Caterpillar in US$ 212 million India expansion

US equipment manufacturer Caterpillar is investing US$ 212 million on two projects that will broaden its footprint in the Indian market.

It said it would invest US$ 150 million building a new engine manufacturing facility to produce Perkins branded 4000 series engines. Perkins is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar.

Caterpillar currently has three manufacturing facilities, a logistics services base, and a research and development centre in India, but said the location of the new Perkins engine facility had not been decided yet.

Meanwhile, the company said it would also spend US$ 62 million expanding its existing off-highway truck manufacturing facility in Chennai on the south-eastern coast of India. The funds come on top of a US$ 108 million investment in the factory in 2010.

Caterpillar is driving forward investments that increase its capacity in key growth markets such as India as part of its 2015 strategy.

Caterpillar president Rich Lavin said, "The government of India has embarked on an aggressive plan to accelerate road construction and overall infrastructure development, and Caterpillar and our dealers are continuing to make investments in India to support these growth plans."