Cummins UK is a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

manufacturer and the

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...

US distributor for the UK and Ireland. Cummins Inc. is a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

of complementary

business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even thoug ...

s that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in

Columbus, Indiana Columbus () is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 50,474 at the 2020 census. The city is known for its architectural significance, having commissioned noted works of modern architect ...

, (US) Cummins serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 5,200 dealer locations.

Cummins UK

The first manufacturing facility outside of the United States was opened at

Shotts Shotts is a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The town has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertra ...

in Scotland in 1956, it was known as Cummins Engine Company Ltd. Cummins occupied "the Wrens Nest" textile factory where diesel engines were manufactured. Taking advantage of the presence of a nearby

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

earthmover plant, dependent on Cummins engines, they began building the NH series diesel engines. Part of this plant still exists today in the form of Linden International. The Scottish Cummins factory was largely successful but closed in March 1998, with its operations being consolidated to the Cummins' manufacturing facility at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. The Darlington plant, built in partnership with Chrysler International, had first opened in 1964 specifically to build the V6/V8 "Vim-Vine-Vale" engine series. While this engine flopped in the UK, exports (mainly to Mexico's DINA) kept the plant profitable. The

Daventry Daventry ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, Daventry had a populati ...

plant came on line in 1972 to build the K-series and other heavy industrial engines. Cummins UK originally mostly sold larger, premium diesel engines in the UK - with the first British-built Cummins diesel going on to power the Seddon truck carrying Donald Campbell's

Bluebird K7 ''Bluebird K7'' is a jet engined Hydroplane (boat), hydroplane in which Britain's Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records between 1955 and 1967. ''K7'' was the first successful jet-powered hydroplane, and was considered revoluti ...

racing boat. Cummins then gradually expanded downwards, with the 10 litre L10 engine in 1982 and the 3.9 to 5.9 litre B-series arriving in 1986. The Cummins

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

ing throughout the UK and the world has gone through many changes over the years; going from Cummins blue to the current red, white and black branding. All Cummins branding decisions are made at a corporate level from the central

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

, and then rolled throughout all Cummins distributors around the world. In 1986 the business of Self-Changing Gears was purchased. Cummins UK is the

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

for UK and Ireland; but it wasn't always known by this name. Cummins Diesel Sales & Service Limited was owned by Blackwood Hodge CDS&S, operating out of Blackwood Hodge, UK. It was acquired by Cummins Inc and renamed Cummins Diesel in 1984, before having its name changed to Cummins UK in 2004. This was the case for many Blackwood Hodge operations throughout the world, for example in Australia. Cummins UK currently has eight service centres across the UK and Ireland, with its Irish facility based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and its central parts warehouse based at its headquarters in

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene. Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...

at Park Farm Industrial Estate. Just after 2004 Cummins UK changed the way it operated, moving all stock (apart from some fast moving parts) out of its branches and into its headquarters in Wellingborough.

Engines

Cummins

diesel engines The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the die ...

were traditionally

fire engine red Fire engine red, also known as fire truck red in North America, is an informal name for an bright red commonly used on emergency vehicles in many countries on fire service vehicles, such as fire engines. The name does not refer to any particu ...

and are still red today in many of its

market sector The term market sector is used in economics and finance to describe a part of the economy. It is usually a broader term than '' industry'', which is a set of businesses that are buying and selling such similar goods and services that they are in ...

s. Green engines tend to be used in power generation, and black in the marine division. The red engines are a popular feature in many buses and coaches on the roads. Many Cummins engines are manufactured in one of two Cummins manufacturing facilities in the UK, in

and

. The engines are then prepared for the UK market and also for worldwide distribution. Together these two facilities employ a large number of engineers and Cummins is one of the largest employers in

. The range of engines that Cummins UK service include

Cummins B Series engine The Cummins B Series is a family of diesel engines produced by American manufacturer Cummins. In production since 1984, the B series engine family is intended for multiple applications on and off-highway, light-duty, and medium-duty. In the autom ...

, Cummins C Series engine, Cummins M Series engine and Cummins L Series engine and others. Cummins UK sells engines to various markets, including buses and trucks.

Markets

Cummins UK supplies

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

s and products to a variety of different market sectors including agricultural, bus & coach, construction, industrial, marine, military, mining, power generation, rail and truck. Business operations are based at the headquarters in Wellingborough. Cummins UK are also the sole distributor for Cummins Onan generators for the Marine Industry in the UK and Ireland. One of the largest divisions in Cummins UK is the Power Generation division. They provide essential power via generator sets to hospitals, shopping centres and other major business.

Customers and product distribution

Cummins UK customers fall into various sectors, including

end user In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user) is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrato ...

s, rental companies, dealers, OEMs, and export houses amongst others. The business sells its products either directly to its customers or via one of over 100 key dealers throughout the UK and Ireland. These are chosen via a detailed selection process and then certified to become a Cummins dealer, with the

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

process specified by the worldwide headquarters in the US.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080828160142/http://www.cummins-uk.com/ * http://www.cummins.com * https://web.archive.org/web/20100530035624/http://www.cmdmarine.com/ * http://www.fleetguard.com * http://www.edge.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummins Uk Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom Uk British subsidiaries of foreign companies