JOLIET, IL—Caterpillar Inc. has reached a tentative six-year deal with the union representing almost 800 striking workers at the company’s assembly plant here. The workers had been on strike since early May seeking better wages and health care benefits.

PEORIA—While one Illinois assembly plant boils over with anger and adversity, another is celebrating a new beginning with tears and cheers.

NEW YORK—Ford, Caterpillar and Johnson Controls were among the manufacturers named by U.S. News as America’s Most Connected Companies.

PEORIA, IL—Caterpillar Inc. plans to shift work from its Joliet, IL, assembly plant and spend $20 million to expand one of its South Carolina plants so it can handle additional work.

ATHENS, GA—Caterpillar has begun accepting applications for for management positions its planned assembly plant in northeast Georgia.

ATLANTA—Caterpillar plans to build a new assembly plant in Georgia, bringing an estimated 1,400 jobs to the state. The plant will be built in the Athens area.

PEORIA, IL—Caterpillar Inc. won’t choose its home state of Illinois as the site of its new $150 million assembly plant, citing the state’s “unfriendly” business climate.

CLAYTON, NC--Caterpillar plans to add 199 well-paying jobs at its plant here over the next five years. The company will invest $33 million in the plant, which manufactures earth-moving equipment. Caterpillar chose Clayton over sites in Illinois, Japan, Belgium and Brazil--all locations where it has existing manufacturing plants.