When Caterpillar announced in February that it would build a new plant in Bogart, locals celebrated the 1,400 jobs it would bring. But it remains to be seen how good those jobs will actually be.

Caterpillar is conducting a local wage and benefit survey, and compensation will be "competitive," plant manager Todd Henry told reporters Wednesday. Georgia is a right-to-work state, and the plant will be nonunion. Union workers went on strike in Illinois earlier this year as the company, which turned a record profit last year, tried to claw back wages and benefits. "We prefer to work with our employees to make sure they understand it's unnecessary, third-party or union representation," Henry said.

Construction is on schedule, Henry said, and the 825,000 square-foot facility is set to open in late 2013. Right now, the land is graded, most the walls are up and so is part of the roof. There's no floor yet, though, and roads and parking lots haven't been paved.

Caterpillar won't start hiring en masse until next year—the plant will employ 300 welders, painters, machinists, assembly workers and others by the end of 2013, 600 a year after that, 1,000 in 2015 and 1,400 by 2018, he said. They'll be making small track-type tractors for the worldwide market and mini hydraulic excavators for North and South America.

Experience in manufacturing won't be necessary—the company is looking for hard-working team players— but about 30 or 40 percent of the jobs will require a post-secondary education. Kentucky-based design/build firm Gray Construction is employing about 400 to 500 workers on the project. Suppliers will create another 2,800 jobs; some are expected to locate in or near Athens, but Henry said Caterpillar is still in talks with them.

While it's unclear whether Caterpillar will pay its employees a living wage, the company does share at least some of Athens' values. Gray took care to clear as little land as possible—135 out of 265 acres—and didn't remove any dirt from the property or truck any in while grading. They also went out of their way to save a giant oak tree next to a road around the plant. The plant is made of insulated concrete and part of it will be outdoors, covered by a canopy, to cut down on energy use. "Sustainability is very important to us," Henry said. Caterpillar also plans to be involved in the community—executives volunteered Wednesday to help with a community garden at the affordable apartment complex Fourth Street Village, said Heather Benham, director of the Athens Land Trust.