News

New York and Reston, Va. – September 28, 2026 -- LeapXpert and Carahsoft Technology Corp. have signed a partnership that puts governed messaging tools into the hands of Federal, State and Local Government agencies, closing a compliance gap created by employees' use of consumer apps like WhatsApp and Signal for official business.

Carahsoft becomes Master Government Aggregator for LeapXpert's platform

Under the agreement, Carahsoft will distribute The LeapXpert Communications Platform through its reseller network and four contract vehicles: The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS Contract #220105), OMNIA Partners (Contract #R240303), E&I Cooperative Services (Contract #EI00063~2021MA) and The Quilt (Master Service Agreement Number MSA05012019-F).

Charlotte – September 28, 2026 -- Huntington National Bank will install its name atop the One South office tower in uptown Charlotte and expand its regional headquarters to four full floors, doubling its footprint in the building as it deepens its commitment to North Carolina and South Carolina.

Huntington doubles its footprint at One South tower

Huntington will occupy the entire 39th and 40th floors of the 40-story building at 101 S. Tryon St., adding to two floors it already holds and bringing its total presence to four full floors. The bank opened its regional headquarters at One South in 2023 and now houses several hundred colleagues there and across the greater Charlotte area, spanning multiple business segments and operational functions.

Delray Beach, Fla. – – September 28, 2026 -- The global micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) market is projected to grow from USD 19.06 billion in 2026 to USD 25.03 billion by 2032, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6%, according to MarketsandMarkets.

Microspeakers segment to post 18.4% CAGR through 2032

Among sensor types, microspeakers are expected to grow fastest at 18.4% CAGR between 2026 and 2032, outpacing broader market gains. Radio frequency actuators are forecast to grow approximately 6.3% over the same period, while the telecom vertical is set to expand at roughly 12.2% CAGR, driven by 5G infrastructure rollouts and advanced sensing deployments.

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 28, 2026 -- The global telehealth and telemedicine market is projected to grow from USD 118.8 billion in 2026 to USD 198.9 billion by 2031, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9%, according to a new report from MarketsandMarkets. A separate figure cited in the same report puts the 2025 market at USD 106.0 billion, underscoring the sector's rapid acceleration ahead of the forecast period.

New York – September 28, 2026 -- American investors identified NATO's Eastern Flank as one of the decade's major infrastructure investment opportunities, on condition that projects carry clearly allocated risk and rely on local partners capable of long-term construction and maintenance. The assessment emerged from a roundtable held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, hosted by Romanian infrastructure firm Concelex and Atlantic Council Romania, and addressed by Romania's President Nicușor Dan.

Ukraine's rapid infrastructure repairs reshape crisis-readiness standards

Participants examined how the war in Ukraine has redefined infrastructure requirements near NATO's eastern border. Restoring a railway bridge, transformer substation or hospital hinges on heavy equipment, compatible structural components and certified response teams already positioned on-site, since these capabilities cannot be mobilized within days once a crisis begins.

New Orleans – September 28, 2026 -- Novogradac will convene community development entities, investors, developers and advisors at The Roosevelt New Orleans on Oct. 22-23 for its 2026 Fall New Markets Tax Credit Conference, focused on how NMTC financing is being deployed for housing-related development amid tightening market conditions.

Conference agenda targets compliance and allocation strategy

Sessions will cover the state of the NMTC program, an investor panel on market perspectives, an NMTC compliance overview, and how CDEs, investors and sponsors are positioning for current and future allocation cycles. Organizers say increased regulatory scrutiny is reshaping compliance expectations for program participants.

Kawanishi – September 28, 2026 -- Green Science Alliance has more than doubled the performance of its aqueous rechargeable aluminum-ion battery (AAIB) by swapping the cathode current collector for a commercially cheap conductive carbon rubber sheet, according to research led by Dr. Ryohei Mori.

Capacity climbs to 210 mAhg-1 from an earlier 103 mAhg-1 baseline

Under 0.025 C at room temperature, the redesigned AAIB delivered an initial capacity of at least 210 mAhg-1, sustained through at least 25 cycles in ongoing testing. The prior generation of the technology, detailed in Mori's 2025 review article in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Energy Advances (DOI: 10.1039/D5YA00148J), had capacity of roughly 103 mAhg-1 with poor cycle stability.

De Graff, Ohio – September 28, 2026 -- PCPI Plastics, LLC is celebrating 50 years of custom thermoplastic injection molding, having been founded in 1976, while confirming fresh investment in new presses, molds and automation to boost output for customers.

PCPI expands automation and press capacity to serve six industry verticals

The Ohio-based manufacturer serves customers across aerospace and defense, medical devices and pharmaceutical, automotive, electronics, industrial and consumer markets. Company leadership says the recent capital investment in new presses, molds and automation is aimed at improving both quality and cost competitiveness for its client base.

Hubei – September 28, 2026 -- Hubei Nature New Material Sanitary Appliance Co., Ltd. (NAITRON) has integrated PLC-based digital controls with its patented thermosetting molding technology (TMT) to manufacture granite composite kitchen sinks, targeting more consistent quality and higher-volume output for OEM and ODM clients worldwide.

Digital controls cut reliance on manual production steps

The company's molding system uses automated material dosing and an independent intelligent temperature management system, reducing labor costs and human error across the production line. NAITRON's TMT technology distributes particles evenly across both sink surfaces and molds each unit through a single compression process, eliminating joints or spliced sections that could cause deformation or cracking.

New York – September 28, 2026 -- Eighty-four percent of global wealth management firms say their operating models need a fundamental redesign to capture AI's full value, yet fewer than 10% report being prepared for that shift, according to a new HCLTech study.

The report, titled "Hidden In Pl(AI)n Sight," is based on a synthetic research methodology surveying 1,066 AI personas modeled on senior wealth management decision-makers across 17 global markets. It was produced in partnership with research firm Evidenza.

Adoption outpaces agentic AI deployment by a wide margin

While 98% of leadership teams in the sector are actively pursuing an AI agenda, only slightly more than 7% are building agentic AI capabilities, the study found. HCLTech attributes the gap to firms funding AI primarily for efficiency gains rather than structural transformation.