Gazprom chairman Viktor Zubkov attended the start of construction of a new multi-building compressor workshop over 15,000 sq m at the Kazanskompressormash plant in Kazan. The shop will make large compressors for natural gas liquefaction and is expected to start operating in 2020.

Siemens announced the re-opening of its Worcester, U.K., plant after investing 30 million euros ($34 million) to overhaul the factory, more than doubling manufacturing capacity to 50 3D printers. The facility focuses on industrializing additive manufacturing for aerospace and automotive components.

Acmon Weighing & Automation (Ukraine) was assigned by Hellenic Glass Industry to renovate the complete Batch Plant of Biomedsklo in Ukraine, upgrading automation and adding production management software.

Siemens subsidiary Materials Solutions officially opened a new £27 million additive manufacturing facility in Worcester, UK, on December 12, 2018. The factory will produce high-performance metal parts using Selective Laser Melting technology.

NB Renaissance Partners signed a binding agreement to acquire control of Hydro Holding, a European hydraulic fittings producer, taking an 80% stake while founding families keep the rest. The seller is Mandarin Capital Partners.

Comelz, a cutting machine manufacturer, acquired a majority stake in Develer, an Italian software and hardware development company, on November 30, 2018. Develer will remain independent and plans a new R&D unit and headquarters in 2019.

Nelson Automotive won a contract with Daimler to supply 200 N4s inverter stud welding systems for building Mercedes-Benz C-class and S-class models. The deal includes installation, commissioning, maintenance, and training.

Lincoln Electric acquired Coldwater Machine Company and Pro Systems LLC, two automation integrators, to expand its automated cutting and joining solutions portfolio. Combined annual revenue is approximately $55 million.

Allmand Bros., a Briggs & Stratton subsidiary, plans to expand its Holdrege, Nebraska facility with five new assembly lines, a prototyping lab, a new paint system and robotic weld cells. The expansion is expected to be complete at the end of 2019 and add 20 jobs.

Valmet Sundsvall has invested in a large Hyundai-Wia CNC lathe model L700MA, delivered by Lichron. The lathe weighs 18 tons and is used for heavy machining of pulp and paper equipment.

SMEC (S-MAC) signed a contract with SMEC America to supply machine tools. The contract is worth 46.84652 billion won, representing 29.07% of SMEC's recent revenue.

Komatsu is planning a $7.1 million addition at its South Longview plant, including a new parts warehouse and offices covering about 81,000 square feet. The project follows a recent $6 million power lab expansion.

Bodycote announced plans for significant expansion of its new Rotherham facility, securing extra units on the Advanced Manufacturing Park nearly three times the size of the existing unit, due to customer demand.

Bodycote held an official opening ceremony for its new advanced heat treatment facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, UK. The facility supports aerospace and power generation markets and is now fully operational.

Sodimas signed a contract worth EUR 3.5 million to supply 23 Mégalift freight elevators to an unnamed customer in Algeria, with deliveries scheduled between March and September 2019.

Sodimas invested EUR 1.5 million in a new 3,000 m² factory in Pont-de-l'Isère, France, to manufacture Mégalift freight elevators. The facility currently employs 10 people and targets annual production of 100 units within three years.

E.K. Machine broke ground on a new manufacturing facility for its Power Products division at its Fall River, Wisconsin site, with construction due for completion by June 2019 and 20 new jobs planned.

Brown & Holmes Ltd has invested in a new Doosan Mynx 9500 3-axis vertical machining centre from Mills CNC, installed in May 2018. The investment was driven by a growing order book and a new contract to machine titanium components for a defence sector customer.

Gulf Controls Company acquired the assets of the Fluid Power division of Valin Corporation on November 30, 2018, and rebranded as GCC. The division, a distributor of hydraulic, pneumatic and electric products with locations in Kent and Spokane, Washington and Portland, Oregon, joins Employee Owned Holdings.

Mazak Corporation has acquired MegaStir, a supplier of friction stir welding tools and technology. The acquisition expands Mazak's HYBRID Multi-Tasking Machine Technology and will establish a new FSW technology center.

Yaskawa Electric Corporation began full-fledged operations at Yaskawa Solution Factory, a next-generation production plant at its Iruma Plant in Saitama Prefecture. The plant will manufacture the Σ-7 AC servo drive series and serve as an IoT validation plant.

Lincoln Electric acquired Inovatech Engineering Corporation, a Canadian manufacturer of advanced robotic plasma cutting solutions for structural steel applications. The transaction details were not disclosed.

Robert Bosch Power Tool Ltd. is investing 14 billion forints (EUR 43.3 million) to establish a European competence centre and expand tool assembly capacity in Miskolc, Hungary.

Shape Technologies Group announced the creation of Shape Process Automation, combining Dynamic Robotic Solutions and Tech-Con Automation, to be a leading supplier of waterjet and laser robotic solutions.

Siemens entered into a cooperative agreement with Italian robot manufacturer Comau to offer Sinumerik Run MyRobot / DirectControl, integrating robot kinematics into a CNC system.

