Visit to Perkins Engines

The Peterborough and Huntingdon Local Network initiated a visit on 12 September to Perkins Engines Company Limited (part of the multinational Caterpillar Inc since 1998).  Our contact at the destination happened to be a member of the IMechE and the chairman of the Peterborough Joint Panel.  The PJP is a collaboration of IET, IMechE and the Peterborough Young Engineers, so the visit was opened to those on the circulation lists for all the organisations, one of whom had travelled over 100 miles!  It is then not surprising that it was oversubscribed, above the 40 limit that had to be set.

  

We were welcomed by our hosts and, following an excellent buffet lunch, were given an introductory talk about Caterpillar and its principal Cat and Perkins products and services.  The Peterborough site manufactures a range of diesel engines, with many going to power off-highway construction vehicles around the world.   The Peterborough site is also the base for worldwide research and development of engines and is the home of the Europe Research and Development Centre.

 

After the briefing half the party visited the research and design facility, with its numerous test cells for precisely measuring engine performance under a huge variety of weather and terrain conditions.  In addition, we saw a 3D printed replica of a prototype engine which is used to check that everything physically looks right and, of equal importance, components that are subject to regular replacement are easily accessible.   At the entrance to this area we were impressed to see a permanent display listing the professional organisations that have registered or been closely associated with the company  and its staff.  The Peterborough site offers a number of apprenticeships including advanced and craft technical schemes as well as in the business and supply chain, and supports continuing professional development for engineers.  The top quality and positive attitude were evident everywhere.


Meanwhile the other half of the party toured part of the vast assembly area with its computer controlled assembly lines having a mix of robotic and manual workstations.  The capacity of the factory is for 500,000 engines a year.  After assembly every engine is supplied with lubricant and fuel and is tested.  Some of us had anticipated that such a test would make the area smell of fuel, but the standard of cleanliness was so high that there was negligible odour and (as one of our party commented) you could “eat your dinner off the factory floor”.  In earlier years many of the components for the engines would have been manufactured in the factory at Peterborough, but we learned that only the crankshafts are now made in-house.  One of the more unusual suppliers of precision components is Westcombe Engineering, a Peterborough-based Social Enterprise company that focuses on providing employment and development opportunities for disabled people


Back in a conference room we were given an illustrated talk about the heritage of Perkins from its founding 85 years ago to the present day.  This was followed by the second half of the tour, before we returned for a couple of photos and our departure.  All the visitors were greatly impressed by what we had learned and seen – and we were surprised to find out that tours such as we had been given are not routinely available.


Finally, thanks must go to Stephen Edwards, Vanessa Relph and others at the Peterborough site too numerous to mention for a most enjoyable and enlightening day.


For further information on Perkins engines see  https://www.perkins.com.