Takigawa Corp. America broke ground on a $46 million flexible packaging and high-performance films plant in Bardstown, Kentucky, expected to create 180 jobs. Construction is expected to finish in March 2019 with opening in April 2019.

Kush Bottles signed an agreement to acquire Summit Innovations for 1.28 million shares and $3.2 million in cash, with closing expected in May 2018 subject to regulatory approvals.

Swiss packaging maker Hoffmann Neopac's US subsidiary has selected Wilson County, North Carolina for its first US manufacturing plant and new North American headquarters. The investment is reported at $31 million.

ProAmpac, a portfolio company of PPC Partners, acquired Pactech Packaging, which manufactures flexible packaging such as pouches, bags and liners with zippers and spouts. Its products serve government, military, aerospace and automotive supplies.

Consolidated Container Co. acquired the assets of PolyCycle Solutions, a manufacturer of large-format plastic water containers in Irwindale, California, from DS Services of Lakeland, Florida. The deal expands CCC's large-format water production.

Neopac US, a subsidiary of Swiss Hoffmann Neopac AG, will build its first US plant and new North American headquarters at Wilson Corporate Park in Wilson County, North Carolina, investing over $30.8 million and creating up to 44 jobs.

Alliance Packaging purchased an EFI Nozomi C18000 single-pass digital corrugated press for installation at its Seattle headquarters facility, with installation scheduled for completion in May 2018.

Minneapolis-based Liberty Diversified International acquired Phoenix-based Preferred Packaging and Crating, a manufacturer of corrugated, wood and foam packaging; the price was not disclosed.

US packaging manufacturer Orbis has completed the acquisition of custom solutions provider Response Packaging, which will operate as an Orbis brand.

Bain Capital Private Equity announced the acquisition of World Wide Packaging LLC, a provider of cosmetic packaging components and plastic tubes. Bain also agreed to buy a Chinese cosmetics packaging maker and plans to merge the two companies.

Packaging Corporation of America renewed leases on 82,356 sq ft at 4510 Steelway Blvd and 40,066 sq ft at 4530 Steelway Blvd in Clay, New York, used for warehousing and distribution. Lease terms were not disclosed.

F.M. Howell & Company is expanding at its Elmira, New York sites, installing new manufacturing and printing equipment for its Howell Packaging division and buying a thermoformer for Howell Plastics. The project, supported by an $800,000 capital grant from the Southern Tier REDC, will create 14 jobs and retain 182.

Sonoco signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately owned Highland Packaging Solutions, a thermoformed plastic packaging producer in Plant City, Florida, for about $150 million in cash, expected to close in Q2 2018.

A UFP Industries subsidiary signed an agreement to buy substantially all operating assets of North American Container Corp., a Marietta, Georgia maker of structural packaging with nine plants and about $71 million in 2017 sales. Closing is scheduled by June 1, 2018.

French group Autajon acquired Thoro, a Corona, California maker of folding cartons and displays in solid board with 175 employees and 2017 sales of $37 million. Thoro joins Autajon's Packaging Division and its president stays on.

MAUSER USA acquired the manufacturing assets of MaschioPack North America in Atlanta, Georgia, expanding its North American intermediate bulk container footprint. MAUSER will keep supplying former MaschioPack customers and invest in the facility.

Newark, New York flexible packaging maker Maco PKG became the third North American licensee of Dow's PacXpert stand-up pouch technology, to manufacture, sell and co-pack it in North America.

Pratt Industries opened a $60 million corrugated box factory in Beloit, Wisconsin, capable of producing about 600 tonnes of recycled boxes a day. The project was announced in December 2014, built from April 2015 and opened in March 2017, employing 140 full-time staff.

UAE-based Hotpack has announced a $100 million investment in a new manufacturing and distribution facility in Edison, New Jersey, its first North American production base. The 70,000 sq ft plant will customise plastic and paper cups, containers and clamshells and create 200 jobs in the first phase.

Kendall Packaging completed an expansion of its Pittsburg, Kansas manufacturing facility at an estimated cost of $10 million. The project broke ground in September 2016 and was completed by January 2018, doubling the plant size.

Transcontinental Inc. has acquired Multifilm Packaging Corporation, a flexible packaging maker in Elgin, Illinois, near Chicago, employing over 70 people and serving high-end confectionery markets.

Ring Container Technologies of Tennessee plans to open a plastic bottle plant near Hagerstown, Maryland, in a revamped existing building, producing HDPE bottles for food packaging. It is expected to start operating around mid-2018 and initially employ 18 people.

Lumi, a US packaging manufacturer for e-commerce brands, raised $9 million in a Series A round led by Spark Capital, Forerunner Ventures and Homebrew Management.

Berry Global Group acquired plastic products company Clopay for $475 million to optimise production capacity and reduce costs.

