Perkins Stafford: the 4000 Series

Perkins Stafford established its reputation for quality and consistency producing 1300, 1600, 2000 and 4000 Series engines. A multi-million investment in new production facilities enabled its transformation in December 2014 into a Centre of Excellence for the manufacture of the 4000 Series – the largest product in our portfolio.

Stafford lies in the heart of England, some 25 miles north-west of Birmingham. The Perkins facility sits in the centre of the local community, indeed while surrounded by houses there’s also a wildlife haven incorporated on-site.

Just five minutes off the M6 motorway and a mile from the railway station, it’s at the hub of the UK’s excellent transport network, with three international airports within 50 miles.

Our Stafford facilities

The 4000 Series

On its 30-acre site, Perkins Stafford has about 800 highly skilled employees many of whom have been involved with the production of 4000 Series engines since their introduction to the Perkins range. It supplies engines to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America and Asia Pacific.

A significant investment programme set up the facility as a Centre of Excellence, concentrating exclusively on production of the 4000 Series, in order to maintain the highest standards of quality, reliability and innovation that our customers have come to expect, and to meet the growing demand for reliable engines for generator sets all over the world.

Engines from Stafford provide standby power for example, at The Shard in London; Rialto Towers, Melbourne; and the Royal Hospital London. They power the flood defences on the Seine in Paris, and provide prime power for the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

“The 4000 Series has always been produced at Stafford, and the experience we’ve gathered here has helped us establish the facility as a true Centre of Excellence. We have the technology, the skills and the expertise to produce engines of the highest quality every time – and that’s exactly what we do.”
Richard Cotterell, general manager, medium engines

Perkins Stafford facility video

Centre of Excellence

Perkins Stafford is equipped with world-class facilities for machining conrods, cylinder heads and engine blocks to the highest degree of accuracy. A substantial investment in the latest technology allows the highest level of control over all critical processes.

The production line is fully computerised with state-of-the-art robotic control over processes. This guarantees complete consistency of the most rigorous quality standards. Five universal paint booths provide a consistent and high quality finish for each engine as it leaves the production line.

And five fully flexible test cells operated on site mean that the performance of each fully completed engine is thoroughly tested before it leaves the facility.

Global engine development

The drive for innovation is another important facet of the facility’s role as a Centre of Excellence. Perkins Stafford leads the research and development programme for electric power products from 7.1 to 64 litres.

The facility boasts diesel and natural gas capability, flexible high speed data capture, and gaseous and particulate emissions capability, and it is equipped with five performance test cells and two endurance test cells.

Perkins Stafford justifies its claim to genuine excellence in research, design, development and manufacture with every engine that leaves the site.

A safe place to work

We focus on efficiency, quality and productivity – and Perkins Stafford has one of the best safety records of all our facilities around the world.

This achievement is the result of a concerted effort throughout the factory to mitigate risk.

It’s part of our insistence on high standards. There’s only one way to carry out a task, and that’s the safest way.

A hub for customers

Partly because of the excellent transport links, and partly because of the world-class technology in operation, Perkins Stafford has become a hub for customers, distributors and press visiting the company from all over the world.

It’s a facility we use as a showpiece – somewhere to demonstrate the quality we insist on, the standards we achieve, and the reliability and consistency of the engines that we produce.