Caterpillar expansion to create 300 new Illinois jobs

PEORIA — Caterpillar Inc. says it will spent $640 million to upgrade plants in East Peoria and Decatur, creating 300 new jobs.

A company spokesman tells the (Peoria) Journal Star (http://bit.ly/vxni3T) that Caterpillar will make more tractors in East Peoria and more trucks in Decatur.

Friday's announcement comes two months after Caterpillar said it would spend $200 million to modernize part of its East Peoria plant.

The company also said Friday that it would seek to buy a Chinese maker of mining machinery for as much as $886 million. That deal needs the approval of China's Ministry of Commerce and other regulators.

———

Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com