FCA began producing solenoid valves at its Cento (Ferrara) engine plant for use in Siare ventilators, cutting Siare's production times by at least 30-50%. The article is dated April 3, 2020.

J&R Machine announced it has installed two DMG MORI NZX 2000 automated CNC systems at its Shawano, Wisconsin headquarters, increasing production capacity for complex machined parts.

Guangzhou CanSemi Technology announced it will increase investment and expand production in 2020, after its first-quarter output exceeded expectations by 25%. The company operates a 12-inch wafer fab in Guangzhou.

Unipetrol completed and commissioned the new polyethylene unit (PE3) at its Litvínov petrochemical plant. The unit will produce 270,000 tonnes of high-density polyethylene granulate per year, replacing the old PE1 unit. Total investment is CZK 9.6 billion.

Wuxi Bike Hydraulic Co. is expanding its precision hydraulic component manufacturing on 23 mu of land in Zhutang town, Jiangyin, with 16,000 sqm of new buildings and 108 sets of equipment. The total investment is CNY 120 million, agreed at a signing ceremony on April 2.

Sandvik's new titanium powder plant and additive manufacturing operations in Sandviken, Sweden, received AS9100 Revision D certification in April 2020, qualifying them for aerospace deliveries. The plant was inaugurated in late 2019.

Lubrizol Advanced Materials increased production of Carbopol polymers, a thickening agent for hand sanitizers, tripling supply capacity to enable 1 billion bottles of hand sanitizer per month. The expansion, involving over $20 million investment, was completed months ahead of schedule.

Pervasive Displays announces a new automated production line for e-paper displays, operated by BOE Smart Electronics System Co. Ltd in Chongqing, with a capacity of 3 million units per month. The line serves displays up to 5-inch fully automated and 5-12 inch semi-automated.

Superior Boiler will relocate its Richmond, Virginia subsidiary to Hutchinson, Kansas, starting in Q2 2021. The move will add over 50 jobs and introduce a new proprietary product.

Champion Fiberglass completed an expansion of its facility and opened a third production line for fiberglass conduit. Construction began on May 1, 2019, and the line is now operational.

The Walloon government is investing in Deltrian International to set up two production lines for surgical masks at its facility near Charleroi, Belgium. The lines are expected to start industrial-scale production by the end of May 2020.

Honeywell is opening a new facemask production operation at its Phoenix Engines campus in Phoenix, Arizona, to manufacture N95 masks. The expansion will create 500 or more new jobs and, combined with a Rhode Island line, will produce over 20 million masks monthly.

HS Manufacturing, LLC, a subsidiary of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company, is shifting the reporting structure of its Fort Smith, AR, plant to its HS MetalWorks division to broaden capabilities.

Sanmina Corporation expanded its facility in Thailand, adding custom packaging and assembly capabilities for advanced optical, high-speed, and RF microelectronic products. The expansion supports growth in networking, 5G, data center, automotive/LIDAR, and aerospace/defense markets.

CMG Plastics completed two capital improvement projects adding energy-efficient injection molding machines and in-mold labeling capabilities at its facilities in Somerville, New Jersey and Brantford, Ontario. The upgrade adds close to a 10% increase in annual output.

Corun's CHS project in Nanzhuang, Foshan, China, began a new expansion on 31 March 2020, adding 4 transmission lines and 4 assembly lines. The expansion will increase annual capacity to 300,000 CHS hybrid system transmissions and 150,000 BPS battery systems.

Shinhwa U.S. Auto Corp., a subsidiary of South Korea's Shinhwa Group, has increased its order for structural steel to expand its automotive parts manufacturing facility under construction in Auburn, Georgia, from 219,000 to nearly 265,000 square feet. The expansion will create 95 jobs.

Medicom reached an agreement with the Canadian Government to be a long-term supplier for N95-type and surgical face masks and to facilitate investment for local production, establishing a new manufacturing facility in Canada to expand its global footprint.

Oakmount Control Systems acquired a 36,883 sq ft former printworks in Plymouth for an undisclosed sum, adding a fourth site to support expansion in automation and robotics.

Jiangsu Beiren Robot System Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony for its R&D and intelligent production line project (phase 2) in Suzhou Industrial Park on March 31, 2020. The project covers 29,997.18 square meters and includes a five-story R&D building and three factory buildings.

Do-Fluoride Chemicals will invest CNY30 million ($4.2 million) to build four melt-blown nonwoven fabric production lines, expanding capacity fivefold to 10 tons per day, expected to be ready in July 2020.

Forglass completed a batch plant expansion project at Saint-Gobain Isover's glass wool production facility in Chemillé, France, adding a new line to supply a second furnace.

Unimicron Technology raised its capital expenditure to NT$24.07 billion and plans to expand capacity at its Taoyuan Yangmei plant by 10-15% for advanced IC substrates used in CPUs and GPUs. The new capacity is expected to be fully utilized by the second half of 2024.

Lear Corporation expanded production capacity for protective masks at its AccuMED facility in Mocksville, North Carolina, from three to seven production lines, employing 200 people with total capacity of 25,000 units per day. The company also plans to start production at plants in Mexico and Europe, aiming for global daily capacity of 125,000 masks with about 1,200 workers.

