WestRock announced plans to build a new corrugated box plant in Porto Feliz, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, to serve growing regional demand. Construction is expected to begin later in 2017 and finish in mid-2019.

Treofan formed a strategic partnership with Turkey-based Köylü Matbaa Makinalari to strengthen its packaging and labelling solutions business in Turkey, combining BOPP films with composite materials.

Clariant signed an agreement with DKSH to commercialise and distribute its atmosphere-controlled pharmaceutical packaging product range in Vietnam, expanding in Southeast Asia.

Coveris reached an agreement with Gelpack to acquire two five-layer Hosokawa Alpine coextrusion lines at the Madley site in UK, plus additional assets, to expand its functional and barrier films capacity by 5,000 tonnes.

Gallicoop Zrt. is building a new packaging facility in Szarvas, Hungary, with a budget of HUF 1.65 billion, expected to be operational by the first half of 2018.

Weedon Corrugated Products has invested in a Fosber dry end for its in-house corrugator to boost sheet board production.

Ball Corporation will begin construction of a new beverage packaging facility in Goodyear, Arizona, expected to start production in Q2 2018 to serve demand for specialty cans in the southwestern U.S. No investment value was given.

Ball Corporation will cease production at its Birmingham, Alabama, Chatsworth, California, and Longview, Texas beverage packaging plants during 2018, eliminating about 309 jobs. Existing customers will be supplied from other Ball facilities, with an approximately USD 22 million after-tax charge.

Morris Packaging ordered a Hudson-Sharp 750SGBS pouch machine and a B&B-MAF side gusseted bag machine for its converting facility in Jefferson City, Missouri, following a 30,000 sq. ft. expansion. About 15-20 additional jobs are expected by Q4 2017.

Crown Holdings officially opened a beverage can plant in Juarez, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, with a USD 75 million investment and 1.2 billion cans a year of output. A second line costing USD 45 million over two years is planned, and about 160 jobs will be created.

Coveris has bought two Hosokawa Alpine coextrusion lines from Gelpack Excelsior.

Redpath Sugar Ltd. is investing $5.2 million to expand its dry blending and packaging plant in Belleville, Ontario. The project will add two new packaging lines and create 10 jobs, with completion expected by late 2019.

Tekni-Plex, Inc. has begun production at its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, representing a $15 million investment. The 140,000-square-foot facility produces silicone extrusion tubing, custom compounds, and dip tubes for medical, pharmaceutical, food/beverage, and industrial applications.

Progroup subsidiary Prowell has applied for planning permission for a two-phase corrugated board plant at Lees Lane, Ellesmere Port, with first-phase investment around £120m backed by a EUR 75 million commitment.

Multivac Marking & Inspection is investing €2.5 million to expand its production hall in Enger, Germany, adding 1,600 m² of space to increase capacity for conveyor belt labelers and inspection systems, with completion expected by April 2018.

Tri-Wall Limited acquired a 95.02% stake in Welsh Boxes and Engineering (Holding Company) Limited, parent of Swansea-based maker of heavy duty corrugated boxes and timber packaging.

Amcor Rigid Plastics is closing its Batavia, Illinois plastic bottle factory, eliminating 110 jobs, with a rolling shutdown from September 2017 until March 2018 and equipment to be sold.

Amcor Rigid Plastics expanded extrusion blow molded PP and HDPE bottle capacity at plants in Batavia, Illinois, Fort Worth, Texas, and Brampton, Ontario, creating 30 jobs in a multi-million-dollar expansion.

Visy announced a $2 billion investment program to expand manufacturing across Australia, including clean energy, recycling, paper mills, corrugated box plants and packaging, expected to create 5,000 direct manufacturing jobs over the next decade.

Smurfit Kappa has acquired Soyuz, a Moscow-based corrugated packaging company with about 300 employees, strengthening its position in Russia. No financial terms were disclosed.

Dominion Packaging of Richmond, Virginia, installed a Tresu Flexo Innovator press (FI1400-10, 55-inch, 10-units) to produce folding carton packaging for tobacco, food and beverage markets.

Softbox Systems, a temperature-control packaging group backed by Great Point Partners, has acquired Tempack, expanding its presence in Europe and Latin America. No financial terms were disclosed.

Packaging Corporation of America will convert its No. 3 paper machine at the Wallula, Washington mill into a 400,000 ton-per-year virgin kraft linerboard machine, starting in the second quarter of 2018.

Packaging Corporation of America agreed to acquire substantially all assets of Sacramento Container Corporation and related sheet operations in California for a cash price of $265 million. Closing is expected in early Q4 2017.

Pritzker Group portfolio company ProAmpac has acquired Clondalkin Flexible Packaging Orlando, a maker of lidding foils and films, from Clondalkin Group. No financial terms were disclosed.

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG sold three-quarters of its shares in Romaco Group to Truking Group, a China-based engineering company. DBAG will retain a 24.9% interest for up to three years.

