DEERFIELD, IL—Medical equipment maker Baxter International is expanding its Cleveland, MS, plant, with plans to add 50 to 100 new employees in about two years.

BANNOCKBURN, IL--IPC and the Wire Harness Manufacturer's Association (WHMA) have formed a strategic partnership.

NASHUA, NH—Nashua Community College is running a 10-week microelectronics boot camp, with the goal of helping BAE Systems find skilled talent for its open manufacturing jobs. The noncredit career training program teaches technical skills workers use for military defense or missile guidance.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—Aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin LLC has officially started construction on a factory here that will produce the BE-4 engines to power both the New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rockets.

CHICAGO—Eight out of 10 U.S. manufacturers expect to grow sales this year, buoyed by their optimism about the strength of regional, national and global economies, according to the 2019 National Manufacturing Survey Report prepared by Leading Edge Alliance, a global association of 220 accounting and consulting firms.

SANTA CLARA, CA—Sunpreme, a solar cell and bifacial panel maker, has announced plans to build a Texas manufacturing facility in 2019. Envisioned in two phases, the plant’s capacity will eventually ramp to 400 megawatts of production.

TOYOTA CITY, Japan--Toyota Motor Corp.'s 50-year-old Tsutsumi assembly plant here has been the home of many innovations over the years.

CHICAGO--Contrary to widespread public concern about robots taking away jobs, humans still play a key role on assembly lines.

SEOUL--Engineers at Hyundai Motor Group have developed exoskeleton technology to address ergonomic issues and concerns on its assembly lines.

SEATTLE--Boeing and ELG Carbon Fibre are partnering on a project to recycle excess aerospace-grade composite material.