XUZHOU, CHINA-Caterpillar, the manufacturer of construction andmining equipment, is expanding its reach in emerging markets hereand in South America. The Peoria, IL-based company broke groundthis week on a new manufacturing building for large excavatorshere, and also announced plans to build a new production facilityin Brazil.

Here, the company has reached an agreement with XuzhouConstruction Machinery Group to acquire the 15.87% interest inCaterpillar Xuzhou Ltd., a joint venture that was established in1995. The purchase makes CXL a wholly-owned subsidiary. The companyalso recently opened a new facility here that will host themanufacture of small and medium excavators.

“In the next few years, we expect China to continue to investheavily across the country in a wide range of infrastructureimprovements,” said Rich Lavin, group president with responsibilityfor emerging markets, in a statement.