Caterpillar to build wheeled excavators in China

Caterpillar has announced plans to begin production of wheeled excavators at its manufacturing facility in Xuzhou, China from early 2014. The move comes along with a planned 80% increase in overall production capacity at Caterpillar Xuzhou Limited (CXL).

According to specialist consultant Off-Highway Research, only 1300 wheeled excavators were sold in China last year, compared to 157000 tracked machines. The total market for construction equipment in China last year was 429120 machines, making the wheel excavator segment equivalent to about 0.3% of the market by volume.

Caterpillar said its plans to manufacture wheeled excavators in China fits within a strategy of offering the widest range of products in the market. Gary Stampanato, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for excavators said, "Caterpillar has been successfully producing excavators in China for nearly 20 years, and we are expanding our production capabilities as this market continues to grow. Bringing production of wheeled excavators to China will give our customers more options and will position Caterpillar for continued success.

Commenting on the investments in CXL, Caterpillar chairman & CEO Doug Oberhelman said, "As we have done around the world for more than 85 years, these investments in China are made with a long-term view toward the market and building out an industry-leading range of products and support services for our growing base of customers in China."