Read the latest on the Caterpillar Project: it has been cited for Honorable Mention in Business Facilities’ 2012 Economic Development Deal of the Year competition.

ECG’s Economic & Community Development Team is proud to announce that Caterpillar will locate a new manufacturing facility in Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. Caterpillar expects the new facility to include 1,400 new employees and a total investment in Georgia of $200 million.

Governor Nathan Deal and Doug Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Inc., made this announcement at the Georgia State Capitol this morning. “Georgia is proud to have built a business climate that provides the logistics, workforce, speed and efficiency that global industry leaders like Caterpillar are looking for,” said Gov. Deal. “We appreciate Caterpillar’s continued investment in our state.”

Caterpillar will locate its new one-million-square-foot facility on more than 250 acres of an industrial site that spans Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties. Caterpillar already has several facilities in Georgia including Griffin, LaGrange and Thomasville.

“We are proud that our partnerships with the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the leadership of Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties, and Caterpillar, have led to a project that will so significantly contribute to the community and to Georgia,” said Annie Baxter, ECG Project Manager.

ECG Project Manager Annie Baxter worked with GDEcD Senior Project Manager Chip Mitchell, who led the state’s project team, and regional partners from Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties.

Chris Cummiskey, Commissioner of the GDEcD, closed the announcement at the Capitol with thanks to regional leadership, partners at the State, and Electric Cities of Georgia’s Charlie Gatlin and Annie Baxter without whom “the project would not have been possible.”