Seymour Expansion Plans Include Focus on Education
Cummins plans to invest more than $200 million to expand its Seymour, Ind., campus and add 290 jobs to support the Company’s global high horsepower business.
As part of the project, the state, the city of Seymour and Cummins have agreed to focus on improving education in Seymour and Jackson County in the expansion efforts.
Investments in educational programs will not only help ensure a pipeline of skilled workers for Cummins and other companies in the region, but also provide opportunities for residents and local communities.
“When we can work together with state and local officials and build strong partnerships with educational institutions, Cummins benefits and our communities thrive,” Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger said at the expansion announcement April 24 at the Seymour Engine Plant.
As part of the expansion, Cummins will add new warehouses, more engineering and production test cells, a new office building that will hold up to 5,000 people, a cylinder block line, and a new manufacturing facility for aftertreatment components for high horsepower engines.
This is the third major Cummins announcement in Seymour in two years. The Company has already added new engineering and production test cells, a new shipping and receiving dock and started work on the QSK95 and QSK120, the most powerful high-speed diesel engines in the world (to learn more, click here).
"We are very excited to be announcing this major expansion of our high horsepower business, which is possible because of our strong growth in global markets," Linebarger said. "The high horsepower business is a growing part of Cummins and because of the demand for these products throughout the world we were able to add new high-skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs here."
Cummins currently employs 525 people at the Seymour Engine Plant.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered Cummins up to $250,000 in training grants based on the Company’s job creation as part of the expansion but that’s just the start of the education effort.
Officials are now working to develop their plans, but Cummins has already been partnering to help improve education in Seymour.
Last year, The Cummins Foundation joined forces with the Mind Trust, an Indianapolis group whose mission is to dramatically improve public education for underserved children, to sponsor the Summer Advantage USA program at the Seymour Middle School.
The program was designed to keep students engaged in learning over the summer, especially those at risk of falling behind when classes began in the fall.
"We are proud to be able to partner with Cummins and the state to make this exciting project a reality," said Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman. "Cummins has been an outstanding partner as we work to grow our community."