Tetra Pak, a division of the Tetra Laval Group, Switzerland, and Carlisle Companies Inc., Winsted, Minn., have reached an agreement by which Tetra Pak will acquire Carlisle Process Systems (CPS), the cheese and powder processing business of Carlisle Companies Inc. Through this acquisition, Tetra Pak Processing Systems will broaden its offering in the dairy and cheese categories, enabling Tetra Pak to offer complete production solutions, including whey treatment for the cheese producers and solutions for milk powder production.

Vigilistics, Mission Viejo, Calif., has announced its expansion into a new global headquarters in Mission Viejo. From the new headquarters, Vigilistics supports mission-critical operations in fluid dairy, cheese, powdered milk, soup and other food applications.

International Paper, Stamford, Conn., has signed a definitive agreement with the Lyme Timber Co. for the benefit of the Lyme Forest Fund LP, for the sale of 275,000 acres of forest land in New York’s Adirondack Park for $137 million. The sale is part of International Paper’s previously announced transformation plan to focus on uncoated papers and industrial and consumer packaging globally.

Alcoa Packaging, Richmond, Va., has announced a preferred partnership agreement with Graham Packaging, York, Pa. Through the agreement, the companies will provide total container solutions to customers as the complementary capabilities of Alcoa Packaging’s award-winning printed shrink sleeve labels are combined with those of Graham Packaging’s blown containers for the branded food and beverage, household, specialty, and automotive markets.

As the July 1, 2006, deadline looms for the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, school districts around the country scramble to adopt their own local school wellness policy that will allow them to continue their enrollment in the National School Lunch Program. As a portion of that act calls for districts to establish nutrition guidelines, Vernon Hills, Ill.-based Tetra Pak Inc. is using recent research to help school districts achieve increased school milk consumption as a key step towards reaching their goals. Recent publicity surrounding the adoption of plastic bottles as a way to increase school milk sales has created interest in this program.

Ball Corp., Broomfield, Colo., has completed its acquisition of the United States and Argentinean operations of U.S. Can Corp., adding to Ball’s portfolio of packaging products. In other company news, Ball has also completed the acquisition of certain North American plastic container assets of Alcan Packaging. The company has acquired Alcan plastic container manufacturing plants in Batavia, Ill.; Bellevue, Ohio; and Brampton, Ontario; as well as certain equipment and other assets at an Alcan plant in Newark, Calif., and an Alcan research facility in Neenah, Wis. Under an agreement between Ball and Alcan, the equipment acquired in Newark and Neenah will continue to operate in those locations during 2006.

Blythewood, S.C.-based Spirax Sarco Inc. has opened its fifth Steam Technology Training Center in the United States, in Lisle, Ill. Training centers are part of the company’s commitment to support education in all areas of steam energy, believing that knowledge and understanding are the keys to energy conservation and resource utilization.

AFS Technologies Inc., Phoenix, has acquired Distribution Management Systems Inc., a Milford, Conn.-based provider of software solutions to the food and beverage industries, for cash and stock.