Yield Engineering Systems, Inc. (YES) acquired Semiconductor Process Equipment Corp. (SPEC) of Valencia, California. SPEC adds wet processing equipment (cleaning, etching, stripping, plating) to YES's portfolio for semiconductor applications.

Sonepar USA, the U.S. operations of French-based Sonepar Group, has agreed to acquire Richards Electric Supply Company Inc., a Cincinnati-based electrical products distributor. The deal is expected to be completed in 2021.

LT Apparel Group is expanding operations in Greensboro, North Carolina with an investment of at least $57 million, adding a minimum of 116 new jobs. The project will increase industrial capacity at the Reedy Fork Corporate Park.

Commonwealth Rolled Products Inc. will invest over $167 million in its Lewisport, Kentucky aluminum rolling mill, creating 40 full-time jobs. The project includes new equipment and building upgrades, expected to begin in early 2022 and be completed by early 2024.

Hy-Tek Holdings, a portfolio company of Dunes Point Capital, has acquired Advanced Handling Systems (AHS), a material handling automation integrator based in Erlanger, Kentucky. AHS has two facilities in the US and employs approximately 90 people.

Eve UAM, LLC, an Embraer company focused on urban air mobility, entered a definitive business combination agreement with Zanite Acquisition Corp. to list on the NYSE under ticker EVEX. The transaction includes up to $237 million from Zanite and a $305 million PIPE, with Embraer retaining an ~82% stake.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. acquired Rotax Metals Inc., a Brooklyn-based service center specializing in copper, bronze and brass alloys. The acquisition was announced on 2021-12-21.

GE Appliances is investing more than $118 million to expand capacity and develop new cooking products at its Roper Corporation plant in LaFayette, Georgia, adding over 600 new jobs by the end of 2024.

Northwest Pipe Company has been selected by Garney Construction and the Alliance Regional Water Authority to manufacture over 89,000 feet of engineered steel pipe for Phase 1B of the Carrizo-Water Supply Project in Texas.

STERIBITE, a medical device company, has gained controlling interest via a merger with Precision Manufacturing Group (PMG), a contract manufacturer in Wooster, Ohio, to bring manufacturing in-house.

ClearWater Solutions and Midwest Water Operations have merged to create a 400-employee company providing water and wastewater operations and maintenance services in 12 states across the Southeastern United States.

Silvi Concrete, a division of Silvi Materials, has acquired all assets of L&L Redi Mix Concrete, including six concrete plants in New Jersey, a recycling facility, and a masonry supply yard.

Evoqua Water Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the renal business (Mar Cor Purification/Cantel Medical) from STERIS for $196.3 million. The business is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, with 27 service facilities in the US and Canada.

H2O Innovation Inc. acquired JCO, Inc. and Environmental Consultants, L.L.C., both providing O&M services for municipal and industrial water and wastewater clients in the Hudson Valley Region, New York.

Terex Utilities began expansion of its Huron, South Dakota facility, adding 11,400 sq-ft, new machining and welding equipment, and a third shift to increase capacity for fabrication of core components for aerial devices and digger derricks. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Hexion Holdings Corporation announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of American Securities LLC for $30.00 per share in cash, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2022.

Ternium USA Inc. announced plans to build a second steel coil coating line at its Shreveport, Louisiana facility, a US$98 million expansion that will increase coated steel coil production capacity by 120,000 tons per year.

SupplyOne, the largest independent US supplier of corrugated packaging, acquired Romanow Container, a corrugated and protective packaging maker based in Westwood, Massachusetts. It is SupplyOne's first acquisition in New England.

Sonoco agreed to acquire Ball Metalpack, a metal packaging joint venture owned by Platinum Equity and Ball Corporation, for $1.35 billion in cash. Ball Metalpack is projected to generate about $850 million in 2021 revenue.

BillerudKorsnäs agreed to acquire Verso Corporation, a North American coated paper producer, for about USD 825 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Bona US held a groundbreaking for a 280,000-square-foot building at Monroe Corporate Center in Monroe, North Carolina, its second facility at the industrial park. The company plans to invest more than $20 million and create 124 jobs.

The Gustave A. Larson Co. closed the purchase of Progress Supply, Inc., an HVAC and refrigeration distributor in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, on December 17, 2021.

Robert Grooters Development broke ground on a $14 million industrial facility in Norton Shores, Michigan, which will house Seal Bond, an adhesive, sealant and coating manufacturer. The 200,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in spring 2022.

Lacroix has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Firstronic, a US EMS provider serving automotive, industry and healthcare sectors. Firstronic has two production sites in Michigan and Mexico with around 1,300 employees.

Westrock Coffee purchased a 524,000 sq ft facility in Conway, Arkansas, which when fully built-out will be the largest facility of its type in the US, serving as a roasting and ready-to-drink packaging plant.

