1. Schuyla Goodson Bell, Managing Director of Cummins Southern
Africa, is a powerhouse of a woman; a business woman,
leader and mother. She is a unique combination of warm and
approachable, yet strong and authoritative and in the time I spent
interviewing her, I was immediately drawn to her passion for the
business of all things power-related.
Cummins is a global power leader with a presence in 51 of the
54 African countries. The company serves its customers through
its network of 600 company-owned and independent distributor
facilities and has more than 7 200 dealer locations in over 190
countries and territories worldwide. The headquarters of the
Cummins Africa Area Business Organisation was established in
2010 and is the nerve centre for all operations on the continent.
The company has four complementary business units (Engine,
Power Generation, Components and Distribution) which
design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related
technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration,
emission solutions and electrical power generation systems.
Aside from the engines themselves, the company has a wealth
of expertise in providing systems-orientated power solutions, which
includes related components and ongoing maintenance. A huge
advantage of utilising Cummins’ components is that they are also
compatible with other brands. Power delivery is at the core of their
business with applications across diverse industries including rail,
mining and marine to name but a few. In South Africa, Cummins’
primary target market is businesses who in turn serve the end-
consumer.
Cummins is led by a progressive and value-driven management
team. From inception in Columbus, Indiana, in 1919, the company
saw itself as a global player even when it was just starting out – a
small town company with big international dreams and this vision
has carried them to where they are today. Schuyla expressed
the importance of the company’s six values which are integrity,
innovation, the delivery of superior results, corporate responsibility,
diversity and global involvement. Finding and building relationships
with key partners who share the same values has been a pillar of
success for Cummins. The drive to innovate and diversify in order
to meet clients’ changing needs has kept them at the forefront of
their game, with a solid foundation built on adhering to their values.
Of particular interest to the environmentally conscious is Cummins’
involvement and research into biogas alternatives. There is a
Southern Africa
POWER FOR AFRICA

2. CORPORATEPROFILE
constant drive to improve processes, with the question of ‘how
can we make this better?’ always guiding the process. It is not
enough to simply provide a product or service as customers retain
loyalty to companies who add value and serve the customer as
they want to be served. With a Regional Distribution Centre in
Kelvin, Johannesburg, the resources have been brought closer to
the customer, who can thus be served more quickly and efficiently.
Product lines are designed with state-of-the-art technologies and
provide standby power, distributed power generation and auxiliary
power. They include diesel and alternative-fuelled electrical
generator sets from 2.5 to 3 500 kW, alternators from 0.6 KVA to
20 000 KVA, transfer switches from 40 amps to 3 000 amps and
paralleling switchgear and generator set controls.
Cummins offers several solutions that are ideal for residential estate
application and is keen to engage with developers earlier in
the process in order to be involved with the initial planning.They
provide efficient, fully integrated systems to keep an estate running
in any circumstance and a major advantage of their systems is that
noise levels are minimised, which is of utmost importance for the
comfort of estate residents.
Aside from estate-wide systems, Cummins also has a range of
individual home solutions which offer an advanced enclosure
design, extremely quiet performance, flexible exercise mode and
self-diagnostic capability.The Cummins PowerCommand© is at
the cutting edge of generator technology, not only enabling the
generator to check on its own performance, but when combined
with its easy access design, it also allows for quick and effective
servicing. Corporate responsibility features prominently in the
Cummins business model with focus on the environment, education
and social justice.
The company supports the development of young people in
South Africa to potentially join their workforce in the future and
have partnered with Afrika Tikkun to provide a job readiness
programme to prepare young people from school leaving age
up to the age of 34. Additionally, the Cummins Dream Machine
Initiative was launched this year with the first awards ceremony
held on 29 September 2015. The premise was that engine parts
can be used to educate people about upcycling and create jobs
for local artists and skilled craftsmen. Contestants were invited to
share the inspiration behind their creations with the judges; the uses
and benefits, which parts and techniques were applied and the
link to education, the environment and social justice.In October
2015, Cummins launched a “Power of Pink” campaign for breast
cancer awareness month. Following on from an existing concept,
trees were wrapped in pink fabric to highlight the importance of
being tested for the disease. Through their Every Employee Every
Community (EEEC) programme, Cummins gives employees the
opportunity to contribute at least four hours of company time to
their community. Employees are strongly encouraged to make
a difference and better the communities in which they live in,
something Schuyla strongly believes in.
Schuyla commenced her career as a lawyer and practised for 18
years before making the move to management. She is a wife and
proud mother of four children, whom she emphatically names as
her biggest mentors, alongside her late grandmother. She was a
single parent for 10 years while going through law school and
recounts how she used to read case files to her children as bedtime
stories.
Schuyla has a keen interest in emerging markets and sees the huge
potential in Africa. Having been brought on board to refresh the
strategy for the continent, she has great plans to build the brand
and the business within Africa. Schuyla lives by quick decision
making and the taking of prudent risks, drawing on her legal
experience every step of the way. She firmly believes in giving
back and maintaining a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Her goal is
to make a positive impact on the world and to leave a lasting
legacy, which her role at Cummins enables her to do on a much
larger scale.
With powerhouse Schuyla at the helm Cummins is sure to make a
significant impact on Africa, both in terms of business and social
responsibility.
CONTACT
Cummins South Africa
Head Office 011 321 8700
www.cummins.com
Cumminsoffersseveralsolutionsthatareidealforresidentialestateapplicationandiskeento
engagewithdevelopersearlierintheprocessinordertobeinvolvedwiththeinitialplanning.
Theyprovideefficient,fullyintegratedsystemstokeepanestaterunninginanycircumstanceanda
majoradvantageoftheirsystemsisthatnoiselevelsareminimised,whichisofutmostimportance
forthecomfortofestateresidents.