Since opening in 1976, Cummins Seymour Engine Plant is where some of the company’s most powerful engines in the world have been produced.
Dean Gough, executive director of product and strategic marketing for the Americas region at Cummins Power Generation, said this location is more than just a plant.
It’s an engine plant that represents innovation. It’s a symbol of Cummins’ commitment to engineering excellence, sustainability and community impact.
Those elements are part of Cummins Power Generation’s launch of its latest product: A 17-liter engine platform generator set that produces up to 1 megawatt of power.
The S17 expands on the success of the acclaimed Centum Series generator sets, which were developed to produce a large power output within a compact footprint to meet the growing demands of power in urban environments where compact design and high performance are critical, according to a news release from Cummins.
The generator set is assembled at Cummins’ Fridley, Minnesota, facility, and the engine is made at the Seymour Engine Plant, so the S17 is an American-made product.
“It’s one more piece that we can add when we’re delivering peace of mind alongside all of the innovation that we have here,” Gough said during an event Sept. 18 at the Seymour Engine Plant.
The S17 has gone through more than 25,000 hours of testing and validation and is engineered to support a wide range of critical market segments, such as commercial properties, water and wastewater treatment plants and industrial, health care, government and data storage facilities.
“In many of these industries, space is a premium, so the S17, the compact design delivers more power, less space without compromise in performance,” said Gough, program owner of the S17 generator set.
“It’s unique, it’s powerful and it’s market leading,” he said. “And most important, it’s solving real customer problems, from reducing the total cost of ownership, lowering product costs and that complete custom ownership piece.”
Also speaking during the event were two technical leaders who played a pivotal role in bringing the S17 to life.
Emily Scheuerell leads the Cummins Power Generation Segment Engineering organization, and Ray Shute is director and Next Generation architect lead for Cummins Power Systems industrial markets.
Scheuerell said the Power Generation product line includes generator sets, automatic transfer switches, systems and switchgear, remote monitoring and new power technologies, like the newly launched battery energy storage system.
The S17 is now part of the company’s future of innovation, which is about solving the challenges customers face, Scheuerell said.
“As Cummins can promise with our brand, it always delivers the reliability, the affordability and sustainability that our customers need to get the job done,” she said.
Shute was the overall chief engineer for S17 engine product development, and he shared some of the work that the development team was able to deliver for customers and the industry.
“At the start of the project, we partnered the engine and genset development teams together to ensure we understood full use case and full needs of the end customer in the full total product, not just engine or alternator or gen set level,” he said.
“By doing that, we were able to really translate those critical customer needs to what the engine then needed to deliver to be able to enable them,” he said. “Things like dependability, low total cost of ownership, the small package size and weight, that’s the translation in what resulted in the product that you see today.”
The Engine Business team, corporate research and technology organization, Components Business and Holset turbocharger organization were among those involved in the project.
“Power without durability, dependability isn’t very valuable,” Shute said. “Dependability, durability, reliability, those are Cummins’ key initial commitments always whenever we endeavor for any product for our customer, and the same is true here. Because we developed a complete power system, we have extensive customer relationships and are looking forward to additional customer relationships that enable us to really understand how the product start to finish is utilized in the field over its decades of expected service life.”
Also during the event, the first customer of the S17, Gaylor Electric, was recognized. The Indianapolis-based company purchased three units for Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment in Tennessee.
That project is focused on restorative justice, holistic care and community support for youth in Nashville.
“Thanks to Gaylor Electric for their business, and of course, for choosing Cummins,” Gough said. “We like it. It’s innovation, which is powering purpose.”
After the presentation, attendees had an opportunity to see the S17 up close and talk to subject matter experts. That was followed by lunch and tours of the Seymour Engine Plant.
For more on the S17, visit cummins.com/news/releases/2025/06/25/cummins-redefines-power-density-announcement-groundbreaking-17-liter.
Founded in 1919, Cummins is headquartered in Columbus and operates in 190 countries and territories around the globe with nearly 70,000 employees.
The Pet Supplies Plus distribution center in Seymour celebrated 10 wonderful years of serving our local pet community with a special outdoor event Sept. 12 at Canine Crossroads Dog Park.
The park, which opened 10 years ago in the southeast corner of the intersection of East Fourth Street and Burkart Boulevard, was lively with dog lovers and their four-legged companions enjoying the sunshine and festivities. A dedicated team of friendly staff hosted a cheerful booth, generously handing out complimentary gifts for dogs and sharing smiles with every visitor.
It was a fantastic way to honor a decade of commitment to pet wellness and community connection. It was a simple but meaningful way to celebrate a decade of service and a reminder of how local businesses can make a lasting impact.
