As part of Carlisle Companies Inc.’s recently announced plan to sell its systems and equipment business, Winsted, Minn.-based  Carlisle Process Systems Inc. (CPS) has sold Shanghai Carlisle Stainless Equipment Co. (Shanghai Carlisle) to NDA China Ltd., a subsidiary of NDA Engineering Ltd., a New Zealand company. The new business will be called Shanghai NDA Stainless Equipment Co. Ltd. (Shanghai NDA).

New Castle, Del.-based SPI Polyols will be honored for its ongoing support of the Delaware Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) at the Chapter’s 5th annual Promise Ball on June 10. SPI Polyols is the top corporate partner of the gala, and has supported the event for the past two years. The company also supported last year’s annual JDRF Walk for a Cure.

Danisco held ribbon-cutting ceremonies in February to unveil its new North America Headquarters and Innovation facility. With in excess of 240,000 square feet, the company’s new headquarters, located in New Century, Kan., is home to more than 150 employees and houses offices for management, sales and marketing, customer care, administration, innovation, logistics, finance, regulatory, human resources, information systems and customer service. The new site also boasts an impressive culinary kitchen as well as innovation labs for fats and oils, food protection and analytical testing, fruit preparation and confectionary, culinary and meat, bakery, dairy and beverage — all with a full-scale pilot plant facility.

Minnesota-based NatureWorks LLC and its partners showcased NatureWorks PLA and Ingeo fiber products at last month’s Biodegradable Plastics Exhibition in Beijing. An independent limited liability corporation owned by Cargill, NatureWorks is working with local companies to develop the market for PLA in China.

Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, Los Angeles, announced last month that it earned the highest rankings in the firm’s history in Thomson Financial’s league tables for full-year 2005, based on number of completed transactions. Houlihan Lokey ranked as the No. 1 M&A advisor for U.S. transactions valued up to $750 million, with 67 completed deals. For all U.S. transactions, the firm ranked No. 2 with 129 deals, second only to Goldman Sachs & Co. and finishing ahead of numerous bulge-bracket investment banks. 

Franklin, Mass.-based Dynisco LLC, a portfolio company of Audax Group, has sold its extrusion business unit to Xaloy Inc., a portfolio company of Baird Capital Partners. Terms of the agreement were not announced.

With seven months to go before Pack Expo International 2006 opens on October 29 in Chicago, the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) is expanding exhibit space in the Containers & Materials Pavilion to meet increased demand. The Containers & Materials Pavilion will also include an expanded Showcase of Packaging Innovations™, which will display hundreds of award-winning packages from leading associations in the packaging industry.

Rexam Beverage Can North America, Chicago, is making it easier for customers in the retort beverage business to benefit from its unique Sleek™ Can packaging. The company is partnering with Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA) to offer beverage marketers low-acid products in sleek two-piece aluminum cans. DFA has made a significant investment in a new filling and batch retorting line to become the first contract packing retort facility in the country that can run the Rexam Sleek™ Can.

Olathe, Kan.-based Systems Material Handling Co. has moved into a new 275,000-square-foot headquarters. The facility houses a modern design and engineering department, a sophisticated warehouse and distribution center equipped with state-of-the-art inventory control, and a semi-automated packaging and shipping area.