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Caterpillar Investing in Illinois Facilities

By WEEK Reporter
November 11, 2011 Updated Nov 15, 2011 at 11:07 AM CDT

PEORIA, Ill -- The company today said it would invest over $600 million to upgrade manufacturing plants in East Peoria and Decatur.
      
     The Decatur plant produces mining trucks, and the $300 million  investment is intended to triple the capacity of that plant.  In East Peoria, $340 million is to be spent to upgrade facilities building large track-type tractors.  That would double the capacity of the East Peoria plant.
      
     This is addition to the earlier announced improvements, including a $200 million modernization of the East Peoria Plant announced last September 16.  Much of this production is aimed at the export market.
     
     Company spokesman Jim Dugan says the modernization and expansion of the Decatur and East Peoria plants will mean the addition of three hundred jobs.  The Decatur expansion is expected to be complete by 2016, and the East Peoria's improvements by 2015.
      
     In addition, Caterpillar today announced plans to relocate production of small track-type tractors and mini hydraulic excavators from Japan to North America.  Cat says demand for them is greatest in North America and Europe.  A site for the new plant was not named.