Perkins Engines Company Limited opened its world-class, global crankshaft machining centre at its headquarters in Peterborough today.

The state of the art facility, which will produce over a quarter of a million crankshafts a year when at full capacity, was opened by Jim Owens, Chairman of Caterpillar, Perkins’ parent company and Perkins president Gwenne Henricks.

“This is excellent news for Perkins and Peterborough,” said Gwenne. “Peterborough is Perkins’ centre of manufacturing excellence and this commitment and investment supports our ongoing desire to build a sustainable business in the city.”

Through the deployment of highly automated benchmark technology, the new facility will increase crankshaft manufacturing capacity by 100 per cent and represents a step change in machining operations at Peterborough.

“This state-of-the-art facility will give our customers the best delivered quality yet and will achieve a flexible world class solution that will be the industry benchmark for crankshaft technology and automation in the world,” Gwenne added.

There are also significant safety and environmental benefits to the new facility.  For example the complete elimination of heat treatment process will decrease energy consumption, while the use of leading edge technology within the centre will deliver higher speed processes and extend tooling life. Changes to the supply chain will also see a 90% reduction in the distances traveled.

Gwenne said: “This facility is a marvelous example of what can be achieved when we all work together as a team. Everyone at Perkins is passionate about delivering a quality product in a safe environment and in doing so position ourselves for future success.”