LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cummins kicked off the Mid-America Trucking Show by announcing it accomplished what it set out to do with its EPA2010 engines, improving fuel economy by 6% – and then some.

Company officials said Cummins’ new engines exceeded fuel economy promises, and Steve Charlton, vice-president and chief technical officer of the engine business, said further tinkering with engine calibrations in early 2011 has improved fuel and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) consumption rates beyond the 6% Cummins initially promised and delivered upon.

Rich Freeland, president of Cummins’ engine business, declared the company’s EPA2010 product launch “our best product introduction in modern history.”

In addition to improved fuel economy, to the tune of 6% or more, Freeland said “reliability looks to be the best in our history.”

He also said Cummins engines with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) have fared well in straight-up comparisons against Navistar’s in-cylinder solution. Freeland said Cummins is encouraging customers to try both products, and noted “We like how we’re coming out in those head-to-head tests.”

Freeland said Cummins has kept its production capacity in tact through the recession and is well positioned to meet customer demands as the market recovers. He also declared that while the past decade was all about emissions, the next 10 years will be defined by who is best at maximizing fuel economy.

“The next decade will be all about fuel economy,” Freeland said.

Addressing the challenges of vertical integration, president Tom Linebarger said Cummins must simply provide a better product than its competitors.

“We have to be better (than competing engines). We can’t be equal. We can’t be the same. We have to be better,” Linebarger said.

Click here to watch video of Linebarger addressing vertical integration, shot by Trucknews.com.

Cummins also spoke about its new 24/7 support service, dubbed Cummins Care. Jeff Jones, vice-president of sales and marketing communications, said several of Cummins largest fleet customers were involved in the pilot testing of the program, which is being rolled out to the industry at large in July.

Customers will be able to call 1-800-DIESELS for support around the clock when they experience engine problems.