gabo Systemtechnik is adding 10,000 square metres of production and storage space at its Niederwinkling site in Lower Bavaria. Production capacity is to rise by over 50% by the end of 2018.

Mechanical seal specialist John Crane completed its purchase of Seebach GmbH, a German provider of mechanical seals.

Propapier, part of Progroup AG, awarded machine builder Voith Paper the contract for a new PM3 containerboard paper machine in Sandersdorf-Brehna, Germany, with production due in the second half of 2020. The greenfield project is part of a EUR 375 million investment.

Propapier awarded Voith Paper the contract for a new PM3 paper machine at a EUR 375 million greenfield containerboard plant in Sandersdorf-Brehna near Bitterfeld. The machine is due to start in the second half of 2020 with an annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes and create about 140 direct jobs.

Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp announced a merger of their European steel operations as a 50/50 joint venture. The article does not give a deal value.

KNF held the groundbreaking for an expansion of its Freiburg-Munzingen headquarters costing more than 5 million euros, due for completion by autumn 2019. Production area grows from 4,000 to 5,000 square metres and staff rise from 220 to about 300.

WEW, a THIELMANN company, signed a $27.5 million contract to supply 241 new Hippo containerized water systems to the US Army, with all units to be delivered within 12 months of signing. Production takes place at its Weitefeld facility in Germany.

Glatfelter signed a definitive agreement to buy Georgia-Pacific's European nonwovens business for $185 million, including the Steinfurt, Germany airlaid plant with 32,000 metric tons capacity.

Nordson merged its BKG pelletizer and melt delivery equipment businesses into Nordson BKG GmbH, headquartered at a Münster facility that more than triples in space. Full relocation of operations will be completed by fall 2018.

LIVIA Corporate Development agreed to acquire Smurfit Kappa's Baden board and packaging facility in Gernsbach, Germany, which has 298 employees and a mill producing 152,000 tons of recycled carton board a year.

Weber Maschinenbau has broken ground on a seven-figure investment in an office building and workshop of about 6,000 square meters in Werther, Germany, for producing components and tools for thermoforming packaging machines; around 50 employees are to move in by mid-2019.

Gundlach Verpackung, Gundlach Packaging DMCC and Gundlach Logo now operate jointly under the Gundlach Packaging Group brand, with a shared CRM system and expanded roll-to-roll production in Dubai.

Woodward has completed its acquisition of L'Orange GmbH and related operations for an enterprise value of €700 million (US$811 million). The deal strengthens Woodward's Industrial segment.

Bosch is reportedly looking for a buyer for the food units of its packaging technology division. The report is unconfirmed and the article suggests a sale is likely.

BORSIG has taken over the product business of artec Armaturen und Industrieservice GmbH, adding ball valves and steam coolers to its valves business. The deal takes immediate effect.

Unibloc-Pump Inc. of Marietta, Georgia has acquired German manufacturer R&H GmbH, creating a combined European market leader in road tanker pumps. The deal was announced on May 30, 2018.

GEA supplied fully automated tablet and capsule production equipment, including continuous blending technology, that has transformed Pfizer's Freiburg, Germany plant into a smart factory.

Leser spent a total of €22 million on its Leser-Kontor facility in Hamburg, Germany. The investment was made in the year before the article.

Leser extended its production facility in Hohenwestedt, Germany, at a cost of €7.3 million. The investment was made in the year before the article.

Emerson agreed to acquire Aventics, a smart pneumatics technology maker with central offices in Laatzen, Germany, from Triton for a cash price of €527 million. Aventics has about 2,100 employees, five manufacturing locations and 2017 sales of $425 million.

Progroup will build a new paper machine (PM 3) in Sandersdorf-Brehna near Bitterfeld, Germany, with an investment of €375 million and 750,000 t annual output. Construction is scheduled to start in Q1 2019, with completion in the second half of 2020.

LEIPA Georg Leinfelder converted the former UPM newsprint machine PM 11 in Schwedt into packaging paper machine PM 5 for white top testliner, with Voith rebuilding the machine. LEIPA invested over 160 million euros, and the handover was signed on 19 April 2018.

AST Kunststoffverarbeitung is building a new production site near Eppingen in Baden-Württemberg, part of a company investment of about 30 million euros in 2018, with 15 million euros for this site.

AST Kunststoffverarbeitung plans to invest around 30 million euros in 2018 in several projects at its Erndtebrück headquarters.

Stauff put a new round-cycle machine for pipe fittings into operation at its Werdohl headquarters, part of a 6.2 million euro investment that raises annual capacity from 10 to 15 million parts.

Beiersdorf and Kuehne + Nagel agreed to extend their partnership, with Kuehne + Nagel handling supply chain delivery for Beiersdorf in Hamburg until 2024. Kuehne + Nagel is revamping its Hamburg facility into an automated logistics center.

Woodward Inc. and Rolls-Royce signed an agreement for Woodward to acquire L'Orange GmbH and related operations in Germany, the US and China for an enterprise value of €700 million (US$859 million). L'Orange will be renamed Woodward L'Orange.

