Caterpillar plans to build new China plant

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) has inked an agreement to build a 350,000-square-foot wheel loader manufacturing facility in Suzhou China, the latest step in the equipment maker's efforts to tap into growing demand in Asia, MarketWatch reported.   Caterpillar began selling products in China in 1975 and opened an office in Beijing in 1978. It currently has 13 production plants in China, including joint venture and wholly owned plants. Its largest and oldest facility in China is in Xuzhou, where Caterpillar has been making excavators, motor graders and track-type tractors for more than ten years, Dugan said.   China is one piece of Caterpillar's long-term strategy. The company announced on October 2005 a broad plan that includes sales of $50 billion by 2010 and annual average earnings-per-share growth of 15% to 20% through 2010. It also wants sales of $100 billion by 2020, said Market Watch.   Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Owens said then that China is one piece of the puzzle that the company must get right in order to achieve those financial goals.   Caterpillar's sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose 6% in the second quarter from the year-earlier period to $1.23 billion, according to the company's earnings report released Friday. Caterpillar's total sales increased 13% to $10.61 billion.