Perkins Celebrates 75 Years

May 4, 2007 • Perkins Engines, Peterborough, United Kingdom, celebrated 75 years of engine manufacturing this year at Bauma. Visitors were able to see the Leopard engine, which in 1938 was one of a number of engine ranges that included the Wolf and Lynx that were specified in more than 650 applications.

The business started in 1932 when Frank Perkins and Charles Chapman joined forces. That year, the company introduced the first high-speed diesel engine, the Perkins 4-cylinder Vixen. The company's first full year of production resulted in just 35 car and truck engines, far from the 300,000 that are now produced each year.

 

Throughout the pas 75 years, Perkins has grown to become a leading supplier of diesel and gas engines in the 5- to 2,600-hp market. Perkins engines power more than 5,000 different applications from more than 1,000 major equipment manufacturers and are purpose-built to suit individual needs. More than 17 million engines have entered into service in the off-highways markets and continue to provide power solutions.