Cummins’ Plainfield facility remanufactures over 100 million brake shoes with high-tech automation
Since 1999, Cummins' Plainfield plant has given a second life to more than 100 million brake shoes through an engineered process that mirrors new-part manufacturing.
- 100 million
- 7.9 million
- 12 million lbs
What Happened
Plainfield is not a repair shop but a high-output remanufacturing center spanning 275,000 square feet. With 314 employees working two shifts, the facility produces up to 7.9 million brake shoes annually using processes like heat treatment, shot blasting, and hydraulic re-forming. The PlatinumShield III coating provides rust and wear protection through a five-stage wash and pretreatment system.
100 million
The facility has processed over 100 million brake shoes since opening.
Plainfield facility opens
First ROSIE automated riveting prototype introduced
Quality assurance includes vision systems, CMM scans, auto-gauging, and ISO 9001:2015-certified processes. The site also remanufactures brake calipers and drivetrain components, and can handle parts from other OEMs. Remanufacturing at Plainfield reduces steel consumption by over 12 million pounds annually, supporting sustainability.
Why this matters
Remanufacturing reduces demand for raw materials and landfill waste, offering the same reliability as new parts while cutting energy and resource consumption.
Terms in This Story
- Remanufacturing
- An industrial process that restores used parts to like-new condition through disassembly, cleaning, inspection, rebuilding, and testing.
- PlatinumShield III
- A corrosion-resistant coating process applied to brake shoes to prevent rust and wear.
- ROSIE
- A robotic automated riveting system that ensures consistent assembly of brake shoes.
- ISO 9001:2015
- An international standard for quality management systems, ensuring consistent product quality.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.