ATLANTA — The number of jobs linked to Caterpillar’s decision to build an excavator plant in Athens could triple when the company’s suppliers build their factories in the state as well, Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday.
And Caterpillar announced another 50-75 jobs it is creating in the Savannah area.
Both announcements came during a panel discussion at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the Ports luncheon.
The governor said Caterpillar, which already has 1,500 workers in various plants across the state, helped him meet 10 of its suppliers during a recent trade mission to Japan. He predicted “a good many” would locate in Georgia.
“Caterpillar made it very clear that they want their suppliers close to where they are,” he said.
The Athens plant will employ 1,400 workers when it’s fully staffed and operational in two years.
“We’re told that twice that many jobs (will be) coming from their supplier base, in other words, another 2,800,” Deal said.
Asked about details, the governor declined to offer specifics.
“We have some in the works. I can’t tell you who they are,” he said.
One reason Caterpillar located its new factory in Athens is because it has had a close relationship working with the Georgia Ports Authority since 1980. The Port of Savannah carries greater tonnage of Caterpillar shipments than any in the world, and recently it began moving some of its freight through the Brunswick port so that it would not be so heavily reliant on Savannah.
“Mostly it’s Caterpillar using our ports in many different modes, not just the traditional freight of large machinery that’s coming out of one of our general-cargo facilities, but they ship goods in and out of our container facility,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.
Caterpillar Logistics President Steve Larson agrees.
“Savannah has just been a great port for Caterpillar,” he said.
He said the authority recently helped convince Norfolk Southern to add trains to save days in moving equipment to Georgia from Caterpillar’s Illinois facilities.
“We also have just made a decision here recently to locate a call center in Savannah, and it’s going to drive more activity here,” he said.