Eaton-Cummins JV an extension of existing collaboration

GALESBURG, Mich. – Shared corporate values and a history of working together brought Eaton and Cummins together, under a new joint venture that will produce automated transmissions for global markets.

The partnership, Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies, was announced Apr. 10. On a conference call later that day, Ken Davis, president of Eaton’s vehicle group, said the 50-50 joint venture will include the design, development and sales of medium- and heavy-duty automated commercial vehicle transmissions, beginning in North America and then expanding across the world. Existing product, including the Eaton Procision and UltraShift Plus transmissions, will be covered under the JV but will retain their current branding.

Future products, some which will be launched later this year, will be marketed under the Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies brand. Eaton and Cummins for several years have worked closely together in bringing to market the SmartAdvantage line of integrated powertrains, combining Eaton automated transmissions with Cummins engines.

“We are two strong companies with very similar values and a shared commitment to our customers’ success in the commercial vehicle market,” said Ed Pence, head of Cummins’ high horsepower business. “We will create an unmatched and fully integrated global support network for our customers by leveraging and combining the strengths of both companies’ respective service networks.”

The deal was first discussed in September 2015, when Cummins chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger identified key areas for critical growth.

“We have been talking continuously since 2015 on ways we could take the SmartAdvantage concept to the next level, if you will, and this opportunity emerged through those discussions,” said Pence.

Davis characterized the partnership as “an extension” of the collaboration that already existed between the two companies.

“We think this fits very nicely with our core strategy of offering comprehensive system solutions to our global OEM and joint venture partners,” said Pence.

The JV will be based out of Eaton’s Galesburg, Mich. campus and transmission production will continue at existing plants. The joint venture still requires regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, around the time the first new product developed under the JV will be launched.

 

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James Menzies is editorial director of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 24 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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