COLUMBUS, Ind. (Feb. 20, 2003) — Cummins has announced the formation of a combined Cummins distributor business in Western Canada, including the territories of Cummins Mid-Canada, Cummins Alberta, and Cummins British Columbia.

Driven by retirements of distributor principals in Winnipeg and Edmonton, the new business, which will be named Cummins Western Canada (pending name registration), will include 14 locations, 400 employees, and is projected to have sales of $140 million. It is expected to come into effect at the end of March.

Guff Muench, president and current owner of Cummins British Columbia, has been appointed president of the combined entity, which now becomes one of the company’s largest distributors in the world. Muench has been with Cummins since 1983, and has served on the Board of the B.C. Trucking Association, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Equipment Dealers, and chairman of the Mining Suppliers Association.

Rich Gold, vice-president of PowerCare and Distribution, says “this territory is the premium energy territory in all of North America.” The Oil Sands in northern Alberta possess a dominant portion of the known oil reserves in the world. In addition, there are huge markets in the coal and diamonds mining and power generation industry across all these
Territories, he said.

While the timing of this new venture is driven by the retirements of Pete deHebreard of Cummins Mid-Canada in Winnipeg and Ed Stahl of Edmonton-based Cummins Alberta, Gold says a consolidated territory was essential for ongoing viability and continued success. He says the company will be “going head to head with the largest Cat dealer in the world, Finning, in the western part of this market and Kramer and Toromont in the eastern part of the territory.”