Doug Oberhelman is chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc.
Why job creators skip Illinois
By Doug Oberhelman
February 12, 2012
Caterpillar Inc. has deep roots in Illinois. Over the years we’ve employed tens of thousands of Illinoisans, including the 23,000 working here today. My roots in Illinois are also deep. I attended public schools here, went to college in Decatur and I’ve spent the bulk of my career in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois is Caterpillar’s home, and it is my home.
I’m pleased to be part of Gov. Pat Quinn’s new export council, which I hope will help Caterpillar and other Illinois companies increase exports, which support so many jobs.
Export demand played a huge role in Caterpillar’s 2011 decision to invest in two of our large Illinois factories, investments totaling $840 million. Sometimes exports drive investment decisions, other times it may be logistics.
More often, the issues I will outline below keep Caterpillar from investing in our home state.
Despite the fact that we announced plans for dozens of new factories in the last few years and our United States workforce increased by more than 14,500 in the past 10 years, we haven’t opened a new factory in Illinois in decades. Our Illinois workforce is at the same level it was 10 years ago. Caterpillar recently informed several Illinois communities that they are not in the running for a new factory we will build in the U.S., ultimately adding 1,400 jobs — work that’s now done in Japan. In that case, logistics was a key factor, but even if it were not the case, when Caterpillar and most other companies look to locate a new factory in the U.S., Illinois is not in the running.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
About 10 months ago I wrote a letter to Illinois political leaders expressing my hope that the state would undertake long-term, fundamental reforms so Illinois could compete for jobs and long-term business investment that drives growth.
To date, we haven’t seen much change......
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Unless something has changed since midweek, Wilmington NC is in a strong position to land that one, with a decent underutilized, nonunion port nearby. There's also a big Caterpillar plant under construction right now, between Greensboro and Winston-Salem in Kernersville, NC.