NASA awarded Physical Optics Corporation an SBIR Phase III award of over $4 million for the production investigation of optical fibers in zero-gravity.

IMEC redesigned the compressor system for Wyman-Gordon's forging press plant in North Grafton, Massachusetts, with a 5,000 PSI, 600 HP system that cut recharging time by 75%.

Park Aerospace Corp. celebrated the official ground-breaking for a major expansion of its manufacturing and development facilities in Newton, Kansas. The 90,000 square feet expansion will double the size of existing facilities and cost approximately $20.5 million.

Burlington Industries LLC, a division of Elevate Textiles, was awarded a $1.6 million contract to supply micro denier polyester fabrics for U.S. Marine Corps physical training trunks. The fabrics will be produced at facilities in Cordova and Burlington, North Carolina.

WishBone Medical signed a private label distribution agreement with Bone Solutions Inc. for worldwide rights to license and sell OsteoCrete, a magnesium-based bone void filler, in pediatric orthopedics.

Zuken Inc completed the acquisition of Vitech Corporation, a Blacksburg, Virginia-based systems engineering company, expanding Zuken's portfolio into model-based systems engineering.

Packaging Corporation of America is constructing a $26 million cardboard box manufacturing plant in the Horn Rapids Industrial Park in Richland, expected to open in mid-November 2019 with 100 jobs.

East Penn Manufacturing Co. acquired a majority stake in Navitas Systems, a forklift battery maker. Terms were not disclosed. Navitas will continue to operate from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Magna has opened a $50 million factory in Michigan geared toward cameras.

Danfoss has partnered with master distributor Motors & Armatures Inc. (MARS) to serve HVACR wholesalers in North America with aftermarket Danfoss products for air-conditioning and refrigeration applications.

Honeywell has partnered with Sanhua to commercialise R466A (Solstice N41), a lower GWP R410A replacement refrigerant for stationary air conditioning systems. Sanhua has made progress on qualifying HVAC components for use with the new refrigerant.

Nemera has completed the acquisition of Insight Product Development, a healthcare-focused design and innovation consulting firm based in Chicago, IL. The acquisition strengthens Nemera's early-stage development capabilities and client proximity in North America.

Toray Advanced Composites and BASF signed a manufacturing and supply agreement for Toray to produce continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes using BASF's Ultramid PA6 resins, targeting automotive and industrial applications.

ALTIVIA Ketones & Additives, LLC has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dow's Acetone Derivatives Business and associated chemical manufacturing assets at Institute, West Virginia, including the 460-acre Institute Industrial Park.

Ineos Styrolution has broken ground on a new acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) plant in Bayport, Texas, with a production capacity of 100,000 tons per annum. The plant is expected to come on stream by 2021.

Troxel Equipment Co. and Tri Green Tractor LLC, two John Deere dealerships in Indiana, announced plans to merge, creating Troxel Tri Green LLC. The merger will take effect on September 5, 2019, and the combined company will have 9 locations.

Applied Industrial Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Olympus Controls Corp, an automation solutions provider of motion control, machine vision, and robotic technologies. The transaction is expected to close before the end of August 2019.

NMC-Wollard, a supplier of aviation ground support equipment, has been acquired by a group led by Robert Priddy and Kilroy Partners. The company will now operate as Wollard International.

Biwater Inc, a membrane technology provider, has relocated to a new state-of-the-art facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California, that is three times the size of its previous facility. The expansion supports increased delivery capacity and product range for water filtration, reuse and desalination.

Milwaukee Valve in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin rebuilt two air compressors and bought two new ones with variable frequency drives, supported by a Focus on Energy incentive of nearly $62,000. The upgrades are expected to save $27,000 a year in energy costs.

Aberdeen-based Interventek won a contract exceeding £1 million to deliver 6-3/8 inch open water safety valves to Trendsetter Engineering in Houston. Delivery is due by early 2020 for Trendsetter's light riser intervention system.

Genera awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for its first manufacturing facility in Vonore, Tennessee to WG Yates & Sons Construction. The project is backed by a $118 million investment for silver-based food-grade packaging fibre products.

Altivia, a Houston-based chemical producer, purchased 460 acres of property owned by Dow Chemical in Institute, West Virginia. The sale includes 61 employees and allows nine existing companies to remain on site.

Edwards Vacuum completed construction of a new 75,000-square-foot factory in Hillsboro, Oregon, consolidating its operations and expanding its local workforce by 100 employees to 250.

Japanese water treatment solutions supplier Kurita Water Industries Ltd is acquiring San Marcos, California-headquartered Avista Technologies Inc together with its affiliate Avista Technologies (UK) Ltd.

