Tipton Mills, a portfolio company of Compass Group Equity Partners, acquired substantially all assets of Lake Country Foods, a contract manufacturer of dry powder and nutrition products. The acquisition was finalized in Q1 2018.

Solvay is investing $70 million to build a second, independent HMW HALS manufacturing unit at its Willow Island, West Virginia plant. The expansion is expected to create 30-40 new union jobs and be operational by mid-2019.

FiberVisions Corporation, a subsidiary of Indorama Ventures, received board approval to expand bicomponent fiber capacity in Covington, Georgia, USA. The new line will have 24,000 tons per year capacity and use state-of-the-art technology.

NextEra Energy will acquire Southern Co.'s 100% ownership in Plant Oleander (791 MW gas-fired plant), 65% interest in Stanton Energy Center (gas-fired combined cycle), Gulf Power utility, and Florida City Gas, in a deal valued at about $6.5 billion.

Wabtec Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to combine with GE Transportation, a unit of General Electric Co., in a deal valuing GE Transportation at $2.9 billion cash plus 50.1% ownership in the combined company.

Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary was awarded a contract by Shell Offshore Inc. to construct and integrate the hull, topsides and living quarters of the Vito semi-submersible Floating Production Unit for the Gulf of Mexico.

NioCorp Developments Ltd. has awarded a major contract to Rockwell Automation to engineer, design and procure process automation and instrumentation for its proposed critical minerals mining and processing facility in Elk Creek, Nebraska.

Richmond-based TemperPack will invest $10.4 million to establish a manufacturing operation in Henrico County, Virginia, creating 141 new jobs. It will be the company's second Virginia facility.

General Electric is nearing a deal to merge its transportation business, which manufactures train engines, with Wabtec Corp. The combined business is valued at more than $20 billion.

Braidy Industries will break ground on June 1, 2018, for its $1.3 billion aluminum rolling mill in Ashland, Kentucky. The mill is expected to take about two years to build and will be the first greenfield aluminum rolling mill in the U.S. in over 40 years.

Vita Nonwovens plans a $19 million expansion at 9403 Avionics Drive in Fort Wayne, Indiana, adding 140,000 square feet and creating 22 new full-time jobs.

Advanced Cutting Systems plans a $784,000 project to install new manufacturing equipment at its Piper Drive site in Fort Wayne, Indiana, creating 12 new jobs.

Trelleborg plans a $3.6 million expansion at its Bremer Road facility in New Haven, Indiana, adding an 8,000-square-foot building and creating 40 jobs. Construction is expected to start in June 2018 and be complete by January 2019.

Hoffman Construction Co. was awarded a contract by Gilbane Building Company to be the lead excavation and storm water management contractor for the Foxconn project in Racine County, Wisconsin. The work involves moving about 4 million cubic yards of soil between now and October 2018, creating 800 direct and indirect jobs.

Keurig Green Mountain announced plans to construct a new roasting and packaging facility in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, with a capital investment of $350 million and creating 500 new jobs. The facility will primarily house coffee roasting and packaging for K-Cup pods.

RMK Merrill-Stevens partnered with Marine Travelift to add a new 100 BFMII mobile boat hoist (100 metric ton capacity) to its Miami shipyard. The machine will be operational later in summer 2018, expanding the yard's capacity as part of modernization efforts.

The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, awarded a $23.8 million task order to Schneider Electric for energy-saving infrastructure upgrades at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, under an Energy Savings Performance Contract.

Mecadeq Group, a provider of high precision manufacturing for aerospace, acquired Hirschler Manufacturing, a US-based hard metal machining company near Seattle, Washington. Hirschler has €9 million in turnover and supplies Spirit AeroSystems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Boeing.

Pipeline Plastics LLC is adding capacity at its existing manufacturing plants in Levelland, Texas, and Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

Pipeline Plastics LLC is building a new facility on the Southeast coast of the U.S. and adding capacity at two existing plants in Levelland, Texas, and Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

Engineered Medical Systems (EMS) will expand its existing facility in Bartlett, Tennessee, adding 57,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and office space. The $10.5 million investment will create 40 new jobs, with construction beginning in Q3 2018.

Lane Enterprises will build a $16.3 million manufacturing facility in Temple, Texas, to produce HDPE and corrugated metal pipe. The plant will create 21 jobs and be the company's first facility in Texas.

UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies, signed a definitive agreement to sell Taylor Company, a foodservice equipment maker, to The Middleby Corporation. The sale is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2018.

Dominion Energy awarded Framatome a multimillion-dollar contract to provide steam generator inspection and maintenance services for its fleet of six nuclear power reactors during eight outages over the next two years.

Ingersoll Rand plans to invest nearly $30 million in its Mocksville plant in Davie County, North Carolina, and create 25 jobs by the end of 2019. The plant makes rotary, centrifugal and Thermo King air compressors.

