Caterpillar Inc. announced today it has selected land near Athens, Georgia, as the location for a new facility that will build small tracktype tractors and mini hydraulic excavators.
The state-of-the-art, one-million-square-footfacility is expected to directly employ 1,400 people once it is fully operational. The total investment for opening the new facility will be about $200 million. In addition to the 1,400 people working in the new facility near Athens, Caterpillar estimates another 2,800 full-time jobs will be created in the United States among suppliers and at other non-Caterpillar companies that will support the new facility.
Company leaders and officials from the state of Georgia and the Athens area announced the decision today at a news conference held at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta.
“We are making a series of significant investments around the world to position Caterpillar to maintain its leadership position, and I am thrilled to be in Georgia today to announce that Athens will be the newest city to be home to a Caterpillar production facility. We are even more excited that this project will create more than 4,200 jobs in the United States, ” said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman .
“Georgia is proud to have built a business climate that provides the logistics, workforce, speed and efficiency that global industry leaders like Caterpillar are looking for,” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal . “ We appreciate Caterpillar’s continued investment in our state, and this new operation will resonate in our workforce and our economy for generations to come.”
About Caterpillar:
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2011 sales and revenues of $60.138 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services.
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Dredging Today Staff, February 17, 2012; Image: caterpillar