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sf ut e x=c,, ) coce7 byThe Hawk

5th November 1983
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Dennis still running after 82 years

BEFORE Dennis began making commercial vehicles at Guildford in 1904 it was building cars, of which only two remain in existence, One of them, a 1902 model, will be driven in the RAC London-Brighton veteran car run tomorrow by the grandson of the man who made it.

Although he is only 42, John Dennis will be competing in his 25th consecutive LondonBrighton rally. The car itself has taken part in 32 of them and, demonstrating traditional Dennis quality, has even completed two 1,000-mile trials.

The first of these marathons was in Canada in 1967, where John, competing in the main against cars not more than 30 years old, was regarded as a typically eccentric Englishman or crazy Limey.

IPEC insists on sole billing

ALTHOUGH I object to dealers using my car as a free mobile advertising site when all they have done is to take my money, the manufacturer is surely entitled to his imprint on a vehicle that may have taken years and cost millions of pounds to design, develop and produce.

It seems a little mean of IPEC, the Australian express freight company which has extended its network over much of Europe, to remove makers' names from its vehicles. More than 100 of these mechanical orphans are Dafs. Justifying the policy of hogging the stage, John White, IPEC Europe marketing manager, says: "We don't want people to say, 'Look, there's a Daf.' We want them to say, 'Look, there's an IPEC truck'."

Why shouldn't they say: "Look, there's an IPEC Daf"?

Leadership the NFC secret

THE BOOK that was crying out to be written has been published by Macmillan at £15. The price is daunting but not nearly as formidable as the story that the book, The National Freight BuyOut, tells.

It is the inside account by Sandy McLachlan of how the National Freight Consortium was set up; of the faith that carried Peter Thompson, chairman and chief executive, and his close associates in the National Freight Corporation over almost insuperable obstacles for three years in their determination to buy the monolithic undertaking from the Government and turn it into a prosperous family business.

Macmillan says: "It is a story of leadership, employee motivation, innovative financing and industrial change." Most of all, in my view, it is a story of leadership — that quality all too lacking in British industry. Despite trade-union antagonism it inspired 10,000 employees, pensioners and their families to subscribe the millions needed to buy the business.

It is said that people get the leaders they deserve. The NFC staff certainly have.

Four words for a colour TV set

"YOURS SECURELY, Bees Transport" won a colour portable television set for George Shankie, of Hawick, in a slogan competition staged by the company. More than 200 people entered and the prize went to an employee of one of Bees' most important Scottish knitwear customers.

The neat, expressive phrase will now be used on promotional literature along with another favoured entry (which I confess I find a trifle obscure), "The combination for a safe delivery".

£1,000 for blind determination

GRAHAM SALMON, the 31-yearold blind British athlete, who has lowered the record for 100 metres to 11.4 sec, has received £1,000 from Giltspur Bullens to help him towards even greater achievements. The money raised by the company's sponsoring a team of five teachers in this year's London Marathon will assist Graham in training for next year's Olympic Games.

Meanwhile he hopes to lower his world record for the 400 metres and win a gold medal at the European Games later this year. In this he has the encouragement of Aubrey Appleton, Giltspur Bullens' managing director, who was once a successful middle. distance athlete for Tham Valley Harriers, and many admirers.

150 years for inspectors

THE Factory Inspectors celebrated their 150th anniversary on August 29. mark this occasion the Hee and Safety Executive, undE whose umbrella the Factor Inspectorate now comes, h

published a book of essays Majesty's inspectors of Fa( 1833-1983 (£5), written by

factory inspectors, old and The book is illustrated w original archive material ai traces the development of Factory Inspectorate from early days. The final essay Jim Hammer, the presenti inspector, in which he lool the possible role of the Inspectorate during the ne years.

EAR 1981 saw the silver -sary for Cummins's facShotts. The 27 years behe first engine being prothere and today have e Cummins market share the extent that the cornlow claims over 50 per the over 29-tonne gcw ! unit in its own particular y. But more about statisr.

