BEIJING, China—A U.S. business executive is being held captive at a medical device assembly plant here by workers who are angry at being laid off.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Toyota is investing $200 million at its assembly plants in Huntsville, AL, Troy, MO, and Jackson, TN.

ANN ARBOR, MI—Ergonomics consulting firm Humantech is now accepting entries for its seventh annual Find It, Fix It Challenge. The contest recognizes simple and effective workplace solutions that increase productivity, improve worker morale, and reduce injuries and illnesses.

ALACHUA, FL—Encell Technology, a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, is exploring the possibility of building an assembly plant here that could create 167 jobs.

WEST POINT, GA—Four people who unsuccessfully applied for jobs at the Kia Motors assembly plant here are suing the company, claiming they were discriminated against because they had belonged to a union.

MONTREAL—Aerospace supplier Aerolia has leased a 7,300-square-meter building here to make fuselage assemblies for Bombardier business jets. The facility is expected to create 150 jobs.

HEBRON, KY—An innovative program here is designed to get more high school students to pursue careers in advanced manufacturing.

COLUMBIA, SC—EcoDual Inc., a manufacturer of dual-fuel conversion systems for heavy-duty trucks, will $13 million assembly plant here. The facility is expected to generate 307 new jobs in the next five years.

PLEASANTON, CA—Adept Technology Inc. has received $2.6 million robot order from Castec International Corp. in Taiwan. The robots will be used in high-precision workcells to produce subassemblies for smart phones.

MINDEN, NV—General Electric has opened an printed circuit board assembly plant here to provide prototypes and testing for its measurement and control products. The plant’s state-of-the-art surface mount assembly line represents a $4.3 million investment.