by Richard Cosgrove | Fri 19 Sep 2025
Operators hail JCB 145XR cab
A leading plant hirer has invested in two of the first new JCB 145XR reduced tailswing excavators to roll off the JCB production line – praising the comfort of the cab.
Purchased by Norfolk-based Matthew Williams Digger Hire, the two new 145XR models are working on specialised highways work in Norfolk. Supplied by Watling JCB, the 145XR is the latest addition to the JCB X Series range and is designed to deliver the same performance as the conventional 140X, in a compact design with a 27% shorter tailswing.
Matthew Williams Digger Hire Managing Director, Matthew Williams said: “We buy JCB machines because they’re British. If JCB make it, we don’t go anywhere else. We are 100% loyal to JCB over the past 26 years we’ve been in business. We’ve been so well looked after by JCB and Watling JCB that we have no reason to go elsewhere.
“As soon as the JCB 145XR was launched I put my name down for one and it is a really good machine. Everybody likes them, they’re very good. The operators say the cab is a lovely place to be when working a shift.”
The JCB 145XR reduced tailswing model builds on the success of JCB’s larger 245XR, delivering impressive performance in a compact design with a minimal counterweight swing. The 145XR’s ultra-tight slew radius makes it an ideal machine for working within a highway carriageway, or on confined urban job sites.
Established in 1999, Matthew Williams Digger Hire offers operated and self-drive plant hire and some small groundworks from its Norfolk base. The company boasts an impressive 220 strong fleet – the vast majority of which is JCB - ranging from micro excavators to X Series tracked excavators, cabbed dumpers, compaction rollers and 4m-14m Loadall telescopic handlers.
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