Kohler diesels debut: traditional gasoline engine supplier adds newly integrated diesels from Lombardini acquisition; joint gasoline-diesel offering spans 4 to 67 hp

Diesel Progress North American Edition, March, 2008 by Mike Brezonick

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You have to say one thing about Kohler Co. It doesn't let any grass grow under it when it decides on a direction. The most recent example was the World of Concrete in mid-January, and it came in the form of some shining black engines--Kohler diesel engines.

Just a few months after the ink dried on its acquisition of Italy's Lombardini Srl from Mark IV Industries, Kohler launched its own brand of Kohler diesel engines, complete with its own traditional livery and, more importantly, with a sales and service network and application engineering centers poised to support them.

The addition of the new diesel engines (see related chart) takes Kohler to an entirely different level than it had previously occupied as an engine supplier, as it now can offer air-cooled gasoline engines from 4 to 40 hp; liquid-cooled gasoline engines from 24 to 31 hp; air-cooled diesels from 6.7 to 34.9 hp; and liquid-cooled diesels from 16.8 to 64.4 hp.

"It is a big deal," said Richard Koehl, director of marketing and quality for Kohler Engines. "Because this takes us to new segments of the market that we couldn't play in before, with the line of commercial and consumer gasoline products we had.

"It opens up a new and exciting world to us. And it opens up some new and exciting opportunities for people who want to have one engine stop, one service stop and one solution stop, that can all come to Kohler. We have a great new advantage in having a whole line from 4 to 67 hp in both gasoline and diesel to drive anything that any customer would want."

The new Kohler diesels became available for order Feb. 1 from Kohler Engines' dealers and distributors throughout North America. The new engines all meet the appropriate EPA and CARB emissions requirements, the company said.

"Kohler is very serious about competing in the non-highway engine market on a worldwide map, and this diesel line complements our current gasoline engine offering," said Paul Bartelt, president, Kohler Co.'s engine division. "Customers are seeking contemporary diesel technology at a competitive price point that is backed by a far-reaching service network, which Kohler provides."

The new Kohler diesel engines will feature an extensive range of both single- and multicylinder air-cooled, and multicylinder liquid-cooled units that offer advanced fuel efficiency and low sound levels, and myriad air intake and oil-filtration system options, said Koehl. "We always felt that the Lombardini product was an excellent product," he noted. "There are some features that we have changed and will be adding in the Kohler diesel to make it a product that is true to the heritage of the Kohler brand."

Immediate examples are the traditional Kohler black livery with service and maintenance points rendered in yellow to make them more easily recognizable. "We're adding some things for specific markets that our customers expect for reliability and durability," Koehl said. "Things such as air filtration systems, different air intake systems, exhaust, radiator and remote oil cooler packages. You'll start to see more of that as time goes on."

To support the diesel products, Koehl said Kohler "started the integration six or seven months ago with sales and service training that we did both in-house and with our distribution network.

"We have put in place the service and distribution network that people expect from Kohler," he added. "Every distributor of our gasoline engines is capable of supporting the diesel products, and we are consolidating the diesel distribution to assure the customer that they can go find an authorized Kohler dealer or an authorized Kohler distributor to help them get problems solved. We also have two factory application groups--one in Georgia, and one in Kohler, Wis.--that will help OEMs work through application integration issues."

While getting the diesel product integrated and launched in a matter of months would seem to have been an all-consuming effort, Koehl said that it was just part of a larger overall growth spurt going on in Kohler's engine division.

"We're looking forward to a lot of exciting things in 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as new product launches, which people have now come to expect from Kohler," he said. "We have a product pipeline that's full way out into the future--both evolutionary and revolutionary items that you'll be seeing as time goes on.

"We're going to be introducing these on a very consistent basis and the next one will be at GIE-Expo in the fall. Keep watching us, because there's going to be a lot to see."

KOHLER[R]
ENGINES

DIESEL ENGINE RANGE

Model       Cooling   Cyl.    Disp.     hp        Torque       Weight
                                       (max)      (max)
KD 350D        A       1     0.349 L   6.70    11.1 lb.ft.    72.2 lb.
KD 400         A       1     0.401 L   9.80    16.6 lb.ft.    99.1 lb.
KD 440         A       1     0.442 L   10.30   18.1 lb.ft.    99.1 lb.
KD 425-2       A       2     0.851 L   18.80   30.9 lb.ft.    116.6 lb.
KD 477-2       A       2     0.954 L   21.70   42.4 lb.ft.    171.6 lb.
KD 625-2       A       2     1.248 L   25.20    54 lb.ft.     242.6 lb.
KD 625-3       A       3     1.871 L   34.90   73.8 lb.ft.    374.6 lb.
KDW 702        L       2     0.686 L   16.80   29.2 lb.ft.    145.4 lb.
KDW 1003       L       3     1.028 L   26.10   47.2 lb.ft.    187.3 lb.
KDW 1404       L       4     1.372 L   34.90   60.8 lb.ft.     216 lb.
KDW 1603       L       3     1.649 L   40.20   83.3 lb.ft.    343.8 lb.
KDW 2204       L       4     2.199 L    51     106.2 lb.ft.   423.1 lb.
KDW 2204T      L       4     2.199 L   64.40   140.1 lb.ft.   434.2 lb.

Information from the manufacturer