Columbus-based Cummins Incorporated is celebrating a record year in 2006 with a positive first quarter in 2007. Director of Public Relations Mark Land says officials knew coming into 2007 that they would have a pretty solid year. He says changes in emission standards meant the heavy-duty truck engine market would be down, but the first quarter of 2007 ended up being better than previously forecast, with increases in market shares and sales. Land says because Cummins is generating a lot of cash and paying off its debt, the company is able to invest in growth opportunities around the world. Closer to home, he says a new engine Cummins is working on will add 600 to 800 new jobs in the Columbus area. He says the company’s increases benefit more than Cummins employees.
Land says sales were up 5 percent at $2.8 billion in the first quarter, with a net income up 6 percent at $143 million. He says the power generation division at Cummins had its best quarter ever, with sales rising 26 percent to $675 million. Cummins was also able to return money to shareholders through a stock split earlier this year.
