Cummins celebrates reopening of downtown tech center

Cummins is celebrating the reopening of its Worldwide Technical Center Hub Office Tower visible just across Haw Creek from Central Avenue in downtown Columbus.

The center on McKinley Avenue has been closed for renovations since 2021. Originally completed in 1968, the tower was designed by Harry Weese. The addition of the tower more than doubled the number of engine test cells available to the company, providing engineers with what the company called “a world-class facility to develop world-class innovations.”

The center is a six-story tower, with 72,000 square feet of office space on five floors. The renovation included a new staircase, two social hubs, gender-neutral restrooms, nursing rooms, quiet spaces, soft lab zones and 90 conference rooms. Architects for the renovation were HOK of St. Louis, Missouri, with construction F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co., Inc., of Indianapolis.

Cummins Chair and CEO Jennifer Rumsey said “Much of the research and development for our next-generation power solutions start right here in this very hub…”

Company officials said the completion allows the company to have engineers, technical specialists and innovators together again under the same roof working as a coordinated team.

A ribbon cutting was held Wednesday.

Photo: Left to right, Congressman Greg Pence; Tim Frazier, Cummins Vice President – Research & Technology; Lucia Lopez, Cummins Americas Tech Ops Supply Chain Manager; Jennifer Rumsey, Cummins Chair and Chief Executive Officer; Brett Merritt, Cummins Vice President and President – Engine Business; Indiana State Representative Ryan Lauer; Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon; and Jonathan White, Cummins Vice President – Engine Business Engineering. Photo courtesy of Cummins