PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. said Thursday it will open a new remanufacturing facility in Singapore as part of a plan to better serve the mining market in Asia.
The new site, expected to fully operational by mid-2010, will become the regional source for remanufactured major components, such as mining-truck engines, transmissions, final drives and torque converters.
Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., said the facility will help dealers in Asia meet product support challenges associated with growth in the region tied to mining and large infrastructure projects.
"This new facility increases our global capacity and further demonstrates our commitment to providing remanufactured products to customers around the world," Steve Fisher, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for remanufacturing, said in a statement.
Caterpillar has 17 other remanufacturing facilities located in the United States, Mexico, Europe and Asia. In Asia, the company already has a remanufacturing facility in Shanghai, China.
Last month, Caterpillar's chairman and chief executive, James Owens, said in Beijing that the company's manufacturing operations in Asia have been running at capacity to satisfy demand in China. Caterpillar has so many orders for heavy mining and power generation equipment in Asia, he said, that it is sold out of most items through 2010.
Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Caterpillar closed $1.35 lower to $67.73 Wednesday.