Ilished in 1956, Shotts ummins's first plant the United States since nding of the company by L. Cummins in Colum on setting up a base in , the Cummins board :he UK for a number of ;: there was a good of labour experienced in fs of the motor industry; :as a good potential mar riis for Cummins ts; and last, but by no least, there was no Ian)roblem.

aruary 1955, J. Irwin Millirman of the Cummins , toured the United m to gather information tntial sites and the feasieither setting up a Cum)Iant or coming to a g agreement with an hed manufacturer. Having decided upon setting up a factory, Cummins' president Robert E. Huthsteiner told the then Board of Trade about the tentative plans. The Board advised Cummins to stay away from London and the traditional motor industry areas of the Midlands in favour of a plant in a development area.

A Cummins team headed by the vice-president of engineering, Don Cummins, then set down to finding a site. Eventually, the Scottish Board of Trade representatives came up with a former textile mill at Shotts in the hilly country between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The local Member of Parliament provided Cummins with a comprehensive list of the families living within 45 minutes cycling distance (!) of the site as this was regarded as the yardstick for the labour catchment area.

A go-ahead from the Board of Trade in London to start building engines was obtained in October 1956 with the result that Cummins Engine Company Ltd was incorporated on November 7. The first engines rolled off the Shotts production line in May of the following year and went to the nearby factory of Euclid for installation in earthmoving equipment.

These engines were in-line six-cylinder HUT-160 power units — forerunners of the 12.2 and 14-litre Cummins engines which were to become the most widely fitted proprietary heavy truck diesels in Europe. Shotts now makes the 14-litre in a variety of guises: the naturally aspirated NHC 250 and the turbocharged NT 250 (both small cam engines); the NTE range of 290, 350, 370 and 400; and the two stage turbocharged NTC 475 for the industrial and generating set market. As a matter of interest, Shotts is only one of a number of Cummins 14-litre production bases situated throughout the world. It is built either at a Cummins plant or under licence in India, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, China and South Korea as well as the USA.

So far as the 14-litre is concerned, this is produced in a variety of versions for the automotive, construction, industrial marine and rail car markets with Shotts providing the bulk of the engines for the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia. Although the bulk of F. production is still the 14-litr new 10-litre is also built although still in relatively numbers. The latter is a! bled there rather than pro( there as most of the cc nents, including the castinr example, come fully mac from the USA. As product the 10-litre is built up, th content will gradually lc creased.

The Shotts plant has just pleted a major programr rebuild and expansion wi. result that the potential pi tion capacity has been rai: 90 units per day. This fig regardless of engine type.

Although Cummins er are a familiar sight in ERE land, Foden and Seddon son chassis, the Shotts cor also supplies all the horsepower engines us( Sisu in Finland. The lates1 sis, the 6x2 SM280, has rE been in the UK hauling ment for a Finnish paper-n company setting up a sub: in Chester.

This particular operated by Sisu Tra powered by the turboci and charge-cooled E400 produces 296kW (400bhp)

Sisu takes the 290, 3-J 400 and is just starting w 10-litre.

Scotland also provid( base for Cummins ReCi which is situated at CI nauld. As the name sul the company recondition! current engine family pr( by Cummins, includit Shotts range, the Danl built V8s and the 39-lit KTA 2300 which produ: less than 895kW (1,200bhi

On the automotive sii ReCon range covers the NHC250, NT240/250, 10-li 290/350 and the V/VT 5 555 units. These engines covered by a 12 mont limited mileage warranty.

In the first nine month: year Cummins reached e cent market share of I tonne-plus tractive unit This statistic needs clarii it represents only the s( the market which uses tary engines and does nc sent the total tractive ur ket.

The company claims market share in this sec been increasing steadil) L10 comes on stream result that the Septemb figures showed Cummin market share of over 52 r


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