Caterpillar, the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, is setting up a mining equipment plant in Thailand.
It will be a 645,000-square-foot facility at the Hemaraj Rayong Industrial land in Rayong Province. The company hopes to keep pace with the increased demand for underground mining equipment with the help of this new plant.
The increasing demand from developing countries for mined products has led to a global mining boom. As such mining equipment manufacturing companies are finding it difficult to keep pace with the demand for specialized mining equipment.
Peoria based Caterpillar Inc is hoping to begin construction of the Thai plant this year and has tentatively scheduled production to begin in late 2012. The plant will employ about 800 workers once the construction is complete.
The plant in Rayong Province in Thailand is likely to produce underground mining articulated trucks and loaders. These are popular mining equipment used by existing customers of the company worldwide in underground mining facilities.
Caterpillar Inc has also recently chosen to acquire Bucyrus International Inc which is another mining equipment manufacturing company. These are all part of Caterpillar’s effort to make strategic investments in its mining equipment business.