ThermOmegaTech announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility, adding 23,000 square feet to the existing 37,000 square feet for manufacturing, testing, R&D, and office space.

Fagen Inc. was awarded the general works contract by Otter Tail Power Company for the Astoria Station, a 245 MW simple-cycle natural gas combustion turbine power generation facility near Astoria, South Dakota.

Maysteel and Porter's Group merged on December 23, 2019, to create a custom sheet-metal fabricator operating under the Maysteel name. The combined company has more than 1,000 employees and six manufacturing locations in the U.S. and Mexico.

3M entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its drug delivery business to an affiliate of Altaris Capital Partners, retaining its transdermal drug delivery components business.

Maysteel Industries and Porter's Group announced a merger, creating a combined custom sheet metal fabricator with over 1,000 employees and six manufacturing locations in the U.S. and Mexico. The company will operate under the Maysteel brand.

Mach Medical announced plans to establish a manufacturing and R&D facility in Whitley County, Indiana, investing nearly $14 million and creating up to 132 jobs by 2025. Construction begins immediately with completion expected in Q4 2020.

HP Hood LLC invested $200 million to convert an idle yogurt plant in Batavia, New York into a state-of-the-art dairy and nondairy beverage processing facility. The plant expanded from 334,000 sq ft to 444,000 sq ft and began production in 2018.

AFCO Industries will invest $3.62 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, adding 93,000 square feet of production and warehouse space. The company will close its Pell City, Alabama plant and transfer jobs and operations to Louisiana, creating 16 new direct jobs and retaining 168 existing jobs.

Ascend Performance Materials finalized plans for a $175 million project to expand production capacity at its Decatur, Alabama manufacturing facility and construct energy cogeneration units, adding 10 high-end manufacturing jobs and 150 construction jobs.

Empirical announced plans to build a new ground beef facility in Garden City, Kansas, with construction starting in early 2020 and completion between 2022 and 2023, creating 300 jobs and doubling ground beef capacity.

Culligan, owned by Advent International, will acquire AquaVenture Holdings in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion, including net debt. AquaVenture shareholders will receive $27.10 per share.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. was awarded a $7 billion modification to an existing contract for F-22 Raptor sustainment, exercising an option for an additional five-year ordering period.

Sioen Industries has reached an agreement to acquire Dickson Coatings from Glen Raven Inc. Dickson Coatings will continue to operate as an independent business unit. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ferra Aerospace is expanding its existing facility in Grove, Oklahoma, doubling its manufacturing floor from 50,000 to 100,000 square feet.

Ferra Aerospace announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Rogers, Arkansas. The 24,000-square-foot facility will employ 26 people and house nine high-speed machines.

National Cement Co. of Alabama announced plans to invest over $250 million in building a new kiln at its Ragland production plant. Construction is expected to begin in Q1 2020, with start-up scheduled for 2022.

Novelis Inc. announced that China's State Administration for Market Regulation approved its proposed acquisition of Aleris Corporation. As part of the approval, Novelis agreed to sell the Aleris plant in Duffel, Belgium to an independent third party. The transaction is expected to close by January 21, 2020.

Milwaukee Tool will invest over $100 million to build a new campus in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and $7.5 million to expand its Imperial Blades manufacturing operation in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The expansions are expected to create 870 jobs by 2025.

Johnson & Johnson announced an agreement to acquire the remaining stake in Verb Surgical Inc. from Verily (an Alphabet company), following a strategic collaboration. Verb Surgical develops a digital surgery platform combining robotics, data science, and connectivity.

WABCO USA LLC plans to invest over $3 million in the distribution portion of its heavy duty truck parts facility in Hebron, Kentucky, tripling employment by adding 123 new jobs. Work begins December 2019 and is expected to be completed by spring 2020.

PPG completed a $15.5 million investment at its aerospace research and technology center in Burbank, California. The facility accommodates more than 90 employees.

Longtime president Thomas Walker and VP Jeremy Walker will acquire 100% ownership of Anthony Liftgates, effective January 1, 2020. The company manufactures liftgates for the transportation industry.

BJG Electronics Group (now FDH Electronics) announced the acquisition of Whitmor/Wirenetics, a Valencia, California-based provider of high-performance wire, cable, and tubing for military, aerospace, and satellite industries. This is the second acquisition for BJG in 2019.

The Midwest Mezzanine Funds and Strength Capital Partners completed the acquisition of CALco Pallet Company.

EQT Mid Market US and EQT Mid Market Asia III have agreed to sell Clinical Innovations, a medical device manufacturer, to LABORIE Medical Technologies for an enterprise value of USD 525 million.

Wison Engineering received a $29 million contract from Formosa Plastics Corporation for its polypropylene project in Texas, USA. Wison's scope includes procurement, fabrication, transportation, field construction, materials management and assembly support.

Cerberus Capital Management affiliates completed the purchase of the North American, Costa Rican and Japanese businesses and facilities of closure maker Closure Systems International from Reynolds Group Holdings, which keeps its European, Middle Eastern, Egyptian and South American closures units.

