____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cummins
▲ Roy Free, Plant Manager at Daventry
created increased demand for the highcapacity generators Cummins’ Daventry site specializes in. To respond to this increasing demand, the Daventry site is part of a broader strategic investment plan across sites, focused on expanding capacity in line with customer demand and improving operational efficiency. To learn more about these investments, we speak with Roy Free, Plant Manager at Daventry, who has worked at Daventry for 38 of the site’ s 54 years in operation.
“ With the world’ s demand for energy constantly increasing, there’ s continued opportunity for growth in Cummins’ markets,” Roy opens.“ The ongoing investments at Daventry are volume driven and will expand capacity to meet sustained customer demand. We’ re focusing investment on four key areas: a block line extension, new computer numerical control( CNC) machines that use software to precisely machine engine components, a new assembly line and retooling. Our new assembly line will be run entirely on autonomous guided vehicles( AGVs) with embedded safety protocols. Lastly, we will also retool our test cells and trim lines, and although we’ ve focused investment on these four areas, there are also several enabling projects underway. We have also made targeted investments to improve the employee experience and support operational performance.”
Having worked at the Daventry plant for 38 years and spent the last three as Plant Manager, Roy has seen the site evolve significantly over the course of his career.“ It seems as though each decade brings a huge shift in technology, and Daventry has always been able to adapt to these new ways of working,” he reflects.“ When
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