Page 80: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2011)

FEATURE MARINE PROPULSION Cummins has thrown down the diesel en- gine development gauntlet, recently in- troducing its new Hedgehog High Speed Diesel Engine platform, a line which in- cludes the world?s most powerful high speed diesel engine ever built which is designed ready to achieve EPA Tier 4 performance emissions in 2014. Perhaps as significant is that the Hedgehog plat- form, led by the 4,000 hp QSK 95, signalsthe manufacturer?s intention to extend the province of high speed diesel power units into applications traditionally dominated by medium speed engines, namely theworkboat market. ? by Greg Trauthwein, Editor The event to introduce the Hedgehog platform to global industrial markets was held at the Cummins? Columbus, Indiana headquarters as well as its Seymour, In- diana, engine plant, and was the single largest customer event in the company?s history, attracting more than 130 users from around the globe. The event also served as an opportune time for Tim Solso, only the fifth CEO and Chairman in the company?s storied 92 year history, to formally announce before hundreds ofthe manufacturer?s key clients the pass- ing of the leadership reigns to Tim Linebarger, current Cummins President and COO and soon-to-be sixth CEO andChairman in Cummins history, upon Solso?s retirement at the end of 2011. ?We have needed a bigger engine (for many years), and Hedgehog is a new era for Cummins,? said Solso. Linebarger and company have estab- lished lofty performance goals, and itviews the Hedgehog platform as not sim- ply a new engine, rather an integrated power providing platform geared to help- ing its customers across all industry make its operations more efficient and prof- itable. The company this year has set a record of $18b in sales, but has set an ag- gressive growth plan of 15% per annum with a target of $30b in sales by 2015. Cummins sees the lion?s share of growth coming from outside its tradi- tional stronghold of North America, and specifically views emerging markets as the fuel. To foster the growth, it has charted an aggressive investment plan in technology, the supply chain, service and support. ?We are investing aggressively to stay ahead of the competition,? said Linebarger. Investment in the Hedgehog platform is proof of the plan. ?This is thehighest power high speed diesel ever built,? said Linebarger, exceeding the per- formance of all high and medium speeddiesels in its power range. MEET THE HEDGEHOG Before addressing the key technical pa- rameters of Cummins? new engine plat- form, one may wonder: why the name ?Hedgehog??The Hedgehog name was championed by Blake Larson, Cummins? Executive Engineer, High Horsepower Engineering, and derived from the book entitled ?Good to Great? by Jim Collins. ?Good to Great? addresses a singlequestion: Can a good company becomea great company, and if so, how? To il- lustrate its point, the book uses two an- imals: a fox and a hedgehog. An ancientGreek parable distinguishes betweenfoxes, which know many small things, and hedgehogs, which know one big thing. ?Good to Great? surmises thatgood-to-great leaders are hedgehogs,who know how to simplify a complex world into a single, organizing idea?the kind of basic principle that unifies, or- ganizes, and guides all decisions. Thus as Cummins works to position it- self as the provider of efficient, reliable and robust power solutions of choice, a true business partner and integrated power provider across industries and around the world, it?s focus on power is Hedgehog-like indeed. Plans for the Hedgehog platform werehatched in 2008, and three years, 153 en-gineers and 365,000 engineering hourslater, Cummins has gone from a literal Cummins Debuts ?Hedgehog? Platform Designed Ready to Meet EPA Tier 4 in 2014, Engine Dubbed the ?Most Powerful? High Speed Diesel Engine 80Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Cummins recently unveiled its ?Hedgehog? platform, a new family ofhigh speed, high power diesel en-gines that are designed ready to meet Tier 4 emission requirements in 2014. The lead engine, pictured top, is the QSK 95, a 16V, 4,000 hp unit. Development of the Hedgehog plat-form entailed massive investment inthe Cummins Seymour plant, includ-ing new testbeds (center left) and anultra-modern manufacturing facility(center right and below), which is stillin the works.(Images: Greg Trauthwein) MR Nov.11 # 10 (74-80):MR Template 11/4/2011 10:24 AM Page 80