The Jamestown Plant: The biggest employer in town.

JAMESTOWN, NY – This upstate New York City is home to two world-famous entities. And they both celebrated big birthdays this week.

Wednesday, Aug. 6, would have been Lucille Ball’s 103rd. She was born in Jamestown in 1911, and every year this pretty municipality hosts a huge comedy festival in her honor. This year, Jay Leno was the headliner.

Meanwhile, across town, engine manufacturer Cummins was celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Jamestown Engine Plant (JEP) –the biggest employer in Chautauqua County and also, the largest contributor to the Local United Way.

The JEP produces 400 engines a day—Cummins of all types, including North America’ top-selling diesel the ISX15. Also, the Cummins ISX12, ISM and the Cummins Westport ISX12G spark-ignited natural-gas engine come out of the factory, and the JEP also produces the QSM and QSX engines that serve off-highway customers in construction, agriculture and marine applications.

Last summer, the JEP produced its 1.5 millionth engine.

The million-square-foot plant opened in 1974 and currently produces more than 400 engines a day. 

 “The Jamestown Engine Plant plays a critical role in our company’s ability to produce a broad range of diesel and natural gas engines for different customers around the world,” said Dave Crompton, President – Cummins Engine Business.

“This anniversary is a testament to our more than 1,500 employees at JEP who produce reliable, clean and fuel-efficient engines that enable our customers to be successful in all of the markets they operate.”

Engines produced at JEP power numerous types of applications, from line-haul trucks to RVs and even fire trucks. In addition to these on-highway applications.

JEP is also an active participant in Cummins Every Employee Every Community program, which allows employees to work at least four hours per year on a public-service project on company time.

“We take Cummins commitment to community service and improving the communities in which we live very seriously,” said Mike Abbate, JEP Plant Manager. “I’m tremendously proud of what our employees are doing inside and out of our plant to make western New York a better place to live. This anniversary is a great time to celebrate and salute their many contributions to our company and the community. We owe gratitude to our former and current employees, who have been and continue to be the reason why we are a successful company.

Crompton said plants such as JEP play an integral role in Cummins efforts to bring to its customers the most innovative solutions to their power needs

“JEP was founded on a unique team-based system, which continues to be a competitive advantage for us, and it’s a quality our employees embrace,” said Crompton. “The highly-skilled men and women at JEP and our plants around the world make innovation a reality. An anniversary such as this is just another indicator of their commitment to quality. They help Cummins deliver the best solutions to our customers every day.”

Lucy: She likely would have mucked up the assembly line.