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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Caterpillar Opens 600-employee Plant in North Little Rock, Arkansas

09/02/2010
Caterpillar opened a new $140 million road grader facility in North Little Rock, Arkansas, today, which will create 600 jobs. Plant manager Jon Harrison said the facility's productivity had to be tight to compete on a global scale.

"We're going to export a lot of product from this facility," Harrison said.

Caterpillar laid off a total of 24,000 employees across the globe last year due to the recession, but the Arkansas Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund kept the project on schedule. The company received $3 million from the fund, which has total assets of $50 million.

Local community college Pulaski Tech partnered with Caterpillar to train workers. Other areas in the state have implemented similar partner training programs.

Governor Mike Beebe thanked Caterpillar for executing the expansion "in the midst of the worst recession in our lifetimes."

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