WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI—Aluminum-billet manufacturer Matalco Inc. has begun construction here on a new state-of-the-art plant. The $80 million project is expected to create 80 jobs over the next three years.

BENNINGTON, VT—Battery company Energizer says it is closing a manufacturing facility in Vermont at the beginning of 2021 and moving it to a plant in Portage, WI, that was previously owned by Rayovac but purchased by Energizer from Spectrum Brands early last year.

SOUTHFIELD, MI–Lawrence Technological University unveiled its new Siemens Electro-Matic Industrial Engineering Laboratory at ceremony this month. Siemens Corp, a subsidiary of Siemens AG, was also honored as LTU’s Corporate Partner of the Year.

LORDSTOWN, OH—Startup company Lordstown Motors Corp. has purchased GM’s shuttered assembly plant here to produce a new all-electric pickup truck.

DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co.’s new proposed pact with the United Auto Workers is cruising toward ratification with nearly two-thirds of workers voting in favor of it so far, even winning over factories that face uncertain futures.

VERONA, WI–ACS, an equipment and controls integrator, recently broke ground on its new headquarters here, which will include a mix of office and manufacturing space.

CIBOLO, TX—AW Texas Inc. broke ground Monday on a 159-acre automatic transmission plant to be built here. Upon completion, the new plant will provide capital investments up to $400 million and bring approximately 900 new jobs to the area over the next five years.

COEUR d'ALENE, ID–KORE Power, a developer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions, recently announced its intention to build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in the U.S. to support global growth efforts for its Mark 1 Energy Storage System. The new facility will create 2,000 U.S.-based manufacturing jobs.