When dependability responds

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Welcome to Power Onward,

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the podcast that pulls back the
current on the technologies, people,

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and partnerships shaping
the future of power.

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When firefighters respond to
a call, every second matters.

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And the trucks that carry them
can't hesitate, stall, or fail.

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Across North America, a large portion
of those trucks rely on Cummins engines,

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brakes, and drive trains to get crews
where they need to go. As you can imagine,

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fire and rescue can be extremely
demanding of its equipment.

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And for nearly a century,

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Cummins has been engineering dependable
solutions designed to protect property

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and life.
Today,

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we're exploring the powertrain
technologies firefighters
trust when the stakes

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are absolute. Hi, I'm Kim, global
brand manager here at Cummins.

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Hi, I'm Chris.

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I look after the engine business for
fire and emergency and recreational

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vehicles.

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All right. So Chris, I hear that
Cummins and fire service goes way back.

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Tell me more about Cummins,

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their role in maybe diesel
engines and fire apparatus,

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and what else you can
tell me about that legacy.

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Yeah, so almost a hundred years,
right? Beginning with the 1937 Stutz,

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the first diesel powered fire
truck. It still lives in Columbus,

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Indiana in station two.

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What was unique to that was 150
horsepower, 500 pound feet of torque,

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which by today's standards would
not measure up, but then it did.

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It was a step up.

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It was a step up in not
just the equipment, but also
the overall reliability,

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right?

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Exactly.

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So that engine was actually
in service from 1939 to 1974,

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about 35 years.

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That same engine?

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Yes. Testament to dependability
and making active runs.

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Absolutely.

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So we're hearing reliability revolution
through a Cummins diesel engine inside

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of that 1937 studs with more
torque, better durability,

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and longer run times.

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Yes.

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That's triple wins. We love to hear that.

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But I think that even
for me and for others,

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when we see a fire apparatus or a
firetruck, we simply see a vehicle.

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But there's a lot more that goes into
that because recently I heard them

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referred to as mobile power plants.

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Does that have to do with that duty
cycle once the engines hit the scene?

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So it can be central
to the whole operation.

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So they don't just go to pump
water. They have a lot of tasks.

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About 70% of their runs are
EMS, emergency medical service.

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So sort of like an ambulance. Most
of them are trained as paramedics.

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So not only that, but sometimes
they need to get up high, right?

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So they have aerials,
so platforms or ladders,

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so they can get to tall places,

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whether it's fighting fires or getting
to people that need their help.

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They also block traffic, right?

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So many of us have experienced that on
the interstate where you want something

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large in front of your rescue workers
to prevent danger to those that are

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serving others.

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So they have a lot of jobs.

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They do.

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The firefighters in the building doing
their thing, but the truck itself,

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the apparatus itself, is running
multiple tasks simultaneously.

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Absolutely. In addition, they
also with radio communications,

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comfort station. So this truck
serves a lot of purpose. In fact,

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about 70% of the time,
they are just idling.

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70%.

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About 70% of the time, about 25% of
the time driving and about 5% pumping.

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So that's sort of a standard
duty cycle for the truck.

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I know. I like that.

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I just visualize a pie chart as you were
breaking that down. All right, Chris,

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let's get into the components
of a fire apparatus.

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Why is each component so
essential for emergency responses?

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So Cummins has worked with the
fire service for many years.

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We've sold about 50,000 of
these over the last 25 years.

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So we work very closely to upgrade and
understand the needs of the fire service.

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So as an example,

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these engines are uniquely
created for the fire service.

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So not only are they restricted ratings,

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meaning we maximize the horsepower and
torque over a standard over the road

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truck engine. They do not D-rate
for emissions related faults.

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There is no SCR inducement all in the
name of getting the truck to the scene.

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But as important as getting
to the scene quickly,

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stopping the truck is also important.

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So we have compression brakes that
are anywhere from 350 horsepower up to

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600 horsepower to slow
the vehicle quickly.

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Right, because I'm sure
that's a lot of equipment.

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The vehicle itself is quite heavy and
you need to stop on a dime, so to speak.

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Right. And that's on top of
the Meritor drive train, right?

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Which also has very strong braking.

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Are there any new innovations
within the powertrain?

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There sure are. So we'll be releasing
the Meritor QuickDisc systema.

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So not only does it provide
superior braking power,

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but the main thing is it makes
maintenance so much easier.

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You no longer have to pull the wheel
end off in order to change the rotor.

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This will save time.

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It will improve repair quality
within the maintenance organization.

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So it's a pretty cool innovation.

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That's a massive win for our customers
and for our teams on the ground doing

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those repairs. So we have this massive
80,000 pound mobile power plant.

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It's got to perform perfectly
in extreme conditions,

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meet strict standards when it comes to
emissions, and then be easy to maintain.

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How is Cummins innovating to
deliver this to customers?

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So maybe the biggest news is
for 2027, the NOX emissions,

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oxides of nitrogen drop another 80%.

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So over the last 25 years,
they were reduced by about 80%.

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Now we're doing that in three or four
years. So people ask how we do that.

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It's a lot of technology.

