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Cummins Inc.

Heavy Machinery & Engine ManufacturingFounded 1919
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Cummins?

Clessie Lyle Cummins, William G. Irwin · Founded 1919 · HQ today: Columbus, Indiana

Who founded Cummins?

Cummins was founded by Clessie Lyle Cummins, William G. Irwin in 1919. It is now led by Jennifer Rumsey.

Founders
Clessie Lyle Cummins, William G. Irwin
Founded
1919
Headquarters
Columbus, Indiana
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Jennifer Rumsey (since 2022)
Where was Cummins founded?
Cummins was founded in Columbus, Indiana in 1919.
When was Cummins founded?
Cummins was founded in 1919.
Who started Cummins?
Cummins was founded by Clessie Lyle Cummins and William G. Irwin.
How old is Cummins?
Cummins is 107 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Clessie Cummins was a self-taught mechanic and chauffeur for Columbus, Indiana banker and industrialist William G. Irwin. Convinced that the heavy diesel engine could be made light and fast enough for vehicles, he persuaded Irwin to back the Cummins Engine Company in 1919. The company lost money for nearly two decades. Clessie kept the venture alive with publicity: in 1931 a Cummins-powered truck crossed the United States on about $11 of fuel, and the Cummins Diesel Special finished the Indianapolis 500 without a pit stop. Cummins turned its first profit in 1937, and Irwin's grand-nephew J. Irwin Miller later built it into a global company.

Clessie Lyle Cummins

Co-founder 1919

Background

A self-taught mechanic with no formal engineering degree, Clessie Cummins worked as a chauffeur and mechanic for the Irwin family of Columbus, Indiana, before persuading William G. Irwin to finance a diesel engine company in 1919.

Role at Cummins Inc.

Clessie Lyle Cummins (1888-1968) believed the diesel engine, then used mainly in ships and stationary plants, could be made light and fast enough to power vehicles. With William G. Irwin's backing he founded the Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Indiana, in 1919. Early engines were built under license and sold for farm and marine use, and the company lost money for years. Clessie promoted diesel through endurance stunts: in 1931 a Cummins-powered truck crossed the United States on about $11 of fuel, and the Cummins Diesel Special completed the Indianapolis 500 without a pit stop. The company became profitable in 1937 as trucking fleets adopted diesel. Clessie held dozens of patents, including work on fuel injection and the compression engine brake later commercialized by Jacobs Vehicle Systems, a business Cummins itself acquired in 2022. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

William G. Irwin

Co-founder 1919

Background

Banker and industrialist from a prominent Columbus, Indiana family; Cummins' principal investor from 1919 through its first profitable year in 1937.

Role at Cummins Inc.

William Glanton Irwin was a Columbus, Indiana banker and businessman who employed Clessie Cummins as a chauffeur and mechanic and became the financial backer of the Cummins Engine Company in 1919. He kept funding the company through nearly two decades of losses, including the Great Depression, until it turned profitable in 1937. Irwin's family stayed central to Cummins: his grand-nephew J. Irwin Miller joined in 1934 and led the company for more than four decades, turning it into a global engine maker. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Cummins Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Jennifer Rumsey

Chair and Chief Executive Officer

2022 – Present

Rumsey joined Cummins in 2000 and held roles including chief technical officer, president of the Components segment, and president and COO before becoming CEO on August 1, 2022, and chair in 2023. She is the first woman to lead Cummins. Under her leadership Cummins closed the Meritor deal, launched Accelera, separated Atmus, expanded data center power capacity, and in 2025-2026 scaled back hydrogen by exiting electrolyzers and selling the fuel cell business. She holds mechanical engineering degrees from Purdue University and MIT.

Tom Linebarger

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2012 – 2022

Led Cummins through emissions regulation, global expansion, supply disruption, and the early new-power pivot. Linebarger joined Cummins in 1993 after beginning his career at Prudential Financial, rising through supply-chain, CFO, and power-generation leadership roles before becoming president and COO in 2008 and chairman and CEO on January 1, 2012, a role he held for a decade before Rumsey succeeded him in 2022. During his tenure, Cummins expanded significantly into natural gas engines and began early investment in hydrogen fuel-cell and electrolyzer technology, positioning the company for the eventual energy transition in heavy-duty transportation well before many competitors made comparable investments. He also chaired the Business Roundtable's International Engagement Committee and led its International Trade Subcommittee, giving Cummins a prominent voice in national trade-policy discussions, and after leaving Cummins he became CEO of Mainspring Energy, a company developing flexible power-generation technology.

