The Cummins engine has been changing gear for generations.

Ever since Clessie Cummins developed his first engine in 1919, there has had to be agility and foresight to keep the company at the top of its market, not to follow trends and demands, but to lead them.

The fact that it continues now is a sign that change is still very much a part of all our lives, and with the growing urgency to change attitudes and strategies to tackle climate change, the latest Cummins move is one of their most important.

A new £13 million Powertrain Test Facility at the Cummins Darlington campus will enable the company to develop and test a wider range of power technologies, from the latest generation diesel, natural gas, and hydrogen engine platforms to hydrogen fuel cells and battery electric powertrains.

Taking four years to complete, the 738 square metre two-storey facility means Cummins’ engineers can now test drivelines for on-road use from compact SUVs to 44-ton trucks and double-decker buses, along with off-road use in construction and agricultural machines.

The facility maintains Cummins’ highest sustainability standards, with energy recovery systems that can generate electricity to be used across the Cummins site and water consumption reduced by harvesting rainwater, using a similar system already in place in the engine plant.

Such technology is intricate and innovative but for a business like this that is powered by its principles, it will always need one extra component – people.

That meant that from the boardroom to the shopfloor, this was a time to celebrate teamwork at its very best as the first idea and line on a piece of paper that seemed to suggest the impossible, was turned into one of Cummins’ most groundbreaking buildings.

Among those giving the loudest cheers and applause was Jonathon White, who had come back home to see the start of a new era for his company.

Jonathon is Vice President of Engine Business Engineering at Cummins, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the development and manufacturing of powertrain systems.

He was thrilled to be back to his roots – from Shildon to Cummins Darlington.

He told me: ‘In 1988, there was a boy debating whether to follow a sixth form education route or go to the family farm up in Weardale. I took the advice to actually start a career but still pursue education and learning, and an apprenticeship was a means of doing that.

‘That led me to the likes of companies like Cummins and with an interest in industrial equipment, farm equipment and being attached to a farm growing up in Shildon near the railway, as a 16-year-old boy I travelled to the Cummins Darlington Engine Plant – never dreaming that it would lead to me living in China or in the US as I do now, or all the 14 roles that I’ve had with Cummins and the 36 years that I’ve spent working with them.

‘It has been a terrific journey and continues to be so with the Powertrain Test Facility.

‘This investment is unique right now for Cummins and our industry – it’s the only one that I know of to have this kind of Powertrain Test Facility and capability.

‘A £13 million investment is not insignificant in any company, so in terms of our technical capital investment, that’s a big milestone for us to have that project completed and now, up and running and available for us to use starting this year and through the decades to come.

‘Being a local lad, one of the key elements for me and for Cummins is the contribution the facility will make to the business here in this region, while it will also inevitably support global development of our fuel agnostic powertrains.

‘Powertrains, components and the diverse power product portfolio we can now provide are our future beyond the historical diesel engines that we’re known for.

‘The European regulations that our products have to adhere to starts here in Darlington – it always has done ever since I started here in the late 1980s, when they had Euro 1 emissions, and now we’re talking about Euro 7 emissions. The development of these technologies starts here and then we deploy what we’ve learned here and what we’ve produced to meet those regulations elsewhere in the world, whether it’s in South America, India, China and all our other countries that typically adopt European standards.’

It was back in February 2021 that Jonathon was included in a list of five Cummins staff who were being made vice presidents, when Tom Linebarger, the company’s chairman and CEO, said: ‘The world is rapidly changing and we need strong leaders who excel at both strategy and execution to ensure our company, employees and communities can continue to thrive.

‘These five are experts in their fields and hold roles strategically important to Cummins’ long-term success. They consistently champion our leadership behaviours and live Cummins’ values in all they do.’

Those are bold statements to live up to, and Jonathon keeps reminding himself of the journey that has led to him deserving every word.

‘Being an officer now of the Cummins corporation founded in Columbus, Indiana, which is where I now live with my family, has clearly exceeded the expectations I had as an apprentice,’ he admits.

‘To be in the position I am now is a great honour, responsible for just over 3,000 employees worldwide, including some of the technical employees here at Darlington campus, and an incredible $500 million investment annually in research and technology.

‘It might surprise some people that we’re investing more in engines today than ever in our 105-year history, but that is because of the changes, the opportunities and perhaps the key issue that we have as a society – how do we decarbonise what we’re doing today, tomorrow and in the future and what are all the technologies required to achieve that?

