Caterpillar to open new mining truck facility in Indonesia

Caterpillar has announced plans to build a new mining truck facility in Indonesia. The company has also announced that it will invest to increase capacity at its large mining truck facility and large rack-type tractor facility in the US, with a long-term view towards enhancing support for its mining customers. The capacity expansion plans were announced by Caterpillar chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman and group president Rich Lavin at the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC).

Caterpillar plans to open a new mining truck facility in Batam, which will be the company’s second manufacturing operation in Indonesia. A range of mining truck chassis and bodies will be produced at the new facility and will be shipped to mining customers throughout Asia/Pacific. The company plans to invest about US$150 million in the new facility, which is expected to be operational in 2012 for truck bodies, with the first trucks produced in the September quarter of 2013.

The company has also approved plans to triple excavator production at the Cileungsi location. The 18t class of excavators made in Indonesia are primarily sold into the mining, forestry, construction and agricultural markets across Indonesia.

Mr Lavin said: “We have a long and successful history operating in Indonesia, and with this announcement, we continue to build out our full business model across Asia/Pacific to better position Caterpillar to compete and succeed in this region, and to maintain our global leadership position.”

Caterpillar also is announcing plans for significant new investments at the company’s existing manufacturing facilities in Decatur, Illinois, and East Peoria, Illinois. The company plans to invest nearly US$300 million to further increase capacity for large mining trucks produced in Decatur. An additional capital investment of about US$340 million is planned for production of large track-type tractors in East Peoria, which are used in mining applications around the world. The capacity expansion plans in Indonesia and the US will be supported by other Caterpillar component facilities around the world, including the previously announced 78,970m2 manufacturing facility for the machining, assembly, test and painting of axle assemblies for large mining machines. The new axle assembly facility in Winston Salem, North Carolina, is scheduled to open this week.

Mr Oberhelman said: “More than 90% of the large trucks made in Decatur are exported, and more than 80% of the large tractors made in East Peoria are exported. Beginning with capacity expansion plans announced in 2008, and once the plans announced today are fully in place, we will have nearly tripled our worldwide large truck capacity and doubled our large track-type tractor production capabilities in East Peoria.”

The company expects the additional truck capacity in Decatur to be installed by 2016. The work to expand large track-type tractor production in East Peoria is expected to be completed by 2015.