GAINESVILLE, GA—Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. plans to increase production capacity the U.S. by building a 502,000-square-foot assembly plant and expanding its existing operations here.

DETROIT—A protracted labor dispute that slowed the shipment of products through ports on the West Coast has forced some West Michigan manufacturers to rethink their just-in-time production model.

PORTAGE, IN—Fronius USA has invested more than $1.5 million in its assembly plant here to make inverters for solar power.

CAMBRIDGE, ON—Just two months ago, efforts by the Canadian union Unifor to organize two Toyota Motor Corp. plants in Ontario had all but ground to a halt. But an April announcement that Toyota will move production of the Corolla from its 27-year-old plant here to a new factory to be built in Mexico ignited fears of job cuts. Now, the Unifor campaign is springing back to life.

DETROIT—Automotive suppliers that have quality relationships with OEMs are more willing to give price concessions, share technology and offer support beyond what contracts stipulate, according to a new report on automaker-supplier relations.

AUBURN HILLS, MI—ABB will begin manufacturing robots in the United States, making it the first global industrial robotics company to do so. The company made the announcement at the opening of a new robotics factory here. Approximately 300 new jobs will be added to the facility by 2017.

CHARLESTON, SC—Twenty Chinese companies have put down $669 million in capital investment in South Carolina since 2000, according to that state's Department of Commerce. Together, they employ 3,253 workers.

RIDGEVILLE, SC—Volvo will build its first U.S. car factory in Berkeley County, SC. Volvo’s $500 million investment in the assembly plant could create as many as 2,000 jobs over the next decade and up to 4,000 jobs by 2030.

SOUTH BEND, IN—It’s 20 feet tall, weighs about 400,000 pounds and is now making its way from South Bend to Connecticut: It's the world's largest friction welding machine. Pratt & Whitney will use the machine, made by Manufacturing Technology Inc., to weld large-diameter jet engine components.

SEATTLE—Employees at one of Boeing’s Washington assembly plants are using an odd looking tablet PC with a dozen or more 0.63-millimeter silver balls attached to it. This is Boeing’s vision of the future of augmented reality integrated on the assembly line.