Johns Manville completed an upgrade to the furnace at its Waterville, Ohio plant in summer 2017, increasing production capacity for continuous glass fibres used in insulation, composites, and building materials.

The largest membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment project in North America is nearing completion at Canton's waste treatment plant. The $49 million project, using Kubota technology, will have six MBR arrays; substantial completion is expected in February 2018.

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI) and Restek Corp. have entered into a partnership under which SSI will promote and sell Restek consumables in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Trane Technologies has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LiquidStack, a global leader in liquid cooling technology for data centers headquartered in Carrollton, Texas. The acquisition will scale LiquidStack's direct-to-chip and immersion cooling solutions globally.

Xinlun Technology's Hong Kong subsidiary will acquire 45% of Akron Polymer Systems for $9.9 million, becoming the largest shareholder. The deal includes a joint venture to form a polymer materials technology incubation platform in Shenzhen.

Gemma Power Systems, a subsidiary of Argan, received full notice to proceed on an EPC contract with CPV Basin Ranch Holdings for the 1,350 MW CPV Basin Ranch Energy Center in Ward County, Texas. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2025 with completion in 2028.

Trench Group's affiliate HSP US started transformer bushing assembly at a new $60 million facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. Full production is scheduled for July 2026, creating up to 140 jobs by 2030.

GE Vernova completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake of Prolec GE, its former joint venture with Xignux, for $5.275 billion. The deal consolidates Prolec GE after 30 years of partnership.

BASF has broken ground on the third and final phase of its methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) expansion project at its Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana. The final phase investment is $780 million, bringing total investment to about $1 billion, and will increase capacity to approximately 600,000 metric tons per year by the middle of the decade.

Abzena has entered into a Master Services Agreement with a US biotech company to provide process development and GMP manufacturing services for an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) valued at over $5 million. Services will be carried out in Bristol, PA and San Diego, CA.

Nippon Steel Corporation will acquire United States Steel Corporation in an all-cash transaction at $55.00 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $14.1 billion and total enterprise value of $14.9 billion.

Insolroll Window Shading Systems is planning a multi-million dollar expansion at its Louisville, Colorado campus, adding over 15,000 square feet of manufacturing space for Oasis Patio Shades and Retractable Insect Screens, and hiring at least 30 new associates.

Rand-Whitney held a beam-signing ceremony on December 7, 2017 for a 45,000 square foot addition to its Worcester headquarters. The expansion will add storage, a waste extraction system and 22 dock doors, bringing the building to 201,400 SF.

Japanese flexible packaging and high-performance films maker Takigawa Corp. will build a 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on a greenfield site in Bardstown, Kentucky, investing nearly $46 million and creating 180 full-time jobs.

Rotork is supplying several hundred pneumatic actuators, including 9-tonne GP-350 spring-return units, plus control panels for the Freeport LNG liquefaction project in Texas. The project is a joint venture of CB&I, Zachry Group and Chiyoda International.

U.S. Steel announced a $1.2 billion asset revitalization program for its flat-rolled segment, taking place from 2017 through 2020.

Nucor plans to install a specialty cold mill complex at its Nucor Steel Arkansas division in Hickman, Arkansas, costing $230 million, with start-up anticipated in late 2018.

ASHTA Chemicals began a $100 million project to modernize and expand its facility in Ashtabula Township, Ohio, switching to membrane cell technology to eliminate mercury and increase production capacity. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2019.

Hennig Inc. and sister company Advance Machine & Engineering will invest $7 million in three building expansions in Rockford and Machesney Park, adding 100 manufacturing jobs over two years.

Axium Plastics is investing $26 million to install a plant in a 50,000-square-foot building in Jefferson City, Missouri, with an additional 75,000 square feet to be built out. The company has already hired 80 employees and plans to hire 70 more.

Hexcel Corporation announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Aerospace & Defense business of Oxford Performance Materials, including equipment, intellectual property and manufacturing process technology in South Windsor, Connecticut. The acquisition is expected to close later in December 2017.

ContiTech AG will invest over $9 million to relocate operations from its Porterdale, Georgia facility to its Aldora Mills facility in Barnesville, Georgia, and modernize equipment. The consolidation will add 106 employees at Barnesville.

Medline completed its acquisition of Centurion Medical Products, a Michigan-based medical supplies manufacturer, on December 7, 2017. Centurion will continue to operate as a subsidiary of Medline.

Bell-Boeing was awarded a modified contract worth over $19.6 million by the U.S. Navy to procure long-lead materials and support for the delivery of seven MV-22 Osprey aircraft. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, and Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas, with completion expected in December 2018.

PeroxyChem plans to construct a new peracetic acid (PAA) production facility in Memphis, Tennessee, to supply the city's wastewater treatment facilities. Construction will begin shortly after a groundbreaking on December 6, 2017.

H.B. Fuller finalized its acquisition of Royal Adhesives & Sealants for $1.575 billion, nearly doubling its construction adhesives portfolio.

