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Power Onward is the podcast that unveils how power technology shapes your everyday life.
From the tech powering your daily life to the innovations driving industries forward, we talk about it all.
Brought to you by Cummins, each episode explores what’s fueling the future and why it matters for your mission, business, and community.
Welcome to Power Onward,
the podcast that pulls back the
curtain on the technologies, people,
and partnerships shaping
the future of power.
From the copper and our electronics to
the materials powering AI, EVs, and more,
mining sits at the foundation
of nearly everything we rely on.
Most people will never
step foot on a mine site,
yet every day massive machines work around
the clock moving hundreds of tons of
materials in some of the world's
most demanding environments.
Cummins has powered the mining
industry for over a hundred years,
and in many ways, mining helps shape
us too, pushing us to innovate,
solve tough problems, and show up for
our customers wherever they operate.
Because in mining,
reliability is a difference between
productivity and costly downtime. Today,
we're exploring how mining is evolving,
what customers are asking for,
and what it will take to power the
next era of the industry. I'm Kim,
global brand manager here at Cummins.
And I'm Gbile Adewunmi, Vice President,
Power Systems Industrial Markets.
As someone who's spent so much
time working in this industry,
what does this milestone
mean to you personally?
It's really amazing to think that in 1926,
a four cylinder 210 horsepower
Cummins Model F engine was
powering a Northwest
engineering excavator.
And today we have
equipment that's at 4,400
horsepower in the biggest mine
truck in the world in Latin America.
And as I think through all the dependable
innovation that Cummins has created,
everything from high
horsepower, turbocharging,
fuel systems, remote
diagnostics, NOX reduction,
creating innovation that enables all
these machines to work in the harshest
environments in the most remote
places around the world, filtration,
dirt protection, all of
these technologies is really,
really cool that that's
part of the Cummins legacy.
The other important part for me though
is also celebrating our partners. I mean,
it's one thing to have
the right technology,
but it's also the strong partnerships
that we have developed with so many of the
miners, global, regional, local, as
well as our equipment manufacturers,
our OEMs,
in whom's equipment we put our engines.
And that's really what makes me proud.
And so as a leader in Cummins
mining business today,
I am humbled by our legacy. I'm
excited by the position we're in today.
I'm truly energized by the difference
we believe we'll continue to make in the
mining business for our
customers going forward.
Bilay, it's so crazy. You just
said a power shovel excavator. Now,
when Gbile Adewunmi was on here
talking about mining before,
he was telling us about
these 12-foot tall tires,
but you're all saying that our humble
beginning was with a power shovel.
Yes, it was. Small beginnings,
but now as mining has evolved,
so as Cummins,
which is what's been great about our
legacy as well as what will be great about
our future.
Truly unbelievable.
But it seems like one thing has been
consistent throughout all of this.
It's that mining has always been
the ultimate proving ground.
I've heard some setback stories from
our earlier days now, humble beginnings,
but how did those challenges help shape
the problem-solving mindset that Cummins
is known for today?
I say that in mining, you can't hide.
Our customers require us to use
the equipment on a day-to-day
basis in very demanding
situations. Many of our customers,
the price of their output
of their commodity is fixed.
They don't get to decide that. The
market gets to decide that. So for them,
reliability and cost are constant
no matter what. And so for Cummins,
as we've been innovating
with our customers,
we've had the opportunity to demonstrate
that with innovation, with partnership,
we can provide the best technology
to supporting the most demanding
environments. So for us, it's
been a fun journey, many highs,
some lows. And when we have lows,
what differentiates us, I think,
is owning up to our messes and being
there with our customers through the hard
times.
So our legacy of dependability is
not just because of our innovation,
it's really our partners. We call our
customers partners. I use that term a lot.
Our partners know that when things
go wrong and in mining, they will,
from time to time, we're
there to support them as well.
I think that speaks volume.
They're not just customers.
We're not just selling
them equipment and saying,
"Good luck." We're partners because from
the moment they make the decision to
partner with us,
we are going to be their trusted advisors
even with all the equipment they have.
And if you think about a
mine is around for a decade,
and so that mine is going to evolve
from when you start the mine,
there's a very different mine topology
and the equipment that you need from when
you're mining 20 years,
30 years, 40 years later.