De Nora Water Technologies acquired a majority interest in Texas-based water service company Neptune Enterprises LLC, forming De Nora Neptune LLC.

Caloris Engineering LLC acquired Seitz Stainless, an Avon, Minnesota-based equipment fabricator, in Q2 2019.

Shell's Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex in Monaca, Pennsylvania, which will convert natural gas into plastics, is nearing completion. The facility was announced in 2012 and is being built in Beaver County.

B. Braun Medical Inc. plans to spend $150 million to expand its assembly plant in Daytona Beach, Florida, adding 100 jobs. The company has acquired 35 acres adjacent to the plant and expects to start selling IV solution products by Q2 2020.

AW Texas, a division of Aisin AW Co. Ltd., will invest $400 million to build a new assembly plant in Cibolo, Texas, creating 900 full-time jobs. The plant will supply transmissions to Toyota and other automakers.

Valmet sealed its acquisition of GL&V, a global provider of technologies and services to the pulp and paper industry, for an enterprise value of about €113 million. The deal was among pump-related M&A completed in Q2 2019.

Curtiss-Wright was awarded contracts valued above $80 million to supply propulsion valves for the US Navy's Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarine programs. Work will be done at its East Farmingdale, New York facility through 2024.

Northwest Pipe Company was selected by Garney Construction to supply over 22,000 tons of steel pipe for the treated water pipeline of the Bois d'Arc Lake project in North Texas.

A joint venture of LafargeHolcim and Solidia Technologies secured its first commercial deal in the US to supply reduced-CO2 cement to EP Henry's paver and block plant in Wrightstown, New Jersey.

United Conveyor Corp. plans to establish a new manufacturing and shipping operation in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, creating 50 jobs.

Kobra Group is investing $5 million in two new production halls at its subsidiary's site in Hudson, Wisconsin, USA. The first spade was turned at the same time as the German expansion.

AtriCure entered a definitive agreement to acquire SentreHEART, a developer of left atrial appendage management solutions. The deal includes $40M upfront in cash and stock plus up to $260M in contingent consideration.

Ellingson Plumbing, Heating, A/C & Electrical agreed to purchase Alexandria-based Countryside Heating & Air Conditioning from owner Jon Smalley. The transition of operations will take place in August 2019.

NSI Industries acquired Bridgeport Fittings Inc., a manufacturer of electrical fittings for cable and conduit installations, based in Stratford, Connecticut. Bridgeport employs approximately 200 people and will continue to operate from its Stratford location.

Agilent Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire BioTek Instruments, a global leader in life science instrumentation including cell imaging systems and microplate readers.

Northwest Pipe Company was selected by Garney Construction to supply both sections of the treated water pipeline for the Bois d'Arc Lake project, representing over 22,000 tons of engineered steel pipe for the North Texas Municipal Water District.

Dunes Point Capital made a controlling investment in Vanguard Packaging, Advanced Logistics & Fulfillment and Great Plains Packaging, makers of corrugated displays and industrial packaging based in Kansas City, Missouri. Vanguard employs about 200 people.

Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems will expand Sullair's Michigan City, USA air compressor plant with a new manufacturing building, warehouses and optimized production facilities, with an investment reported as about US$3000 million. The article also says the expansion is expected to create new jobs.

Godwin Manufacturing Co. Inc. announced a $3.5 million expansion and improvement initiative at its facility in Dunn, North Carolina. The project includes an 18,000-square-foot fabrication expansion, new equipment, and a 7,000-square-foot wet paint preparation facility, expected to be completed by mid-August 2019.

Kemco Systems acquired Water Resources Inc., an Auburn, Alabama-based dissolved air flotation company, to expand its industrial wastewater treatment capabilities. Terms were not disclosed.

Wesco Aircraft announced it has struck a deal to be acquired by new private equity investors for almost $2 billion. The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2019.

LafargeHolcim and Solidia Technologies announced a commercial venture to supply EP Henry's paver and block plant in Wrightstown, New Jersey, with Solidia Cement, a reduced-CO2 cement produced at the Lafarge Whitehall plant.

Arglass Yamamura will invest $123 million to build its first U.S. glass container manufacturing plant in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, creating more than 150 jobs.

Worldwide Oilfield Machine expanded manufacturing capacity at its Canemont facility in Houston with a custom thermal welding machine and two new CNC machines. The equipment is intended to raise production rates and precision.

Intermountain Electronics will expand its operations in Price, Utah, adding up to 289 jobs and $12.5 million in capital investment over 15 years.