The summer holiday is the perfect time to catch up on the manufacturing stories you may have missed during a busy first half of the year. After revisiting our top maintenance and reliability features, turn your attention to the biggest news stories from Plant Services so far in 2026.

From major domestic investments in pharmaceutical, rare earth and electrical enclosure production to the collapse of a manufacturing holding company caught in an alleged Ponzi scheme, these stories captured the opportunities and risks reshaping industrial operations. Our readers also closely followed acquisitions, facility expansions, and strategic business moves that signal where manufacturers are investing next. If you missed these developments the first time around, this roundup is a great place to catch up on Plant Services’ most popular news stories from the first half of the year.

Best of 2026 news stories (January to June)

First Brands Holdings’ collapse to bankruptcy and Ponzi scheme closes manufacturing businesses

It’s Just Business: Manufacturing moves from Integrated Power Services, Toyota Motors and Sharp Sterile Manufacturing

Johnson & Johnson will build new plants in Pennsylvania and North Carolina

USA Rare Earth to build new $1.2 billion magnet plant in South Carolina

Saginaw Control & Engineering to spend $50 million on Michigan expansion