Judging by all she's accomplished so far, Syntyche has a bright future ahead

Calling Syntyche Koumaglo an overachiever just may be an understatement. Growing up in Togo, a small country in West Africa, she often had to deal with hardships such as unreliable electricity. “I remember growing up with frequent power shortages and outages. I would be doing my homework and couldn’t finish because the power would just shut off. It’s a problem that still exists there today.” 

This is what first sparked Syntyche’s interest in going to America to study electrical engineering. In 2011, she enrolled in Saint Cloud University in Minnesota where she received her B.S. in Electrical Engineering and was proud to serve as president of the university’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter. 

During her time at Saint Cloud, Syntyche was also honored to receive numerous scholarships and an award for being the Orientation Leader with Most School Spirit. Yet, her greatest honor was being asked to give the commencement speech at her graduation.

My audience was approximately 6,000 faculty, students and their families. In the speech, I wanted to emphasize my gratefulness for education in the United States, encourage my peers to keep pursuing their ’Why’ and take the time to invest in the next generation.

It is now five years after graduation and Syntyche’s journey continues here at Cummins where she serves as a Service Training Developer and Instructor developing and delivering technical training for our power systems products. “I was drawn to explore Power Generation at Cummins, where I currently work on generators' software testing and train service trainers. So, now I’m the one training the trainers all over the world.”

She may be out of college, but that doesn’t mean the honors, achievements, and extracurricular activities are at an end. In 2019, Syntyche was proud to be named a judge at the Cummins TopTech Competition, an initiative designed to encourage, recognize, and retain top service technicians within the business. The winners of each region are sent to the final competition at Cummins Headquarters where winner goes home with $10,000 and the second prize is $5,000.

Out of the judges and competitors, 17 total, I was the only female judge grading technicians. My station was a 30 kW generator with three bugs. While one of the technicians was debugging, he introduced a fault which I had fun repairing.

Syntyche is also still involved with the Society of Women Engineers, now in a professional capacity as the Cummins Awards Committee Lead.

“The SWE Awards are the Oscars of the Women in Engineering world, and I led the awards applications process within Cummins. I was responsible for getting the word out about the awards through calls for nominations, leading the selection committee in decision making, and assisting the nominees with their applications. In the end, my work was very gratifying, as six Cummins nominees won awards.”

Syntyche goes on to explain that it wasn’t just the results that she enjoyed. “I found the whole process to be very rewarding. I got to meet and interact with some wonderful women engineers. I learned about them and their career paths and expanded the network of people I could ask questions to and help me with my own career.”

That’s one of the things I like most about Cummins, people are always willing to help you and share their time and experience with you.

Another aspect Syntyche enjoys is how much Cummins supports and encourages employees to give back to their local communities. True to her graduation speech, Syntyche is involved in inspiring the next generation by participating in SEEK (The Summer Engineering Experience for Kids) – a partnership between Cummins and The National Society of Black Engineers that gives elementary students the opportunity to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through weekly competitive projects.

As for where her STEM career is headed, Syntyche is exploring her options. “I’m kind of looking at a bunch of things right now. I’m not exactly sure, but I know it will be a mix of engineering and some type of design or management. I’m also looking at going back to school, which Cummins is very supportive of. Ultimately, it’s my dream to empower the people of my country to be able to have the resources that I have access to here and help them grow.”


Interested in a career with Cummins? Check out our careers section.

Want to hear more from our team? Find more employee stories here.

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Lauren Cole

Lauren is the Senior Digital Communications Specialist for Cummins Inc, where she focuses on social media, employee storytelling, and employer branding. Lauren joined the company in early 2017 and has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Indiana University. 

Supporting Indigenous communities

Cummins announces commitment to Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) Program

Cummins announces commitment to Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) Program

Cummins Inc. delivers superior solutions for its customers to power their communities and the world. It does that with the company’s steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion – winning with the power of difference. 

In honor of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and as part of Cummins’ objective to create positive and meaningful relations with Indigenous businesses and communities in the region, Cummins is proud to announce it is now at the “Committed” level of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) Program.

Shashiraj Shanbhag, Vice President, Product & Service Management – Canada, and leader of the Canada Indigenous Relations initiative at Cummins: “We have been doing a great deal of work specific to Indigenous communities in Canada for several years. Since recently joining the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations Program at the Committed Level, the program will provide Cummins with external validation to all the work our employees have been doing and additional opportunities to do even more. The PAIR certification is an excellent opportunity for us to measure and strengthen our work in deepening relations with Indigenous communities throughout Canada.”


The work of PAIR


Established by the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business, the PAIR Program is a rigorous, independent third-party certification program for corporate performance in Indigenous relations. The process evaluates measurable outcomes and initiatives in four performance areas: Leadership Actions, Employment, Business Development and Community Relations.

