JCB bid farewell to CEO Alan Blake, who is retiring from the company after almost a quarter of a century of service.

Blake is the fifth CEO in JCB’s history. He joined JCB Transmissions in 1989 as operations director, after a 19-year tenure at Westland Helicopters, and assumed the position of JCB CEO Jan. 1, 2010. Following his retirement, he will remain as an adviser with the company.

Graeme Macdonald will take over as CEO Jan. 1.

“Alan has contributed a huge amount to the growth and success of JCB over many years,” Macdonald said. “The expansion projects Alan led enabled JCB to double its production from 36,000 to 72,000 machine over a five year period. On behalf of the 11,000 JCB employees around the world, our dealers and customers, we wish him a very long and happy retirement.”

Blake added of his tenure: “Coming to JCB was one of the best decisions of my life. The breadth and width of what you can learn here is enormous, and the opportunity to achieve great things is endless.”