Corning agreed a collaboration with Stevanato Group, a Dese, Italy-based parenteral glass packager, to supply its Corning Valor Glass for injectable drug packaging. The deal extends a relationship dating to 2011 and combines Stevanato's converting technology with Valor Glass.

Vichisa, partner of Crown Brand-Building Packaging, signed an agreement with the Chihuahua state government to build a glass container factory in Meoqui supplying the Heineken plant, with a first-phase investment of $120 million and over 200 direct jobs. A second phase of $80 million is planned within three to four years.

Ring Container Technologies installed a new automated end-of-line packaging system at its 125,000-sq-ft PET blow-molding plant in Hanover, Pennsylvania, to handle eight container styles and three case sizes hands-free.

Schoeller Allibert and entrepreneur Ludo Gielen jointly invest €15 million in a new greenfield plant in Beringen, Belgium, to produce reusable plastic packaging and containers. The facility will employ about 70 people and is expected to start production in summer 2017.

Oliver Printing & Packaging Co. completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Pohlig Bros., LLC from Michael Gaffney, James Petit and WestRock, with Gaffney and Petit retaining significant ownership. Pohlig keeps its facilities and all employees.

Shandong Guotai Food Co. reached an agreement with Kaiqisi Packaging Machinery Co. to purchase a canning production line for eight-treasure porridge and beverages, including automatic depalletizers, magnetic palletizers, and conveying systems.

St. Louis-based ALP Holdings acquired Atlas Labels & Packaging, a Kansas City, Kansas maker of printed packaging and promotional products. The sale closed June 30, 2017, and terms were not disclosed.

Dart Container Corporation plans a $40 million expansion that enlarges its Mason, Michigan manufacturing facility from 215,000 to 330,000 square feet and adds a new 250,000 square foot technical and innovation center in Alaiedon Township.

Dart Container Corporation plans to invest $40 million in a new technical and innovation center and expand its tooling and machine manufacturing operations in Alaiedon Township, Michigan, creating at least 136 new jobs.

Mespack, a Duravant subsidiary making flexible packaging machinery, acquired Barcelona-based SR Innova, which makes secondary packaging and end-of-line machinery. The deal was announced on August 8, 2017; the value was not disclosed.

Axium Plastics, a container, cap and closure maker headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is investing US$25 million in a new plant in Jefferson City, Missouri, creating at least 70 jobs. The company will occupy an existing 50,000-square-foot building and add 75,000 square feet.

Établissement français du sang awarded JRI a contract for tertiary packaging and transport supplies for biological products, valued at EUR 2,625,523.

Willowbrook packaging company Impak Corp acquired Commerce-based Gramatech, a manufacturer of sealing equipment, in July 2017 for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives Impak access to high-tech sealing equipment and expands its packaging offerings.

Kartpol Group, a subsidiary of Suwary, signed a contract worth at least 23 million PLN (approx. $6.3 million) to supply cartridges and accessories to Carina Silicones and Libra through the end of 2018.

Cascades Inc. announced an investment of USD 80 million to build a new containerboard packaging plant in Piscataway, New Jersey, creating 120 jobs. Operations are due to begin in the second quarter of 2018 with annual capacity of 2.4 billion square feet.

Aegg Creative Packaging is investing GBP 1 million in a new 60,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in the UK to make injection moulded food packaging. The site is planned to expand to 140,000 sq ft in a second phase, with production expected to start before the end of 2017.

VPK Packaging Group completed an upgrade of paper machine 6 at its Oudegem, Belgium mill, including new stock preparation, a faster drying section and a new winder, with a target capacity of 200,000 tonnes a year.

Georgia-Pacific Corrugated acquired Ohio-based PAX Corrugated Products, which operates a corrugated sheet plant with more than 100 employees in Lebanon, Ohio. Terms were not disclosed.

Sealed Air Corporation announced on August 2, 2017 its acquisition of Deltaplam Embalagens, a family-owned Brazilian flexible packaging manufacturer headquartered in Londrina, Parana. Terms were not disclosed.

Spanish-owned Daumar is constructing a 113,000 sq ft production plant and 27,000 sq ft office building in Huntersville, North Carolina, a project first announced in August 2017 with a $21 million first phase and 40 planned jobs.

SiO2 Medical Products agreed with Sanaria to develop, manufacture and supply cryogenic vials for Sanaria's PfSPZ malaria vaccine. The agreement was announced on 1 August 2017 from Auburn, Alabama.

WestRock announced the acquisition of Hanna Group Pty Ltd (Hannapak), a folding carton provider in North Richmond, New South Wales, for AUD 75 million in cash. The business converts about 30,000 tons of paperboard a year.

Detmold Group agreed to buy Heshan Innopak Co. Ltd. from Novolex, a packaging manufacturer in Heshan, Guangdong, China. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of August 2017.

Polyplex (Thailand)'s board approved a Bt3.1 billion investment to establish a PET film manufacturing plant in Indonesia. The plant is scheduled to commence operations at the end of 2018.