KANSAS City, MO. – Clessie Lyle Cummins was recently honored at a ribbon-cutting ceremony officially announcing the opening of the American Trucking and Industry Leader (ATIL) Hall of Fame. Clessie Cummins, known as the “Father of the Highway Diesel Engine,” founded Cummins Engine Company in 1919.
He and Jack and Gus Mack, founders of Mack Trucks, were the first inductees into the newly established Hall of Fame Class at a ceremony at the American Truck Historical Society’s home office in Kansas City, on October 15.
Industry pioneer Clessie Cummins was an inventor, entrepreneur, and salesman who introduced and improved the designs of diesel engines. He was awarded more than 33 United States patents for his inventions, and numerous world records for endurance and speed for trucks, buses, and race cars.
“My grandfather saw a need for an engine, created a design, built it, tested it, revised it, perfected it, and parallel to all of this, created a market by personally demonstrating its potential through fuel economy runs, speed records, and endurance events,” said his grandson Matt Cummins.