TURKU, Finland—Industrial automation giant Kuka is set to build a smart factory for construction company Admares, which specializes in digitalizing the manufacturing of buildings.

SYDNEY—Hypersonix Launch Systems, an Australian engineering, design and build company, is investigating the use of 3D printing to make flight-critical components for its green hydrogen-powered launch vehicles at the University of Sydney.

DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co. says it is planning to nearly double production of the F-150 Lightning pickup at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center here to 150,000 trucks per year, to meet high customer demand.

MCLEAN, VA—Last week the The Association for Manufacturing Technology announced that machine tool orders jumped 14 percent in November 2021, the latest month for which data is available.

LUFKIN, TX—Lockheed Martin’s electronics assembly plant here has adopted the IPC-CFX standard for its surface-mount production lines, enabling the defense contractor to turn the facility into a smart factory.

NASHVILLE, TN—A federal labor board is reviewing a decision by one of its regional officials to deny a union from trying to organize fewer than 100 of the thousands of employees at Nissan’s automotive assembly plant in Smyrna, TN.

GOODYEAR, AZ—Swiss company Meyer Burger Technology AG is building a new assembly plant here to make high-performance solar modules. The project is expected to create 250 jobs, and more than 500 jobs at full capacity.

CHATTANOOGA, TN—Volkswagen is giving workers at its assembly plant here a 10 percent pay raise as the COVID-19 omicron variant stretches an already-tight labor market.

LAFAYETTE, GA—Roper Corp., a Haier company and subsidiary of GE Appliances, will invest $118 million to expanding its assembly plant here. The project is expected to create 600 jobs in Walker County.