Evans Machinery acquired the Countertop Machinery Division of Midwest Automation, including several machine lines. Manufacturing will be moved to Evans' plant in Holland, Michigan, and the combined brand will operate as Evans Midwest.

Japan's Kyoto Seisakusho acquired Chicago-based PMI Cartoning, which became PMI Kyoto Packaging Systems as of July 1, 2018. The deal gives Kyoto Seisakusho a route into the North American market.

Partners Group AG, on behalf of its clients, agreed to acquire Megadyne Group from Astorg and other minority shareholders, with the Tadolini family reinvesting. The deal was announced on 2018-07-05.

Wolong Electric Group completed the acquisition of General Electric's small industrial motors business for $160 million. The deal includes several GE entities in Mexico and the US.

China High Speed Drive Equipment Group (listed as 00658) plans to sell its non-gear businesses, including subsidiaries in boilers, metallurgical equipment, diesel engines, semiconductors, heavy forging, machine tools, and more. Additionally, a potential buyer may acquire 51% to 73.91% of the company's shares from Five Seasons and Ji Changqun.

Novanta has acquired Zettlex, a British manufacturer of inductive encoders, for an undisclosed sum. Zettlex will be integrated into Novanta's Celera Motion business.

United Grinding Group, parent of Studer and other grinding machine brands, has been sold by Körber technology group to a pool of investors organized by Swiss BZ Bank Aktiengesellschaft.

Miba plans to form a joint venture with German Zollern BHW Gruppe, with Miba holding 74.9% and taking industrial leadership. The joint venture will combine their plain bearing activities and become part of the Miba Bearing Group, pending antitrust approval.

Baltic Industrial Company (BPK) and Taiwan's Buffalo Machinery are setting up production of AXILE 5-axis machining centers at the Sasta machine tool plant in Sasovo, Russia, under their joint venture. The plant is being modernized with new melting equipment.

Russia's Fund for Industrial Development approved a preferential loan of 110 million rubles to Atomspetsservis to produce spiral heat exchanger surfaces weighing 10 to 40 tonnes in Volgodonsk. The company would become the only Russian and third global producer of such equipment.

Voith Asia was awarded a contract by Sun Paper to supply two XcelLine packaging paper machines for Sun Paper's new site in Laos. The contract was signed on June 28, 2018.

Saudi Aramco and National Oilwell Varco agreed to form a joint venture to provide high-specification land rigs and drilling equipment in Saudi Arabia. The JV will build a manufacturing facility in Ras Al-Khair with capacity to manufacture 10 rigs per year, expected to be commissioned by 2020.

JCB is investing over £50 million in a new 350,000 sq ft factory in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, to produce cabs for its machines. The plant will create more than 200 jobs by 2022 and have capacity for 100,000 cabs per year.

Landa Digital Printing announced the completion of a $300 million equity financing led by SKion GmbH and joined by ALTANA, for expansion of infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, R&D and market development.

Borgman Capital, through Material Handling Holdings, acquired Solution Dynamics Inc., Lift Products Inc., and Derco Mfg. Inc. in southeastern Wisconsin, with 40 employees continuing at their locations.

Great Plains Manufacturing entered into a contract to purchase a 350,000-square-foot building in Abilene, Kansas, to expand production of its Land Pride division's tractor implements and attachments.

Changsha Huaheng Robotics System Co., Ltd. and Siemens (China) Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement on June 27, 2018, to collaborate on digitalization and industrial automation.

AgriVision Equipment announced it will acquire Pender Implement in late August 2018, pending Deere and Company approval. The deal adds Pender's location to AgriVision's network of 17 stores across Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and South Dakota.

DUO Group and Denbow International have merged to create DUO Group Holdings Ltd, a new entity that will sell Doosan machinery through a new company called Seoul Ltd. The merger is expected to create jobs and achieve £100 million turnover in the first year.

Manitowoc opened a new Potain tower crane factory in Chakan, near Pune, India, with production starting in Q1 2018. The facility replaces an older plant and has the same capacity on a smaller footprint.

Bystronic, part of Conzzeta Group, signed an agreement to acquire a 70% majority stake in Italian automation specialist Antil S.p.A. for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks.

XCMG announced a comprehensive strategic cooperation framework agreement with Weichai Power to deepen collaboration in heavy trucks, cranes, excavators, loaders, and other fields.

IMA finalized the acquisition of 70% of Ciemme S.r.l., an Italian manufacturer of end-of-line automatic machines, for around €14 million. The deal includes put & call options on the remaining 30%.

ANDRITZ signed a merger agreement to acquire Xerium Technologies for $13.50 per share in cash, valuing the transaction at approximately $833 million including net financial liabilities. Xerium is a global manufacturer of machine clothing and roll covers for the paper industry.

