October 5, 2022- Caterpillar held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the first brick and mortar expansion of the Decatur facility since 1997.
“It has been 25 years since we have found a brick and mortar expansion on the Caterpillar Decatur campus, so that is why today is so special,” Tina Czerwinski, Facility Manager said. “Today is about investment in Decatur and our facility and our processes, but it is investment in the people. All the people in front of me, today.”
Several Caterpillar employees were present for the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“The Decatur facility has some of our longest standing and most loyal employees,” Rob Hoenes, Senior Vice President of Resource Industries Operations and Products said. “It doesn’t go to just one generation. There are many employees that are second and third generations.”
One of Caterpillar’s longest-serving employees, Cynthia Jones, Section Manager, had the honor of cutting the ribbon with the ceremonial scissors, provided by the Decatur Chamber of Commerce. The scissors have been used in ribbon cutting ceremonies for over 130 years.
Jones has been an employee with Caterpillar since 2007, where she started out as a production employee, before making her way up to Section Manager.
“I know there is a lot of opportunity here,” Jones said. “It’s gonna make us more efficient. Help our internal customers down the line with getting quality product to the line in a shorter time. With it all being in one house, it will help us become more efficient that way as well. Just getting the right part to the right place at the right time, it’s gonna be great with this building.”
Caterpillar runs in Jones’ family as her mother worked for Caterpillar for 35 years.
“She would be excited,” Jones said. “This was once another building at one time, so like they said, we haven’t had anything different in the last 25 years. So she was here prior to that, so an addition to that would be exciting to her as well.”
Caterpillar’s Decatur facility has been in operation for 67 years, and the 180,000 sq ft warehouse will serve as a great investment for the Decatur community.
“This is a great investment in this campus,” Czerwinski said. “We haven’t had a brick and mortar expansion for 25 years, so I think that example just shows how much we are investing in Caterpillar Decatur and the community. We have been part of the community since 1955, so 67 years, so this means job growth for Caterpillar Decatur. It means that for the community. More importantly, it helps us serve our customers better, too. From what we can provide and the equipment we show.”
