BATTLE CREEK, MI—Global automotive supplier DENSO will invest more than $37 million in machinery and equipment to expand automation at its assembly plant here.

TOLEDO, OH—FCA US will invest more than $1 billion in its assembly plants in Illinois and Ohio to retool them to increase production of the Jeep Cherokee and Wrangler.

DETROIT—Robotic glove technology developed out of a partnership between General Motors and NASA for use on the International Space Station is finding new life on Earth in health care, manufacturing and other industrial applications through a licensing agreement between GM and Bioservo Technologies AB, a Swedish medical technology company.

LAURENS, SC—Yanfeng Automotive Interiors plans to build a $71 million assembly plant here to supply interior assemblies for BMW. The factory is expected to create 35 new jobs.

AIKEN, SC—Diesel engine manufacturer MTU America hosts an annual Girls Day event at its assembly plant here. The goal of the event is to educate young girls on careers in manufacturing and to encourage their interest in a typically male-dominated field.

CHICAGO—Boeing is honing designs for midrange planes that could fill the gap between the largest single-aisle 737 and the smallest widebody 787 — a relatively untapped market where Airbus is starting to extend its reach.

MIAMI—A chemist has developed a way to make all fossil-fuel based plastics 100 percent biodegradable.

NEW HUDSON, MI—Henrob Group has opened a new 125,000-square-foot factory here to make self-piercing rivets.

SUNDERLAND, UK—Nissan has installed a 4.75-megawatt solar farm at its assembly plant here. Together with other renewable energy sources, the farm will generate enough power to build more than 31,000 cars every year.