DETROIT—UAW President Dennis Williams’ concept to form a health care cooperative that would collectively negotiate provider and health insurance company contracts for about 300,000 hourly and salaried workers at the Detroit Three automakers makes a lot of sense, say experts.

CAMDEN, SC—Haier America is investing $72 million in South Carolina to expand its refrigerator manufacturing operation here. The project will add 410 new jobs.

LAFAYETTE, LA—Bell Helicopter has opened a $26 million assembly plant here to build a new small commercial helicopter.

BEIJING—Boeing predicts that China will add 6,330 new aircraft worth $950 billion to its commercial fleet by 2034—an increase of more than 310 planes from its last forecast a year ago.

NORCROSS, GA—Solar cell manufacturer Suniva Inc. will invest nearly $100 million to expand its headquarters here, creating up to 500 jobs. The project will triple manufacturing capacity at the facility.

COLUMBUS, IN—Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc. plans to spend $16 million to renovate and expand its forklift assembly plant here.

LANSING, MI—Employees at GM’s Lansing Grand River assembly plant get hands-on training on a mock assembly line.

MOLINE, IL—Deere & Co. has opened negotiations with the UAW over a labor deal covering 10,000 manufacturing jobs.

WASHINGTON—The Pentagon has awarded Oshkosh Defense a $30 billion contract to build nearly 55,000 joint light tactical vehicles for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps over the next 25 years.

WASHINGTON—Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods rose in July. The Commerce Department said Wednesday orders for durable goods increased 2 percent in July after a 4.1 percent gain in June.