Allied Valve, Inc. announced a merger with St. Louis-based Automation Service, a remanufacturer of Fisher control valves and Rosemount and Foxboro instrumentation. The merged companies are owned by a new entity, Ovation Holdings, effective May 11, 2018.

Daikin Applied North America, a division of Daikin Industries, has bought a building north of Faribault, Minnesota, and plans to renovate it into a third factory. The expansion will add 200 employees by mid-2019, complementing existing plants in Faribault and Owatonna.

Stik-Pak Solutions, a contract packaging firm, will invest $14.3 million to relocate and expand into a new 100,000-square-foot facility in Summit View Business Park in Rocky Mount, Virginia. The project will create 50-60 new jobs, with phase one completion by late 2019 and phase two by 2023.

Spartan Motors accepted a $678,000 grant and tax credit package from Pennsylvania for its Ephrata plant expansion, following a $214 million USPS contract to build over 2,000 cargo body vehicles. The expansion is expected to create nearly 200 new jobs over three years.

Conventus Polymers LLC announced the North American availability of Paryls polyethersulfone (PES) from China's UJU New Materials Co. Ltd., expanding their distribution agreement.

Wind River Environmental acquired the business assets of A-Pro Rooter of Holbrook, MA, strengthening its service capabilities in New England.

LORD Corporation announced an $80 million investment over five years to expand and upgrade its Saegertown, Pennsylvania facility. The project will add 75,000 square feet to the existing 250,000-square-foot building and modernize operations for adhesive and coating product lines. Expansion work began in May 2018 and will continue through 2023.

Ingersoll Rand and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that their joint venture, Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC, is now operating and serving customers. The JV provides ductless and VRF systems in the US and select Latin American countries.

Daikin Applied announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art, built-to-order HVAC manufacturing facility in Southern Minnesota, north of Faribault. The company is investing in the new plant to expand production capabilities.

Outokumpu's long products division has been awarded a contract to supply over 2,500 metric tons of stainless steel reinforcing bars for the Rodanthe Bridge project in North Carolina, USA. The contract was signed with Harris Rebar.

JTEKT North America is investing $19.4 million to expand its Koyo Bearings production facility in West Union, South Carolina, adding 18,000 square feet and 56 new jobs.

One Source Manufacturing Technology expanded its Leander, Texas facility by 7,800 square feet, adding to the existing 30,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. The expansion was completed on March 29, 2018.

Framatome signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Dominion Energy to provide steam generator inspection and maintenance services for Dominion's entire nuclear reactor fleet during eight outages from 2018 to 2020.

Siemens Building Technologies Division agreed to acquire Enlighted Inc., a smart building sensor and lighting technology company. Financial details were not disclosed.

Beverage developer Imbibe has collaborated with Ball Corporation to use its Widget Inside aluminium can technology for nitrogen-infused beverages, with plans to extend the concept to tea, juice and protein water.

Stik-Pak Solutions, a contract packaging firm, will invest $14.3 million to relocate and expand its Franklin County operation into a new 100,000 sq ft facility in the Summit View Business Park. The project is expected to create 50-60 new jobs within six years, with phase one completed by late 2019.

Aircraft Precision Products, Inc. (APPI) was approved by Pratt & Whitney to become an official supplier of high precision gas turbine engine components, following nearly five years of review.

Barr-Thorp Electric Co. Inc. acquired CPI Automation & Control Solutions of Denver for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition expands Barr-Thorp's geographical presence in the Midwest.

M&I Electric, a business of American Electric Technologies, was awarded a $5 million project to supply a complete power and control system for a new dredge vessel for a leading US Gulf Coast dredging company.

Héroux-Devtek signed a 4-year agreement with AAR to remanufacture landing gear assemblies for KC-135 aircraft and manufacture spare parts for C-130 and KC-135 aircraft, in support of a U.S. Air Force contract. The contract value could exceed 65 million CAD.

UnityPoint Health entered a long-term agreement with Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service and its Midwest Healthcare Linen Service business unit to become the laundry and linen partner for all hospitals in the UnityPoint Health network in Iowa and Illinois, effective July 1, 2018. Ecotex is also purchasing the large-scale laundry facility in Des Moines from UnityPoint Health.

Long Beach Container Terminal purchased up to 70 automated stacking cranes and 5 intermodal yard cranes from ZPMC for its terminal in Long Beach, California.

KONE won an order to provide elevators for the 54-story tower at 110 North Wacker Drive in Chicago, marking the North American debut of KONE UltraRope technology. KONE will supply 30 traction elevators and 10 turnstiles.

Tristone broke ground on its first US plant in Mooresville with an investment of about $23.6 million, which it will lease under a long-term contract. The plant is expected to be finished in November 2018 and start operating in May 2019, and create more than 300 jobs.

Cold Spring Brewing Company, owned by Brynwood Partners, acquired 100% of Carolina Beverage Group, LLC from SunTx Capital Partners and other shareholders. The combined company will be headquartered in the Charlotte, NC area; terms were not disclosed.