ST. LOUIS—The Boeing Co. has reached a contract agreement with members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that moves workers from a traditional pension plan to enrollment in the company’s 401k plan and offers eligible members a signing bonus and wage increases over the life of the contract, which expires in July 2022.

FREMONT, CA—Panasonic, along with some Japanese materials suppliers, is reportedly planning to invest some $977 million in a U.S. factory to make lithium-ion car batteries.

SAN ANTONIO—KACO New Energy has opened a new assembly plant here to make inverters for solar power. The facility is expected to employ 72 people.

DETROIT—A new $148 million high-tech manufacturing research institute set to open this spring in metro Detroit is expected to bring 10,000 jobs to the region within the next five years. The American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute will be led by the University of Michigan, EWI and The Ohio State University.

BERLIN—Global sales of industrial robots increased 5 percent in 2013, reaching a record high of approximately 168,000 units, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

CHICAGO—The U.S. Department of Defense awarded $70 million to UI Labs of Chicago, a public-private partnership that will combine the award with $16 million in state funds and other contributions to form a Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute.

CLEVELAND—Demand for disposable medical devices will increase 4.1 percent annually in the United States, reaching a value of $49.3 billion in 2018, according to business research group Freedonia Group.

An Airbus assembly plant here is leading a project to introduce humanoid robots to the assembly line.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Raytheon Co. has revolutionized missile manufacturing at its sprawling, classified factory here, where automated transporters ferry missile parts to gleaming assembly stations, and even tuck themselves away for charging when their batteries run low.

WASHINGTON—Factory employment jumped 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, more than compensating for losses earlier in the year. The sector’s resurgence in the traditionally strong manufacturing states of the Midwest and Southeast accounted for most of last quarter’s growth. At more than 12 million jobs nationwide, manufacturing employment is now the highest it has been since 2009.