Senior executives and members of the board from Cummins Inc. on Friday, June 3, completed a weeklong tour of Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa as part of a pan-Africa tour to evaluate the progress of the company’s strategy to significantly grow its business across the continent.
The strategy, which was unveiled in January, is aimed at strengthening Cummins’ position in primary markets, pushing resources closer to customers, acquiring and developing world-class talent, bettering communities and promoting corporate responsibility.
The Cummins delegation hosted meetings with business leaders and government officials, visited with customers and partners, and toured Company facilities in all four countries. The visit culminated with a ceremony to officially open the new Cummins Africa headquarters in Johannesburg.
“Cummins is working to push its Africa strategy across the continent, helping to transform potential into opportunity for the businesses and communities we serve,” says Tom Linebarger, Cummins president and chief operating officer. “Africa holds significant promise as a market for Cummins, and we aim to be leaders by delivering products and services tailored specifically to the unique needs of the countries and regions in which we operate.”
In addition to Linebarger, the Cummins delegation included Pamela Carter, president – Cummins Distribution; Tony Satterthwaite, president – Cummins Power Generation; Brady Southwick, executive director – Cummins Africa; and directors Carl Ware and Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz.
Cummins operates 25 facilities in Africa, has more than 1,000 employees and reported sales of $264 million on the continent in 2010. The company competes primarily in the power generation, mining and filtration markets in Africa. Cummins’ Africa strategy is designed to quadruple sales on the continent over the next five years and increase them to $2 billion by 2020.
“With more than half our revenue currently generated outside our home market in the U.S., Cummins understands the mutual value of a global company partnering with local talent and engaging in local communities,” Linebarger says. “Drawing on our experience of building strong businesses in countries such as Brazil, China and India, our Africa strategy is a tangible expression of our commitment to bring training and skills to the continent’s work force.”
