Cummins Expands in Turkey

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced that it will break ground in early 2011 on a multi-phased manufacturing site at the Aegean Free Trade Zone in Izmir, Turkey. The company plans to first build a filtration manufacturing plant and follow with a facility to produce alternators for its power generation business.

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Pasquotto and Yoder Promoted at Cummins Inc.

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced that Luis Pasquotto has been named Vice President – Cummins Latin America, Engine Business. With the promotion, Pasquotto, who has been with Cummins since 1992, also will become a Cummins corporate officer.

Pasquotto, 51 and a native of Brazil, has held leadership positions within the Cummins Engine Business Unit (EBU) in Brazil for the past several years. He currently serves as General Manager of Cummins EBU Brazil, a position he has held since July 2008. Prior to taking that role, Pasquotto served as Director – Marketing for the EBU in Brazil from 2000-2008.

In his new role, Pasquotto will oversee the EBU’s business across Latin America. He also will lead Cummins’ overall business in the region as Chair of the Company’s Latin America Leadership Council.

Cummins Inc. has also announced that it has promoted Lisa Yoder to the newly created position of Vice President – Global Supply Chain. In her new role, Yoder will report to Cummins President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Linebarger and become a corporate officer.

Yoder joined Cummins in 1987 as a manufacturing engineer and has served as Executive Director – Supply Chain and Operations for Cummins Power Generation since November 2007. Yoder now assumes responsibility for management of Cummins’ worldwide supply chain across all business segments.

Cummins is a corporation of complementary business units 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, 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. The Company reported net income attributable to Cummins Inc. of $428 million on sales of $10.8 billion in 2009.

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Columbus Opens Office in Shanghai

The Columbus Economic Development Board has announced the opening of a Trade Office in China. According to Inside INdiana Business, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract for a representative trade office in Shanghai. Columbus is the first Hoosier community of its size to establish a trade office in China.

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Cummins to Participate in 2010 World Expo

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced it will be an official sponsor of the USA National Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World EXPO, reports Inside INdiana Business. The event involves more than 190 countries and is expected to attract up to 70 million visitors. The EXPO will focus on environmentally sustainable development.

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Indiana's China Ties in Spotlight

Gov. Mitch Daniels (on a trip to China) helped unveil a new bybrid bus line from Columbus-based Cummins Inc. that will be used by the Hangzhou Public Transit Authority, reports Inside INdiana Business. (The unveiling is pictured, at left.)

But there's more China news than that this week. Eli Lilly & Co., is congratulating two of its employees, Helen Huang and her husband John He, for their work in helping other Chinese become acclimated to Indiana (an ad featuring the couple ran in The Indianapolis Star's business section on 9 September). He is an organic chemist, and Huang a bioanalytical chemist. He has been a six-term president of the Indianapolis Chinese Community Center.

And, today (10 September), a feature on the International School's new Mandarin Immersion program ran in the paper's "North Indy" section. Sherry Yang is the instructor.

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Immigration in Bartholomew County

"Immigrants and Immigration in Columbus and Bartholomew County" is the topic for a Civic Discussion Forum at 7 p.m. 23 October in the Custer-Nugent Lecture Hall in the Columbus Learning Center, 4555 Central Avenue, Columbus.

It's hosted by Indiana University-Purdue University in Columbus, in collaboration with various local education and nonprofit partners.

Presentations by Dr. Robert Aponte (pictured, left) and Dr. John E. Bodnar (pictured, right) will be followed by discussion.

Dr. Aponte, chair of the Department of Sociology and Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, has researched, published, and taught extensively on a variety of topics related to historic and contemporary Hispanic communities in the Midwest and elsewhere.

Dr. Bodnar, Chancellor’s Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Indiana University-Bloomington, has researched, published, and taught extensively on the immigration of a variety of European groups to Indiana and the Midwest and on the history of patriotism in America.

Following their presentations will be a discussion moderated by Dr. Douglas G. Gardner, project director of the forum and Coordinator of the History Program.

The Scots Invade Columbus

The 17th annual Scottish Festival in Columbus is scheduled for 13-14 September at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds.

Don't miss Sunday's Rugby Tournament, not to mention the clan tents, bagpipers, Scottish country dancers and the working sheep dogs. You can read all about it here.

Swiss Firm Moves from Bartholomew to Johnson

Inside INdiana Business reports that groundbreaking ceremonies were held yesterday for a new $15 million facility for Georg Utz. Inc. in Johnson County.

They note the Switzerland-based company is relocating operations from Bartholomew County, creating about 40 new jobs by 2011. The company designs and manufactures reusable, plastic storage containers and custom packaging.

Cummins Splits with Fiat

Columbus-based Cummins, Inc. has disposed of its one-third interest in the European Energy Alliance (EEA), according to a report by Inside INdiana Business.

The joint venture was formed in 1996 by Cummins and Fiat Group units New Holland and Iveco.

