FILE PHOTO: The logo of the company of machinery Caterpillar (CAT) is seen at the site of a future urban project in Vina del Mar, Chile May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Tuesday it would begin a patent infringement probe of road milling equipment by Caterpiller CAT.N and several subsidiaries after a complaint by Wirtgen America, the U.S. subsidiary of a German firm.

The machinery under scrutiny is used to mill asphalt and concrete pavement to create a base for a new road surfaces, the USITC said in a statement. Wirtgen America is the subsidiary of Wirtgen Beteiligungs GMBH, a privately held German firm that manufactures construction equipment.