United Excel Design was selected as designer of record on two contracts totaling over $51.7 million to renovate medical clinics at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and Vance Air Force Base, Okla.

Major Metals Inc. completed a 48,000 square-foot expansion at its Mansfield, Ohio facility, relocating a steel mill from North Carolina and creating at least 18 new jobs.

Grupo Antolin plans to open a new plant in Michigan with an investment of $61.2 million, creating 430 jobs. The article does not specify the exact location or products, but the company is an automotive components supplier.

Spain-based auto supplier Grupo Antolin plans to invest nearly $10.4 million to establish a manufacturing facility in Jefferson Metropolitan Park in McCalla, Alabama, creating 150 jobs by 2020. Build-out is expected to begin in early March 2017.

Shareholders of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation approved the merger agreement with Canyon Bridge Acquisition Company, Inc., with 77.83% of outstanding shares voted in favor. The merger, valued at an undisclosed amount, still requires CFIUS approval.

PMC Biogenix significantly expanded production capacity for long chain fatty acid intermediates at its Memphis, Tennessee plant, increasing erucic and behenic acid capacity by approximately 50% and doubling C-20 fatty acid output. The expansion supports its fatty amide slip agent production.

The Chemours Company awarded Jacobs Engineering Group a five-year field services contract for its Washington Works Facility in West Virginia, covering small capital construction, maintenance, and turnaround development.

HVAC manufacturer The Whalen Company will rent additional space in the former Black & Decker building in Easton, Maryland, to develop and manufacture a new heat pump product line. It needs about 50,000 more square feet of manufacturing space.

Vestas received a firm, unconditional order for 174 V110-2.0 MW turbines totalling 348 MW in the USA from an undisclosed customer. Nacelles, blades and towers will be produced in Vestas' Colorado factories, with delivery expected from Q1 2018.

Wisconsin-based Vonco Products LLC acquired Genesis Plastics Welding of Fortville, Indiana, merging the two firms' contract manufacturing and plastic packaging capabilities.

Boeing received a $678.7 million contract from the U.S. Navy to produce seven EA-18G Growler and five F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, with work through February 2019.

JBT Corporation announced it has purchased Avure Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of high pressure processing (HPP) systems, for $57 million. Avure is headquartered in Erlanger, KY, with a manufacturing center in Middletown, OH.

Nel ASA announced a non-binding term sheet to acquire Proton Energy Systems Inc. for an enterprise value of US$70 million. The deal would create the world's largest hydrogen electrolyser company.

Boeing awarded Oxford Performance Materials (OPM) a contract to manufacture about 600 3D printed parts for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. OPM has already begun shipping OXFAB production parts for installation.

Daikin North America LLC celebrated the first VRV unit off the production line at its new $417-million, 4-million-square-foot Daikin Texas Technology Park in Waller, Texas. The facility is expected to increase productivity by 22% and reduce lead times.

Johnson & Johnson has completed the acquisition of Abbott Medical Optics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abbott, for $4.325 billion in cash, expanding into cataract surgery, laser refractive surgery and consumer eye health.

Kohlberg & Company has announced the intent to acquire Pexco LLC and merge it with PPC Industries, Inc., creating a combined medical plastics business.

Amkor Technology has signed definitive agreements to acquire privately-held Unitive, Inc. and obtain a majority interest of approximately 60% in Taiwan-based Unitive Semiconductor Taiwan Corporation.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation will acquire the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) business of U.S.-based AdvanSource Biomaterials Corporation, with completion planned for January 2020.

Siemens began a performance contract with Tallahassee Community College for infrastructure improvements including boiler replacement, chiller installation, lighting upgrades, and building controls migration. The project is expected to be completed by January 2018.

Cimcorp will supply its Dream Factory solution for end-to-end automated materials handling to Giti Tire's new manufacturing facility in Chester County, South Carolina. The multi-million-dollar deal includes automation equipment and warehouse management systems.

Sonoco will invest $20 million to develop a packaging center in Atlanta supporting Duracell's new North American battery packaging operation, with full production expected in Q4 2018.

Welch Packaging Group added new corrugation equipment in a new factory addition in Elkhart, Indiana, enabling it to make its own cardboard; the first board came off the machinery on Nov. 14.

Interpipe signed a 5-year contract to supply railway wheels and axles to Progress Rail Services, a Caterpillar-owned company. The first shipment of wheels has already taken place; axle shipments are planned for Q2 2017.