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So probably the biggest thing is we
have heaters at the inlets to both

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of the after treatment components,
the diesel particulate filter,

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the SCR catalyst,

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and that requires a 48 volt alternator
on the engine to drive those.

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So that's the majority
of our NOx reduction.

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There are also clean sheet design.
So both the X10 and X15 are new

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from the ground up, optimized based
on our experience with the X12,

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which was largely successful. So
the engine has gotten a lot cleaner.

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In addition, we've done a lot
of things for reliability.

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So now you'll find that
both of those engines,

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the X10 and X15 have a dual overhead cam.
They also have a rear gear

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train. So this just makes the engine
structure stronger to reduce leaks,

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keep vehicles in service. Another thing
would be the quick disk braking system,

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so disk brake for the rear axle.

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The big innovation there is the fact that
you can pull the rotor without having

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to disturb the wheel end.

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So not only does that give
us a faster service event,

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but it also improves the repair quality.

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Brilliant. A win-win overall
for all teams involved.

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What I'm hearing is that the fire
service doesn't just buy equipment.

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They rely on partners.

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So how is Cummins showing up for the
fire service beyond the engine and

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components?

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Yeah, it's truly a team effort. So we
start by working with a chassis builder,

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either it's custom or commercial.

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So we work with them to ensure that the
installation quality requirements are

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met.

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It then goes to a bodybuilder where
they're putting on all the compartments on

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the back and putting that together.

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We also work with them to help them with
programming and those types of things.

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Once it gets into ...

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We also count on a dealer network
that looks after these vehicles

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and our distribution systems.

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So Cummins has about 3,500
locations that can sell parts for

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automotive engines.

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And we have over 2,000 locations that
can do warranty service on these.

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And this is in North America or-.

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This is in North America.
Wow. 2000 in North America.

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And that's the majority of our
business. When we get overseas,

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the types of apparatus vary.

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That totally makes sense.

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The other thing I would add is we're
looking at new solutions that also keep

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equipment and service less trips
to the shop. So for example,

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Cummins Acumen is a
telematics system. Basically,

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that means it's communicating
information from the engine back to us

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so that we can provide repair guidance.

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We can also do things over time
to do over the air calibrations.

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We can do remote diagnostics.

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So these are all huge things to keep
the vehicle in the station and not in a

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repair shop.

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Exactly.

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It's nice that we'll have a pulse on
things so we're not always being reactive

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when the customers come to us.

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It's like we've got to pull so we can be
proactive and just make sure that they

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don't have to be in there as
often, as frequently or as long.

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Exactly.

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Do you have any firefighter testimonials
based on what you've just said?

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It's always fun to go to trade shows.

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So whether it's FDIC or the
Lancaster County Fireman's

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Association Fire Expo,
hear a lot of stories.

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So a lot of firefighters are
amazed at the performance.

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So some say that there
shouldn't be a throttle pedal.

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It should just be an on/off switch
to accelerate as quickly as they can,

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but we hear a lot of positive comments,
especially around the performance.

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It's a testament to all the hard work
that goes into each of these products,

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right?

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Exactly.

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When you look at the next
generation of fire apparatus,

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what excites you the most about
where the technology is headed?

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It's really pretty exciting.

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I think we will continue to
see some benefits from AI,

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not only from a design perspective so
that we can optimize designs like we have

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with the X10 and X15,

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but also on how we monitor the
performance of those engines.

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Where have we had issues?

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We use our warranty data and we can
fold all of that into the new designs to

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make an even better engine.

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That is a recurring theme.

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AI just amplifying all of our efforts and
being able to get things to the market

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faster, essentially.

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If someone remembers one
thing about Cummins and fire
service after listening to

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this episode, what
would you want it to be?

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We want to build great products,
but we also want to support.

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So it's really important to us why we've
worked to develop so many dealers and

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our Cummins branches to be able
to support the fire service.

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So support is everything.

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Chris, thank you so much
for your time today.

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It's really cool to see what keeps those
trucks so dependable because for us,

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dependability isn't just important.

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It's essential and especially
for the fire service. All right,

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so what's the big idea for this episode?
When we talk about fire and rescue,

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we often think about the
sirens and the Chrome,

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but the real story is about
readiness and reliability.

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We've seen that today for Cummins. A
firetruck isn't simply just a vehicle.

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It's a rescue apparatus that firefighters
rely on during the worst day of

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people's lives. In an industry
where every second matters,

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Cummins isn't just an engine builder.

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We're providing confidence and reliability
so real heroes can get where they're

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needed safely and fast.
When lives are on the line,

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dependability isn't just a
technical spec. It's a promise.

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Thank you for listening to Power Onward.
Your support means the world to us.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please
don't forget to subscribe, rate,

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and review on your
favorite podcast platform.

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If you want to dig deeper
on what we covered today,

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check out the show notes for
additional links or go to

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Cummins.com/podcast. Until
next time, Power Onward.

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We're from Cummins,

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the company that's been innovating
toward the future for more than a hundred

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years. We're no strangers to
rapid change, global shifts,

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and economic uncertainty.

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We want to be your constant during
the energy transition. Whenever,

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wherever, forever. Power Onward.