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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowCummins Inc. said Friday that it will expand its operations in Seymour, hiring 200 people in manufacturing and engineering over the next five years.
The Seymour plant is where Cummins makes high-horsepower diesel engines for power generation, mining and other industrial uses. Those products, which are in high demand in China, India and Brazil, have become more important as the the North American heavy-duty truck market flags.
"Our high-horesepower business continues to grow in importance," Cummins President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Linebarger said in a wriiten statement.
Cummins said it will invest $100 million in the Seymour plant as it rolls out a new, larger-displacement engine. The expansion includes the technical center, where products are tested, as well as the production floor. Cummins said it will double its engineering footprint and add a new assembly line and paint area.
Preparations for the technical center expansion will start immediately, and construction will be finished by mid-2011, the company said.
The company said it will also change the name to the Seymour Engine Plant, consistent with its practice at major engine plants elsewhere. The Seymour facility, previously called Cummins Industrial Center, currently employs 450 people.
The company said it's strengthening its commitment to Indiana by selecting Seymour for the expansion. The plant opened in 1976 and currently makes V903, K19, QSK19 and CQS30 diesel and natural-gas engines.
"Cummins is a homegrown Indiana company making its mark in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world," Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman said in a written statement. "We are proud of what they've grown here and are excited to see them add even more high-wage, high-tech positions in southern Indiana."
Details about the number of engineering and manufacturing jobs and their average wages was not immediately available, nor was information about possible state and local economic development incentives.
Cummins reported $2.48 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2010, up 2 percent from the prior year. The growth was driven by international markets.
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