| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Frank Perkins Way, Eastfield, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom |
| Area served | Europe, America, Asia, Africa, Australasia |
| Products | Diesel engines Gas engines |
| Parent | Caterpillar Inc. |
| Website | http://www.perkins.com |
Perkins Engines Company Limited, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., is primarily a diesel engine manufacturer for several markets including Agricultural, Construction, Material Handling, Power Generation and Industrial. It was established in Peterborough in 1932. Over the years Perkins has expanded its engine ranges and produces thousands of different engine specifications including diesel and gas engines.
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F. Perkins Ltd, Engineers was formed on 7 June 1932 in Peterborough by Frank Perkins and Charles Chapman. Before Perkins and Chapman, the diesel engine was a heavy and slow revving workhorse, lacking performance. Chapman's concept was the high-speed diesel - an engine that could challenge gasoline as the primary motive power. The world’s first high-speed diesel engine was Perkins' four-cylinder Vixen, which made its debut in 1932, and in October 1935 Perkins became the first company to hold six world diesel speed records for a variety of distances set at the Brooklands race track in Surrey. Sales were strong and by the time of World War II the company made two series of engines, P4 and P6. After the war, the company went public, and established a number of licensees for local manufacturing and sale.[1]
The company was sold to Massey Ferguson in 1959 and later became part of LucasVarity; development continued and Perkins updated its engines to meet stricter emissions rules, while developing new series for power generation and forklift trucks.
A supplier to Caterpillar Inc. since 1970s, Perkins was bought by Caterpillar in 1998 for US$1.325 billion, creating what they claimed was the world's largest diesel engine manufacturer. With an ever-expanding global footprint Perkins now has manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, China and a joint venture with Ishikawajima-Shibaura-Machinery company in Japan. On Jan 1 2009 (replacing Hans Haefeli), Gwenne Henricks became President of Perkins Engines [2] after having worked in Caterpillar’s Electronics and Connected Worksite Division in North America. Gwenne is also a vice-president of Caterpillar Inc [3].
Perkins diesel engines have been made for the industrial, agricultural, construction, material handling, marine and power generation markets, and Perkins Gas-based engines (Natural Gases, Landfill Gas, Digester Gss, Bio Gas, Mine Gas) use for continuous power generation but two engines stand out among the general public for their automotive applications.
Perkins' 1.6 litre (99 cubic inch) P4C engine, producing 45 or 60 hp (45 kW), was extremely popular in Europe and Israel for taxis and commercially driven cars during the 1950s and early 1960s; many cars, including American imports, were retrofitted with these engines for taxi use, with kits made by Hunter NV of Belgium. Perkins engines were also used as standard factory equipment in Jeeps and Dodge trucks in the United States in the 1960s. They also continued to be popular in European trucks from their original customer, Commer and other companies.[4]
The Perkins 6.354 medium duty engine was designed to be compact enough to replace petrol/gasoline V8 engines in trucks, despite its in-line six-cylinder design. Producing 112 horsepower (84 kW) in early years (later rising to 120 hp), it had a small jackshaft driven by the timing gears for the auxiliary drive, with the oil pump driven by a quill shaft so it could run auxiliary equipment at engine speed with simple couplings.
After acquiring Rolls-Royce Diesels of Shrewsbury in the 1980s, Perkins continued to supply British Rail with engines for its diesel multiple units.
Global product support is provided by 4,000 distribution, parts and service centres.[5]
Perkins plays an active role in all the communities, in which it is based, sponsoring a range of programmes from Formula Student to the Perkins Great Eastern Run and the Heart-to-Heart programme in China to the Thomas Deacon Academy
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