Amy Davis
Cummins Inc. plans to showcase for the first time an electric powertrain that integrates technology and parts from a $3.7 billion acquisition of an automotive parts supplier that used to be a major employer in Columbus.
The Columbus-based company said Thursday that it will showcase Meritor’s 17Xe ePowertrain assembled with a Cummins battery system at a tradeshow in Germany. The ePowertrain is designed for heavy-duty trucks and includes a lithium ion phosphate battery pack.
The electric powertrain will be unveiled at the IAA Transportation tradeshow in Hanover, Germany, which will be held Sept. 20 to 25.
“We are committed to bringing Cummins and Meritor electrified powertrain solutions to market as quickly as possible. We are moving faster together and are eager to talk about solutions at IAA that will move us all closer to decarbonizing our industry,” Amy Davis, Cummins vice president and president of new power, said in a statement. “Cummins and Meritor bring together the industry’s best, most economically viable decarbonized powertrain solutions that are better for people and our planet.”
The announcement comes just over a month after Cummins announced that it had completed its acquisition of Michigan-based Meritor Inc. for $36.50 in cash per share, a 48% premium on Meritor’s closing price on Feb. 18. The deal was bankrolled through a combination of cash and debt.
Meritor shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favor of Cummins’ acquisition bid in May, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Meritor, for its part, is no stranger to Columbus, operating under the name ArvinMeritor Inc. from 2000 to 2011. ArvinMeritor formed on July 7, 2000 after the merger of Meritor Automotive Inc. and Columbus-based Arvin Industries Inc., a former Fortune 500 company that at one point employed an estimated 3,000 people here and 850 in Franklin.
ArvinMeritor changed its name to Meritor Inc. in 2011 after shedding many of its former Arvin properties in southern Indiana and elsewhere.
