Suppliers News (February 14, 2011)

Caterpillar to build factory in Thailand 

Caterpillar (CAT-N) plans to manufacture a range of underground mining articulated trucks and loaders at a new facility in Thailand.

The company will break ground on the new factory in early 2011, with production scheduled to begin in late 2012.

“We continue to make strategic investments in our mining business to support our customers,” said Chris Curfman, president of Caterpillar Global Mining, in a press release.

“We are pleased to announce our first manufacturing facility in Thailand, which will increase our capacity for our existing range of underground mining machinery, particularly as we sharpen our focus on meeting long-term customer demand in growth markets,” he said.

The 60,000-sq.-metre (645,000 sq. ft.) factory will be built in Rayong province and should boost the current production of Caterpillar’s underground mining products to respond to the growth in demand. Once the facility is fully operational, it is expected to employ about 800 people.

Dumas buys Latin American mining contractor

Dumas Contracting has acquired International Specialized Mining Services (ISMS), a Central American-focused underground mining contractor.

ISMS has operating bases in the mining regions of Mexico and Guatemala, from which it provides project planning, engineering, underground mine development and production services to its clients throughout Central America.

“We were attracted to ISMS due to the shared focus on industry-leading safety performance and technical capabilities,” said Daniel Dumas, CEO of Dumas Contracting, in a press release.

Mexico and Central America are key growth markets for Dumas, with many new projects under development throughout the region.