Caterpillar is working to locate and expand operations in states which are conducive to lowering operating costs and boosting profitability. In recent months, the Company has made several significant moves which all serve to create over 4,700 jobs in the USA.

Some of these moves are as follows:

- Eliminated 450 Canadian union jobs by permanently closing its plant in London, Ontario and moving those jobs to its plant in Muncie, Indiana. The Company cited high employee related costs. Employees at the Canadian plant were paid $35/hr on average compared to $12 to $18/hr at the US Plant.

- A $20 million expansion of its Sumter, South Carolina manufacturing facility, which includes adding 170,000 square feet, to it’s 105,000 square feet premises. When the expansion is fully operational and at full capacity, it is anticipated Caterpillar will add more than 80 jobs over a two-year period.

- A $200 million facility in Athens, Georgia, 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 and create an additional 2,800 indirect jobs for a total of 4,200 new jobs.

Indiana, South Carolina and Georgia are states that do not have a strong union presence and have governments that are focused on encouraging companies to move operations there to boost employment and state revenue. Lower regulatory costs and taxes are two of the primary ways they are accomplishing this. These factors combine to boost profitability and motivate companies like Caterpillar to add operations to these parts of the country.

Caterpillar employs over 53,000 employees in the USA and was ranked number 19 on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list this year. Fortune also ranked Caterpillar as the number one most admired company in the Industrial and Farm equipment category.