Komatsu Mining opened its new South Harbor Campus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including a 176,000-square-foot office building and a 430,000-square-foot factory for mining shovels. The factory is planned for early 2022 completion.

Tech Castings LLC will invest $4.5 million to expand its facility in Shirley, Indiana, adding 12,000 square feet and up to 20 jobs. The expansion will more than double output of superalloy investment castings for aerospace, manufacturing, and medical industries.

Navitas Semiconductor announced that its GaN power ICs have been selected by Dell for inclusion in the Dell Latitude 9000-series laptops' fast-charge adapters. Shipment volumes and financial impact were not disclosed.

Rohrer Corp. purchased Jay Packaging, extending its manufacturing into the Northeast United States. Financial terms and exact locations were not given in the article.

Kampack, a division of National Packaging Group, will relocate its headquarters and build a new corrugated packaging manufacturing facility in the King Mill Distribution industrial park in Henry County, Georgia. The $35 million investment is expected to create 120 jobs.

Triumph Group received a production contract extension from Boeing Commercial Airplanes to continue manufacturing hydraulic and actuation equipment for 737 MAX, 777, 777X and 767 aircraft at its facilities in Clemmons, North Carolina, and Yakima, Washington.

Commercial Energy Specialists Holdings LLC has acquired Knorr Systems Inc., a distributor of recreational water treatment equipment based in Santa Ana, California.

Samtec has acquired Ultra Communications, a California-based manufacturer of high-speed fiber optic components for mil-aero and harsh environment applications. Operations will continue at the Vista, CA facility.

Savoye, a French logistics and supply chain systems provider, formally launched its North American operations and manufacturing capabilities with a new headquarters in Aurora, Illinois, combining office space, a manufacturing facility, and a demo center.

Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, completed its acquisition of Soliton, Inc., adding the RESONIC device for cellulite treatment to its body contouring portfolio.

AAR was awarded a 10-year, $365 million contract by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to provide depot-level maintenance and modification for USAFE F-16 aircraft.

ILC Dover acquired KSE Scientific, a sterile solutions manufacturer specializing in Water for Injection and related solutions for biopharma, cell & gene therapy, and medical device markets.

True Manufacturing announced it will build a new facility in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, investing $21 million and creating 175 new jobs. The facility will expand production of its commercial refrigeration products.

Westrock Coffee announced the purchase of a 524,000 square-foot facility in Conway, Arkansas, to be the largest roasting-to-ready-to-drink packaging facility in the US, along with expansions in Concord, North Carolina, and new operations in Malaysia.

Rivian announced a $5 billion investment to build a carbon-conscious campus in Georgia for electric adventure vehicles, creating about 7,500 jobs and capable of producing up to 400,000 vehicles per year. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2022, with production starting in 2024.

Ohio Transmission Corporation (OTC) acquired AAP Automation, a provider of machine automation and control solutions in the Mountain West region. AAP Automation will operate under OTC's Industrial Products Group Segment.

JBS Group secured a contract to install Arc Flash Protection Curtains in the switchgear room of a 1040MW peaking facility in New York. The contract value is in the six figures, with potential extension to multiple sites in the USA.

ZOLL Medical Corporation, an Asahi Kasei company, completed its acquisition of Itamar Medical Ltd., a medical device company specializing in at-home sleep apnea testing. The deal was valued at $31 per ADS, and Itamar Medical will operate as a division within ZOLL.

Pratt Industries broke ground in Henderson, Kentucky, on a $500 million paper mill and box factory complex that will create 321 jobs across two facilities. The box factory is due for completion by 2023.

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation plans to pay North Carolina-based Manteenbar incentives, including a property tax deferral and $10,000 per job, to build a $40 million factory in Amarillo, Texas, that would employ about 160 workers. The deal goes to city council in early January 2022.

Vishay Intertechnology signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all assets of Barry Industries for $21 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close on December 31, 2021.

BASF completed the second phase of an expansion program at its Verbund site in Geismar, LA, increasing MDI capacity by one third. The company invested $87 million in the second phase and $150 million in the first phase. A final phase will boost MDI capacity from 300,000 mt/yr to 600,000 mt/yr by the middle of the decade.

Vallourec signed a contract with Beacon Offshore Energy Exploration & Production LLC to supply OCTG products for the Shenandoah project in the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling is expected to begin in Q3 2022, with first production expected in Q4 2024.

Pfizer announced the opening of a new, state-of-the-art clinical manufacturing facility in Durham, NC, as part of an $800 million investment over six years to build three gene therapy manufacturing facilities. The Durham facility will create more than 50 new jobs and is part of Pfizer's expansion of end-to-end gene therapy capabilities.

Performance Food Group was approved for a seven-year PILOT to invest $29.2 million in a new 150,000 sq ft distribution facility in Memphis, creating 36 net new jobs.