Cummins Inc. has announced a growing number of orders for its new EPA-compliant engines, with build rates increasing to fulfill orders from more than 140 fleets in the industry.

Several fleets have placed large orders for more than 100 units, demonstrating their confidence in the engines. Among the fleets choosing the new Cummins engines are Knight Transportation, P.A.M. Transport, Tyson Foods, Mesilla Valley Transportation and Celadon. This complements the many small- and medium-sized fleets who are also placing orders for these new engines.
"We are also seeing a great deal of interest from fleets who have not operated Cummins products for several years," said Jeff Jones, Cummins vice president of sales and service. "Many of these competitive fleets have decided to evaluate the new products, and I'm confident that these tests will lead to significant orders for Cummins power in 2003."
Cummins was the first engine manufacturer to have an engine compliant to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) stringent new emission regulations for on-highway diesel engines. Cummins also received certification for a complete line of on-highway engines, including their ISM and ISB engines. These engines have been proven in real-world fleet testing since 1999.
"We are very pleased with the number of customers who have placed orders for these new engines," added Jones. "The early feedback has been extremely positive. Drivers are immediately impressed with the performance characteristics, and fleet managers are reporting excellent reliability and operating costs."
In August, Cummins introduced an Uptime Guarantee program to provide additional confidence for customers trying the new heavy-duty on-highway truck engines. The program, in addition to the already strong standard warranty programs, provides assurance to the trucking industry that the new engines will meet customer performance and reliability needs.
"The cooled EGR subsystem, based on the already proven performance of the ISB, ISM and ISX engines, has undergone more real-world testing than any previous new product launch," said Tom Kieffer, Cummins executive director of marketing. "By all measures this is turning out to be one of the best product launches in Cummins history."