Perkins has officially opened its second new engine manufacturing line at its Wuxi facility in Jiangsu Province, China. Gwenne Henricks, president of Perkins, declared the new line open at a ceremony attended by local dignitaries, business partners, company personnel and press.

The new production line will build Perkins’ popular 1100 Series range of engines and will complement the existing line that has been manufacturing its compact 400 Series range of engines since 2008. Production of the 1100 Series is expected to reach 60,000 units per annum, bringing total output for the Wuxi factory to 88,000 engines per year.

Speaking at the ceremony Gwenne declared: ”This new line marks the completion of the second phase of our plans to provide our Chinese OEM partners with an unrivalled product range for both domestic and export markets. We have established a world class facility here that features all the hallmarks of our other plants around the world.”

She continued: “Opening this second facility increases our engine manufacturing capacity, enables us to improve our presence in the growing Chinese market and provides better support to local customers. This is important as Chinese OEMs are increasingly moving to manufacturing more sophisticated machinery. To do that successfully requires engineering, technical and application expertise – areas that Perkins can help customers address.”

Perkins will now be able to offer customers a mechanical four cylinder product with outputs ranging from 50kW to 74.5kW. In 12 months time the company plans to offer a six cylinder mechanical engine capable of producing 145kW at Tier 2 and 130kW at Tier 3. For electric power applications the six cylinder engine can offer 200kVA standby power.

The arrival of the 1100 Series will make a significant impact for OEMs in the construction, agricultural and industrial sectors, giving them the choice of a locally made but internationally branded product that offers tangible advantages over domestic engine producers. As Chinese OEMs strive for that competitive edge Perkins can offer valuable services whether it is applications engineering, logistics or product support.