Peoria, Ill.-based heavy equipment giant Caterpillar Inc. announced July 30 that it will build an 850,000-sq-ft mining equipment plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. Construction of the facility, where the company will machine, assemble, test and paint axle assemblies for its mining trucks, is set to begin in November, with production scheduled to start in early 2012.
“Caterpillar has worked hard with many local partners in North Carolina, and we thank them for their assistance during the site selection process,” says Hans Haefeli, vice president for advanced components and systems. “We look forward to establishing our new lower powertrain facility in Winston-Salem, which will allow us to substantially increase our capacity and improve the process capability, flexibility and flow of our operations.”