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Top 7 Generator Brands

A quick overview of the world’s leading generator brands.

Updated on

January 3, 2022

Cummins generators range from 15KVA to 3,000KVA. PHOTO | COURTESY

Generators are appliances that convert mechanical energy into electrical power for use in an external circuit. They supply power during electricity outages, thereby preventing disruption of business operations.

Due to the high global demand for generators, there exists a huge array of generator manufacturers worldwide – all fighting for a share of the market.

Here are the world’s best generator brands:

1. Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc., which is based in Illinois, United States, is the world’s biggest manufacturer of generator sets – offering the widest range of specifications available in the market.

Caterpillar manufactures gas-powered generators whose sizes range from 7.2KVA to 480KVA and diesel-powered generators ranging from 5.6KVA to 12,960KVA.

The company’s diesel engines are designed for thousands of working hours before overhaul. They are fitted with high-strength blocks, large bearing areas, and hardened crankshafts to lengthen their life cycles.

Features like high-strength blocks, large bearing areas, steel-backed aluminum alloy bearings, and hardened crankshafts are a few examples of how Caterpillar engines are designed to deliver long life cycles.

2. Cummins

Cummins Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products.

Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins manufactures leading generators whose sizes range from 15KVA to 3,000KVA.

The power generator company offers the 250KVA to 500KVA range to contractors for powering site office cranes and other diverse construction requirements.

The 500KVA to 3,000KVA generators are used for permanent installations as backup power to large companies and factories.

3. SDMO Industries

Headquartered in Brest in Northwest France, SDMO Industries designs builds, and installs generating sets ranging from 1 kVA to 3,300 kVA.

The company which was founded in 1966 offers a range of portable generators, industrial gensets, and rental generators under the KOHLER-SDMO brand.

KOHLER-SDMO generators are sold in more than 180 countries through a network of resident partners. SDMO Industries has six subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, Sao Paulo, Spain, Miami, and the United Kingdom.

4. Aggreko

Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Aggreko Plc is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of temporary power generators.

Although the company provides both short-term power generation and temperature control equipment, Aggreko is renowned for its powerful generators that range in size from 30kW to 1,500kW.

Aggreko was started in the Netherlands in 1962. The name Aggreko is a combination of the Dutch word ‘aggregaten’ (which means generator) and the first two letters of its founder’s (Luc Koopmans) last name.

The company can supply 15KVA to 2,000KVA in single generators, as well as multi-megawatt bundles using 1,250KVA units, which are interconnected.

Aggreko was among the first companies in the world to sound-proof generators to keep things quiet for their customers.

5. Atlas Copco

Atlas Copco, a Swedish industrial company, manufactures a wide range of industrial tools and equipment.

Established in 1873 in Stockholm, Sweden, for building and running Sweden’s new railway, Atlas Copco is today a world-leading producer of generators.

The company provides both portable and stationary generators. Due to the rising demand for large-scale power generators, Altas Copco now capitalizes on the 500KVA to 1,000KVA power nodes – although it still connects sites that require 20KVA to 275KVA ranges.

6. FG Wilson

FG Wilson is an Irish provider of leading diesel and gas generators, ranging from 6.8 KVA to over 2,500 KVA.

The company that was founded in 1966 by Freddy Wilson – then a Belfast lad with a big dream – is a world leader in the power generation industry.

FG Wilson’s 730KVA to 2,500 KVA power nodes provide reliable power for critical installations such as airports, large factories, hospitals, mini power stations, data centers, etc.

The company’s product range includes open and enclosed generators supplying prime and standby power – from standby domestic use to power modules capable of operating as complete power stations feeding national grids.

7. Perkins

Headquartered in Peterborough‎, England, Perkins is one of the world’s leading suppliers of gas and diesel generators.

The company provides generators from 7KVA to 2,500 KVA.

Perkins was acquired by Caterpillar in 1998 for $1.325 billion, forming what they claimed was the biggest diesel engine manufacturer in the world.

The company has manufacturing plants in the US, UK, Brazil, China, and India and a partnership with Ishikawajima-Shibaura-Machinery Corp. in Tokyo, Japan.

Market Forecast (2019-2024)

The global generator market is projected to grow from an estimated $22.3 billion in 2019 to $29.3 billion by 2024. The market is expected to expand due to the rising demand for uninterrupted power from end-users.