Cummins Seymour Engine Plant and the Seymour Technical Center are along East Fourth Street in Seymour.
Tribune file photo
SEYMOUR — Cummins Inc. is investing more than $27.5 million in the Seymour Engine Plant.
During Monday night’s Seymour Common Council meeting, the diesel engine maker received unanimous approval of two 10-year tax abatements for the initial phase of a three-year project.
Between now and the end of the year, Cummins expects to invest $4,037,820 in personal property and $400,000 in real property for the project, which involves capacity expansion of the Hedgehog line.
Jim Plump, executive director of Jackson County Industrial Development Corp., spoke on behalf of the company. Plant Manager Darren Kimmel also was present at the meeting.
Plump said the project is not anticipating new job creation at this time, but it helps retain the current workforce of 954 with combined salaries of $78,070,300.
“We anticipate coming back in early 2024 with a request for more than $13.4 million in additional investment and $9.6 million in 2025,” he said.
Introduced by industrial development committee chairman Seth Davidson, the council approved the statement of benefits for personal property and real estate improvements and the tax abatement resolutions for each all on 7-0 votes. Those cover the initial investment at the plant along East Fourth Street.
A tax abatement occurs over a 10-year period in which companies pay 10% more on taxes each consecutive year. Companies do not pay any property taxes on the improvements in the first year of a tax abatement.
The Hedgehog platform was unveiled Nov. 1, 2011, at the Seymour Engine Plant, according to cummins.com. At the time, the QSK95 engine was being marketed for use in passenger and freight locomotives; boats, including tugs and towboats; mining and off-shore drilling; and power generation systems.
At 8 feet tall and 14 feet long and capable of producing 4,000 horsepower, the 16-cylinder engine is the largest high-speed diesel engine the company has ever built and has a number of environmentally friendly qualities, according to the website.
In the early 1980s, Cummins started building engines in Seymour. The first engine was the 1710.
Earlier this decade, the company spent $219 million for the expansion of the Seymour Engine Plant, adding testing cells and labs and production capabilities for the QSK95 engine.
In 2015, an 89,350-square-foot tech center was added to the plant. The two complexes were designed to serve as the world headquarters for Cummins’ high horsepower division. The firm spent $219 million between 2012 and 2017 on upgrading the existing plant and building the tech center.
