CATERPILLAR Inc, the world's biggest maker of earth-moving equipment, has opened a new factory in eastern Jiangsu Province and said it plans to triple the number of staff there in the next year.

The 100-employee plant in Wuxi will make hydraulic hoses and valves, hose fittings and cabs for machines such as motor graders and wheel loaders, Jim Dugan, a spokesman for Caterpillar in Beijing, told Bloomberg News yesterday by telephone. Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Illinois, started production in Wuxi last year using leased space and now has 19 hectares, Dugan said.