This simple piece of engineering development was a stroke of genius. Men who previously had to dig trenches by hand now had a machine that could do this work for them and then transport the soil or backfill it after pipe-laying. The versatility of the machine meant that it had many other uses as well - as this DVD shows. Although other companies have copied the principle, it is JCB itself which has grown with the machine making it Britain's leading machinery manufacturer - the only one with a real world-wide market share. In this programme, Tim Starkey-Smith shows the development of the blackhoe-loader from the Mk1 to today's sophisticated 3CX project 21. The film is aimed at machinery and construction enthusiasts with a full commentary and considerable detail on each stage.