Since its inception in 2001, PAIR has maintained its position as the foremost corporate social responsibility program, with a distinct focus on Indigenous relations. PAIR's certification program instills a strong sense of confidence in communities due to its foundation on independent third-party validation of company reports, and the ultimate company rating is decided by a panel of Indigenous business professionals. As a PAIR committed company, Cummins will undergo the process of external verification and work collectively with the CCIB and Indigenous stakeholders toward the long-term goal of achieving Gold Certification.


The work of Cummins Canada


Cummins’ commitment to PAIR is another step on the company’s journey to building a diverse global culture, which includes expanding its relations with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world. As part of this journey, Cummins and its employees located in Canada have taken the following steps:

  • Established an Indigenous Relations team with about 15 active volunteers across Canada
  • 1400+ employees in Canada have completed Indigenous Awareness Training
  • Supported initiatives for Indigenous communities in areas of Education and Equity with more than USD 100,000 of funding from Cummins Grant

As a global organization amongst a diverse and growing group of companies from across Canada that share a commitment to the Indigenous community, Cummins Canada continues to develop relationships with Indigenous peoples across the country and seeks ongoing ways to support the communities in which it lives and works. In its commitment to fostering positive change, Cummins also looks inward, engaging its own employees in initiatives that promote understanding, respect and collaboration with Indigenous peoples. 

To learn more about Cummins’ ongoing commitment to not only Indigenous communities but to the many communities employees live and serve throughout the world, please visit cummins.com
 

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Cummins Inc.

Cummins, a global power technology leader, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. The company’s products range from internal combustion, electric and hybrid integrated power solutions and components including filtration, aftertreatment, turbochargers, fuel systems, controls systems, air handling systems, automated transmissions, electric power generation systems, microgrid controls, batteries, electrolyzers and fuel cell products.

Happy 20th anniversary to Cummins Czech Republic

Cummins Czech Republic - 20th Anniversary

Cummins Czech Republic is celebrating the 20th anniversary of being a wholly-owned distributor of Cummins Inc.

Before April 2004, Cummins customers in the Czech Republic relied on an independent distributor primarily concerned with the power generation market plus a number of independent repair shops.

Creating a Cummins-owned distributor was seen as key to establishing a strong and reassuring presence in a developing market, which over the past two decades has become a major manufacturing base for several globally recognised original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The bulk of the customers served by Cummins Czech Republic, whose remit incorporates neighbouring Slovakia, operate in the agriculture, power generation, mining and construction market segments.

There are also key automotive accounts as well as direct support for national institutions and infrastructure projects.

Cummins Czech Republic was launched one month ahead of the country being welcomed into the European Union as an official member in April 2004.

Accession to the EU was seen as a turning point for the Czech Republic as it opened up the country to new opportunities for investment and growth.

Highly competitive labour costs and a skilled workforce made it an attractive proposition as a manufacturing hub.

“We started here at our headquarters in Prague with just three employees and one technician,” said Lukas Skoda, Cummins Czech Republic Country Leader.

“Today, we have 19 employees, six technicians and four independent authorised dealers covering our territory. We also support the dealer networks of some of our OEM customers.”

Lukas said everyone within the business was proud to reach the 20-year milestone.

“Over the past two decades, we have seen engine technology develop considerably, and we have responded to our customers’ demands for ever greater levels of technical and strategic support,” he said.

Back in April 2004, Europe was at Euro III/IV emissions certification for automotive engines and Stage II for mining and industrial engines to be certified. Now, the standard is Euro VI for diesel, natural gas and hybrid, working toward Euro VII, and mining and industrial engines are at Stage V.

Meanwhile, Cummins is making technical advancements in new power solutions, including powertrains, batteries and fuel cells, which will help enrich future partnerships with customers in the Czech Republic and across Europe.

In its 20 years of operation, Cummins Czech Republic has established itself as a force for good in the community. More than 90% of Cummins Czech Republic employees participate in Cummins Every Employee Every Community (EEEC) volunteer programme annually.

Since 2016, employees have volunteered more than 900 EEEC hours to help local community partners that are supporting environmental education, restoration and waste reduction as well as projects focused on reducing isolation for the elderly.

The success of Cummins in the Czech Republic and Slovakia over the past 20 years owes much to the commitment of a loyal and hardworking team that has pulled together to create successful partnerships with customers in a variety of business segments.

“Becoming an integrated part of Cummins was a huge step for us in the Czech Republic and showed a level of confidence in the country that I believe we have justified over 20 years,” said Lukas Skoda.

“Now, with so many new technologies available to us, so many strong relationships and such a strong vision of where we want to be as a business, we are ready and excited about the next chapter.”

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