The Hindu Business Line : Cummins India to be made sourcing hub for parent

THE Rs 2,000-crore Cummins operations in India, with nine companies in its fold, could soon be developing as a sourcing hub for both products and services for the $ 5.9-billion Cummins Inc, Ms Jean Blackwell, Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff, told news persons in Pune.

Ms Blackwell said she was on a mission to explore the growth potential for the group companies in India and the role they could play in Cummins Inc worldwide.

"Cummins in India is a low-cost, high-quality manufacturer of products that are now being supplied to Cummins Inc. globally and we are now examining how to expand the scope of their contribution in the global context," Ms Blackwell said. Cummins in India can contribute to the group worldwide by extending their technical and non-technical expertise, she said.

"For instance, I am examining the feasibility of outsourcing Cummins Inc's backend jobs such as transaction processing to the operations in India," she said. Ms Blackwell said the Cummins Research and Technology Institute (CRTI) that is scheduled to be launched in Pune towards the end of this month will play a significant role in the group's future products by working on analysis-led, computer-aided design of future products.

The institute will significantly reduce the amount of time spent in prototyping and thus reduce time to market for the group, which can prove critical in a highly competitive market, the CFO said.

Cummins India Ltd, meanwhile, has announced the launch of N14 in India catering primarily to the domestic power generation and industrial markets and said it is now ramping up its production plans for the C and X series of engines in India.

The N14, which meets the new emission regulations is available in 225 to380 kva for power generation and up to 525 HP for industrial applications. The new product will also be available in a low-height, horizontal version for railway applications. "While we did a partial launch of the C series for power generation applications in mid-2003, this year we aim to ramp up production full-scale at the facilities in Nagar and will evaluate opportunities for test marketing products for the exports and non-power generation applications," Mr Vinod Dasari, Joint Managing Director, CIL, said. The C and N14 from CIL will eventually replace the eight and twelve lt engines, Mr Dasari said, adding that the C series would be used by Tata Motors in its 49-tonne truck series.

Speaking at the launch of the N14, Mr Anant Talaulicar, Joint Managing Director, CIL, said the company plans to extend the C series to the full range of 140-200 KVA by the end of 2003-04 while the ramping up of its facilities in Daman for the X series will help CIL improve delivery capabilities for the X range which is targeted at the retail segment, including residential standby and fuel stations.

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