WACO, Texas (AP) Construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. has announced that it will suspend manufacturing at its Waco, TX, dump truck facility.

The suspension, which will take effect in the first quarter of 2003 and will leave 12 people unemployed, was due to sluggish worldwide demand for the dump trucks, the Waco-Tribune Herald reported. The $15-million, 128,000-sq.-ft. plant opened in 2000.

Caterpillar plans to keep the building and the equipment inside “in a first-class condition,” said Christopher Glynn, a spokesperson for the Peoria, IL-based company. He said the plant may reopen later if demand for the trucks improves.

Caterpillar will try to relocate the 12 employees to other plants, Glynn added.

According to the Texas Department of Economic Development (TDED) , when it approved Waco’s application to designate Caterpillar Waco Inc. as an enterprise project in 1999, the operation was expected to bring 112 jobs to the city.

For more information, visit www.caterpillar.com.