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Established in Peterborough, England in 1932, over the years Perkins has continued to grow its engine range and produce thousands of different engine specifications. This, coupled with a high volume of annual sales, means that nearly 18 million pieces of equipment worldwide have now run, or are running with Perkins power.

History

F. Perkins Ltd, Engineers was formed on 7 June 1932 in Peterborough by Frank Perkins and Charles Chapman. Before Perkins and Chapman, the diesel engine was a heavy and slow revving workhorse, lacking performance. Chapman's concept was the high-speed diesel - a motor that could challenge gasoline as the primary motive power. The world’s first high-speed diesel engine was Perkins' four-cylinder Vixen, which made its debut in 1932, and in October 1935 Perkins became the first company to hold 6 world diesel speed records for a variety of distances set at the Brooklands race track in Surrey. Sales were strong and by the time of World War II the company made two series of engines, P4 and P6. After the war, the company went public, and established a number of licensees for local manufacturing and sale.

Massey-Ferguson

The company was sold to Massey Ferguson in 1959 and later became part of LucasVarity; development continued and Perkins updated its engines to meet stricter emissions rules, while developing new series for power generation and forklift trucks.

Caterpillar

A supplier to Caterpillar Inc. since 1970s; Perkins was acquired by Caterpillar in 1997 for US$1.325 billion, creating what they claimed was the world's largest diesel engine manufacturer. With an ever-expanding global footprint Perkins now has manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, China and a joint venture with Ishikawajima-Shibaura-Machinery company in Japan. On Jan 1 2009 (replacing Hans Haefeli), Gwenne Henricks became President of Perkins Engines after having worked in Caterpillar’s Electronics and Connected Worksite Division in North America. Gwenne is also a vice-president of Caterpillar Inc.

Discontinued Products

Perkins diesel and gas[clarification needed] engines have been made for the industrial, agricultural, marine and power generation markets, but two engines stand out among the general public[citation needed] for their automotive applications.

Perkins' 1.6 litre (99 cubic inch) P4C engine, producing 45 or 60 hp (45 kW), was extremely popular in Europe and Israel for taxis and commercially driven cars during the 1950s and early 1960s; many cars, including American imports, were retrofitted with these engines for taxi use, with kits made by Hunter NV of Belgium. Perkins engines were also used as standard factory equipment in Jeeps and Dodge trucks in the United States in the 1960s. They also continued to be popular in European trucks from their original customer, Commer and other companies.

The Perkins 6.354 medium duty engine was designed to be compact enough to replace gasoline V8 engines in trucks, despite its in-line six-cylinder design. Producing 112 horsepower (84 kW) in early years (later rising to 120 hp), it had a small jackshaft driven by the timing gears for the auxiliary drive, with the oil pump driven by a quill shaft so it could run auxiliary equipment at engine speed with simple couplings.

After acquiring Rolls-Royce Diesels of Shrewsbury in the 1980s, Perkins continued to supply British Rail with engines for its diesel multiple units.

Distribution

Global product support is provided by 4,000 distribution, parts and service centres.

Sponsorship

Perkins plays an active role in all the communities, in which it is based, sponsoring a range of programmes from Formula Student to the Perkins Great Eastern Run and the Heart-to-Heart programme in China to the Thomas Deacon Academy

• Formula Students
• Thomas Deacon Academy