PE Energy and Avanceon secured a contract to deliver electrohydraulic wellhead control panels for the offshore facilities of the Kalaekule oilfield on OML 72 in Nigeria. The work will be executed at PE Energy's Port Harcourt Centre of Excellence.

Endress+Hauser Wetzer plans to invest Rs 100 crore (about $13.4 million) to expand its manufacturing facilities in Aurangabad, India, starting with a 60,000 sq ft building in the Waluj industrial area. A second phase of up to Rs 300 crore is under consideration, as reported on 3 September 2021.

ABB will acquire ASTI Mobile Robotics Group, a manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots, to expand its robotics and automation portfolio.

Autonomous military and aerospace solutions provider Gen3 Defense & Aerospace will expand into a larger facility in Kent County, Michigan, with an $8.69 million capital investment and 269 new jobs, supported by a $1 million state grant.

Pneumax Group has acquired FIP (Forniture Industriali Parmensi) srl, a Parma-based industrial automation company with over 30 years of experience, expanding its Emilia-Romagna presence and branch network.

RORZE Robotech decided to build an additional factory in Hai Phong, Vietnam, to make semiconductor, FPD and life science equipment. The investment is USD 16.2 million, with construction starting December 2021 and completion scheduled for the end of August 2022.

Gen3 Defense and Aerospace is moving into a larger facility in Kent County, Michigan, with a $8.7 million capital investment expected to create up to 269 high-wage jobs. Michigan was chosen over a site in Florida.

Valmet and Neles signed a combination agreement and merger plan under which Neles will merge into Valmet, creating a company with illustrative 2020 net sales of about EUR 4.3 billion and around 17,000 staff. The combination targets roughly EUR 25 million in annual run-rate synergies.

Valmet received orders from Klabin for a paperboard machine PM 28, a new fiberline with Continuous Cooking G3 and a BCTMP line, for start-up in Q2 2023 as part of Klabin's PUMA II investment phase. Values were not disclosed.

Emerson Automation FCP Kft. is adding a new factory building of about 10,500 square metres at its Eger site, creating 200 jobs and increasing manufacturing capacity. Completion was expected in September 2021.

Altonaer Wellpappenfabrik in Tornesch near Hamburg will replace its finished goods palletizing system in spring 2021 and add a fully automated 4-color inline folding box machine in the second half of 2021. The company says it is investing over 10 million euros in quality and productivity across 2020/21.

KKR has agreed to acquire Flow Control Group, a Charlotte, North Carolina distributor of flow control and industrial automation products, from Bertram Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kaas-Pack Holland of Hoogeveen, Netherlands, awarded Robertpack a contract in 2020 for a complete cheese packaging line, now installed and operational. The line includes a box erector, Fanuc robot cells, a box closer and a palletising robot.

Automation technology maker B&R is expanding production capacity at its Eggelsberg and Gilgenberg sites in Austria, creating 100 new jobs in production and warehousing. The company cites strong order growth and an expanded Automation Campus of 35,000 m² in Eggelsberg.

Honeywell was awarded a contract by Sepco Electric Power Construction to supply connected control, telecom, safety and security systems for the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia. The complex is being developed by Aramco.

Parker Hannifin has installed an automation cell at its Sheffield, UK site that makes cryogenic valves, costing around US$500,000. The cell combines a bar feeder, a DMG MORI CNC lathe and an ABB Flexloader robot to cut setup times.

Emmerson Packaging is investing approximately $3.5 million to build a connector between its Amherst main plant and its warehouse, adding self-driving forklifts for material movement, reported January 2021.

Promess, a Michigan maker of sensing and motion control equipment, bought a 45,000-square-foot facility on Lochlin Drive in Green Oak Township and plans to move its Brighton manufacturing there by end of March, with a $4-5 million investment and about 20 new jobs.

Emerson has opened its Emerson Integrated Manufacturing Campus in Talegaon, Pune, Maharashtra, consolidating eight manufacturing sites into one 800,000 square foot facility, with phase 1 integrating over 450,000 square feet.

Valmet will supply a Valmet IQ Web Inspection System to Stora Enso's coating and laminating plant in Forshaga, Sweden, for an extrusion coating line producing a barrier paperboard. The order was included in Valmet's third-quarter 2020 orders.

BP Oman has extended its contract with Yokogawa Oman, which has provided project lifecycle support for BP's block 61 gas project since August 2017. The extension was reported on 15 December 2020.

Rawson/Industrial Controls, an ERIKS company, announced an agreement with Emerson Industrial Automation & Controls expanding their partnership.

Japan-based CKD Corporation will establish its first U.S. production site in Austin, Texas, with a $13 million investment creating up to 70 jobs. The facility will make fluid control components for the semiconductor industry and is scheduled to start operations in Fall 2021.

Emerson was awarded a USD 14 million contract to provide automation technologies for BP's new Azeri Central East offshore platform in the Caspian Sea, part of the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli oilfield. The fast-track project is due onstream in 2023.