Pregis is investing $5 million in a fourth multilayer Windmoeller & Hoelscher blown film line at its Pregis Films facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, adding about 4 million pounds of annual output, and is leasing 35,000 additional square feet of warehouse space.

Northrop Grumman received a contract worth more than $1 billion to build up to 372 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for the F-16 fighter jet. The contract covers work through May 2027.

Follett LLC announced a $12 million, 90,000 square foot expansion of its manufacturing facilities in Forks Township, Pennsylvania, bringing total space to approximately 250,000 square feet. The expansion is expected to be complete by mid-2021.

Presco Polymers, a portfolio company of River Associates Investments, acquired Pro-Line Safety Products, a manufacturer of utility marking products. The acquisition closed on December 19, 2019. Terms were not disclosed.

Loegering, a subsidiary of ASV Holdings, will market attachments manufactured by Australian-based Schibeci in North America under a cobranding agreement. The line includes milling and grinding attachments for skid steers and compact track loaders.

Sumitomo Machinery acquired LUFTEX GEARS, a provider of aftermarket repairs and services for industrial gearboxes, on December 19, 2019. The terms were not disclosed.

Alloy Bellows and Precision Welding completed assembly of a new tube mill that will expand thin-walled tube-manufacturing capabilities. Final testing is underway, and production runs are expected to begin early in 2020.

Prevost, a North American coach builder, received two contracts from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York State for the manufacture of 330 coaches, with a firm order of 307 coaches to be delivered between 2020 and 2022, and options for 23 additional coaches. The contracts will create 20 new jobs in Sainte-Claire, Quebec, 25 new jobs at Prevost's Plattsburgh plant, and 15 jobs at a supplier.

Kemira is investing $20 million to add sodium chlorate capacity at its Eastover, South Carolina site. Construction began earlier in 2019 and the new production unit is expected to be operational in early 2020.

B&C Custom Manufacturing entered into two joint ventures: one with Highwood Global, including acquisition of Highwood's machine shop and relocation to a larger facility; another with Global Products & Development LLC, which will move into the same space. The company also acquired a local tool and die shop.

CRANE 1 SERVICES has acquired Materials Handling Solutions (MHS), a regional overhead material handling company based in Duncan, South Carolina, with an additional service location in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jemison Metals is expanding its operations in Sumter County, South Carolina with a more than $14 million investment that will create 57 new jobs. The expansion includes a new product line in a 70,000-square-foot building and is expected to be complete in 2023.

STS Group AG has been awarded a contract by a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer to produce complete truck roof systems made of SMC. The project volume is approximately 230 million EUR over ten years, with production start in Q2 2021. The company plans to build its first US plant in Virginia.

Triumph Group's Aerospace Structures – Interiors business has been selected by Boeing to provide additional composite environmental control ducting for the 737 MAX, 777X, and 787 Dreamliner. The expanded work scope will result in approximately 625,000 linear feet of composite ducting supplied annually.

Triumph Aerospace Structures – Interiors was selected by Boeing to provide additional composite environmental control ducting work for the 737 MAX, 777X and 787 Dreamliner. Under the new contract, Triumph will produce additional environmental composite ducting for the 737, 747, and 777 airplanes, providing approximately 625,000 linear feet of composite ducting annually.

Bison entered into definitive agreements to acquire Gulfport Energy Corp.'s water infrastructure in the SCOOP for an upfront payment and other contingent consideration. Simultaneously, the parties entered into 15-year agreements for Bison to manage Gulfport's water gathering, recycling, storage, reuse, disposal, transportation, logistics and sourcing in Grady, Garvin and Stephens counties.

Pierburg US, LLC announced a $27 million expansion of its Fountain Inn plant in Greenville County, South Carolina, adding four new production lines and 95 jobs, with completion expected in 2024.

Xtreme Mfg. LLC announced plans to expand its operations in Henderson, Nevada. The company manufactures heavy equipment and construction machinery including lifts, loaders, and telehandlers.

Alro Steel is constructing a new 200,000 square foot facility in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to replace its current 54,000 sq ft facility. Completion is expected in February 2020.

Alltemp completed construction and upgrades to a new 10,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Roseburg, Oregon, for mass production of its energy-saving refrigerants. The facility includes a customized ventilation system and digital testing system.

IZI Medical Products acquired RadioMed Corporation, manufacturer of VISICOIL implantable fiducial markers, from IBA S.A. This is IZI's fourth add-on acquisition in 24 months.

Conventus Orthopaedics acquired all assets of IntraFuse, LLC, including proprietary intramedullary implants for minimally invasive fracture repair. The deal marks Conventus' expansion into lower extremity orthopaedics.

Mantrose-Haeuser Co., a division of RPM International, acquired Profile Food Ingredients LLC, a manufacturer of dry stabilizer and emulsifier blends with annual net sales of about $25 million.