Caterpillar Moving Headquarters to Chicago -- Update
31 Januar 2017 - 9:43PM
Dow Jones News
By Andrew Tangel and Shibani Mahtani
Caterpillar Inc. is moving its headquarters to the Chicago area,
the latest U.S. company to say they are gravitating toward the
Windy City in search of talent and better travel connections.
The equipment maker will join McDonald's Corp., agribusiness
giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. and other companies that have
moved to Chicago and its suburbs in recent years. Like many of
those companies, Caterpillar said moving a relatively small office
for its top leaders to the country's third biggest city would make
it easier to recruit new executives and travel between the
company's global operations.
"Locating our headquarters closer to a global transportation
hub, such as Chicago, means we can meet with our global customers,
dealers and employees more easily and frequently," said Caterpillar
Chief Executive Jim Umpleby.
Caterpillar expects about 300 employees to be based in the new
Chicago office, including some from the company's longtime home in
Peoria, Ill. Caterpillar said that means it will scrap plans to
build a new headquarters complex there, though about 12,000
employees will remain in its current offices.
"Peoria will continue to be our hometown," Mr. Umpleby said.
It wasn't clear whether Caterpillar's new office will be in
Chicago itself or a suburb. A spokeswoman said the company hadn't
settled on an office lease. She said the company hadn't discussed
tax incentives with city officials, a sweetener that often entices
companies to relocate.
Last June, McDonald's said it would move from its longtime home
in the suburbs to a nine-story building in Chicago's West Loop
neighborhood. The new headquarters including a staff training
facility are scheduled to open in 2018.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in January that a
224,000-square-foot shopping center would be built close to
McDonald's new headquarters. The city expects the project to create
960 permanent jobs and 140 construction jobs.
Communications and software company Motorola Solutions also
moved its headquarters to downtown Chicago last year from the
suburb of Schaumburg. Chairman and Chief Executive Greg Brown said
the move has put Motorola in the orbit of young workers and
graduates from the city's universities.
--Anne Steele contributed to this article.
Write to Andrew Tangel at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com and Shibani
Mahtani at shibani.mahtani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 31, 2017 15:28 ET (20:28 GMT)
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