Cummins expands high-horsepower capability

Cummins, Inc., a major supplier of diesel powerplants for industrial and transportation applications including rail, is expanding its High-Horsepower Technical Center and high-horsepower engine product line at its manufacturing facility in Seymour, Ind. The company says expansion of the center, which has been renamed the Seymour Engine Plant (formerly Cummins Industrial Center) will provide it with “more opportunities for producing high-horsepower clean-diesel and natural gas engines in the future.”

Cummins plans to invest approximately $100 million in the Seymour expansion, which is expected to produce approximately 200 engineering and manufacturing jobs over the next five years. The plant currently employs nearly 450. The technical center expansion will almost double the current engineering footprint in the facility and increase Cummins high-horsepower mechanical development capability. Other capital expenditures will include additional equipment, test cells, and other facility upgrades. Preparations for the technical center expansion are scheduled to start immediately, and construction is expected to be complete by mid-2011.

A new, larger-displacement engine will complement Cummins’ current high-horsepower lineup, which powers applications in mining, power generation, marine, oil and gas, and rail markets around the world. Cummins said investment in this new engine will increase Seymour’s capacity and manufacturing capability with a new assembly line, paint area, and production test cells.

Cummins said selection of Seymour for this expansion “is further evidence of our commitment to Indiana.” The Seymour Engine Plant opened in 1976 and is currently devoted to manufacturing V903, K19, QSK19 (used in many genset locomotive applications), and QST30 diesel and natural gas engines. “The state of Indiana and the cities of Seymour and Lawrenceburg have been instrumental in partnering with Cummins to support its continued growth and technical leadership in Southern Indiana,” the company said. “The Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the Indiana cities have offered a package of tax credits and educational grants and have agreed to provide vital infrastructure improvements near the Seymour Engine Plant to facilitate the expansion.”