STURTEVANT, WI—Racine Metal-Fab is spending $8.5 Million to build a new factory here, creating up to 25 new jobs.

WASHINGTON—U.S. corporations were sitting on $1.24 trillion of cash at the end of 2011. However, recent data indicate firms are finally starting to spend that cash on things that will actually grow the economy.

NEW YORK—Consideration of cost components such as labor, taxes, real estate and utilities are the key measures most companies use to decide where to locate assembly plants. However, non-cost factors are often the decisive factor.

WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of machine tools totaled $444.06 million in February. That’s a 9 percent increase from January and a 35 percent increase compared with February 2011 sales.

WAUKESHA, WI—SPX Corp. has unveiled its newly expanded, $70 million transformer assembly plant here.

ELBERTON, GA—Hailo USA, which manufactures subassemblies for wind turbines, will open a new, $10 million assembly plant here. The facility will employ 200.

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies Div. broke ground on a $14 million, 75,000-square-foot, expansion of its assembly plant here. The medical device manufacturer plans to add 175 high-wage jobs.

WASHINGTON—The next episode of the PBS series “America Revealed” unveils surprising facts about the state of U.S. manufacturing.

ANN ARBOR, MI—North American robotics companies enjoyed one of the industry’s strongest opening quarters ever, according to new statistics released from Robotic Industries Association. Sales are up 30 percent compared with 2011.

WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of machine tools totaled $496 million in March, an increase of 11 percent from February sales, according to AMT—The Association For Manufacturing Technology. With a year-to-date total of $1.35 billion, 2012 is up 13 percent compared with 2011.