Caterpillar to Open New Plant in Arkansas

Little Rock, Ark. -- State officials say Caterpillar (CAT Quote) will open a new plant in North Little Rock that will build motor graders.

Officials say the Caterpillar plant, located in the former Deluxe Video building, will employ about 600 people. The company says it plans to invest $140 million in the project.

Production is expected to begin in early 2010.

A nearly full line of motor graders, which are used primarily for mining applications, will be manufactured at the North Little Rock plant.

"For North Little Rock, central Arkansas, and the state, the benefits of being the home of an internationally known Caterpillar product are many and huge," said North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays. "This decision is an announcement to the world that we are a major factor in the vehicle manufacturing industry."

The 712,000-square-foot plant opened in 1995 as Deluxe Video Services Inc., specializing in videotape before converting to DVD production and updating its name to Deluxe Media Services. It employed about 500 workers and was considered one of the largest DVD production plants in the United States.

In 2006, The Rank Group, a European casino operator based in London, sold Deluxe Media Services to ODS Optical Disc Service Inc., a subsidiary of ODS Business Services Group, based in Hamburg, Germany.

Stock in Caterpillar, which is based in Peoria, Ill., fell 25 cents to $46.66 in early trading Monday.