Caterpillar picks Deerfield for headquarters
Caterpillar Inc. announced Wednesday it will move its global headquarters to Deerfield from downstate Peoria.
The company expects about 100 employees to move to the Corporate 500 office park this year. About 300 people will be working at the office when fully operational in mid- 2018.
The maker of construction, mining and farming equipment announced in January it would move the global headquarters to the Chicago area rather than build a new complex in Peoria, where it has been headquartered for decades.
Caterpillar will move about 300 people to its new global headquarters in Deerfield.
“Following a thorough site selection process, we chose this location because it is approximately a 20- minute drive to O’Hare Airport and convenient to the city of Chicago via commuter train, achieving our goal to be more accessible to our global customers, dealers and employees,” Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby said in a news release. “This site gives our employees many options to live in either an urban or suburban environment. We know we have to compete for the best talent to grow our company, and this location will appeal to our diverse, global team, today and in the future.”
Caterpillar opened its Digital & Analytics Hub in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart in 2016.
Umpleby noted the company will remain committed to downstate Illinois. “The vast majority of our employees currently in the Peoria area will not be relocating to our new headquarters,” he said. “With our strong presence of over 12,000 employees in central Illinois, we’ll continue our philanthropic support and civic involvement.”
In an emailed statement, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s spokesman Grant Klinzman wrote: “We welcome Caterpillar to the Chicago area and look forward to working with them as they become an important part of the city’s economic and cultural fabric. Chicago has been the number one city in the country for corporate relocations for the past four years, and we know that the benefits of being an international hub for innovation and industry are felt by neighborhoods across the city and communities throughout the region.
Deerfield Mayor Harriet Rosenthal said village officials were pleased by Caterpillar’s decision. “Caterpillar joins several other well- known national and international companies who enjoy the amenities and ease of access to transportation that Deerfield has to offer,” Rosenthal said in a news release.
Late last month, Caterpillar announced the closing of a factory near Aurora that employs 800 people. Caterpillar expects to move production out of the plant by the end of 2018.