Kawasaki will spin off its wheel loader division into a new wholly owned subsidiary, and Hitachi will buy a 34% stake before the end of 2009, with an option to buy a controlling share after three years. TCM, already majority owned by Hitachi, will join in a technology-sharing alliance.

Chinese company PGTEX ordered a Schuler 3,600-ton hydraulic press for HP-RTM and wet compression moulding to produce carbon fibre reinforced plastic car body parts for a new electric SUV. Shipment is planned for early 2019.

Bombardier Transportation received a $303 million order from Île-de-France Mobilités, awarded by SNCF, to supply 36 Francilien train sets (270 cars) for the Greater Paris public transport network. The trains will be built at Bombardier's Crespin facility in France.

Digga, the largest Australian manufacturer of gearboxes and construction equipment attachments, acquired Universal Augers, a designer and builder of drilling tools. Universal Augers Australia will be merged into Digga's Brisbane facility, and the Universal brand will be retained.

Fenner Dunlop opened a new steel cord and conveyor belt manufacturing plant in Kwinana, Western Australia. The plant has an initial annual capacity of 330,000 square metres and is the largest single investment in conveyor belt manufacturing in Australia.

Indian air-compressor maker ELGi Equipments completed the 100% acquisition of Sydney-based distributor F.R. Pulford & Son (Pulford Air and Gas) for approximately A$15.05 million, entering the Australian market.

Dana Incorporated has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Drive Systems segment of Oerlikon Group for CHF 600 million (approximately $600 million). The acquisition is expected to close in late 2018 or Q1 2019.

Green Bay Packaging Inc. has selected Voith to supply a full process line, including a 300-inch paper machine, for its new mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The mill is due to be operational in 2021.

Voith Paper North America won a contract from Copamex to install its BlueLine stock preparation system at the Anahuac mill in Mexico, which is being converted to containerboard and packaging production. Start-up is planned for early 2019.

EPIC Systems has partnered with key investors led by Compass Group Equity Partners to create a new corporation, EPIC Systems Group, with John Schott continuing as president.

Tenaris Group has chosen INDEVA to supply intelligent handling devices for pipe couplings, sleeves and calibers in all their plants, including the new plant in Kazakhstan.

Voith Paper North America won a contract from Copamex to install its BlueLine stock preparation system at the Anahuac mill in Mexico, which is being converted to containerboard and packaging production. Start-up is planned for early 2019.

Italian cooling group Eurochiller has acquired Essex-based IsoCool Ltd, a supplier of cooling systems for the plastics processing sector. The acquisition will see IsoCool's owner Nigel Hallett become Sales and Marketing Director, with Angus Hall as Managing Director.

SNCF Mobility awarded a €2.7 billion contract to Alstom for 100 next-generation Avelia Horizon high-speed trains. Delivery is set between 2020 and 2023.

Ag Growth International (AGI) acquired the Sabe Group Companies, a provider of processing solutions for food, pet food, animal feed, fertilizer and biomass industries, based in Chauché, France.

SNCF Mobilités has approved a firm order for 100 next-generation Avelia Horizon very high speed trains from Alstom. The order value is approximately €25 million per trainset, with an additional €190 million for options and services.

Oerlikon divested its tape and monofilament technologies, including the Barmag Spinnzwirn business unit in Chemnitz, to Austrian group Starlinger.

FANUC America Corporation will construct a new facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, for engineering, product development, manufacturing and warehousing, generating $51 million in capital investment and creating 100 jobs.

Siemens Digital Factory plans to take over products from OMAT Ltd., a supplier of software solutions for adaptive spindle feed control, to strengthen its CNC software portfolio for Sinumerik.

Voith Paper North America agreed to supply a BlueLine stock preparation system for Copamex's Anáhuac mill in Mexico, which is being converted to containerboard production. The system is to start up in early 2019 and output 260,000 metric tons per year.

Voith Paper North America will supply a BlueLine stock preparation system for Copamex's mill in Anáhuac, Chihuahua, which is being converted to containerboard. The system is due to start up in early 2019 and output 260,000 metric tons per year.

Siemens' Dresser-Rand business sold its 100th reciprocating compressor, an order of 11 heavy oilfield separable compressors to a midstream operator for gas gathering in the Permian Basin, Texas.

Green Bay Packaging awarded Voith Paper a contract to supply a complete packaging production line for a new paper mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The order includes a 300-inch wide XcelLine paper machine, stock preparation, and other equipment, with commercial production planned for early 2021.

Kềm Nghĩa Joint Stock Company broke ground on its third factory in Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park, Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City. The investment is 298 billion VND and will create over 3,000 jobs, producing nail care tools.

JJ Churchill ordered an additional Starrag LX051 5-axis machining centre to increase capacity for its Rolls-Royce contract. The machine is designed for turbine blade manufacture.

