EXCAVATORS produced by Staffordshire manufacturer JCB were tasked with roadwork of a different kind when they hit the mean streets of Las Vegas.
The firm's famous Dancing Diggers display was dispatched to the entertainment capital to showcase the backhoes ahead of one of the construction industry's biggest equipment trade fairs, Conexpo.
JCB has a large stand at the exhibition, where it is taking the wraps off a host of new machines. Among the products making their debut are new midi excavators, telescopic handlers, backhoe loaders, skid steer loaders, forklift trucks, wheeled loading shovels and tracked excavators.
Proving one of the highlights of the show - and helping to draw thousands of people to the firm's exhibition stand - the Dancing Diggers have been giving hourly dance routines set to music and accompanied by a string quartet.
Tim Burnhope, JCB Chief Innovation and Growth Officer, said the event highlighted the huge steps the company had taken in the last four years to deliver industry-leading fuel efficiency on its machines.
Compared to the models manufactured by the firm in 2010, the JCB 3CX backhoe consumes around 34% less fuel.
Among the new product highlights at the show are a new generation of JCB midi excavators, the 85Z-1, the 86C-1and the 67C-1, which are manufactured at JCB's Compact Products factory in Cheadle.
The US market is a massively important one for the Rocester business and one where it faces stiff competition from the home-grown talent.