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Cummins Inc. Is Proof We Need To Change With The Times

On Saturday, we wrote in this space that Jamestown can’t cling to its furniture-making past if it wants to survive.

The city should take a page from Cummins Inc. as proof that it must change with the times.

When one thinks of Cummins they think of big engines powering tractor-trailers up and down the highway. You probably don’t think of fuel cells powering electric-powered trucks and trains — but that’s exactly what Cummins is doing with its research and development programs.

That’s important not only for the environment, but for our area. Cummins stands a chance of being here for the long haul — no pun intended — because its corporate leadership team is investing in the next generation rather than working to perfect a model that is passing the company by. That doesn’t mean Cummins has ditched its gasoline-powered engines. It still produces them and is still improving them.

But company officials know that won’t always be the case. The Jamestown Engine Plant stands to be around long after those big diesel motors have been retired because Cummins’ leadership has adapted with the times. Unlike other industries that couldn’t adapt with the times and left a void in our area’s employment base when they closed down, it appears Cummins should be here long after its diesel-powered engines have been shut off for the last time because it is aggressive investing in non-gasoline technologies.

We don’t want to think of a south county economy without Cummins Inc. Hopefully the company’s investments mean we won’t have to.

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