ONERA awarded a EUR 300,000 contract to Delta Machines for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of a 5-axis milling machine at its Lille site.

Green Bay Packaging awarded Voith Paper a complete production line order for a new testliner paper machine (PM 4) at its Green Bay, Wisconsin mill, with commercial production planned for early 2021.

Damen Shipyards Group has completed the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's majority stake in the Mangalia shipyard in Romania. The shipyard will be renamed Damen Shipyards Mangalia and operate as a joint venture with the Government of Romania.

ARAUCO's Board of Directors approved the MAPA project, a US$2.35 billion investment to modernize and extend the Arauco Mill. The project includes a new production line (Line 3) with annual capacity of 1.56 million tons, increasing total pulp production by 2.1 million tons per year. It is expected to be operational in late March 2021.

The BID Group acquired TriDelta Systems Automation, Tracer Electrical Contractors and Striker Bilt, enhancing its product and service offerings for the forest products industry.

KYOCERA SENCO Industrial Tools has completed a major upgrade to its Cincinnati, Ohio fastener manufacturing facility, doubling heavy staple production capacity. The multi-million dollar investment includes new wire drawing machinery, staple presses and band equipment, and will add significant new staff.

Kruger is carrying out modernization projects at its LaSalle packaging plant and Place Turcot containerboard mill in Montreal, at a total cost of nearly $20 million, to be completed in 2018.

Mammoet purchased five new Grove GMK4090 all-terrain cranes from Manitowoc's factory in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The cranes were received between April and May 2018.

Liebherr USA Co. held a groundbreaking ceremony on July 20, 2018, for a $45 million expansion of its campus in Newport News, Virginia. The project will add over 251,000 sq. ft. with three new buildings: an administrative building, a warehouse and parts distribution center, and a production and workshop facility.

Spinea plans to build a third production plant near Prešov, Slovakia, with an investment of nearly €80 million. The new facility will increase capacity to 140,000 reducers per year and create over 400 jobs.

Japan's Mori Seiki, China's Shenyang Machine Tool and Germany's GILDEMEISTERAG established a joint venture in China to produce machine tools for electronics and automotive components, with initial monthly production of 100 units.

Atkin Automation won a six-figure contract to supply a twin-strip press feed line to a major UK supplier of construction fastenings, doubling production capacity for a main product line.

Chester Machine Tools, exclusive UK supplier of Style machines, supplied a Style 510 CNC lathe to Sheffield-based drill and power tool manufacturer Armeg Ltd to boost prototype machining.

Green Bay Packaging selected Voith as full-line supplier for its new recycled paper mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, operational in 2021, with groundbreaking planned for early fall 2018.

Polymetrix AG, a subsidiary of Sanlian Hongpu, signed a €6.1 million contract with Indorama Petrochem to build a 550-ton-per-day bottle-grade PET SSP production line in Thailand, replacing an old Zimmer technology plant.

Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa presented a plan to revitalize the former Krupiński mine site into a modern industrial complex, including a hydrogen cell factory, carbon fiber plant, and underground pumped-storage power plant. JZR will build a production and warehouse complex creating 50 jobs by end of 2018.

Progroup AG has chosen Voith's XcelLine machine concept for its greenfield Propapier PM 3 plant in Sandersdorf-Brehna, Germany, with a planned annual capacity of 750,000 tons, scheduled to open in 2020.

Gemini Machine Works Inc. announced the ramp up of its recently completed second facility for welding, fabrication and heavy equipment repair in Nisku, Alberta, adding new assets and increasing job scope capabilities.

Austria-based Andritz Group has acquired a 70% stake in Diatec S.r.l., Italy, a producer of converting machinery for diapers, hygiene products and food packaging. The remaining 30% stays with the founding families.

Okuma Corporation will build a new plant (K6) at its Kani facility in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, with an investment of approximately ¥10 billion. The plant will process parts for vertical and horizontal machining centers, increasing production capacity by 30%. Construction starts in August 2018 and operation begins in May 2019.

Domino Printing Sciences opened a new 172,000 sq ft advanced factory on Senate Business Park in Liverpool, relocating its fluids manufacturing from a nearby site. The facility will create 19 new jobs, bringing total workforce to 88.

Okuma announced on July 18, 2018, it will invest approximately ¥10 billion to build two new buildings at its Kani plant in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, including a parts processing building, to increase machining center production capacity by 30%.

Slutsk Plant of Lifting and Transport Equipment is building a new workshop to produce super-heavy cranes with capacity up to 240 tonnes, with investment of EUR 15 million. Launch is planned for November 2018, with full capacity by mid-2019.

Mazak has completed the first construction phase and started assembly operations at its new Inabe plant in Japan, which will manufacture large machining centres and raise production capacity by 20%.

Due to consolidation of power brush manufacturing, Weiler Abrasives Group will close its manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, and transition production to the Cresco location.