THE owner of a Huddersfield engineering company has announced top level changes.
US-based Cummins Inc, which includes Cummins Turbo Technologies with a major site at Turnbridge, said chairman and chief executive Tim Solso, 64, will retire at the end of the year.
Mr Solso, who worked at the St Andrew’s Road site at one stage during his 40-year career with the group, will be succeeded by Cummins president and chief operating officer Tom Linebarger, 48, who has been with the group for 17 years.
During Mr Solso’s tenure, Cummins has seen its market value soar ten-fold while the company has been recognised for its leadership in environmental technologies as well as its financial performance and record on corporate responsibility.
Mr Solso joined Cummins in 1971 after gaining a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from DePauw University, Indiana, in 1969.
He began as assistant to the vice-president of personnel and later moved into the operations side of the business, working at various global locations including Huddersfield and Sao Paolo, Brazil.
He became chairman and chief executive officer in 2000 – since when Cummins’ international business has grown from 40% to more than 60%, while sales have risen from $6.6bn to $13.2bn last year, when Cummins enjoyed its best-ever year and record profits exceeding $1bn.