Qatargas selected Honeywell as main instrument and control contractor for the North Field East LNG expansion at Ras Laffan, Qatar, with the value not disclosed.

Qatar Petroleum selected Honeywell as main instrument and control contractor for the North Field East project, developed by Qatargas. The expansion will raise Qatar's LNG output from 77 to 110 Mtpa, with production starting in 2025.

Toll Group has integrated two CMC CartonWrap 1000 automated 3D packaging machines at its Sydney logistics operations, supplied through ABBE Corrugated, the sole Australian distributor of CMC's equipment.

Valmet proposed to the Neles board on 29 September 2020 to start talks on a statutory merger of the two Finnish companies. Valmet had already built its Neles stake to 29.5%.

Bila Group, Denmark's largest automation solutions company, acquired all shares of Reo-Pack in Mariager, a stretch-wrapping machine manufacturer with 50 employees, after the founder's generational handover.

AVEVA agreed to acquire OSIsoft, a provider of real-time industrial data software, for $5.0 billion. The combination aims to join AVEVA's industrial software portfolio with OSIsoft's PI System.

Pneumax Group acquired FIAP S.p.A., an Emilia-Romagna industrial supplier of pneumatic technology, mechanical transmissions and process instrumentation. The deal adds eight Italian branches to Pneumax's network.

Emerson and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas are joining forces to develop digital technologies and software. The collaboration was announced on August 6, 2020.

UK retailer The White Company is installing Quadient's CVP Everest automated packaging system at its Northampton fulfilment centre in August 2020. The system cuts package volumes by up to 50% and cardboard use by 20%.

Jaguar Exploración y Producción selected Emerson for its onshore exploration and production program. The announcement was made on July 21, 2020.

AFRY signed a contract valued at MNOK 13.8 to upgrade the process solution for a new cheese production line at TINE's Storsteinnes dairy in Northern Norway. The wider upgrade is estimated at MNOK 181.

Parent companies of Cattron and LOFA Industries, both Harbour Group companies, merged to form Control Solutions, a control systems platform for engine and pump management. Terms were not disclosed.

Intertape Polymer Group agreed to acquire Schaumburg, Illinois-based Nortech Packaging and Tishma Technologies, makers of automated packaging machines. XLCS Partners advised the sellers.

IMI plc agreed to acquire Bimba, a Monee, Illinois maker of actuators and pneumatic cylinders, for $198 million in cash, with a further $2.5 million set aside for staff retention. Completion is subject to merger clearance and approval by Bimba's ESOP.

Emerson will invest more than $100 million in Boulder, Colorado, to expand manufacturing space by nearly 180,000 square feet and open a new innovation center for advanced flow measurement products.

Andritz signed a contract with CHESF to fully modernize and digitalize the 1,050 MW Sobradinho hydropower plant in Bahia, Brazil, with an order value above EUR 40 million and completion expected in 2025.

Valmet will supply a complete mill-wide Valmet DNA distributed control system to JK Paper Limited for its board project at Fort Songadh Mill in India, with installation scheduled to start in May 2020. The order value was not disclosed.

Arnon Oy acquired AB B.O. Park, a Swedish manufacturer of electric automation and pneumatic products with about EUR 2.7 million turnover in 2019, strengthening its presence in Sweden.

Valeta Group, a Halder portfolio company, acquired a majority stake in Swiss pneumatics suppliers Sirag, Univer and Uniprod, to be integrated with Drumag and EPH Elektronik Produktions.

Yokogawa Turkey won an order to supply the CENTUM VP control system and field instruments for the 400 MW Zerger gas-fired power plant in Lebap Province, Turkmenistan, for Turkmenenergo, with work to finish by September 2020. The announcement is dated March 25, 2020.

New-Indy Containerboard selected ABB to provide integrated electrical and automation systems and equipment for the rebuild of its Number 3 paper machine at the Columbia project in Catawba, South Carolina. The announcement is dated March 24, 2020.

United Utilities awarded framework contracts to Technolog Ltd, HWM-Water Ltd and I2O Water Ltd for pressure management valve controllers and data systems during AMP7, with an initial requirement of 733 controllers. The award was reported on March 23, 2020.

Fagor Arrasate and Funditec have created Primus Robotics, a technological joint venture to develop and manufacture humanoid robots in Europe. The article gives no investment value or plant location.

Two Halder portfolio companies acquired 100% of SIRAG AG, UNIVER AG and UNIPROD AG, Swiss suppliers of pneumatic and automation assemblies based in Steinhausen. The companies will be merged into Valeta GmbH, and the sellers are handing over to internal successors.

Intertape Polymer Group agreed to acquire substantially all operating assets of Nortech Packaging, a maker of automated packaging machines near Chicago, Illinois, for about $36.5 million in cash plus potential earn-out. The deal was announced on February 10, 2020.

Atlas Copco made a cash takeover bid for German vision technology group Isra Vision, valuing it at 1.09 billion euros ($1.19 billion) including debt, offering 50 euros per share, a 43% premium to Friday's close.