Caterpillar has decided to build its new plant in Georgia, instead of North Carolina.
Leoneda Inge: Today’s decision was tough for Brunswick County. Caterpillar announced it will build its small tractor facility near Athens, Georgia. The new plant will employ 14-hundred people, with almost three-thousand more jobs created among suppliers. Jim Bradshaw is director of the Brunswick County Economic Development Commission. He says Caterpillar liked their labor market, the quality of life and the building site. But the depth of the Wilmington Port was a problem.
Jim Bradshaw: Unfortunately North Carolina’s ports at this time do not have a 50- foot depth, they are 42 feet, as is Savannah and Charleston. But Savannah and Charleston have committed to keeping their channels at 50-feet and at this time, North Carolina has not.
Caterpillar says access to the Port of Savannah was a factor in its decision to build in Georgia.