So it's important that we're
not only there at the beginning,
but we're evolving the mine. And then
once the mine is done, in some cases,
they've got to restore the
mine to some level law.
And so we're there as well to support
them all throughout that journey.
I think that's the part we frequently
forget about. Restore it in the mine.
Restore in the mine, yes.
When you look back at key inflection
points, let's think about turbocharging,
electronics, emissions. What's one
thing that changed the game the most?
One thing is hard, Kim, in a hundred
years. I got to give you more than one.
So I'm going to give you
a few things. All right.
So if you think about the '30s,
it was really all about just getting
our engines in the mining application,
tailoring it for the environment,
understanding how it worked there.
In the '50s, a major step change
for us was in fuel systems,
and that's where we released a
pressure time or PT fuel systems,
which is legendary for many
folks in the mining space.
In the '70s and '80s,
it was about the new generation
of mechanical controlled engines,
our K series engines, many of
which are being used in some mines.
As we got to the '90s and the early
2000s or even into the late 2000s,
it then became around about
releasing electronic controlled
engines. That's where our QSK series.
And so many of the engines,
many people will be familiar in mining
of the QSK19, the QSK38, the QSK60.
Those products are definitely
the core of our mining business.
Today we're released then.
And it was also a place where we made
step changes in emissions compliance by
releasing a tier four
compliant engines. So in 2022,
we launched the most powerful
engine in the mining business,
the QSK 95 4400 horsepowered 1800 RPM,
which is operated in copper
mines in Latin America today.
We're excited about what it's doing there.
It is a breathtaking, beautiful
engine. I have seen it in person.
It is very large compared
to my five-foot stature,
but I can see why it needs to
with the fleet open bit mudners.
Yes. And then in 2025,
we bought First Mode,
which is really helping us accelerate
our diesel hybrid technology,
setting us up very well for
innovation into the next century.
I love the timeline of technologies,
but I do feel like there's
more to the story now.
What has driven Cummins
Ford in this industry?
Yeah, so we touched on innovation.
So that timeline that I laid out and the
work that we're doing to set us up for
the future is important.
In addition to that,
there are two other things
I'd like to touch on.
I briefly touched on our global
service and support network.
That is critical in mining.
As Cummins, we're proud,
not just for the mining business,
but for all our businesses that
we are in 190 countries with some
sort of presence. Everywhere critical
mining is done, Cummins is present.
And we're there whether as a
company-owned, a joint venture,
independent distributors to support our
customers, and that makes a difference.
And then finally, it's
the spirit of partnership.
We're an independent engine maker. We
work with multiple equipment makers.
We work across multiple mines, and I
feel like that's one of our superpowers.
Our ability to work with customers to
find win-win solutions. And doing that
over a period of times through multiple
highs and some lows has helped us
to build the legacy that we have today,
and it's setting us up
well for the future.
I like that you brought up superpower
because I know that partnerships aren't
just built off of words. They're
built and earned through trust.
What's our superpower that takes us
from being the point of contact to that
trusted partner?
First of all, we do
what we say we will do.
So we are very cautious of
our word means something.
And regardless of when
Cummins gives their word,
regardless of what leader is in front of
you at the most remote mine in Mongolia
or the head office in Australia
or somewhere in Canada,
we're going to say we'll do what we
say we will do. Now, once in a while,
we fall short of expectations
and we own up to our messes.
I think our customers and our partners
really appreciate the fact that when we
don't live up to what we said we're
going to do and something goes wrong,
we're very quick to admit that, and
we work with them to find solutions.
Ultimately, I feel like our partners
don't have unrealistic expectations.
They have tough expectations,
which we want and expect,
but they're not unrealistic.
And as long as we do what we say we'll do,
and when we don't, we own up,
it really helps build trust.
And so some of the biggest
leaps in partnerships and
relationships has happened
when we've had some lows, and
our job is to minimize the lows,
make sure it's mostly highs.
And when we have the lows,
we ensure that we're there. It's mining.
We're operating in one of the harshest
conditions in really remote areas,
very difficult terrain. Something
will go wrong. And when it does,
the beauty about Cummins is that we're
there. We're there with our partners,
sport. We own up to our messes. We
take accountability and responsibility,
and we work very hard to fix them quickly.
