Caterpillar Announces New Facility in Georgia

GRIFFIN, Ga. – Perkins Shibaura Engines, a company that manufactures engines for Caterpillar equipment, has announced plans to open a new facility in Griffin, Ga.

The manufacturing entity, which is a joint venture between Perkins Engines Company Limited – a Caterpillar Inc. company – and its long-time small engine partner, Ishikawajima Shibaura Machinery Company Ltd., will manufacture off-highway diesel and gas engines at the new location.

Production at the new facility will begin in May 2004 with approximately 25 employees, centering on the Perkins 400 Series, a range of 2-, 3- and 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled, naturally aspirated and turbo-charged indirect-injection engines. The Griffin facility will mirror the Perkins joint venture plant in Peterborough, England, which currently produces and will continue to produce 400 Series engines for international markets.

“This new plant is being built to meet significant and increasing customer demand in the United States and will build the same high quality and efficient products Perkins and Caterpillar customers around the world have come to expect,” noted Mike Baunton, Caterpillar vice president and president of Perkins Engines.

In planning to open a U.S. facility, Perkins Engines worked closely with the State of Georgia and the Griffin-Spalding County Development Authority. Perkins chose the Griffin location based on its skilled workforce and the opportunity to enhance customer service through improved logistics.

“Employees of the existing Caterpillar Griffin Power Systems facility have a proven expertise in succeeding in this challenging global market. Caterpillar is looking to expand on that strength with a larger presence in the community,” Baunton shared. “When coupled with the outstanding logistics hub available in Atlanta, we couldn't imagine a more ideal location for the first Perkins manufacturing facility in the United States.”