Tata Cummins Limited (TCL) is a 50-50 joint venture between Tata Engineering and Cummins Engine Co., Inc.-USA. While Tata Engineering is the largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India, Cummins Engine Co. is the largest 200+ HP diesel engine manufacturer in the world. The Joint Venture was incorporated  in Oct 1993 and commercial production commenced on January 1, 1996. This represents the fastest new plant start up in Cummins world wide.

Our primary market is the Indian commercial vehicle business. Tata Engineering is our largest customer and ‘delivery partner’. Tata Engineering’s entire fleet of Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles uses TCL built engines. We also manufacture base engines for power generation and construction equipment markets and supply them through Cummins India Limited.

Our vision  is to be widely acknowledged and benchmarked as one of the best companies in the world.  We  achieve this through our core  values :

Ø       Care for customers

Ø       Obsession for quality

Ø       Care deeply about  people

Ø       Do what’s right and not what’s convenient

Ø       Guarantee  product leadership

Ø       Responsible citizenship

Ø       Relentless improvement

Products and Markets.  Our Automotive ‘B’ series engines are  EURO I compliant. We have also demonstrated our capability to manufacture  EURO II engines which will be productionised  shortly. The B series engine is the most popular engine in its range in the world with an extremely simple and robust design. TCL manufactures 4 and 6 cylinder versions of Cummins B series engines with a number of ratings between 105 and 235 HP. In Automotive application our engines are used on 25 different vehicle models, ranging from 12T to 40 T GVW and wheel base from 3.2 m to 5.9 m. These vehicles are used in applications such as bus, truck, tipper, trailer & car carrier. Our industrial B-Series engines are used in excavators produced by Telcon (earlier known as Construction Equipment Business Unit of Telco). Besides, the engines are sold in Genset market for 85KVA power rating.

Unique advantages as perceived by the end user of the equipment using a Cummins B-Series engine are:

Ø       more powerful and efficient performance         

Ø       high reliability

Ø       lower life cycle cost

Ø       lower emissions

Ø       Upto 40% less parts as compared to competitive designs which results in less maintenance cost.

Ø       No special service tools required

Ø       Easy to recondition

Ø       No oil top up required between oil change interval.

Customer Support :  Our overarching goal is to delight customers and make them ‘Customers for Life’. The engines reach end users through our delivery partners, Tata Engineering and Cummins India. Spare parts and Service support are provided through Tata Engineering & Cummins Diesel Sales and Service (CDS&S). Necessary technical inputs are provided by our After Market Support Group. Technical Training is imparted to various dealers as well as road side mechanics. To help customers, we have installed a ’24 hours help line’ at TCL, expert service engineers can be contacted, round the clock, at phone number Intl’-91-657-285088. Email: customerhelpline@tata.cummins.com

Work/Quality Systems: 

Ø       We are a QS  9000 company.

Ø       We follow Cummins Production System which is an operation’s approach to achieve Customer Led Quality Objectives.

Ø       We have been awarded “HRD Excellence award” by CII, Eastern region  in 1997.

Ø       We have embraced  TPM  in 1999 to improve operational effectiveness. We intend to be a TPM company  by 2003.

Ø       TCL has very strong systems and IT infrastructure controlling and facilitating  its operations. To further increase overall efficiency and visibility of information, Oracle Applications and a web based Supply Chain Management System are being implemented, starting June, 2000."

Ø       We have a flat organization structure with 4 levels (no supervisors), a trust-based culture and a team-based work system. We have structured the organization into Business Units along processes and product lines and they function as profit centers. Besides, all associates are grouped into teams and are empowered to take all the decisions generally taken by supervisors in traditional set-ups.

Ø       “Openness and Empowerment” is the convention at TCL. Company objectives are devolved to the team and individual level and performance is reinforced through a gain-sharing compensation system. This work culture, combined with highly trained and motivated employees, world class facilities and infrastructure backed by the resources and technical depth of Tata Engineering and Cummins are our primary competitive strengths.

Facility.  Our Facility boasts of a State-of-the-art  Diesel Engine Plant, fully Air Conditioned with a computerized Building Management System for safety and energy conservation.

A first of its kind “Clean Floor Assembly Line” driven by an Automated Electrified Monorail Engine assembly system combined with a computer controlled Assembly Management System (AMS), Fail-Safing and In-Process Verification (IPV) at critical stations assure ‘Build Quality In’.

Leak testing , Hot Prime testing and Audit testing assure Defect Free Engines.

The plant has five major component manufacturing lines for Cylinder Block, Cylinder Head, Connecting Rod, Crankshaft & Camshaft, with the best measuring and gauging instruments to assure Consistent Quality.

Some of the Unique Features of the Manufacturing set-up includes :

Ø       First of its kind Torque Plate Honing of Cylinder Blocks for low oil consumption.

Ø       Fillet hardening of Crank shafts leading to high endurance life.

Ø       Induction hardened Cylinder Head Valve Seats.

Ø       Split angle Connecting rod for higher Fatigue life.

Ø       Chilled GCI Camshaft machining.

Ø       In Process Gauging & On-line Statistical Process Control (SPC) to ‘Build Quality In’.

Ø       Self-sufficient Tool Room with advanced Tooling-Management-System to ensure Quality of tools.

Human Resources:  TCL very strongly believes that ‘People make the difference’. It  believes in nurturing employee potential through involvement, empowerment and continuous learning. It has 846 employees consisting of 125 Managers and 721 Associates. The average age of our employees is 29 years. They represent all social and ethnic strata of India. We have a diverse work force representing 5 religions, belonging to 14 states and speaking more than 15 languages. TCL incorporates diversity and fair treatment of employees as a core value.

Suppliers & Partnering Process:

TCL is a pioneer in the field of  Supplier Quality Improvement (SQI) and partnering processes in India. These practices have been benchmarked by several companies in India. Since raw material constitutes more than 75% of the cost of our engines, the performance of our  suppliers is very critical. Right at the start–up we had set up a SQI function which partnered with all suppliers and worked towards their development to ensure supply of world class quality components. Today about 55% of the components are in STU(Ship to use status) and  85% component suppliers are either QS 9000 certified or under process of certification. This has led to export of components by some of the suppliers to Cummins Engine Co. Inc, USA.

Sales Growth :

US $ = 43.5 Indian Rs.