Cummins Inc. announced Tuesday, Jan. 2, that the Environmental Protection Agency has certified the company’s heavy-duty and midrange truck engines for 2007, and that full production of the new engines also began Tuesday.
In order to be prepared for an anticipated midrange engine share growth and the expected increase in heavy-duty engine demand by the end of first quarter ’07, Cummins says it intends to retain its entire permanent work force at all of its North American engine manufacturing plants.
The ’07-certified truck engines include the heavy-duty ISX and ISM, as well as the midrange ISL, ISC and ISB. The engines are certified and compliant for ’07, using Cummins’ cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology across the entire product line. To meet the more stringent ’07 emissions standards, which reduce particulate matter by 90 percent and also require a significant reduction in oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from 2004 limits, Cummins has added an integrated proprietary particulate filter and a crankcase ventilation system to the engines.
“With more than 400,000 cooled EGR engines on the road, and well over 40 billion miles of experience, Cummins customers can be confident in the reliability and durability of these engines,” says Jim Kelly, vice president and president of engine business of Columbus, Ind.-based Cummins. “We are confident in the customer certification for 2007 on-highway engines advantages provided by our 2007 engines and emissions solution. Field testing and limited production units have demonstrated the performance, fuel economy and maintenance intervals that will meet and exceed customer expectations.
The entire line features fully integrated electronic controls with a single ECM (electronic control module) that controls the engine and aftertreatment. All engines will use the patented sliding-nozzle variable geometry turbocharger (VG Turbo) made by Cummins Turbo Technologies, which features an electric actuator for ’07 with faster response and improved precision in adjusting airflow to the engine.
The Cummins particulate filter, designed and manufactured by Cummins Emission Solutions, includes a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and a diesel particulate filter designed to reduce particulate matter by 90 percent. Cummins says the DOC fully optimizes the regeneration capability of the particulate filter, a critical aspect for maintaining fuel economy comparable to today’s engines. The crankcase ventilation system features the Fleetguard coalescing filter, which is designed to capture and filter crankcase emissions, and return oil directly to the sump. The coalescing filter is a simple and proven solution for crankcase emissions, with no moving parts nor additional electric actuation, according to the company.
“Cummins 2007 engines will be available in all major equipment manufacturers’ vehicles, from heavy- and medium-duty trucks, to buses, motorhomes and other vocational and specialty vehicles,” Kelly says. “The vote of confidence from our original equipment manufacturer customers to engineer Cummins into their vehicles — in many cases as the exclusive, non-proprietary engine — means that our mutual customers can also be confident in Cummins’ ’07 engines.”