‘Our Destination Zero strategy is to go further, faster to reduce the greenhouse gas and air quality impacts of our products – helping our customers in their energy transition, whatever solution they chose.

‘These are all very important and exciting steps. The industry is certainly moving towards decarbonisation, and we’re convinced that it’s going to require multiple solutions to achieve that goal. Our most recent investment in a battery joint venture that we have in North America with Daimler and PACCAR is among many product portfolio additions that were never part of the Cummins focus 10 or 20 years ago.

‘But now they are all pieces of the portfolio of different technologies for the most important journey we will make, whether it is truck manufacturers, construction equipment manufacturers or agricultural equipment manufacturers that we work alongside.’

It’s a planet-sized task, but the firepower is clearly in place and the battleplan is drawn up and already being implemented. But to have the essentially vast impact we need requires new skills on a scale never seen before. If we thought we had already reached impressive heights, we’ve got it wrong. This is entirely new territory, but one Jonathon is inspired to explore.

‘This question about the applicability of skills that we have today versus skills that we need tomorrow is actually turning out to be a smaller issue than we thought,’ he says.

‘We have a portfolio of zero emissions technologies such as battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells that we build and develop for customers. We are finding that the skills of our mechanically trained operators, assembly service technicians and engineers through to electronics and controls engineers, are absolutely applicable to the new technologies. Really this is a re-application of those existing skills to another product and technology.

‘So, the skills can be developed, but future generations also need to understand the opportunities out there and have the passion to pursue a career with companies like Cummins.

‘What I’m confident in is that in the local community here – the number of people and extended communities that know Cummins – versus the situation when I joined, is a lot different, and I’m proud of that. But in terms of the reality of the world’s energy transition and what we in Cummins are doing today and tomorrow and how important and exciting that is, that’s something we need to continue to educate about through schools, societies and community partners to allow people to contribute to the future of clean powertrains, where Cummins’ vision is to be the largest provider in the sectors that we serve.’

For Jonathon, that most vital of Cummins components – people – means family back home in Indiana and here in the North East, who are a huge influence on the way he approaches his life and career.

‘I have two children in university, and my daughter will go for her final year studying business, which is her main interest, so who knows where she may end up.

‘My son just finished his second year at university also studying in business and marketing – so they have both observed what their father has been so grateful for.

‘My son was an intern at Cummins this summer in Columbus, Indiana, with our corporate office, pursuing some of his interests there.

‘So my hopes for them are that they find their own way through their business interests – it may draw one of them or both of them to Cummins in the future, but certainly my son’s internship has opened his eyes to what we do, as it does for many of the young people who start to realise the breadth and depth of what we have.

‘I have family here in the UK, of course, so I make sure I get over here once or twice a year, because there’s a need to be with family that is separated by the miles. But when there are business needs for Cummins’ European opportunities, that allows me to visit and catch up with them.

‘As I travel, it makes me appreciate the teamwork which is one of our core values. For us to be able to execute our work effectively in the different key regions, we need the highest calibre of leaders so we are not reliant on the corporate head office all the time.

‘That’s what we do in all the communities where we have a presence – we find and develop and expand that talent as far as we can, both for the community as well as our own needs.

‘I value the fact that my job allows me to go on journeys like this, coming home to something I’m very familiar with. This is an environment where I feel most at home, not only Darlington itself, but the environment of the manufacturing plant, the test laboratory, that’s where I spent all of my formative years.

‘It’s where my heart is and where I feel I can best use the depth of what I learned then and apply it now to guide others.

‘It is an amazing environment of manufacturing things, developing things, testing engines and vehicles and being able to experience the outcome of the work that you’re doing at the vehicle level, being able to drive and operate a vehicle.

‘Getting the ultimate power and fuel efficiency are things that really reward me and doing it at a level of emissions lower than the level that we did before is something I hold dearly.’

When Jonathon manages to find time to relax, it is music that he turns to, as a member of the rock band Flat Earth, and he admits: ‘I’ve worked 36 years for Cummins and 38 years for my bass guitar...’

He manages to find time to perform publicly and over the last holidays, played two gigs in the Columbus area, and when he was living in China, he also found fellow musicians there.

It’s an important release, but I can’t help thinking that it is that teamwork element coming into play again. Wherever he is in the world – and wherever Cummins operates – he searches for a team to work with and create with.

In that way and so many more, he personifies Cummins. They are a perfect match – the dream team.