Cummins South Africa, the local branch of the international diesel engine manufacturing company, has increased the level of service support for Cummins engines fitted to agricultural equipment.
African tractor sales increased by about 22% in 2006, and the number of tractors fitted with Cummins engines increased from 7% to 11,1%. Bernard Classen, key accounts manager: industrial business at Cummins says, “international success of Cummins engines in agricultural equipment is increasingly reflected in SA and there has been an increase in demand for after-sales service and field back-up.”
Major international brand names such as John Deere, Massey Ferguson, McCormick, Case and New Holland are fitting Cummins engines to a variety of tractors and harvesters for specific agricultural duties.
The huge, 15 litre, six-cylinder QSX 15-450, generating 335kW, is fitted to tractors such as the Case IH STX 450, and New Holland TJ 450. Cummins 8.3 litre C278 six-cylinder engines, rated up to 209kW, power the McCormick ZTX range. New Holland’s TG model tractors and the Holland CS660 combine harvester also use this engine.
Proud progress
Cummins Diesel’s history reflects the progress of diesel engines in transport and agriculture. The company was founded in 1919 by Clessie Lyle Cummins, who was among the first to see the commercial potential of the unproven engine technology invented by Rudolph Diesel at the turn of the century. F or more than a decade the new engine wasn’t a commercial success until Clessie Cummins mounted a diesel engine in an old Packard limousine.
On Christmas Day 1929, Cummins took his backer WG Irwin for a ride in the US’s first diesel-powered automobile. was so enthusiastic that he provided the cash to finance a number of speed and endurance records over the next few years, including a testing 25 000km run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1931.
This proof of the durability of the concept helped Cummins to gain a firm foothold in the trucking industry. I n 1933 the Model H engine was launched and became the most successful truck engine on the market. It was so reliable that in 1940 Cummins was offered the industry’s first 100 000 mile warranty.
In the 1950s, the US embarked on a massive interstate highway construction programme and Cummins engines powered much of the equipment that built the roads. ruckers demanded power, reliability, economy and durability and the company responded to this challenge.
A combination of laboratory research and field trials, including dramatic performances at the Indy 500 races, enabled Cummins to develop technological breakthroughs such as the revolutionary PT (pressure time) fuel injection system. By the end of the 1950s the company was the market leader in heavy truck diesel engines.
As business grew, the company looked to world markets and launched the first overseas manufacturing facility in Scotland in 1956. By the end of the 1960s Cummins had expanded its sales and service network to 2 500 dealers in 98 countries. Today the company has more than 5 000 facilities in 197 countries and territories. – Joe Spencer For more information contact Cummins Diesel SA on (011) 321 8700. |fw