Tim Solso

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

2000 – 2011

Built Cummins into a stronger global industrial compounder with disciplined manufacturing and distribution execution. Solso joined Cummins in 1971 after earning an MBA from Harvard and a psychology degree from DePauw University, rising from personnel roles into operations leadership before becoming chairman and CEO in 2000, a position he held until retiring in 2011. Solso led Cummins through the 2008-2009 financial crisis, during which heavy-truck demand collapsed industry-wide, while maintaining the company's investment in emissions-control technology needed to meet increasingly stringent EPA diesel-engine regulations. He also served on General Motors' board starting in 2012, becoming non-executive chairman in 2014 before transitioning to lead independent director when Mary Barra became chairman in 2016, and separately served on Ball Corporation's board beginning in 2003.

J. Irwin Miller

Chairman and CEO

1947 – 1977

Grand-nephew of co-founder William G. Irwin, Miller joined Cummins in 1934, became president in 1947, and served as chairman until 1977, building it into a global engine maker. He was also known for civil rights advocacy and for the Cummins Foundation program that paid architects' fees for modernist public buildings in Columbus, Indiana.

Keep researching Cummins

Who Founded Cummins? FAQ

Who founded Cummins Inc. in 1919 and what were their backgrounds?

Cummins was founded on February 3, 1919, in Columbus, Indiana, by Clessie Lyle Cummins (an effective self-taught mechanic and inventor) and William Glanton Irwin (a wealthy Columbus banker and industrial financier) under the name Cummins Engine Company.

Who was Clessie Lyle Cummins and what was his pioneering role in diesel engines?

Clessie Lyle Cummins (1888 to 1968) was an automotive pioneer who believed Rudolf Diesel's heavy, stationary industrial engine could be miniaturized and adapted for automotive and commercial truck transportation. Cummins developed dozens of patented fuel injection and diesel combustion innovations, inventing the high-speed automotive diesel engine.

How did Clessie Cummins demonstrate the power of diesel at the Indianapolis 500?

In 1931, Clessie Cummins entered the Indianapolis 500 in the 'Cummins Diesel Special' race car. The car completed the entire 500-mile race without a single pit stop, running on $1.40 worth of furnace oil and proving the notable reliability and fuel economy of Cummins diesel engines.

How did Clessie Cummins promote diesel trucks through cross-country endurance records?

In the 1930s, Clessie Cummins drove diesel-powered trucks and passenger cars on coast-to-coast endurance trips across the United States (such as New York to Los Angeles on $11.22 of fuel), generating large newspaper headlines that convinced American trucking fleets to abandon gasoline for diesel.

What was William G. Irwin's financial contribution to founding Cummins?

William G. Irwin provided the foundational capital and financial backing during Cummins' first 18 years of operations (from 1919 to 1937) when the company was experimenting and developing its patented engines before turning its first annual profit in 1937.

How did Cummins power the Allied victory in World War II?

During World War II, Cummins produced thousands of heavy-duty diesel engines to power Allied military trucks, heavy bulldozers, Navy landing craft, generator sets, and cargo supply convoys across Europe and the Pacific, earning prestigious Army-Navy 'E' Awards for excellence.

What core founding values continue to define Cummins' corporate culture?

Cummins was built on foundational values of 'Integrity, Diversity & Inclusion, Caring, Excellence, and Courage', establishing an enduring culture of engineering excellence, ethical business practices, and deep community investment.

How is the legacy of co-founder Clessie Cummins honored today?

Clessie Cummins was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, remembered as the engineer who transformed global heavy freight transportation and industrial power.

Who founded Cummins?

Clessie Cummins was the mechanical genius who founded it. To prove diesel wasn't just for stationary farm equipment, he famously installed a Cummins diesel engine in a Packard chassis and drove it from New York to Los Angeles in 1931 on just $11.22 worth of fuel.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.