Manufacturing

Milwaukee-area manufacturing activity rebounded in March after contracting in February, according to a new report from the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee. The industry has now seen growth in six of the past seven months.

Milwaukee-based Sensient Technologies Corp. sent a letter to shareholders today asking them to reject a hostile board takeover attempt by Greenwich, Conn-based hedge fund FrontFour Master Fund Ltd.

Waukesha-based Metal-Era, Inc., a commercial engineered roof solutions company, today announced the addition of a weekend shift to their production department, which is now operating seven days a week.

Wisconsin added 31,000 jobs from September 2012 to September 2013, 28,351 of which were in the private sector, according to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Milwaukee-based finishing, seating, components and automotive acoustics manufacturer Jason Inc. has been acquired by St. Louis-based acquisition firm Quinpario Acquisition Corp. for $538.65 million.

Glendale-based Johnson Controls announced it has partnered with German company Fraunhofer Gesellschaft to advance the development of lithium-ion battery pack cooling systems.

MillerCoors is rolling out new Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging on all of its 32- and 40-ounce singles bottles in its “economy portfolio” of beverages.

Five Wisconsin-based corporations are among the 2014 Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council and the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership are hosting an event for businesses interesting in developing environmental or sustainability credentials.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is reporting that a recent slowdown in manufacturing was due to adverse winter weather.