Welch Packaging Group of Elkhart, Indiana completed its acquisition of Cooper Container II, a corrugated sheet plant near Nashville, Tennessee, strengthening its Midwest footprint. Terms were not disclosed.

Berry Global is considering a $70 million project to add four thermoforming lines and seven printers for cups and lids at its Evansville, Indiana plant, with about 150 jobs expected. The plan emerged from a tax abatement application reported on 2018-02-13.

Huhtamaki will make 19 million more compostable molded-fiber round plates a year at its Waterville, Maine factory to supply the Philadelphia and Baltimore school districts through the Urban School Food Alliance, raising its annual supply to 244 million. The deal was announced on Monday, February 12, 2018.

M&Q Holdings, through subsidiary M&Q Acquisition, acquired US food packaging company Flavorseal, which will operate as a division in Ohio.

Platinum Equity has acquired Green Bay, Wisconsin-based WS Packaging Group, a labels and packaging solutions provider, from J.W. Childs Associates; no financial terms were disclosed.

WestRock agreed to acquire KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. for about $3.5 billion, or about $4.9 billion including KapStone's net debt of about $1.36 billion. The deal is expected to close in the quarter ending September 30 and generate about $200 million in savings by fiscal 2021.

Swiss closure maker corvaglia group announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in Newnan, Georgia, to produce one-piece plastic caps and closures for the North American beverage market, operational by year-end 2018.

Sabert Corporation has begun construction of a new manufacturing facility in Greenville, Texas, to make plastic and 100% compostable food packaging. The plant is expected to be fully operational by early 2019 and bring over 125 jobs.

Silgan Holdings has initiated construction of a new manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas, planned as a 100,000-square-foot plant employing about 150 people. The city approved $38 million in industrial development revenue bonds for the project, to be repaid by Silgan.

PAC Worldwide, a flexible packaging manufacturer, will lease a 420,000-square-foot facility in Lower Nazareth Township near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The company plans to invest more than $28 million and create over 160 jobs over three years.

Leonard Green & Partners is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire packaging company Pro Mach Group from AEA Investors for more than $2.2 billion including debt, according to Reuters.

Amcor Rigid Plastics is installing two new blow molding lines at its Hazelwood, Missouri plant to make plastic containers for multiple products. The expansion will require about 50 additional jobs.

Graham Packaging will invest $6.7 million to expand its manufacturing operation in Campbell County, Virginia, creating 8 new jobs and retraining 37 employees on new technology.

Flexible packaging manufacturer ProAmpac has acquired paper packaging products manufacturer Bonita Packaging Products, which will operate as a unit of ProAmpac's US Flexibles Division. The deal value was not disclosed.

Graphic Packaging has closed its $6 billion deal to buy International Paper's North American Consumer Packaging business, merging it with Graphic's existing operations. The closing took place in early January 2018.

PaperWorks Industries invested $3 million in a 44,500 sq ft warehouse adjoining its Wabash, Indiana paperboard mill, able to store up to 7,000 tons of coated recycled board rolls, expected operational in Q1 2018.

Duravant has acquired Ohlson Packaging of Taunton, Massachusetts, a manufacturer of weighing, counting and filling machines, which will operate as a stand-alone company in Duravant's Packaging Segment.

Reliance Packaging invested about 4 million dollars in equipment and 1.5 million dollars in building improvements to add a new extruder and printing press at its Aberdeen, North Carolina plant, roughly doubling daily production capacity.

TricorBraun Inc. acquired Package All Corp., a 33-year-old healthcare packaging distributor based in Bayport, New York, which becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary and operates seven locations.

Inline Plastics is adding three thermoforming production lines and expanding its facilities in Shelton, Connecticut, Salt Lake City and McDonough, Georgia, creating 60 new jobs. The article's dates are inconsistent and may be older than the stated article date.

Placon completed the acquisition of privately held rigid plastic container maker Plastic Packaging Corp. The target has a 100,000 sq ft plant in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and 141 employees.

Willmeng Construction completed a full renovation of a 650,000 sq ft manufacturing plant in Goodyear, Arizona for Huhtamaki North America, which will make paper cups, food containers and plastic cups and lids and add hundreds of jobs.

Versa Pak plans a 37,000-square-foot manufacturing addition to its Celina plant in the Grand Lake Industrial Park, a more than $11 million investment expected to create 22 full-time jobs. Planning commissioners approved the proposal, with construction planned for spring.

Crown has agreed to buy an unnamed global company that provides industrial and transit packaging systems. The article gives no target name, value or closing details.

Rusken Packaging plans a $20 million expansion of its corrugated fiber box lines in Harrisburg, Arkansas, expected to create about 50 new jobs and double its workforce by spring 2018.

WestRock has entered into agreements to acquire substantially all assets of Plymouth Packaging, a corrugated packaging company, including its Box on Demand systems and its equity interest in Panotec. The announcement was made on December 19, 2017.