I love that because our word is what
we have. Our word is what we give them,
and we make sure we can stand on business
and defend that so that everyone's
happy at the end of the day. Now,
if you walked on a mine site 20 years
ago and then you visited once a day,
what would surprise you
the most, do you think?
A couple of things I would say.
One is the amount of focus on
safety that miners have had.
It's really impressive to see just
how dedicated every mine you go
to around the world is to keep in workers
safe. This is a dangerous business.
There's a lot of big equipment that's
moving around. There's a lot of,
they're blowing up stuff to expand
the wine and detonating a mine
regularly.
I'm always impressed by how much
miners are thinking about improving
and driving safety, and
we've come a long way.
And the great thing about that is from
a commons, that's a value we share,
making sure that everybody
goes home the way they came.
And it's fun to go to mines and do safety
shares and ensure that we're learning
from each other. That's been good.
The second thing is the amount of
automation and productivity that's
going on.
It is amazing to see.
So we talked about mines being in remote
areas and lots of equipment working.
There are many mines now
where it's fully automated.
There are no drivers for these big
trucks that you talked about that are two
stories tall, that tires
are two stories tall.
It is really fun to just see being
controlled from a command center
thousands of kilometers or miles away
from where the mines are actually
operating. And so the focus
on not just the equipment,
but just overall productivity has been
high and miners just continue to push the
envelope, which makes
it a fun place to be.
And the third thing is the
diversity of the workforce.
I think miners have been very intentional
about bringing in local communities
and the local community into the mines.
And so now when I visit mines versus when
I started maybe early in my career in
certain places, I'm seeing a lot more
local leadership, female leadership,
which is fantastic in the mines and
just overall diverse work. So instead of
expats that were maybe all
the leaders used to be expats,
and now many of the leaders and many
of the industry associations in a
particular place tend to be led by locals.
So those are three
things that come to mind.
You blew my mind with a lot of things.
I did already have that inclination
that you were going to say the workforce
diversity because Gui may
have clued me in on that.
I heard about one of the haul trucks
that were built completely by women.
That's why I've had a ceiling,
but blowing my mind with
automation and also safety.
I think so many times people think of
mining and they think of something you see
in a Disney movie and it's
in a cave and it's dark.
I don't think they think open pit mining.
And I don't think they think about
safety because I think when people think
outdoors, they tend to think free play.
But safety is one of our
number one priorities, if
not the number one priority.
That is that everything shuts down.
So as important as commodities are and
dig in, and we know that if a mine stops,
it costs the mine a lot of
money. When it comes to safety,
there's no mine that I have been to,
and I've been to many that compromises
safety. They start with safety,
you take it very seriously,
and it's good to see.
We've talked a lot about what Cummins
has delivered over the last century,
but what are miners asking for today that
they weren't asking for 10 years ago?
It's interesting. The current
dynamic in mining, I said,
is pretty dynamic business,
but what's going on now is many miners
are in the race for copper assets.
So data centers and AI, it's taken
all of the rest of the world,
including mining.
And miners are really trying to shift
their portfolio around to ensure that
they're not just heavy
on coal and I'm an ore,
but they also have enough copper assets
because that's what's going to generate
revenue for the foreseeable
future. So as a result,
the things they cared about
20 years ago or 50 years ago,
they still care about today,
which is cost and reliability.
And so what I'll say
is different is miners,
like many of us in the rest of our
lives, have a tremendous amount of data.
I touched up on automation
and productivity before.
Miners have lots of sensors and lots of
ways to track because they're trying to
ensure they're driving productivity.
And so for partners like Cummins,
we're expected to use data to be able
to help get insights and to solve
problems proactively. So we've
recently revamped our PreventTech tool.
This is a tool that enables us to
connect data or collect data from engines
that operating in mines all over the
world, bring that to central places,
get insights from that,
and turn that around to help our miners
both proactively prevent problems as
well as if we need to react to something,
to be able to do so a lot quicker.
I love that.
I think that's a common theme in all of
these episodes is prevention is better
than treatment.
And if we can get you on an existing
scheduled maintenance and not cause any
downtime, I think that's the
huge win for both parties.
