What Jacobs Vehicle Systems makes

Jacobs Vehicle Systems designs and manufactures engine braking and valve actuation technology for the global commercial vehicle industry, and it is the company behind the Jake Brake, the compression release engine brake introduced in 1961. Its engine braking line spans compression release brakes, High Power Density brakes, bleeder brakes, and exhaust brakes, each tuned to a specific engine and vehicle application. On the valvetrain side, Jacobs builds cylinder deactivation systems, 2-step variable valve actuation, and lashless valvetrain technology that help engine OEMs meet tightening NOx, fuel economy, and thermal management requirements.

The core customer is the diesel engine maker, not the fleet. Jacobs supplies its brakes and valvetrain hardware to engine OEMs that fit the technology at the factory, which places Jacobs deep inside the powertrain supply chain for heavy and medium duty trucks. Cummins, the company's current parent, states that more than 10 million Jake Brakes have been sold globally since 1961.

Ownership and history

The Jake Brake traces back to Clessie Cummins, founder of Cummins Inc., who invented the compression release engine brake and licensed it to the Jacobs Manufacturing Company. The first units reached the market in 1961 under what was then the Clessie L. Cummins Division. The engine brake business was incorporated as a separate entity in 1990 and operated for decades out of Bloomfield, Connecticut, passing through Danaher Corporation and then, from 2018, Altra Industrial Motion.

In February 2022, Cummins announced an agreement to acquire Jacobs Vehicle Systems from Altra for $325 million, and the deal closed in April 2022. The acquisition returned the technology to the company whose founder invented it. Jacobs now operates as a Cummins business unit within the company's engine braking and valvetrain group; Cummins trades on the NYSE under the ticker CMI. The company reports roughly 600 employees and keeps its design, testing, and manufacturing base at a facility of about 260,000 square feet in Bloomfield.

Manufacturing footprint

Beyond Bloomfield, Jacobs runs a manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China, and support operations in Japan. In 2019 it opened its first European factory near Brno in the Czech Republic, a plant of about 21,000 square feet built to serve European engine and vehicle partners, with planned annual capacity in the range of 100,000 units. That three-region layout, North America, China, and Central Europe, tracks the geography of the heavy truck engine industry the company supplies.

Certifications and quality

Jacobs has held quality management system registration for its engine brake production for years; a 2003 announcement documented QS9000 compliance during the Danaher era, and quality-system registration is standard practice for a powertrain component supplier at this level. A current dated ISO or IATF 16949 certificate was not located in public sources at the time of writing, so the quality claim here is reported as a claim rather than a verified current certificate. Buyers evaluating Jacobs for a new program should request the current certificate and scope directly.

Known customers

Engine brakes are fitted by the engine manufacturer, so Jacobs' customer list is a roster of diesel engine OEMs rather than fleets.

Jacobs' own materials cite more than 40 engine manufacturers served worldwide. Individual program awards and volumes are not publicly itemized.

Sourcing evidence

Jacobs' US import record reads like a component maker feeding domestic assembly: 1,926 sea shipments on record from January 2015 through September 2026, with the most recent landing on September 5, 2026. The declared goods are engine and exhaust rocker actuator sub-assemblies, brake levers, castings, springs, and fasteners, the machined and forged inputs that go into finished engine brakes, rather than complete finished units. Bills of lading name suppliers across five countries; the most active:

Origins are led by India, then Taiwan, China, Germany, and Sweden. Two of the top suppliers, Jacobs Suzhou and Jacobs Wuxi, are the company's own Chinese plants, so part of the flow is intra-company movement between Jacobs sites rather than arm's length purchasing. Customs-derived estimates put cumulative ocean shipping spend near $616,000, on roughly 12 percent cost coverage, an order-of-magnitude figure rather than an audited one. Recent volume has cooled: ImportYeti records the latest month running well below the prior year, though shipments continue.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear; some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers; and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence. Buyers weighing component sourcing geography and tariff exposure can read this import mix as one input, not a full bill of materials.

Frequently asked questions

What does Jacobs Vehicle Systems make?

Jacobs Vehicle Systems makes engine braking and valve actuation technology for commercial vehicles. It is the maker of the Jake Brake, the compression release engine brake introduced in 1961, and its line includes compression release, High Power Density, bleeder, and exhaust brakes plus valvetrain technologies such as cylinder deactivation and 2-step variable valve actuation.

Who owns Jacobs Vehicle Systems?

Cummins Inc. owns Jacobs Vehicle Systems. Cummins acquired the company from Altra Industrial Motion for $325 million in a deal announced in February 2022 and closed in April 2022. Jacobs had previously been owned by Danaher Corporation and then Altra, and now operates as a Cummins business unit. Cummins trades on the NYSE under the ticker CMI.

Where is Jacobs Vehicle Systems headquartered?

Jacobs Vehicle Systems is headquartered at 22 East Dudley Town Road in Bloomfield, Connecticut, where it runs a design, testing, and manufacturing facility of about 260,000 square feet. It also operates a plant in Suzhou, China, a European factory near Brno in the Czech Republic opened in 2019, and support operations in Japan.

Who invented the Jake Brake?

The Jake Brake was invented by Clessie Cummins, the founder of Cummins Inc., who developed the compression release engine brake and licensed it to the Jacobs Manufacturing Company. The first units were sold in 1961. Cummins' 2022 acquisition of Jacobs Vehicle Systems returned the technology to the company its inventor founded.

Who are Jacobs Vehicle Systems' customers?

Jacobs supplies engine braking and valvetrain hardware to diesel engine manufacturers, who fit the technology at the factory. Documented and reported customers include Cummins, Daimler Truck, PACCAR (DAF), and Navistar, and the company cites more than 40 engine manufacturers served worldwide. Because the brakes are OEM-fitted, the customer base is engine makers rather than fleets.

How many Jake Brakes have been made?

More than 10 million Jake Brakes have been sold globally since 1961, according to Cummins. The company marked its 60th anniversary in 2021, when it cited more than 9 million engine brakes produced for commercial vehicles worldwide.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.