MUKWONAGO, WI—AptarGroup Inc., a manufacturer of dispensers for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and consumer products, will invest $50 million in new equipment for its assembly plant and R&D facility here.

Traditionally, it has been difficult to manufacture large quantities of carbon-fiber composites. That drawback has hindered widescale use of the lightweight material in the mainstream auto industry. However, engineers in Germany have developed a new process that makes it possible to use injection-molding technology.

A European consortium called ACOMPLICE (Affordable Composites for Lightweight Car Structures) recently embarked on a two-year program to develop low-cost materials for mainstream automotive applications.

Compliant mechanisms are jointless, elastic structures that reduce costs and simplify product designs. These single-piece flexible structures elastically deform without joints to produce a desired functionality.

Kids have loved robots and toys for generations. The Rodon Group has decided that now is the perfect time for a robot named Baxter to help pack toys in the company’s highly automated manufacturing facility.

RIVERSIDE, MO—Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim Systems, which supplies parts to General Motors and Chrysler, will build a $45 million assembly plant here. The plant will create 263 new jobs.

ATHENS, TN—HP Pelzer Automotive Systems, which makes interior trim parts, plans to invest $28 million in a new 185,000-square-foot assembly plant here. The facility will create 200 jobs.

Producers of plastic, rubber and composites use Dynisco Inc. melt-pressure and temperature sensors, controls, and analytical instruments to maximize manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Dynisco has served these customers well for more than 50 years, providing leading-edge technology manufactured to ISO 9000 quality standards.

Fabricating and testing optical components is a very detailed process. It begins by grinding a spherical glass blank using ring tools to create a semifinished lens. Next, the lens’ rough surface is rotated and rubbed against a tool having the desired surface shape.

Aircraft Technologies Inc. makes sinks, toilets and other assemblies for airframe manufacturers, completion centers, and maintenance and repair facilities.

It is the mission of the Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Initiative to support delivery of aggressive lightweighting by providing a unique per material analysis to showcase technical innovation for successfully integrating multi-materials into vehicles.

Henkel Corporation will host the first Loctite Medical Device Adhesive Seminar of 2013 on Tuesday, May 21, in Minneapolis, Minn.