CONSTRUCTION vehicle maker Caterpillar has announced a multi-million pound investment in its Tees Valley plant just weeks after it emerged £10m was being poured in to its County Durham facility.

The £50m investment announced yesterday is being split between its Building Construction Products (BCP) division's plants in Stockton, which makes steel components for construction equipment, and Leicestershire.

It is a second boost to the firm's North-East workers after it emerged last month that the US firm had invested £5m at its Peterlee plant and was planning a similar cash injection next year.

The firm has seen orders soar in economies such as Brazil and China, and its North-East staffing levels are close to pre-recession levels when the collapse of the construction industry saw around 400 staff laid off at Peterlee and 60 at Stockton.

Peterlee now employs around 1,000 workers and Stockton 400.

John Evans, Caterpillar's Stockton facility manager, said: "It is fantastic news for the plant. It is an endorsement of the confidence the business has in us.

"The investment is for growing the business and meeting the market demand for our products.

"We see it as a reflection of how well the business is doing."

The Stockton plant fabricates steel components primarily for the Leicestershire plant at Desford which makes construction equipment that is then exported across the world.

Mr Evans added: "It is a clear indication from the corporation of their confidence not only in the ability of the people employed in the UK but also a reflection of manufacturing in the UK.

"It is another example of manufacturing expertise in the North-East, the heritage in the North-East in the fabrication of steel."

The plant is presently aiming to increase the number of apprentices at the facility from four to up to 14 next year.

Robert Droogleever, general manager of Caterpillar's Global Backhoe Loader Business, said: "This investment is the most recent example of the Company's on-going strategy to invest in its UK operations to support customer demand in the long-term.

"Our UK workforce have demonstrated that they have the capability to design and assemble world-class products in Desford and Stockton to the benefit of the regional economies in which we operate and, with more than 90per cent of our products being exported, to send a strong signal about the ability of UK-based manufacturers to be globally competitive."

Business Minister Mark Prisk added: "This is a real vote of confidence in UK manufacturing and in our capabilities in construction equipment innovation and production.

"It's manufacturers like Caterpillar and their UK supply chain that will help us rebalance the economy, create jobs and encourage sustainable economic growth that benefits the whole country."