Plant ‘mom’ is matriarch in more ways than one

The piston is to an engine as a mother can be to a family. Each can be seen at the core of their unit’s functions, a heart pumping energy to keep their responsibility moving.

Melinda F. is that, not only to her blood family but to the one she has fostered in a 26-year career on the manufacturing floor and in Operations Excellence at Cummins Mid-Range Engine Plant (CMEP) in Columbus, Indiana. 

As a result of her mother hen nature, character and attitude, much of the workforce at the plant refers to Melinda as ‘mom,’ even her own boss.

The respect and reliability she has engrained in her working relationships are the most important elements to a productive environment, according to Melinda.

“I really think that people know when you genuinely care about them and they feel that. I love them just like they're mine, always have,” Melinda said.

Foundationally, Cummins Inc. is indeed a family business with lineage shared between its namesake and J. Irwin Miller who would become a patron leader of the company founded by his great-uncle.

Cummins is a family business for Melinda, too, and not just because of the surrogate children her nickname implies. Three of her four children and a grandson have all followed in her footsteps in building a career at the company.

Daughter Dana S. began her career at CMEP and is entering her 24th year at Cummins as a Global Onboarding Senior Specialist. She was a teenager when her mom started at the plant and recalled a shift in happiness at home.

"I remember her not being as tired. She seemed to actually enjoy her job,” Dana said. "I remember her telling me that she was driving a forklift, and I was like 'oh my gosh, that sounds terrifying' and she loved it."

Mica G. did not share her sister’s trepidation about mom’s job responsibilities. She has spent nine years at Cummins in various roles including factory shipping, assembly line and Operations Excellence.

"We weren't raised that a girl couldn’t do something because (she was) a girl or (that) this was a guy's world,” Mica said.

Both daughters are mothers themselves and along with Melinda admit that plant schedules can provide a challenge in raising a family. They credit the culture at Cummins for cultivating a village where coworkers form a team on and off the clock.

"You find ways to make it work. If you approach people and you have a good attitude, people care. You come together,” Mica said. "You have a whole family support system here doing whatever you can so we can all get through the week."