Governor Announces New Caterpillar Engine Facility For Spalding County

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue today announced that Perkins Engines Company Limited, a Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) company and a world leader in the manufacture of off-highway diesel and gas engines along with its long-time small engine partner, Ishikawajima Shibaura Machinery Ltd (ISM) will open a new small engines manufacturing facility in Griffin, Georgia.

"We in Georgia have enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Caterpillar and I am very pleased to welcome another Caterpillar facility to those that already call Georgia home," said Governor Perdue. "Having a global market leader like Caterpillar choose Georgia over and over again speaks to our success in creating an economic environment where companies can be successful. The high-quality jobs this project will create are great news for Griffin and Spalding County."

In addition to this new Perkins facility and the existing facility in Griffin, Caterpillar also has manufacturing operations in Alpharetta, Jefferson, LaGrange, Thomasville and Toccoa. The company operates a Financial Products facility and a Logistics Services operation in Atlanta.

Production at the Griffin location will start in summer 2004 with approximately 25 employees, ramping up to an expected 100. The plant will produce the Perkins 400 Series, a range of two, three and four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, naturally aspirated and turbo-charged indirect-injection engines. The Griffin facility will mirror the Perkins headquarters in Peterborough, England, which also produces 400 Series engines.

In planning to open a U.S. facility, Perkins Engines worked closely with Georgia's Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism and the Spalding County Development Authority. Perkins ultimately chose the Griffin location because of its skilled workforce and the opportunity to enhance customer service through improved logistics.

"Employees of the Caterpillar Griffin Power Systems facility have a proven expertise in succeeding in this challenging global market, and Caterpillar is looking to expand on that with a larger presence in the community," said Mike Baunton, Caterpillar vice president and president of Perkins Engines. "When coupled with the outstanding logistics hub available in Atlanta, we couldn't imagine a more ideal location for the first Perkins facility in the United States."

David Luckie, executive director of the Griffin-Spalding Development Authority, said, "We are extremely excited about having Perkins Shibaura Engines here in Spalding County. The international influence of companies based in England and Japan will be a tremendous addition to our community." Luckie added, "We appreciate Governor Perdue's calling on Perkins when he was in the United Kingdom earlier this summer and his active involvement in helping to attract industry to our community."

About Perkins Shibaura Engines, Ltd.

Perkins and Japanese manufacturer Ishikawajima Shibaura machinery, Ltd. (ISM) launched a joint venture company, Perkins Shibaura Engines, Ltd., and a manufacturing facility in 1996 adjacent to the Perkins manufacturing plant in Peterborough, UK. The original product was the Perkins 100 Series engine.

ISM has been manufacturing agricultural equipment and engines since the 1940s and is one of Japan's leading suppliers of small engines and tractors. ISM is part of Ishikawajima Harima Industries - (IHI), one of Japan's largest industrial companies.

Perkins Engines is a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. and the world's leading supplier of off-highway diesel and gas engines in the 4 - 2000 kW (5 - 2600 hp) market. Perkins' key strength is its ability to tailor engines precisely to meet customers' requirements. More than 300,000 engines are manufactured every year -- that's one every minute -- to 21,000 different specifications.

About Caterpillar Inc.

For more than 75 years Caterpillar Inc. has been building the world's infrastructure and, in partnership with its worldwide dealer network, is driving positive and sustainable change in every continent. With 2002 sales and revenues of $20.15 billion, Caterpillar is a technology leader and the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. More information is available at http://www.cat.com.