VOLA, a Danish manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen fixtures, opened a new factory featuring self-propelled collaborative robots to automate logistics and increase production capacity. The factory was opened in March 2020.

Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre has started its third meltblown non-woven fabric production line in Jiangsu province, with a goal of building 16 lines by the end of May 2020 to reach annual capacity of 10,000 tons.

Sumitomo Chemical is building a new plant at its Oita, Japan facilities to supply 1,3-diisopropanolbenzene (DIOL) to Nouryon as raw material for Perkadox 14 organic peroxide. Production is set to start in 2021.

Mondi is investing in a new 300,000 tonne per year kraft top white machine at its Ruzomberok mill in Slovakia, with start-up expected towards the end of 2020. A related pulp mill upgrade adds 100,000 tonnes per year of pulp capacity.

Xiangyang Tengfei Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. completed its high-voltage synchronous motor variable frequency drive and excitation device project in Xiangyang, Hubei. The project, with a total investment of 110 million yuan, includes a new automated production line.

iTOOLco moved its manufacturing facility to Clinton, Tennessee, effective March 26, 2020, gaining 100,000 square feet of space to increase efficiency.

BYK inaugurated a new $50 million production and research facility in Gonzales, Texas, along with a new R&D center, wastewater treatment plant, evaporator and thermal oxidizer, and other equipment, as part of its goal to be CO2-neutral by 2025.

Construction is underway of a full-scale Bishop BioCord Reactor system to upgrade the capacity and performance of the Limoges Wastewater Treatment Facility in The Nation Municipality, Ontario, using technology from Bishop Water Technologies.

Guangdong Jinbaoli Equipment Co., Ltd. plans to build 23,000 square meters of factory buildings, research and development buildings and staff dormitories in response to Shunde District Government's industrial park renovation policy. The project is expected to be fully put into use in 2021.

XCMG Hydraulic Parts is upgrading its hydraulic valve production line in Xuzhou's economic development zone under a total investment of 700 million yuan. The project adds capacity of 30,000 hydraulic valve sets and 30,000 high-tonnage hydraulic cylinders per year, with full production expected by June 2020.

UB Community Development announced $7 million in New Markets Tax Credits within $10 million of financing for Master Extrusion LLC, an affiliate of ColorMasters, to add extruder machines at its Albertville, Alabama facility. The project is expected to create 45 jobs and retain 90.

Vigon International has broken ground on a new 130,000 sq ft facility expansion in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The expansion will consolidate warehouses, add a Quality Control lab, and expand manufacturing capabilities, creating over 75 jobs over five years.

Fonterra invested €10 million to increase capacity at its Heerenveen plant in the Netherlands, adding a new membrane filtration plant to process whey from Royal Aware's mozzarella production.

Exotic Metals Forming Co. is expanding its West Plains facility with two new warehouse buildings (150,000-175,000 sq ft each) and a 25,000 sq ft storage facility. The first phase is expected to be completed in fall 2020, and the company anticipates hiring 150 employees per building.

Wetterbest, the second-largest Romanian metal roofing systems producer, has relocated and expanded its production facility in Baicoi, Prahova county. The EUR 9 million investment created 42 new jobs and increased annual capacity to 10 million square meters.

Nantong Tongfu Microelectronics Co., Ltd. held a ceremony for the relocation of the first piece of equipment into the new Su-Tong Phase II factory building, marking the start of equipment installation for the expansion.

Micro-X committed $600,000 to capex and $1 million to inventory to scale up production of its Nano portable X-ray machine to two units per day, following new orders worth $600,000.

Inductive Automation purchased land near its headquarters and plans to construct two new buildings, tripling its employee capacity. Groundbreaking for the first building is scheduled for September 2020.

Yuyang Technology is planning new production bases in South and East China, with a 2 billion yuan investment over five years to increase MLCC capacity by at least five times.

Allagash Brewing Co. installed a 300 cans-per-minute canning line in an 8,000 sq ft expansion of its bottling hall in Portland, Maine, with conveyors and line design supplied by Ska Fabricating Products.

Toyo Kanetsu announced that its new conveyor line factory building, Factory No. 3, at its Wakayama plant has begun full-scale operation. The two-story building has a total floor area of 4,610 m2 and will produce the energy-saving conveyor Ecolobeya.

Honeywell is expanding its manufacturing operations in Smithfield, Rhode Island, to add a new N95 face mask production line. The expansion will create at least 500 new jobs and support the U.S. government's strategic national stockpile.

Mitsui Chemicals Inc. expanded production facilities for meltblown nonwovens at subsidiary Sunrex Industry Co. Ltd. in Yokkaichi, Japan, starting operations in January 2020. The expansion increases the group's overall production capacity by 50%.

Dow signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone to expand its silicone intermediates and finished products manufacturing plant in Jiangsu province, China. The company plans to invest up to $300 million over five years to boost capacity.

Douglas Machine received tax increment financing approval from the Alexandria City Council for a $4.3 million expansion of its facility at 3404 Iowa Street. The project will add 45,917 square feet and is expected to create at least 15 full-time jobs.

Medline announced plans to modify its 300,000-square-foot facility in Hartland, Wisconsin to produce hand sanitizer, with an estimated output of 150,000 bottles per week starting mid-April 2020.