P-J Photo by Christopher Blakeslee
From left, Chair and Chief Executive Officer for Cummins Inc., Jennifer Rumsey and Shaw Hricko, the plant manager of the Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant (JEP) celebrate Friday afternoon, during the facility’s 50th Anniversary.
It’s been a fabulous 50 years for Cummins Inc. in the Jamestown area. A $452 million investment in the plant located in Busti seeks to extend the company’s presence locally another 50 years.
“Celebrating 50 years of the Jamestown Engine Plant is a proud moment for all of us at Cummins,” said Jennifer Rumsey, Cummins chair and chief executive officer, during a visit to the Jamestown Engine Plant on Friday. “We are uniquely positioned to build upon the decades of experience in designing and manufacturing industry-leading products here in Jamestown, including our industry’s first heavy-duty X15N engine launching this year. As we look to the future with our Destination Zero strategy and Cummins HELM (Higher Efficiency Lower Emissions Multiple Fuels) platforms, I am excited about our continued journey towards providing sustainable power solutions with Jamestown playing a critical role.”
For the Jamestown plant manager, who has a cumulative total of 22 years of service with Cummins, reaching this milestone is due in part to the plant being able to adjust to the needs and demands placed on it.
“Time and time again, the plant has adjusted or re-invented itself, to meet the demands of our customers and our company,” said Shawn Hricko, the new plant manager. “Innovation and excellence for 50 years now.”
Hricko then spoke about the current state of employees and the recruiting efforts needed to meet the plant’s growing manpower demands.
“We need to hire 200 more employees,” he said. “We understand the need to take care of our employees. We have competitive health and dental plans, plus we have a medical center right in the plant, and wellness/fitness gym. …Employees can use the gym whenever they want. They get a keycard to access it, and it’s fully staffed.”
As part of Cummins commitment to the Jamestown Engine Plant, the organization has committed $452 million investment to upgrade the facilities.
Contributing to the success of the Jamestown Engine Plant, Rumsey said, is the team of employees who not only work at the plant, but also are plant representatives and leaders in the communities where they live. Rumsey talked about the corporate culture of Cummins; where the employees of the various plants are active, key and involved community members.
“It’s part of our corporate culture; to be involved in our local communities,” said Rumsey. “Our employees live and work in the area, so we want them to be involved in their communities.”
Hricko expanded on some of the more intricate details of the Jamestown plant employees’ contributions to the local communities.
“JEP annually contributes $1 million back to the community through charitable donations and employee volunteer hours served,” he said. “We helped fund the new playground on Second Street, in Jamestown. Plus, we have employees who volunteer their time to do things like paint buildings, help with local non-profits and so many other things. They tend to fly under the radar, not wanting recognition, but they’re also a key to why the plant has been so successful. We try to let the funding, scope of the projects and what we support be employee driven.”
With 50 years accumulated in Jamestown, Rumsey, talked about what the next 50 years looks like for Cummins as a corporation and the Jamestown Engine Plant as well.
“We are looking at reaching our Destination Zero strategy,” she said. “We have a hardline of 2050 and short-term, 2030 targets.”
According to cummins.com, the 2030 goals include reducing absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from facilities and operations by 50%; reduce scope three absolute lifetime GHG emissions from newly sold products by 25%; partner with customers to reduce scope three GHG emissions from products in the field by 55 million metric tons; reduce volatile organic compounds emissions from paint and coating operations by 50%; create a circular lifecycle plan for every part to use less, use better, use again; generate 25% less waste in facilities and operations as percent of revenue; reuse or responsibly recycle 100% of packaging plastics and eliminate single-use plastics in dining facilities, employee amenities and events and reduce absolute water consumption in facilities and operations by 30% and generate 25% less waste in facilities and operations as percent of revenue.
“We will continue to explore and expand upon renewable, green energy sources and continue to be the leaders in our industry,” said Rumsey. “Right now, one in every three trucks have one of our engines in it.”