Microsoft has agreed to acquire Bonsai, a US-based machine learning technology developer, for an undisclosed sum. The deal allows investors Samsung, Siemens and ABB to exit.

H&R Construction Parts & Equipment, Inc. agreed to acquire American Independent, Inc. on June 23, 2018. American Independent rebuilds Caterpillar powertrain components.

Heller Machine Tools has spent over £2 million upgrading its manufacturing plant and headquarters in Redditch, UK, including an 11-station Strothmann flow line and new logistics system. Production output of horizontal machining centres has risen by 30%.

Brandt Group of Companies has started production at its 208,000 sq/ft facility in Bloomington, Illinois, after a refit following its acquisition in late 2017. The first product is a 1070HP Swing Away Auger. Investment is expected to reach $25 million over five years, with employment reaching over 300 at full capacity.

Copper State Fluid Power opened a new Tucson, Arizona facility offering sales and repair of hydraulic and pneumatic equipment and parts, with planned e-commerce parts sales.

TMC Compressors of the Seas signed a contract to supply complete marine compressed air systems for two LNG-fueled containerships being built at Keppel AmFELS in Brownsville, Texas, for Pasha Hawaii. Delivery is set for 2020; contract value is undisclosed.

Novomet will launch a new production line for high-temperature submersible cable at the Velta site in Perm, Russia, in autumn 2019. The company plans to invest 600 million rubles and create 70 jobs, with initial capacity of 180 km of cable per month.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe officially opened its renovated mini and compact excavator factory in Oosterhout, Netherlands, after a six-month modernisation programme that will enable production of over 7,000 machines per year.

Stihl announced an increase in investment to R$500 million for the expansion of its factory in São Leopoldo, Brazil, up from R$300 million. The new Research and Development Center will be inaugurated on November 5, 2018, and construction of a new 13,000 m² building for product assembly will begin.

WEW, a THIELMANN company, signed a $27.5 million contract to supply 241 new Hippo containerized water systems to the US Army, with all units to be delivered within 12 months of signing. Production takes place at its Weitefeld facility in Germany.

S Norton & Co Ltd purchased the entire share capital of Axion Recycling Ltd, including Axion Polymers and Axion Consulting, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Camso Manufacturing USA will lease, renovate and equip a 139,000 square foot facility in Junction City, Kansas, investing approximately $36.4 million and hiring up to 41 full-time employees by January 2020. The plant will manufacture agricultural tracks.

Mettler Toledo's Product Inspection Group is hosting a grand opening for a new 265,000 square-foot office and manufacturing facility in Lutz, Florida, housing three business units: Safeline, Hi-Speed, and CI-Vision.

Holroyd Precision Ltd secured an order worth more than £1.4 million to supply a TG 350E helical rotor and thread grinding machine to a major industrial group in Northern China. The machine will be delivered in early 2019.

GMM SpA, a portfolio company of Consilium Private Equity Fund III, has acquired Techni Waterjet Pty Ltd, a manufacturer of waterjet cutting solutions, from its founders. Terms were not disclosed.

FFT Group, a global provider of automated production systems based in Fulda, Germany, was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. The deal supports FFT's international growth strategy.

Timken is adding new equipment and machinery to its 350,000-square-foot Tyger River Plant in Union County to increase capacity. The expansion is a $2.5 million investment.

Harvey Industries, a Chinese woodworking machinery manufacturer, acquired Bridge City Tool Works of Portland, Oregon. Founder John Economaki will continue designing for Harvey for at least two years.

Hexagon AB acquired SPRING Technologies, a French software provider specializing in machine tool simulation and verification solutions. SPRING Technologies will operate within Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division.

SEPAC, a manufacturer of motion control products, and Placid Industries, a manufacturer of magnetic particle brakes/clutches, have completed their merger and integration, with Placid relocating to SEPAC's headquarters in Elmira, NY.

Carolina Metal Finishing is expanding its existing facility in Bishopville, South Carolina, with a $1 million investment, adding 12,000 square feet and creating 20 new jobs.

Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger GmbH held a ground-breaking ceremony on June 11, 2018, for a new logistics centre for production at its Kirchdorf an der Iller site, with a total investment of €35 million. The first construction phase is expected to be completed by end of 2019, and the full project by end of 2020.

Samag (Saalfelder Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH) won a major tender to supply multiple MFZ series machining systems with full automation for vehicle component processing in China. The order was announced on June 16, 2018.

Van Tongeren, a UK aggregate equipment manufacturer, opened its new North American headquarters in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Nidec Motor Company will expand its existing operations in Lexington, Tennessee, investing $18 million and creating 301 new jobs. The expansion will add new products and modify the existing facility.

Hefei Risever Machinery (Risever), a Chinese heavy equipment parts manufacturer, broke ground on a $20 million facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, on June 15, 2018. The plant will employ 130 workers.