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Heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. said Friday it will build a parts plant for large mining machines in Winston-Salem and it expects to employ about 510 full-time and contract workers in five years.

The company will construct an 850,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for the machining, assembly, test and painting of axle assemblies for large mining machines, according to a Caterpillar news release.

Construction is expected to begin in early November, with production at the facility beginning in the first quarter of 2012. The plant is expected to employ about 390 full-time workers in five years at an average wage of $40,482 a year, plus benefits. Caterpillar also expects to need another 120 contract workers at the plant.

The project includes an investment of $426 million, according to a news release from Gov. Bev Perdue.

State officials approved a package of tax rebates, credits and grants worth $16.8 million if the company meets and keeps hiring goals for 11 years. Winston-Salem and Forsyth County offered another $23 million, making the total package of economic sweeteners worth about $40 million.

"We look forward to establishing our new lower powertrain facility in Winston-Salem, which will allow us to substantially increase our capacity, improve process capability, flexibility and flow of our operations," Hans Haefeli, vice president of Caterpillar's Advanced Components & Systems Division, stated in the release." This location will improve our supply chain efficiency and, as a result, allows us to better serve our customers more effectively while reducing operating costs."

Caterpillar currently employs about 1,000 full-time workers in North Carolina. The company has locations in Cary, Charlotte, Clayton, Franklin, Goldsboro, Morganton, New Bern, Sanford and Smithfield.

Caterpillar's careers site is online at www.cat.com/careers