Congratulations to Pet Supplies Plus on 10 years of dedication to pets and their people!
Seymour High School’s 400-plus members of the Class of 2026 participated in Senior Seminars again this year.
On Sept. 10 and 11, staff members with Ivy Tech Community College in Columbus led sessions on interview prep, professionalism and communication and more.
After completing the seminars, the seniors will be ready to create their résumé that they will submit for when they participate in the annual senior mock interviews the week of Oct. 27 to 31.
JCIDC partners with SHS for the senior mock interviews, helping pair each student with an interviewer who works in the field in which they are interested.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun visited Seymour on Sept. 9.
The Jackson County Chamber recently reached out to the governor’s office to coordinate an appearance by the state’s highest-ranking official. The result was Lunch with the Governor at The Copper Top in downtown Seymour.
Following a brief introduction, Braun sat down with chamber Director Dan Robison for a question-and-answer session that covered a variety of topics related to economic development and commerce in Jackson County and the state.
Those included attracting businesses and investment, supporting small businesses and fostering a more vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, establishing tax policies and spending to best position the state for long-term economic growth, budgeting for programs that affect education outcomes and workforce training, supporting infrastructure projects to benefit business and commerce and collaborating with schools and employers to develop a pipeline of the current and future workforce.
“We reorganized state government to be responsive, entrepreneurial, and as it relates to you as constituents, communities, local governments, school districts, I want to hear what isn’t working so that we can do it better,” said Braun, who ran his own business for 37 years.
Robison first asked Braun about his America First economic agenda for the state and how that translates into policies and initiatives aimed at attracting business and investment.
“We are the No. 1 manufacturing state per capita in the country,” Braun said. “We’re the ‘Crossroads of America.’ We reach more commerce in two days of ground transportation than any other place in the country, so we’ve got some inherent advantages.”
As for addressing labor shortages and attracting new, diverse industries, Braun said, “We need to make sure we get proper guidance, we listen to existing businesses for what those high-demand, high-wage jobs are and make sure for the 50% that currently are getting misguided that they at least look at better options that would be workforce.”
One way the state is supporting small businesses and fostering a more vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem is the creation of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
While Indiana is considered one of the best states to start a business, Braun said it’s among the states with the fewest businesses being started, so it’s important to flip that around.
Braun encourages businesses to collaborate with local schools, universities and employers to develop talent pipelines for staffing needs.
“For any of you businesses, get involved with your school districts, and don’t take it for granted that they are going to give you what you need,” he said. “Especially the very smallest schools are already ahead of the curve. They never got out of all of the workforce in their schools to begin with. The ones that did better bring it back in or you’re going to again not be helping what you need to do for your own businesses that want to grow, keep your kids employed so they stay there and don’t move away.”
Jackson County experienced significant funding shifts to programs like On My Way Pre-K and Jobs for America’s Graduates, which affected education outcomes and valuable workforce training.
Braun said budget cuts at the state level impacted that, and the budget forecast came out a week before officials wrapped up the budget discussion. That was based on the national issue of tariffs, which he doesn’t know how that’s going to work out long term.
He said all state agencies were asked to look for 5% savings, and he expects a new forecast in December.
“On the (programs) that make sense, they’ll be enabled if they make sense to do so,” Braun said. “We’re going through a healthy kind of resize in government to make sure what are the best programs that are going to get the attention and the resources. … The forecast is going, I think, to be much better in December that shows that our state was healthier than what the forecast indicated in the first place.”
In terms of positioning the state for long-term economic growth and prosperity, Braun said the government should always be the most powerful at the local level.
“We’ve got to be careful,” he said. “I want to make sure we have the right environment, but you’ve got to run your governments like a business No. 1. Don’t try to grow them faster than the economy. Otherwise, you’re growing it at the expense of the real economy.”
With Seymour being the “Crossroads of Southern Indiana,” Robison asked about the importance of infrastructure projects boosting business and commerce.
Braun said he co-authored the last road funding bill in 2017, and local communities have benefited from the Community Crossings Matching Grant program.
That money, however, only goes so far, so he welcomes creative ideas and public-private partnerships to help pay for roads and bridges.
“Let’s do it together,” Braun said. “I welcome your input. Buckle up. Let’s have some fun.”
JCIDC is excited to have five local companies — Cummins Seymour Engine Plant, AISIN USA Mfg. Inc., Guardian Bikes, Pet Supplies Plus and Valeo — participating in the 2025 Jackson County MFG Day on Oct. 10.
Nearly 200 students from Brownstown Central, Crothersville, Medora and Seymour high schools will gather at Cummins Seymour Engine Plant in the morning for workshops led by employees of the participating companies. Then in the afternoon, the students will break into groups and visit one of the companies for lunch, a tour and activities.
