Cummins Selling Part of Its Light Duty Filtration Business

COLUMBUS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell its light duty filtration operations to Industrial Opportunity Partners, LLC, (IOP) a private equity investment firm based in Evanston, Ill. The sale affects Cummins’ Kuss Filtration business in Findlay, Ohio, and the Filtration business at Bloomer, Wisc.; and Kuss operations in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Shanghai, China.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. These operations are part of Cummins’ Filtration business, which specializes in providing a range of filtration products for diesel engines. Kuss, the Bloomer plant and the other facilities produce light duty filtration products for smaller engines used in gasoline applications, including in-tank fuel filters.

The sale will allow Cummins Filtration to place greater emphasis and resources on manufacturing products that are a critical part of Cummins’ growth strategy. Ever-tightening global emission standards provide Cummins with significant growth opportunities in the development and deployment of filtration products.

“Selling this part of our light duty filtration operations to a strong buyer like Industrial Opportunity Partners provides Kuss and the business in Bloomer with the opportunity to grow while allowing us to concentrate on markets that are core to Cummins long-range growth plans,” said Joseph Saoud, President – Cummins Filtration.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for Light Duty Filtration business to be able to work with IOP, who will be dedicated to invest and grow the business,” said Hasnain Merchant, a current Cummins executive and Chief Executive Officer of the new company. “IOP will work with the current management team to help drive operational improvements, implement lean manufacturing initiatives, accelerate cost structure improvements and pursue growth opportunities.”

Merchant, the current General Manager of the business, said that the new business will revive the name Kuss Filtration, with its headquarters in Findlay, Ohio.

During the transition period, Cummins will continue operating the business, providing the products and support that customers expect. Cummins and IOP are working to ensure a smooth transition for customers, suppliers, employees and the communities where the businesses are located.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, (USA) Cummins employs approximately 40,000 people worldwide and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 6,000 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.0 billion on sales of $13.2 billion in 2010. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com.

Forward-looking disclosure statement

Information provided in this release that is not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the company’s expectations, hopes, beliefs and intentions on strategies regarding the future. It is important to note that the company’s actual future results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, general economic, business and financing conditions, labor relations, governmental action, competitor pricing activity, expense volatility and other risks detailed from time to time in Cummins Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Cummins Inc.
Janet Williams, Director - Corporate Communications,
317-610-2488 or 812-343-6318 (mobile)
janet.williams@cummins.com

Source: Cummins Inc.

Released September 8, 2011