Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) said Wednesday it plans to build a manufacturing plant that will employ 900 workers in Thailand to meet demand for construction tractors.

The company, which has reported strengthening operations as construction and mining companies revive from the downturn, has previously announced plans to expand capacity to meet prolonged demand.

Tom Bluth, a Caterpillar executive responsible for its earth-moving division, said Wednesday the Thailand expansion will increase capacity for medium track-type tractors and will help sharpen the company's focus on meeting long-term demand in growth markets.

Caterpillar said demand has grown for the medium track-type tractors, which have various uses in construction.

The world's biggest maker of construction equipment will begin building the plant this year, ahead of a slated output ramp-up in late 2013. At full capacity, Caterpillar expects to employ about 900 people at the plant in Thailand's Rayong province. The company is already constructing an underground mining facility in the same area.

Rich Lavin, the company's group president for construction industries and growth markets, predicted long-term demand for construction equipment will be spurred by "ongoing infrastructure development plans for the world's growth markets combined with a long-term trend toward urbanization and growing wealth in emerging economies."

"This facility will help to position Caterpillar for continued leadership in the construction industry," he said.

In April, Caterpillar reported a surge in quarterly profit and sales in results that bested expectations, and the month prior it said it would be spending $5 billion by 2015 to increase production capacity based on prolonged global demand.

Caterpillar shares closed Wednesday down 2.3% at $95.65, moderately outpacing a decline in the wider market. But the stock has risen by half in the last year, better than the market at large.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110615-714570.html