Why are Cummins engines a leading brand in diesel generators?

by Charlie F. Fast Growth MD

Cummins Inc is a company that has always been at the forefront of the Industrial Engine market since it was founded in 1919. Created by Clessie Cummins and financially backed by William G Irwin, Cummins patented the concept of a direct injection engine in 1921.

With the early focus on automotive and on-highway engines, including two Cummins powered cars running in the prestigious Indianapolis 500, Cummins managed to reach the milestone of $1 million in sales by 1936. Despite all of these early successes, the company did not turn a profit until 1937. By 1955 half of the commercial diesel trucks running in the US were being powered by a Cummins Engine.

One of Cummins is strength is their global presence. This dates back as early as the 1950’s. Cummins were forward thinking when it came to international trade. They opened a Brazilian manufacturing facility in 1959, a partnership with Komatsu, saw their first manufacturing base in East Asia open in 1962 along with an Indian base due to a partnership with Kirloskar.

Cummins were also one of the pioneers in the Natural Gas Engine field, manufacturing this type of engine as early as 1964. In 1986 Cummins took steps to increase their footprint within the power generation industry by acquiring a controlling stake in Onan (acquiring the remainder of the company in1992), and also buying Newage AVK.

Since building their first Diesel Generator in 1947, Cummins has become one of the largest names in the Power Generation industry. Their Diesel Engines are a first choice for users around the world. They have been powering Diesel Generators for over 80 years.

One thing that sets Cummins apart from their competitors is their global dominance. Some brands are favoured by markets in some regions of the world and may not be as popular in other regions. Cummins is one of the few brands within the industry that is globally accepted. Cummins has made it one of their objectives to offer a product that is accepted by customers all over the world. This starts with having production facilities in different continents across the world. Cummins then follow this up by having their own regional offices around the world. Finally there are over 8,000 Cummins dealers across 190 countries. While the likes of Perkins and Baudouin can certainly meet most challenges, they don't have quite the same reach.

With regard to Diesel Generators it is of the upmost importance that down time is reduced. Whether this is the availability of an emergency backup Generator, or the availability of a spare part to fix a problem with the users current Diesel Generator. Cummins has both of these issues covered with their global distribution network. Reducing the disruption of the users power supply is always a key consideration when buying a Diesel Generator.

The engines that Cummins build today are backed up with 100 years of experience. The knowledge and manufacturing practices that are used when designing and assembling the engines draws on this experience. The robust design and manufacturing of these engines are industry leading. When all of these aspect are taken into account it results in a state of the art engine of the highest quality.

Cummins make sure that the quality of their products is installed in every product regardless of the origin of that engine. The globally followed design is used in every one of their manufacturing facilities. Suppliers are required to go through rigorous testing to get new parts and materials signed off before introducing them. The testing that each product must withstand, both during development and production, has evolved over many years of production.

The engines produced by Cummins are used in a multitude of applications. The ability of these engines to endure the most testing of applications is further testament to the quality of the product the company is producing.

Agriculture encompasses everything from the largest of products like Tractors and Combine Harvesters to smaller farm machinery such as a sprayer.

Bus, Coach and Truck is one of the applications that Cummins has built their esteemed history around. Cummins has over 1 million engines operating in this industry around the world today.

Cummins has been building engines for the Construction & Industrial markets for over 60 years. This is one of the broadest segments that Cummins focuses on. Their engines can power anything from Backhoes, Dozers and Dump Trucks to Forklifts and Mobile Cranes.

Cummins are a well respected supplier of Engines to the defence industry. This has always been a very testing market segment. The engines can be used in all types of machinery across climates and environments from anywhere in the world.

The Marine industry uses engines of all varying sizes. These engines can be used in boats of all sizes, ranging from the smallest fishing boats and motor boats up to cargo boats and ferries. The reliance on the engine when on board a vessel means that only the highest quality manufacturers become widely used in this industry.

Cummins first sold an engine into the mining industry in 1926. The fact that their engines have been used in this market for over 90 years proves the robustness of the engines. This application uses engines of all sizes and can place them in the harshest of environments.

The Oil and Gas industry uses some of the most specialist engines that Cummins produces. These engines are designed in conjunction with other Cummins business units utilising other Cummins manufactured products such as Turbos and Filtration Systems.

Cummins have evolved the designs of their engines used in the Rail industry over 70 years. The result of this experience and the continuous investment in this business line, means that Cummins are producing some of the most progressive Engines used in this application.

Cummins is able to use the expertise it gains in one market segment to improve their product offering within a different application. This constant evolution of their products means that Cummins Engines will continue to compete in all of these markets and be a benchmark for other brands to try and match.