backhoe loader, he told us: “It’s brilliant! I’m really surprised at how much you can do with it. It’s like a dozer, loading shovel and excavator all in one. I’m really looking forward to doing the training course now and getting my ticket. Hopefully I’ll be able to use the machine on sites in the future as it would be great for really intricate work.”

Both Reece and Josh have already achieved so much in the short time that they’ve been in the industry, and they’re looking forward to seeing how their journey develops. Reece’s dream is to become an Operator Foreman or a Trainer, but for now, he’s enjoying his day-to-day work on sites and collaborating with the entire Lynch team. Josh is keen to perfect the art of plant operating and aspires to gain more tickets and become an even more versatile and experienced Plant Operator.

Peter Brown, CPA Technical and Development Manager, who chairs the Stars of the Future judging panel added: “We’re very grateful to JCB for providing such an impressive prize that’ll create memories that will last a lifetime, and we also pass on our heartfelt thanks to our award sponsors ACOP Group, L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage and CPCS/NOCN Group.

“The Stars of the Future awards programme is all about encouraging new blood into the industry who will become tomorrow’s leaders of the industry. It’s an exciting industry to be in and the trip to JCB has allowed Reece and Josh to have a much greater understanding of how plant is both designed and built and to try out their skills on the backhoe loader. It’s certainly advantageous for Plant Operators to have gain extra categories on their cards as they become more adaptable, being able to operate a greater range of machines.”