Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels joined executives from Cummins Inc. today to announce plans for the company’s second major headquarters expansion in eight months, creating up to 600 new jobs by 2014.
The $18 million project includes the construction of a 130,000-square-foot office building that will connect to the company’s corporate campus in downtown Columbus.
Once the new building is filled, most likely in the first half of 2013, Cummins will employ nearly 3,000 professionals in a two-block area.
The company currently employs more than 6,000 workers in Indiana and plans to continue hiring engineering, human resources, information technology, marketing and administrative staff for its Columbus headquarters.
“All of Indiana is proud of Cummins and the huge global success it is achieving. We are running out of ways to thank the company for its continued commitment to Indiana; I guess we’ll just thank our stars that Cummins is ours!” said Daniels.
Cummins is the largest independent maker of diesel engines in the world with more than 60 percent of its sales generated outside of the United States. Nearly a century-old, the Indiana-born company, designs, manufactures, sells and services diesel engines and related technology through its network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,200 dealer locations in more than 190 countries and territories.
Cummins reported its most profitable year in company history in 2010, largely on the strength of significant growth in large international markets such as China, India and Brazil.
“Today’s announcement is another sign that Cummins’ strength around the world benefits our business and communities in Indiana,” said Cummins chairman and chief executive officer Tim Solso. “Our strong partnership with the city of Columbus and state of Indiana is crucial to our ability to grow in the state and serves as a model for other communities in which we do business.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation will support the city of Columbus’ application to establish a Certified Technology Park (CTP) designation in the downtown area that encompasses the Cummins campus. The IEDC will also consider a request to amend the boundary of the city’s existing tech park as part of the project. The city of Columbus will provide $1 million for local education purposes, and at the request of the Columbus Economic Development Board, will also provide $12 million in additional local support for project construction costs.
