BRÜCKNER officially opened its new production facility in Tittmoning, Bavaria on June 23, 2018. The plant has 25,000 m² of production space and includes highly automated CNC machine tools, welding robots, and a powder coating system.

FANUC will expand existing facilities and build a new factory in Japan to boost production of robots, Robocut EDM units, and Roboshot injection moulding machines. The new factory will have capacity for 1,000 robots and 50 wire-cut EDM machines; an existing facility will be enlarged to increase Robocut EDM production by 50 units/year. Total investment is ¥8.3 billion (£56.3 million).

HNK Machine Tool Co., Ltd signed an agreement to supply a VTC-25/40 vertical turning and boring machining center with Siemens CNC to Artyomovsky Machine-Building Plant 'Ventprom'. The deal value is approximately 95 million rubles.

Rath Group signed a contract with Siemens for the supply of 3 Vectron multisystem locomotives for freight transport in several European countries. The locomotives will be built at Siemens' Munich-Allach factory and delivered starting December 2018.

Continental has acquired a 100% shareholding in Czech machine tool manufacturer VÚK. The acquisition strengthens Continental's tyre assembly machinery business and its presence in Otrokovice, Czech Republic.

The Meusburger Group has acquired Berlin-based ERP and PPS software manufacturer Segoni. Segoni will continue to operate as an independent company, and all employees will be retained.

Citizen Machinery Vietnam celebrated the opening ceremony of its Phase 3 Extension Factory in the Nomura Hai Phong Industrial Park, Vietnam, on July 10, 2018.

Chiron celebrated the groundbreaking for its new 'Chiron Precision Factory' in Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany. The 14,000 m² facility, with a capacity of 450 machines per year, represents an investment of over €30 million and is expected to be completed in autumn 2019.

Ruizhi (Qingdao) Precision Electromechanical broke ground in Qingdao's West Coast New Area on a project adding 3 million compressors of capacity, with a total investment of RMB 387 million and about 41,000 square metres of new plant. Output is expected to rise from 9.36 million to 12 million units.

Muller Holdings, through its Redditch site, purchased a Nakamura NTY3-150 CNC machine from Engineering Technology Group, bringing its total CNC investment to over £1 million. The machine will help meet increased automotive work and new contracts.

Spanish packaging line maker Canopack is opening a new plant expanding its floor space from 1,800 m2 to 3,800 m2, with an investment of EUR 1.5 million, EUR 600,000 of it for machinery.

Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger GmbH broke ground on a €35 million logistics centre for production at its Kirchdorf an der Iller site. The project will be completed in two stages by the end of 2020.

Mazak started assembly operations at its new plant in Inabe, Japan, with a $176 million investment. The 603,000 sq ft facility will produce five-axis machining centers and increase production capacity by 20%.

Propapier, part of Progroup AG, awarded machine builder Voith Paper the contract for a new PM3 containerboard paper machine in Sandersdorf-Brehna, Germany, with production due in the second half of 2020. The greenfield project is part of a EUR 375 million investment.

Propapier awarded Voith Paper the contract for a new PM3 paper machine at a EUR 375 million greenfield containerboard plant in Sandersdorf-Brehna near Bitterfeld. The machine is due to start in the second half of 2020 with an annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes and create about 140 direct jobs.

Prima Power opened a new technology centre in Neufahrn, near Munich, Germany, to better serve the German-speaking market.

Haskel's Sunderland, UK plant will produce its new hydraulically-driven H-Drive gas booster for the global market, as announced on 2018-07-05.

Group Rhodes has relocated to new premises in Wakefield, investing £800,000 in refurbishing and re-equipping the facility, and creating 21 new jobs. The site was officially opened on July 4, 2018.

Jack Sewing Machine Co. Ltd. has acquired 80% of the shares of Vi.Be.Mac. spa for approximately EUR 23 million. The Guerreschi family will retain management of Vi.Be.Mac. in Italy.

Bondhus Corporation, a hand tool manufacturer, has completed its acquisition of Huot Manufacturing, a maker of cutting tool storage systems. The acquisition was announced on July 3, 2018.

Pumori and Okuma started series production of CNC machine tools (Genos L300M) in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Investment is 4 billion rubles, with planned annual output of 120 machines by 2020.

KKR completed its acquisition of Hyperion, a provider of hard and super hard materials for metalworking, from Sandvik on July 2, 2018. Ron Voigt was named CEO effective upon close.

NUM collaborated with Chinese machine builder Original Point Machine Tools (OPMT) to develop the ML125 8-axis multi-function CNC machining centre, which combines high-speed laser cutting and milling capabilities. The machine is controlled by NUM's Flexium+ 68 CNC platform.

Ruf Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG has taken over C.F. Nielsen A/S, effective July 1, 2018, adding mechanical briquetting and extruder compression technologies to its portfolio.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Siemens has launched a new production line for 3RW5 series motor soft starters at its low-voltage switchgear plant in Trutnov, Czech Republic, with an investment of approximately 500 million CZK. The line incorporates Industry 4.0 digitalization elements.

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.

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.

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.

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.