Cummins Inc. and Guangxi LiuGong Machinery Co. today announced a joint venture partnership to manufacture MidRange engines at a new facility to be built in Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province in southern China. The operation will begin engine production in 2013. The companies plan to reach 50,000 units with the capability to expand in the future.
The joint-venture agreement was signed in Liuzhou City by Wang Xiaohua, chairman of Guangxi LiuGong and Steve Chapman, group vice president of Cummins and chairman of Cummins China. The joint venture engines will be based on Cummins MidRange engines meeting Tier 2 and Tier 3 emissions. The engines will be fully localized in China and adapted for construction equipment usage by the joint venture to meet the demand of LiuGong and other equipment manufacturers in China.
The new investment in MidRange engine production will complement Cummins existing manufacturing capabilities in China that have focused primarily on the automotive market.
“The joint venture announced today with LiuGong creates the foundation for both parties to significantly expand in the construction equipment market in China, the largest in the world, and where robust demand will continue to drive growth,” said Tom Linebarger, president and chief operating officer, Cummins Inc. “I am delighted that we are expanding our long-term relationship with LiuGong, one of the leading and most respected equipment companies in China. LiuGong has achieved outstanding growth in recent years and is poised to expand its business even faster in the years ahead.”
Cummins currently supplies MidRange engines to LiuGong for both its domestic market in China and for its global operations. The joint venture operation in Liuzhou will focus on introducing engines that are purpose-designed and fully localized for construction equipment in China.
LiuGong, based in Liuzhou, China, offers wheel loaders, excavators, bulldozers, rollers, graders, pavers, backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, truck-mounted and crawler cranes, mining trucks and more to the global market. It has 17 manufacturing facilities in China, India and other regions, with a sales and service network in more than 80 countries. Cummins, based in Columbus, Ind., serves customers in more than 190 countries, including engines, fuel systems, air handling, filtration, and electrical power generation systems.
