Newest Tech Center Explores Advances in Remanufacturing

CUMMINS HAS OPENED ITS FIRST TECHNICAL CENTER  FOCUSED ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN REMANUFACTURING, A KEY COMPONENT OF THE COMPANY’S ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY.

The new center is adjacent to the company’s campus in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which also includes a remanufacturing plant.

“Our products work hard, and over the course of their service life may undergo wear, corrosion or other damage that requires correction during remanufacturing,” said Jennifer Rumsey, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Cummins. “We have made strategic investments in analysis-led design and other tools to advance our capability to recondition and remanufacture parts for the aftermarket.

“Remanufacturing returns Cummins products to same-as-new performance, and is a key part of Cummins’ Environmental Sustainability strategy and supporting our customers over the life of our products,” she added.

In addition to providing customers with a lower cost option to meet their power needs, remanufacturing keeps tons of the company’s product in use and out of landfills.

The process also requires 85 percent less energy than building a new engine. In many cases, remanufactured products today can be “up-cycled” to include design, emissions, fuel economy and quality upgrades. In 2016, Cummins sold about 17,000 remanufactured engines.

Approximately 25 employees – mostly engineers – will work in the new tech center, which will support all of Cummins' remanufacturing business globally. Previously that work has been done at other tech centers, plants or other facilities. The company has more than 20 technical centers around the world, some devoted to specific areas at Cummins and others that work with every business segment.

The center will house business-specific capabilities needed for remanufacturing, including core engineering, robotic and manual methods for additive manufacturing such as laser deposition, thermal spray and welding and capabilities for non-traditional remanufactured products like after-treatment and mechatronics – technology combining electronics and mechanical engineering.

These tools, combined with expertise in materials science and advanced manufacturing, enable Cummins to consistently make high-quality products that meet customer needs and reduce environmental impact.

Cummins leaders at the new center will work with the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico, technical universities, government and external research and development centers and Cummins technical centers worldwide.