Panattoni Europe has been awarded a contract by Volkswagen Group to build a packaging centre for automotive parts at JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The five-hall facility will cover about 45,000 square metres on a 100,000 square metre site, with construction scheduled to begin in June 2018.

Max Automation has completed the sale of its subsidiary NSM Packtec GmbH, based in Ahaus, to Chinese company Ningbo Lehui International. NSM Packtec makes filling and packaging machines for dairy and non-alcoholic beverages and employs about 50 people. The closing was reported on 2018-03-14.

RPC is buying Nordfolien GmbH, a maker of flexible packaging such as the NordiPure bag-in-bag, to build its flexible packaging platform. The article reports the deal on 2018-03-13 without stating a value.

China's Ningbo Lehui International Engineering Equipment acquired Ahaus-based NSM Packtec GmbH, effective 9 March 2018, and the company was renamed Finnah Packtec GmbH. The existing product program and management remain unchanged.

Hamburger Rieger, part of the Prinzhorn Group, began construction of a second recycled containerboard paper machine at its Spremberg site, with a 500,000 tonne annual capacity and commissioning planned for summer 2020. The investment is about EUR 370 million and will create 200 jobs.

Georg Menshen GmbH & Co KG and logistics provider Schäflein AG renewed their logistics cooperation through a multi-year follow-on contract. Menshen products are stored at Schäflein sites in Schwerte and Kitzingen, Germany, on 16,500 square metres.

WERIT Kunststoffwerke started production of EURO H1 plastic hygiene pallets at its Buchholz (Westerwald) site with a fully automated line, in an investment of undisclosed millions of euros. The article is dated 28 February 2018.

Progroup started active preparation for a new paper factory for containerboard in Germany, scheduled to start production in 2021.

BST eltromat International acquired a stake in Nyquist Systems, both German quality assurance system providers for the printing and packaging industries.

Auer Packaging of Amerang won a Europe-wide tender from Volkswagen worth about EUR 3 million for around one million RL-KLT plastic containers, delivered to VW suppliers across Europe.

AxFlow Germany is acquiring Pumpen Karrer, a family-owned pump repair and maintenance firm in Germany's Allgau region, which will become its regional service base and take over the KSB service agreement.

AxFlow Germany, part of Axel Johnson International's Fluid Handling Solutions group, acquired family-owned pump repair and maintenance company Pumpen Karrer, creating a regional base in the Allgau region west of Munich. The announcement was made on February 1, 2018.

Rheinmetall subsidiary Pierburg won an order from Karma Automotive to supply CWA coolant pumps for the Revero plug-in hybrid, built from its Hartha, Saxony plant, with a contract value in the low six-digit euro range.

Solvay announced a €6 million investment to expand sodium bicarbonate production capacity at its Rheinberg site in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, for its SOLVAir flue gas treatment product, with startup planned by end of 2018.

Auer Packaging of Amerang, Germany, won a Europe-wide tender from Volkswagen for around one million RL-KLT plastic small load carriers, worth three million euros. The containers will be delivered to Volkswagen suppliers across Europe.

Auer Packaging won a European tender from Volkswagen AG for about one million RL-KLT plastic small load carriers, worth EUR 3 million. The containers will be delivered regularly from Amerang to VW suppliers across Europe.

HCP Packaging Group held a ground-breaking ceremony on 22 January 2018 for the first phase of a multi-year expansion at its Rusi site in Bechhofen, Bavaria, adding two production buildings and injection moulding and decoration equipment, expected to be fully operational by October 2018 and raising annual capacity by over 60%.

Tapì Group, a beverage closures maker owned by Wise SGR, has entered a binding agreement to buy 80% of T&G GmbH, the sole distributor for Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands. The founder keeps the remaining 20%.

BE Beteiligungen, with an investor group led by ARCUS Capital AG, acquired machine and tool builder Spitznas and its affiliate Transtools. Spitznas is based in Velbert, Germany, and Transtools in Lublin, Poland. No deal value was given.

Armstrong Fluid Technology completed the acquisition of the Circulator Pump business unit of Halm Motors + Systems GmbH in Germany. The article gives no deal value or date beyond the article date.

Horb-based press maker Lauffer Pressen has combined with Chinese press manufacturer HFM (Hefei Metalforming Intelligent Manufacturing), which will become a strategic partner. Lauffer reported 2017 order intake of about EUR 50 million and sales of EUR 45 million, and says it will remain independent.

HEROSE has started operating three new CNC lathes at its Bad Oldesloe site, two replacing outdated machines, to expand prefabrication capacity and reduce delivery bottlenecks.

Ardagh Group and Henkel collaborated on what they claim is the world's lightest three-piece steel aerosol container, produced at Ardagh's aerosol plant in Germany for Henkel's hairspray range. The can has a 0.13mm wall thickness and saves 15 per cent in materials and water.