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“New innovation and ideas in the marketplace are our great hope for the future,” said Bill Jones (left), chairman of the Cummins-Allison Corporation. “We simply must maintain a high level of performance in order to keep trust and belief in our systems.” Here, Jones speaks to congressman Robert Dold (right). | Supplied Photo

Cummins-Allison Corporation is the leader in providing banknote, check and coin processing solutions for global customers in the financial, retail, gaming, vending and government markets. Headquartered in Mt. Prospect, the network of minds that makes up Cummins-Allison also includes research and development centers near San Diego and Philadelphia as well as an extensive sales and service network with more than 50 offices in North America. With wholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the U.K., and products sold and services in more than 70 countries, the company is always on the cutting edge of innovation.

The global domination through financial solutions is made possible through the company’s ability to design, manufacture and service more than 350 patented products with the highest of reputable standards. Every decade since Cummins-Allison’s inception in 1887, the company has reinvented itself through the introduction of new products. Just within the month, it was named among the top 75 finalists in the prestigious Chicago Innovation Awards. Bill Jones, chairman of Cummins-Allison, as well as the full global group of collaborators, is fully committed to continual success through the innovation that defines the company as a pioneer.

“If you look at the history of any financial crisis, the critical component that has brought the U.S. out of a significant downturn is innovation,” Jones said.

He believes that innovations in the next decade will provide the U.S. with economic growth, new jobs and a new generation of wealth.

“New innovation and ideas in the marketplace are our great hope for the future,” he shared.

Some of the significant contributions by the company have paved the way early on.

Dating back to the Second World War, Cummins-Allison was issued patents on various products including perforators, which helped to prevent counterfeiting of currency before computers came along. In the 1960s and ’70s, the company broke new ground in the automation of check processing during a time when the operation was manual and led the way with microcomputers used to cut consumers’ costs.

In the 1980s, Cummins-Allison established coin sorting and counting equipment that increased the speed of these types of machines by more than four times. The company introduced a high-speed, low-cost JetScan for banknotes in the ’90s, which allowed banks to decentralize the process and increase productivity. Recently, Cummins-Allison presented a compact imaging device to give banks the opportunity to process deposits and balance accounts immediately.

Energy conservation is also at the height of interest at Cummins-Allison. The company is a part of ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Cummins-Allison is committed to continually improving our management of energy resources,” Jones said.

The company efficiently uses resources, reduces wastes, recycles and uses recycled materials in product manufacturing. While always striving to go green in any way possible, the company is also committed to their product guarantees.

“We simply must maintain a high level of performance in order to keep trust and belief in our systems,” noted the chairman.

To do this, employees in all position undergo training and continuing education.This year alone, the company will have delivered more than 4,500 hours of service training. Cummins-Allison maintains an excellent employee safety record and truly cares about not only consumers of their products but also its Cummins-Allison family.

“We assist with English language education for employees that do not speak English as their primary language, so they can better perform their work function…and be more successful in their communities,” Jones said.

Customer challenges are core to innovation and solution development. Sales and service teams learn about daily challenges faced in financial institutions as they work directly with clients on their individual needs and service products to make sure they’re constantly in top performing condition. Post-sale support is important to an innovative company like this one because it minimizes financial risk for companies with each new product rollout. That very opportunity to collaborate and work with employees and customers as the company develops solutions has kept Jones in this field of work for more than 30 years. He, nor the company, plans to slow down in the generation of new ideas anytime soon.