UFlex is building an aseptic liquid packaging manufacturing plant that it expects to be commercially operational by April 2017.

UFlex, an Indian flexible packaging company, launched its ASEPTO aseptic liquid packaging brand for juices, milk and dairy products, with an aseptic packaging plant due to be commercially operational by April 2017.

ProMach acquired Canadian-based Jalbert Automation, a long-term supplier for NJM Packaging that specializes in automated production solutions for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food processing, and chemical industries. Jalbert developed the patented beltorque inline capping technology.

Amcor Rigid Plastics will invest $40 million to double production at its Bellevue, Ohio facility, adding about 126,000 sq ft of manufacturing space and 85,000 sq ft of warehouse space, supported by a JobsOhio grant. The expansion started in 2017 and is expected to finish in 2018.

Food and beverage container maker Genpak agreed to buy the 333,000 sq ft former International Paper building at Westlake Business Commons in Charlotte for about $15.8 million. It will use the site as its new headquarters and manufacturing plant.

Oji Holdings will construct a new Queensland plant making food-grade pulp-based cardboard boxes for meat processors and farmers, costing about 5 billion yen, with operations starting around October and capacity rising to 3-4 million square meters a month by 2019.

Japanese RFID company SATO Holdings acquired the remaining 66.7% stake in UK-based inline digital printing company DataLase, which makes laser coding and marking materials for packaging.

Oji Holdings reached an agreement with JK Paper to acquire an additional 20% stake in Oji JK Packaging, a corrugated container maker in India that is a joint venture of JK Paper, Oji and Marubeni.

R-V Industries, Inc. purchased Genesis Packaging Technologies, a leader in parenteral vial sealing and residual seal force testing, and will operate it as a division at its Exton, PA location.

Aptar Pharma is nearing completion of an expansion at its Congers, New York manufacturing site to better serve North American pharmaceutical customers.

LBP Manufacturing, a maker of paper and plastic food packaging, will spend $6 million to renovate the former BAE Systems building in Jessup, Lackawanna County, and create 74 full-time jobs over three years.

Crown Cork and Seal, part of Crown Holdings, is set to begin production in January 2017 at its $132 million beverage can plant in Nichols, Tioga County. The plant is expected to eventually employ 160 people.

Engineering firm Amitec acquired a 100% stake in Formeca, a Finnish packaging machinery producer, from Stora Enso.

Cargill installed a new automated packaging line at its animal nutrition facility in Lichfield, UK, incorporating induction heat sealing, to increase production capacity for higher volume contracts. The line began operation in early 2017.

Visy Board New Zealand opened its second corrugated packaging plant in the Waipa district near Hamilton, Waikato, in May 2018 after a NZ$100 million investment that created about 75 jobs.

In 2017 VPK Packaging invested over €20 million in machinery and logistics at its Raamsdonksveer site in the Netherlands, including a new 2.8m corrugator from MHI Europe.

Packaging maker Seufert Transparente Verpackungen invested just under one million euros in early 2017 in a modern flatbed die-cutting machine at its Rodgau site. The line automates cutting, slot breaking, counting and pallet separation.

Model Group installed new four-colour EVOL flexo folder gluers at its Bilgoraj and Czosnow plants in Poland as part of CHF 86 million invested in modernisation, sustainability and expansion in 2017.

Mondi began an investment at its Simet plant near Poznań, Poland, in January 2017 adding a 2.8 m containerboard machine for heavy-duty boxes, quadrupling capacity; 3- and 5-layer board is at full output and 7-layer production is due in Q1 2018.

Thimm Group's new corrugated cardboard plant in Holledau, Wolnzach, Bavaria started series production at the beginning of 2017, described as one of the most modern corrugated cardboard plants in Europe.

Belgian packaging group VPK has fully acquired SolidPack, a Loenen-based Dutch maker of solid board packaging with revenues of about EUR 50 million and 175 employees, integrating it into its Smart Packaging Solutions unit.

Austrian plastic packaging group ALPLA has acquired Star East Pet, a Brasov, Romania producer of PET preforms, in a deal signed earlier in 2017 with undisclosed value and expected to complete mid-2017.

Total and Corbion have formed a 50/50 joint venture to produce polylactic acid (PLA) polymers, using Corbion's existing facility in Rayong, Thailand, with a PLA capacity of 75,000 tons per year. The venture was announced in late 2016 and operational by end of March 2017.

Ima, an Italian packaging machinery multinational, signed an agreement to acquire a 70% stake in Mai, an Argentine tea packaging machinery company, for $7.7 million. The closing is expected in early 2017.

NCC signed a partnering agreement with Billerud Korsnas for earth, foundation and concrete works at the Next Generation project at Gruvon mill in Grums, with costs estimated at about SEK 950 million.

NCC signed a partnering agreement with BillerudKorsnas for earth, foundation and concrete works for its Next Generation packaging board production facility at Gruvon Mill in Grums, Sweden, estimated at about SEK 950 million.