Toyota Boshoku will invest USD 31 million to expand its operations in Jackson, Tennessee, creating 139 jobs.

Allied Air Enterprises, a manufacturer of HVAC solutions and part of Lennox International, committed to investing approximately $10 million at its existing Orangeburg County, South Carolina manufacturing facility over five years, creating 100 new jobs.

Apparel supplier alphabroder acquired Bridgeport, Connecticut-based Prime Line. The combined company is expected to have revenues of approximately $1.25 billion in 2018 in the promotional products market.

Silicon Labs announced a definitive agreement to acquire Sigma Designs for $7.05 per share in a cash transaction valued at approximately $282 million. Sigma Designs provides Z-Wave technology for smart home IoT.

Stryker Corporation announced a definitive merger agreement to acquire Entellus Medical for $24.00 per share, or an equity value of approximately $662 million. Entellus is a medical technology company focused on ENT products.

GWS Tool Group, LLC, parent company of GWS Tool Group, has acquired Carbide Grinding Company, Inc of Chesterfield, Indiana. Carbide Grinding manufactures precision carbide, PCD and CBN tipped insert tooling for automotive, aerospace, power generation and medical sectors. The acquired company will continue operating under the brand CGI Tool.

Fairbanks Morse introduced the Trident OP opposed-piston diesel engine for prime power generation and the PoweReliability-as-a-Service platform at Power-Gen International. The engine is available in 50 Hz (3705 kWe) and 60 Hz (3335 kWe) configurations.

Edwards Lifesciences acquired Harpoon Medical, a medical technology company developing beating-heart repair for mitral regurgitation, for $100 million in cash at closing on December 1, 2017, with potential milestone payments up to $150 million over 10 years.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS) announced it is nearing completion of a new solid rocket motor manufacturing campus in Camden, Arkansas, expanding domestic propulsion capacity.

First Solar unveiled its first functional Series 6 thin film photovoltaic modules from its Perrysburg, Ohio production line, following a $177 million retooling. Commercial production is expected in Q2 2018 with annualized output of 600 MWdc.

Phillips-Medisize, a Molex company, announced an initial investment to expand the Molex Little Rock facility to include a FDA-registered manufacturing Center of Excellence for connected health and drug delivery devices. Production is scheduled to begin in Q2 2018.

Dingli Machinery announced plans to invest $20 million to acquire a 25% stake in aerial lift manufacturer MEC - California Manufacturing & Engineering Company. The transaction is expected to close early in 2018.

Koch Fertilizer Enid LLC completed a $1.3 billion expansion project at its fertilizer plant in Enid, Oklahoma, including a new water treatment system designed by Black & Veatch. The expansion was launched in 2014.

Turkey's Kordsa announced its US affiliate will buy Fabric Development Inc. (Pennsylvania) and Textile Products Inc. (California) for approximately $100 million. Both companies supply composite materials to the aerospace industry.

Spanish engineering firm MTorres opened a new innovation and manufacturing center near Boeing's jet plant in Everett, Washington. The facility will develop advanced automated manufacturing equipment for aerospace, including robotic cells for 777X wing spars.

Graphic Packaging International (GPI) will invest $136 million to upgrade and modernize its paperboard mill in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia. The investment will add a curtain coater, automate processes, and upgrade water, generator, and air systems, retaining 460 manufacturing jobs.

Mid-States Aluminum will invest $20 million to purchase a new 3,100-ton extrusion press line and expand its Fond du Lac, Wisconsin facility by 36,000 square feet, creating 36 new jobs.

Diversey was awarded a three-year sole source supply contract for housekeeping products with Premier Inc.'s ASCEND collaborative, covering cleaning and disinfection chemicals and tools for healthcare facilities.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals announced a $12.5 million expansion of its Lexington County, South Carolina plant, adding 36,000 square feet and creating 125 new jobs.

Spirit AeroSystems announced a $1 billion five-year expansion at its aircraft manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas, that will create 1,000 new jobs. The plan includes hiring 800 employees by end of 2018 and 200 more in 2019. The expansion is supported by a $14.5 million investment from the city and county for a new building and infrastructure.

Venture Products Inc. announced plans to expand at its Orrville, Ohio location, adding a new $5.5 million, 135,000-square-foot facility and creating 121 new jobs.

Atlantic Packaging, part of Atlantic Corporation of Wilmington, plans a $1.65 million expansion in Youngsville, Franklin County, adding a 33,000 square foot facility off U.S. Highway 1 and at least four jobs.

Novolex, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, agreed to acquire certain assets and business operations of Shields Bag and Printing Co., a flexible packaging maker in Yakima, Washington. Terms were not disclosed and closing is expected near year end 2017.

Triumph Group plans to merge its Precision Components and Aerospace Structures businesses into a new Aerospace Structures unit, effective January 1, with Pete Wick as EVP.