That's the key. And it's one thing
to get all this information and data.
The challenge now is how do you build
that into the day-to-day mine operation
without disrupting them? So it's fun for
us to be able to get the information,
but sending the miner the information
at the wrong time or in a way that's not
helpful and every mine is slightly
different is the challenge for us.
And that's why we have the regional
teams that are locals that can help with
that message.
Then you got it.
That is the criticality of
having not just global presence,
regional presence, but frankly,
folks who are at the mines every day
connecting and helping support those
operations.
So aside from providing our
customers with ample data,
how else are we enabling
them now and in the future?
One other thing customers are asking
about is lower carbon solutions.
So the industry has been in an
interesting decarbonization journey
for the last, I would say, five years.
And a couple of things
that we've learned. One,
there's not one home run solution
that's going to get us to a zero carbon
outcome for mining, especially
for large equipment.
We've learned that it's just
too difficult right now.
The technology is not mature enough. The
infrastructure is not pervasive enough.
And finally,
the cost is not at the desired
point to match the whole cost and
reliability conversation that we had
earlier. And so from a miner perspective,
they've stepped away not because they
don't care about the environment and
sustainability,
we just don't have solutions that work
for the big mining equipment at this
point. It doesn't mean they don't want
us to continue to innovate. They do,
but that's kind of where we're at.
So what would you like the miners to
know about what we're working on and what
we're doing to help them in the future?
I think there's broad agreement in the
industry that diesel is going to be
around for longer than anyone
thought five years ago.
So we are continuing to invest
in our current products,
upgrading our current portfolio,
and excited about a new engine that
we're going to be saying more about in a
couple of months.
And so this is an engine that's
targeted to the 90 to 120-ton haul
truck or 150 to 220-ton excavator space.
In addition, we've identified
two decarbonization pathways.
The first one is lower carbon fuels,
which is in terms of getting
to a zero carbon fuel,
you got to get to lower carbon.
And right now we're testing a
dual fuel ethanol diesel solution
with some partners in Latin America,
and that's showing some early promising
results, so more to come there.
And finally, the electrification pathway.
So if you think about
fully electric in mining,
we're on that path. And our first step
in there is a diesel battery hybrid.
So I touched on First Mode, who we
acquired about a year, 18 months ago now,
and we have two pilots running
again in Latin America, in Chile,
and we're excited about the
results we're seeing from that too.
More to come. I'm excited.
You seem very excited,
so I'm going to have to dig in on this
a little bit later. All right, Bilay,
before I let you go, there's one
thing I still wanted to ask you.
Earlier we mentioned some of the bigger
global trends, AI, infrastructure,
electrification.
How does that change the role of mining
in the world over the next few years?
I'm not sure it changes, Kim.
I think the mining will remain,
the world is a dynamic place,
and almost everything that
we use in the world is mine.
And so as the world continues to evolve,
mining will need to and have to evolve.
I think miners are up for it.
I also think we're going to
remain behind the scenes.
Mining happens in very remote areas
in the harshest of conditions.
Well, Bilay,
thank you so much for joining us
today and showing us how a century of
innovation continues
to move mining forward.
Thank you. It's been awesome.
All right, so what's the big idea for
this episode? Continuing innovation,
it's not new for Cummins. It's
a 100-year pattern for us.
And today we learned that mining
isn't just keeping up with the future,
it's helping to build it. And whether
it's data, automation, cleaner tech,
one thing remains the same, and it's
that success still comes down to trust.
Trust in equipment, trust in the data,
and trust in the people and partnerships
behind it all. Because for the future,
really nothing should happen
in theory. Just like mining,
it has to perform in the real world.
Thank you for listening to Power Onward.
Your support means the world to us.
If you enjoyed this episode, please
don't forget to subscribe, rate,
and review on your
favorite podcast platform.
If you want to dig deeper
on what we covered today,
check out the show notes for
additional links or go to
Cummins.com/podcast. Until next time,
Power Onward.
We're from Cummins,
the company that's been innovating
toward the future for more than a hundred
years. We're no strangers to
rapid change, global shifts,
and economic uncertainty.
We want to be your constant during
the energy transition. Whenever,
wherever, forever. Power Onward.