Cummins to rev up auto site, 600 jobs

BYLINE: Ted Evanoff, The Indianapolis Star

Oct. 11--Written off not long ago as an industrial has-been, Indiana will get yet another major automotive plant -- a 600-employee diesel assembly line that Cummins will put in an underused Columbus factory.

Gov. Mitch Daniels is scheduled to join state and Cummins officials this morning at the company's Columbus Engine Plant for the announcement.

Cummins' new high-mileage diesel would go to an undisclosed automaker, priming the Columbus-based manufacturer for a potential boom if the engine catches on with everyday drivers in the next few years.

Information about worker wages and when the plant would open were unavailable late Tuesday.

Diesels cost more than gasoline engines, but Detroit is intent on using diesels because they can run 25 percent farther on a gallon of fuel, making them more economical than many hybrid engines.

Cummins' new diesel line apparently would require an investment that in scope would make it larger than that of Toyota Lafayette but smaller than that of Honda Greensburg.

Earlier this year, Honda announced it would build a $550 million car plant in Greensburg, while Toyota disclosed it would put a Camry line in Subaru's underused plant in Lafayette.

Honda, Toyota and now Cummins make Indiana the only state to land three major automotive plants in 2006. Now, concerns are emerging among factory managers in Central and southeastern Indiana of rising wage scales and a potential shortage of skilled industrial workers.

Cummins wouldn't confirm the deal, but Columbus and state officials were excited Tuesday that the big diesel maker's multistate site-selection process led to its hometown.

"This is huge for Columbus," said Brooke Tuttle, who just retired as the area's economic development director. "It's a feather in the cap for the state of Indiana in terms of how hard they worked to satisfy the issues at Cummins."

Issue No. 1 is production workers. Indiana has lost nearly 100,000 industrial jobs since 2000. But the supply of trained workers able to run the computerized machinery in new automotive plants is said to be limited. Honda will employ 2,067 after it opens in 2008, and the Camry line will employ 1,000 by the end of 2007.

Training grants for the new Cummins workers are expected to be part of the deal.

"They need highly educated people to run those machines," Tuttle said.

State officials also have agreed to support increased funding and program improvements at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus, according to sources familiar with the deal. Those improvements also could include the Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana campus in Columbus.

Cummins' 850-employee plant at Walesboro, just south of Columbus, already makes diesels for DaimlerChrysler's Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickup trucks.

Industry analysts figure the new diesel to be made in Columbus will be a smaller model most likely slated for Dodge and Jeep sport utility vehicles and regular Ram pickups.

Cummins already employs about 5,400 in the Columbus area. The plant chosen for the new diesel is an aged landmark near the city's downtown, the Columbus Engine Plant, where 625 employees work.

Long the home of Cummins' main assembly line, the plant lost its heavy-duty engine after Cummins consolidated heavy-duty production at Jamestown, N.Y., in 2002.

PROPOSAL AT A GLANCE

The new Cummins assembly line would:

--Create 600 jobs.

--Make Indiana the only state to win three automotive plants in 2006.

--Revive the Columbus Engine Plant.

--Raise concerns about a potential shortage of trained workers in Southern and Central Indiana.

--Increase the push to expand programming at the Ivy Tech and Indiana University-Purdue University campuses in Columbus, according to sources.

CUMMINS INC.

--What: Designer and manufacturer of diesel engines. It also sells to and serves its customers through a network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations in more than 160 countries and territories.

--Headquarters: Columbus.

--Ticker: CMI.

--Founded: 1919.

--2005 revenue: $9.9 billion.

--2005 net income: $550 million.

--Employees: 30,000 worldwide; 15,000 U.S.

--Chairman/CEO: Tim Solso.

--Major products: Heavy-duty engines for on- and off-highway applications; exclusive supplier of diesel engines for Dodge Ram pickups; engine filtration and after-treatment products; industrial silencers; turbochargers; engines and related products for mining, oil and gas, agricultural and marine markets.

--Operations: Besides plants in Columbus and Seymour, Cummins has facilities in Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. It also has plants in Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, Brazil, India, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Source: Cummins

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