This event is part of the initiative of the Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. Celebrated annually on the first Friday in October with events continuing throughout the month and beyond, MFG Day — Manufacturing Day — is a national grassroots movement that demonstrates the reality and future of modern manufacturing careers. Thousands of companies and educational institutions nationwide are invited to open their doors to students, parents, educators and community leaders.
MFG Day empowers manufacturers to come together and address their collective challenges and build excitement about manufacturing careers to help their communities and future generations thrive.
Investments totaling more than $39 million will bring nearly 50 jobs to two Crothersville industries.
During a meeting Sept. 2, the Crothersville Town Council approved 10-year tax abatement requests from AISIN Drivetrain Inc. and AISIN Chemical Indiana LLC.
Jim Plump, executive director of JCIDC, introduced both requests with company representatives in attendance.
ADI’s investment of $35,890,000 is for new production equipment. Plump said the personal property investment is scheduled to begin later this month and continue through the end of 2026.
This will result in the creation of 45 new positions paying just more than $2.8 million in annual salaries and retention of the current workforce of 518 with a payroll of more than $35 million, Plump said.
“Very likely, this is only the first investment announcement for the project, probably won’t be the last, so this is an ongoing expansion,” he said.
Rob Crosser, executive vice president and officer, administration, for ADI, distributed packets with information about the company’s nearly 29 years in the southeastern Jackson County town.
He said ADI manufactures electric rear axles, commercial automatic transmissions, electronic power steering columns, powershift transmissions and electric water pumps.
Wes Birdsong, finance manager for ADI, said the last round of tax abatements approved by the council covered electric water pump and e-Four electric rear axle products.
“That has been a huge change for our organization,” he said. “It’s brought profitability, and we’ve been able to attract and retain very skilled labor force here at Drivetrain.”
Birdsong said the new investment will bring new business to ADI, including Mazda SKYACTIV-Drive automatic transmissions for the CX-50 and CX-30 SUVs.
“The e-Four and EWP products, that was a huge skill up. It’s really brought a cutting-edge workforce into Drivetrain,” he said. “This (new investment) would just be an additional step to that skill level that we currently bring to the community.”
Josh Malancuk, president of JM Tax Advocates LLC, said he has helped ADI stay compliant with prior investments, and the company has “more than met” its capital expansion and “substantially exceeded” its job and gross wage commitments.
“We’re at about over 102% with our most recent incentive agreement but by and large well over 100% for every single agreement that’s in place, so that to me says this has been a good partnership,” he said. “The company has honored its commitments and has every intent of doing so as we partner together on future expansions.”
Crosser shared how ADI has given back to the community and area organizations.
“Since our beginning, we’ve given over $629,000 in charitable contributions and so far over $20,000 this year,” he said.
Looking at the packet provided to the council, President Terry Richey said she likes seeing various entities benefit from ADI’s giving back.
“I know that the school and the fire department, the town, everybody totally appreciates the contributions and the help,” she said. “When they reach out to AISIN, it’s always been easy to work with everybody and get that done.”
Councilman Jamy Greathouse said he’s a member of several of the organizations that have benefited from ADI’s support, and it’s appreciated.
“We are very, very lucky,” he said. “We don’t have a large amount of industry, but the handful of companies that we do have here do a really, really good job of working with us and taking care of this community, so thank you very much.”
AISIN Chemical’s new investment for equipment totals $3,233,229. Plump said that project will begin this month and be completed by the end of the year.
That will allow the company to add three new associates with combined salaries of $198,000. The overall workforce produces annual payroll of more than $6.2 million.
Tim Carter, executive vice president of ACI, said the company manufactures raw material-type products for sound-dampening material.
“That’s applied inside every car,” he said. “It goes underneath the carpet, and it stops the vibration from the road noise, your transmission, your engine, all that kind of stuff.”
The products made at ACI go in every Toyota, Nissan and Subaru produced in the United States, Carter said.
The new investment is for a mixer, which will give ACI three mixers capable of producing nearly 3.5 gallons of material a year.
ACI was established in 2006 inside ADI and remained there until its own building opened in 2011. That has since expanded, and a second building was constructed.
Councilman Chad Wilson said growing up in Crothersville, the area of the industrial park was just cornfields, and it’s now home to three industries. The third one is Cerrowire.
“Thank you for your involvement in the community,” Wilson told AISIN officials. “You guys have done a fantastic job out there, and I appreciate what you guys are doing for the community. I think I can speak on behalf of all of these (council members), too. We just appreciate you guys very much.”