Spanish packaging group Saica agreed to acquire 100% of Dutch flexible packaging companies Schut, Hellema and Lemapack from Flexible Packaging Holding. The businesses employ about 100 people and had combined 2015 turnover of EUR 53.1 million.

Schumacher Packaging, a corrugated cardboard packaging maker, will expand its plant in Greven, near Münster, Germany. The announcement was made on 22 December 2016.

Ahlstrom will supply PLA-based compostable infusion materials and its GreenCapsule top lid to Italian coffee house Caffe Vergnano and French coffee house Cap Mundo, announced December 22, 2016.

Musashino Kikai announced the completion of a state-of-the-art extrusion coating and lamination pilot and production facility called 'Film Magic Labo' in Japan, featuring a new cutting-edge test coater.

Karlville and Musashino Kikai have formed a strategic machinery partnership to strengthen each company's core competences. Musashino Kikai also announced the completion of a state-of-the-art extrusion coating and lamination pilot and production facility in Japan called 'Film Magic Labo'.

New-Indy JV Corp., a joint venture of the Kraft Group and Schwarz Partners, acquired triPAQ, which makes custom corrugated packaging at plants in Cerritos, Santa Ana and Mexicali. 555 Capital Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor on the deal.

Billerudkorsnäs has commissioned Pöyry to deliver engineering services for a new board machine at its Gruvön mill in Sweden, the company's largest investment ever at SEK 5.7 billion. The machine will have capacity of about 550,000 tonnes a year.

CCL Industries has agreed to acquire the Innovia Group, a producer of BOPP films, from a UK consortium managed by The Smithfield Group for about $1.13 billion, debt free. Closing is expected by the end of Q1 2017.

BillerudKorsnäs has contracted Pöyry mill engineering services for a new KM7 packaging board machine at Gruvön, Sweden, with capacity of about 550,000 tonnes a year and start-up in 2019. The investment totals SEK 5.7 billion.

Dutch private equity firm Egeria has completed its acquisition of Clondalkin Flexible Packaging from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus. Clondalkin has turnover of about EUR 350 million and is headquartered in Amsterdam.

Stanpac Inc. is investing C$45.6 million to add four production lines at its Smithville, Ontario packaging plant, increasing capacity and exports and creating up to 50 jobs. The federal government contributes C$4.5 million through FedDev Ontario.

Munich-based industrial holding Armira acquired PolyCine GmbH, a supplier of non-PVC PP films and tubes for pharmaceutical IV and blood bags with headquarters in Schiffweiler, Germany. MP Corporate Finance advised the founders on the succession sale.

Ball Beverage Packaging will install a new can factory in Cabanillas del Campo, Guadalajara, with an initial investment above EUR 100 million and more than 110 direct jobs. The plant will make about 1.2 billion aluminum cans a year, with a second line planned later.

Clearwater Paper acquired Manchester Industries, a paperboard sales, sheeting and distribution supplier with five facilities in the US, from PaperWorks Industries for $68.25 million in cash. The deal was announced on 16 December 2016.

Sleeve Seal and G.C. Evans Sales & Manufacturing completed a move to a newly upgraded, larger facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, representing a $6 million investment and creating 43 new jobs. The facility will accommodate larger projects and add two printing lines.

The Royal Australian Mint awarded Rodenprint and Packaging a contract to supply specialised printed packaging for coins and medals. The contract was awarded on 15 December 2016 with a value of AUD 15,444.

Showa Aluminium Can Corporation, a subsidiary of Showa Denko Group, planned to start producing sleek aluminium beverage cans in Vietnam from December 2016. The investment volume and capacity were not disclosed.

Pharma Tech Industries has introduced a new high-speed bottling line at its Union, Missouri facility, following a 55,000 sq-ft expansion that brought the facility to 155,000 sq-ft. The line includes equipment from PneumaticScaleAngelus and is capable of filling speeds up to 300 bottles per minute.

BillerudKorsnäs is investing SEK 5.7bn ($622.25m) to build a new KM7 packaging board machine at its factory in Gruvön, Sweden, with an annual capacity of 550,000 tonnes. The machine is expected to start operations in Q1 2019.

Emrich Industries entered into a partnership with REV Packaging Solutions, a European manufacturer of packaging equipment for the fresh produce sector, to distribute machinery including netting machines and weighers.

Ergis plans to start a third nano stretch film production line in Oława in the second quarter of 2017 at a cost of PLN 30 million, raising capacity by about 40% to over 60,000 tonnes.

Ball Corporation will close its Reidsville, North Carolina beverage can plant next year, eliminating about 150 jobs. The company expects an after-tax charge of about $18 million, mostly for severance, pensions, impairments and shutdown costs.

New-Indy JV Corp. has agreed to acquire triPAQ, Inc., a family-owned corrugated packaging company with plants in Santa Ana and Cerritos, California, and in Mexicali and Tijuana, Mexico. Terms were not disclosed.

BillerudKorsnäs is investing SEK 7.6 billion in a new carton machine (KM7) at its Gruvön mill in Grums, Sweden, with a capacity of 550,000 tons of carton per year. The project started in April 2017 and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2019.