The company will invest nearly $150 million and employ about 600 workers once full production begins. Production of commercial motor graders is expected to begin early next year. A full line of motor graders, with the exception of the 24M motor grader, which is used primarily for mining applications, will be manufactured at the North Little Rock facility.

For decades, Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar customers have used these motor graders to build and maintain roads, highways, airports and other construction projects on every continent.

“The North Little Rock facility will be a benchmark for manufacturing productivity, quality and safety,” said Jon Harrison, general manager of North American Motor Grader Operations for Caterpillar. “Moving motor grader production to North Little Rock is part of Caterpillar’s long-term, strategic plan to increase its large mining truck capacity in Illinois and drive greater focus on improving motor grader production.”

North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays said the effort to bring Caterpillar to the area involved the cooperation of local and state governments, as well as the North Little Rock Economic Development Corp., the Metro Little Rock Alliance, and the chambers of commerce of North Little Rock and Little Rock.

“Our successful team effort provides a textbook example of how important both regional and intergovernmental cooperation are to a winning economic development strategy,” Hays points out. “The benefits of being the home of an internationally known Caterpillar product are many and huge. “This decision is an announcement to the world that we are a major factor in the vehicle manufacturing industry.”

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