Kloeckner Metals Flat Rolled Group opened a new 106,000 sq ft facility in University Park, Illinois, replacing a 19-year-old branch in Chicago. The multi-million-dollar plant adds new processing equipment and can handle mill coils up to 60,000 lb.

Nidec announced plans to build a plant in Ohio and two plants in northern Spain to produce large servo press machines for the U.S. and Mexican markets. The plants are estimated to cost US$ 88.1 million and will come online by 2020.

Industrial Growth Partners (IGP) acquired IOTA Engineering, a maker of back-up power supply equipment, for an undisclosed amount. The transaction closed on February 24, 2017.

IBC Advanced Alloys received a $2.6 million contract from Lockheed Martin to manufacture azimuth gimbal housing units for the F-35's Electro-Optical Targeting System using Beralcast alloy.

Australia's Orora agreed to acquire The Garvey Group of Niles, Illinois and Graphic Tech of Fullerton, California for a total of $54 million. Completion is expected by the end of March 2017; the announcement is dated 2017-02-24.

A Cascades and Sonoco joint venture plans to invest $16 million to expand its Birmingham, Alabama plant for a new line of recyclable take-out containers. The line is expected to start up by mid-2018; the announcement is dated 2017-02-24.

Arkema confirmed that its 'world-scale' PEKK plant in Mobile, Ala., will come on stream in the second half of 2018.

The Sterling Group has acquired Time Manufacturing Company, including its Versalift brand, from O'Flaherty Holdings Limited. Time is a designer and manufacturer of vehicle-mounted aerial lifts.

BCH Mechanical, a mechanical contractor based in Largo, Florida, was acquired by Comfort Systems USA in February 2017.

Caterpillar Inc. plans to significantly increase manufacturing capabilities and capacity for hydraulic excavators at a facility under construction in Victoria, Texas.

ROI Corporation announced the sale of Commercial Air Control (CAC) of Weymouth, Massachusetts, a 45-year-old HVAC provider, to Dr. Izuh Obinelo. The previous owners will remain with the company.

Victrex has formed a joint venture with Tri-Mack Plastics in the US to accelerate commercialization of PAEK-based composites for aerospace applications.

Remtec Automation successfully installed two turnkey robotic material handling workcells with vision guidance for Dana Inc at its Dry Ridge, Kentucky facility, for an RTV silicone dispensing station and rear axle assembly. A third project has begun.

Emerson Process Management has opened a $30 million Americas headquarters for valve automation technologies and a highly automated manufacturing facility in Houston. The facility serves the oil and gas and petrochemical industries.

YTO Cargo Airlines ordered three B737-300 P-to-F converted aircraft from PEMCO World Air Services, with delivery in Q4 2017.

Kacific Broadband Satellites and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation ordered a JCSAT-18 high-throughput satellite from Boeing, scheduled for launch in 2019.

Chinese carrier Juneyao Airlines placed a $1.32 billion order with Boeing for five 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with options for five more.

MedPlast is purchasing Vention Medical's device manufacturing services division for an undisclosed sum, adding facilities in the US, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica.

Zekelman Industries acquired American Tube Manufacturing, Inc., based in Birmingham, Alabama, to expand its Atlas Tube division's presence in the southeastern US structural tubing market.

Formosa Plastics Group also plans a $5 billion investment to expand production lines in Texas, with completion expected by 2018.

Formosa Plastics Group is seeking a permit from Louisiana to invest $9.4 billion to build petrochemical plants in St. James, including an ethane cracker and propylene plant in phase one, and a second ethylene plant in phase two.

GE Aviation is constructing two adjacent plants in Huntsville, Alabama, to produce ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components. The $200 million project will produce silicon-carbide fiber and CMC tape, with capacity of up to 20 metric tons per year and about 300 employees when fully operational.

Renesas Electronics Corporation received final regulatory approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for its acquisition of Intersil Corporation. The merger is expected to close on February 24, 2017.

Huron Inc. is planning a 40,000 square foot addition to its factory in Worth Township, Michigan, and the creation of 181 new full-time manufacturing jobs over three years. Construction is expected to start in April 2017 and be completed by October 2017.

GE Renewable Energy has been selected to supply equipment for the first commercial integrated solar-wind hybrid power generation project in the US, a 4.6MW project in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, developed by Juhl Energy. The project will use two GE wind turbines and solar conversion equipment.

GE Aviation is constructing a full-rate production raw material facility in Huntsville, Alabama, to produce silicon carbide ceramic fiber and CMC prepreg. The investment is over $200 million, and the facility is expected to produce up to 20 metric tons of CMC material per year.