Cummins, Anthem Expand in China

Columbus-based Cummins has officially started operations at its new site in Wuhan, China, reports Inside INdiana Business. The Cummins Fuel Systems Wuhan Plant is the company's first fuel systems manufacturing site outside of North America. The facility will produce Cummins Common Rail fuel pumps and CELECT injectors/fuel pumps, primarily for the China market.

Inside INdiana Business also says that Anthem Insurance Co. Inc. has launched its first office in China. China Knowledge is reporting that the Anthem Insurance Co. Inc. Beijing Representative Office will work to improve medical care services in China.

Indiana's International Festivals

Major thanks to the F.C. Tucker Company of Indianapolis for publishing a brochure the Nationalities Council of Indiana has been trying to get funded and printed for decades! "International Festivals", mailed to its extensive list this week, includes details on sixteen different cultural celebrations around the state, from "Taste of Noble County Ethnic Festival" on 17 May in Ligonier to our very own International Festival 20-23 November in Indianapolis (all the festivals -- and more -- are on our calendar). As it says in the brochure, "We embrace our mixture of heritages and ethnicities with annual city festivals that feature crafts, entertainment, demonstrations, parades, and, most of all, food (because Hoosiers have never met a cuisine that wasn't worth celebrating!)." Next time you see a Tucker agent, say thanks!

Festivals included (in chronological order): Taste of Noble County Ethnic Festival (17 May), Dragons on the Ohio (6-7 June), Indiana Highland Games (14 June), International Festival of Arts and Culture (14 June), Oldenburg Freudenfest (18-19 June), Middle Eastern Festival (18-20 June), Swiss Days (24-26 July), Pierogi Festival (25-27 July), Jasper Strassenfest (31 July-3 August), Schweizer Fest (4-10 August), Swiss Wine Festival (21-24 August), Little Italy Festival (29 August-1 September), Greek Festival (5-6 September), Columbus Scottish Festival (13-14 September), Seymour Oktoberfest (2-4 October) and Indy's International Festival (20-23 November). Of course, there are many more ethnic festivals than these in Indiana, but this brochure is a great start!)

Vietnam Motors Industry Lures Cummins

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a joint venture to produce on-highway diesel engines in Vietnam, according to Inside Indiana Business. Cummins will work with Vietnam Motors Industry Corp. Financial terms of the deal have not been set and no timetable for completing the joint venture agreement has been established.

Cummins Begins Production in China Venture

Production on a new heavy-duty engine by Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has officially begun in China, reports Inside INdiana Business

The Cummins ISM 11-liter heavy-duty engine will be made through Xi’an Cummins Engine Company Limited (XCEC), a joint venture between Cummins and China's Shaanxi Automobile Group Company Limited (Shaanqi Group). The new engine will be made to pass EPA 2007 and Euro IV emission standards and be able to power trucks, long-distance coaches and double-decker buses.

Columbus Connects with China

Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong (right) has just returned from a trade mission to China and says he has at least four solid leads, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Armstrong and three other people went on the 17 day trip and met with about 35 Chinese companies that are looking to invest in the United States.

Armstrong says the trip was worth it. "In fact, one company was looking at a neighboring state and found out about Columbus after our little song and dance that we have and they're going to visit Columbus in the very near future and hold off their other state. So that's good news."

Armstrong says he stressed the area's educated workforce and quality of life to the Chinese. Armstrong says he will follow up with the companies that were interested and hopes to have news to announce soon. He anticipates making one to two trips a year to China to try to secure investment in Columbus.

Cummins Supplies Bus Engines to Beijing

Columbus-based Cummins, Inc. has signed a deal with Beijing Public Transport Holdings Ltd. to supply 1,400 diesel and natural gas engines to power transit buses in China's capital city, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Cummins says this is the largest order of Euro IV diesel engines in the Chinese bus market. The order is part of the transport company's fleet upgrade to prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games being held in Beijing.

China began adopting European on-highway emission standards in 2001 and the countrywide environmental standard is now Euro II. Beijing leads the country in terms of emission compliance with Euro III being the current standard, and the capital city will move to Euro IV in 2008.

Cummins is the largest supplier to China's nationwide Euro III/IV diesel bus engine market and is the largest supplier in the country's natural gas transit bus engine sector.

Cummins buys out Indian turbocharger partner

According to The Indianapolis Business Journal, Cummins Inc. has bought the 50 percent stake in a turbocharger manufacturing operation in India that it didn't already own.

The Columbus diesel engine maker didn't disclose the price it paid to assume total ownership of Tata Holset Limited, a unit of Tata Group of Companies.

Tata Holset will be renamed Cummins Turbo Technologies.

Cummins partners with A.G.Leventis in Nigeria

According to Inside Indiana Business, Columbus-based Cummins, Inc., has signed a joint venture deal to create a new company in West Africa.

The partnership with Nigerian company A.G. Leventis will manufacture power generators.

The company says Cummins West Africa will continue to build on its strategy to enter emerging markets at an early stage. Cummins says this follows the establishment of recent operations in China and India, according to Inside Indiana Business.