Caterpillar to Close Illinois Plant by 1988

Caterpillar Tractor Co. said it will close a 600,000-square-foot plant in Joliet, Ill., by 1987, partly because the facility is too far away from the company’s main factory complex there.

Caterpillar said it has not yet decided how many of the facility’s 800 workers will be laid off. The plant makes hydrostatic controls, hydraulic pumps and motors and components.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest construction-machinery manufacturer, said some of the plant’s functions will be transferred to the main Joliet complex, two miles away. Some of the work will be done overseas and other functions will be farmed out to subcontractors, the company said.