Caterpillar Inc. News
Caterpillar Announces Manufacturing Expansion for Operations in India
CHENNAI, India, June 26 PRNewswire-FirstCall — As part of its strategic plan to increase its manufacturing footprint in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) today announced a four-year, $200 million investment to increase manufacturing capacity in India. The announcement to increase engine and machinery production in India was made during a visit to Caterpillar's India facilities by Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens.
"Caterpillar machines and engines are being used by our customers in India to drive sustainable development and to support economic growth in the areas of infrastructure development, commercial and residential construction, mining, power generation and energy production," Owens said. "We are pleased to continue contributing to the growth and development of India. This additional investment demonstrates Caterpillar's commitment to customers in India and the importance of such emerging markets as we build our proven global business model across the Asia-Pacific region, an area that is critical to Caterpillar's 2010 and Vision 2020 goals."
Caterpillar will invest to significantly increase production for off highway trucks made at its facility near Chennai. Those Caterpillar trucks are used for coal and other mining applications in India. The company also plans to expand engine production at its facility in Hosur, adding production of the Caterpillar 3508 engine. The 3508 engines will be used primarily in off highway trucks produced by Caterpillar in India. The company is also investing in increased India production capability for backhoe loaders. The backhoe loader is the most widely used construction machine in India, and Caterpillar has already more than quadrupled production of backhoe loaders in country in recent years. The company is also studying increasing its range of products made in India, with the possibility of building additional manufacturing facilities to meet demand for other earth-moving products.
"This increased capacity will help Caterpillar serve customers in India and Asia-Pacific with world-class machines and engines produced in the region and serviced by our unmatched dealer organization," said Tom Bluth, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for Asia-Pacific manufacturing operations. "For the industries we serve, Caterpillar already has the widest base of operations and product support in the world, and we will continue to invest in our business in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region to meet the needs of our expanding customer base in these critical markets."
Caterpillar currently manufactures off highway trucks, backhoe loaders, engines, engine components and generator sets in India. In addition, Caterpillar established an Engineering Design Center in Chennai in 2002 to provide engineering support for product design and development. Caterpillar Logistics Services India Private Ltd. in Bangalore develops logistics technologies and provides logistics services for Caterpillar in India. Together, Caterpillar and its dealers in India have nearly 4,500 employees. Due to the investment in operations and anticipated increases in its business to support a growing base of customers, Caterpillar plans to significantly increase employment in India over the next several years.
About Caterpillar
For more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2007 sales and revenues of $44.958 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services. More information is available at http://www.cat.com.
SAFE HARBOR
Certain statements in this release relate to future events and expectations and as such constitute forward-looking statements involving known and unknown factors that may cause actual results of Caterpillar Inc. to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. In this context, words such as "will", "expect", "anticipate" or other similar words and phrases often identify forward-looking statements made on behalf of Caterpillar. It is important to note that actual results of the company may differ materially from those described or implied in such forward-looking statements based on a number of factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in economic conditions; currency exchange or interest rates; political stability; market acceptance of the company's products and services; significant changes in the competitive environment; epidemic diseases; changes in law, regulations and tax rates; and other general economic, business and financing conditions and factors described in more detail in the company's Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 2, 2008. This filing is available on our website at http://www.cat.com/secfilings. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
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