Koenig & Bauer agreed to take over 80 per cent of folder gluer maker Duran Machinery's business in Istanbul, integrating it as Koenig & Bauer Duran.

Wacker Neuson Group officially opened a new production plant and R&D center in Pinghu, near Shanghai, China, at the end of November 2018. The facility will produce mini excavators and construction equipment for the Chinese market.

LMT Group, a technology trading group, acquired PLM Group, a Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS partner and reseller of 3D printers, to expand its platform in the Nordic and Baltic countries.

The Toronto Transit Commission awarded a three-year framework contract to Rhomberg Sersa North America and Linmag Partnership to mill rails on its subway network using Linsinger milling technology.

Preziss announced a new 1,000 square meter plant to increase production and R&D capacity by over 40%, expected to be at full capacity in February 2019.

Gulf Controls Company acquired the assets of the Fluid Power division of Valin Corporation on 30 November 2018. Valin Fluid Power, a hydraulic, pneumatic and electric products distributor with sites in Washington and Oregon, became a division of GCC.

OMRON announced a partnership with AI venture AISing to jointly develop an AI engine for control equipment, aiming to realize defect-free production lines.

ADNOC inaugurated its Taweelah Gas Compression Plant, 50 km north of Abu Dhabi, with three compression trains that can process up to 450 mmscfd of sales gas. Siemens was the main contractor for the project, and the inauguration was reported on 29 November 2018.

Schaeffler signed a purchase agreement to acquire Elmotec Statomat Holding, based in Karben near Frankfurt.

Dong Gang Precision Machinery (东刚精密机械) is building a second-phase project at its site in Toyota Town, Nanjing County, Fujian, with an investment of USD 8.5 million. The project includes a steel-structured factory and equipment for five-axis CNC machine tools and rubber/plastic CNC machinery. Construction started in November 2018, with completion of the steel structure expected by February 2019 and production starting in May 2019.

DynaEnergetics, a business of DMC Global, opened a 74,000 sq. ft manufacturing, assembly and administrative facility in Blum, Texas, expanding production capacity for the DynaStage well perforating system.

SPALECK Präzisionstechnik installed a new CNC machining center at its Greiz site as part of a EUR 1 million expansion investment, creating two new jobs.

Marposs, a specialist in measurement and process monitoring technologies, acquired Elettrosystem s.r.l., an Italian automation and industrial testing company.

Paul Horn GmbH and W&F Werkzeugtechnik have entered a cooperation to offer complete tooling solutions for Swiss-type lathes, including quick-change systems and internally cooled whirling units. Horn will sell W&F solutions globally.

KEBA AG acquired LTI Motion and Heinz Fiege GmbH from Körber AG. The contract was signed on November 15, 2018. LTI Motion is a supplier of servo drive technology, and Heinz Fiege specializes in spindle technology.

TAIM WESER has been contracted by DILLINGER France to design, manufacture and assemble a new bridge crane for Hall C of its Dunkerque plant in France. The crane will handle hot plates at 600°C.

Terex is expanding its aerial platform facility in Changzhou, China, by 100,000 ft² to 460,000 ft², adding materials processing and utility aerial products. The expansion will break ground in late November 2018 and may be completed by end of 2019.

SMEC (스맥) signed a KRW 6.98 billion contract with SMEC Werkzeugmaschinen to supply machine tools to Germany. The contract was signed on November 27, 2018.

B&B Crane Service LLC, a North Carolina-based industrial company, announced plans to establish operations in Horry County, South Carolina, with a $10 million capital investment. The company will create 48 new jobs and retain 52 existing employees, locating in Loris Commerce Park and a second future location at Ascott Valley in Conway.

SCM Group, an Italian multinational in machinery and industrial equipment, has finalized the acquisition of DMS Diversified Machine Systems, a US-based designer and manufacturer of CNC machinery for plastics and composites, located in Colorado Springs, CO.

Högfors opened a new valve plant in Salo, Finland, built around a Fastems flexible manufacturing system that combines Deckel Maho and Gildemeister machine tools with a Fanuc robot cell. Eight machines were relocated from the old plant and the site is ready for production of butterfly and ball valves.

John Deere announced it will expand its factory in Indaiatuba, Brazil, by 12,000 m² to nationalize production of three motor grader models (620G, 670G, 770G) starting in 2021.

Hultdins, a manufacturer of attachments for forestry machines, is investing SEK 25 million in its factory in Malå, Sweden, and plans to expand its workforce due to record demand.

The Xinshiye CNC Machine Tool Industrial Park, a CNY 1.2 billion project in Zhongxiang, Hubei, is under construction with 100,000 m² of new factory space. It is a joint investment by Hubei Tiezheng Machinery and Zhongxiang city government, aiming for completion by end of 2018 and production start in March 2019.

Public Works and Government Services Canada awarded Jordair Compressors Inc. a non-competitive contract for super pressure compressors for the Department of National Defence, with an amendment value of CAD 288,322.51. The award date was 2018-11-22.