David Falzani, CEO of business consultancy Polaris Associates and president of the Sainsbury Management Fellowship, says engineers need to get a taste for marketing.

When the opportunity came along to develop a local crisp I jumped at the chance. The client, Quex Foods, manages 2,000 acres in Kent. After years of supplying the multiples, they wanted higher value-add products and suspected that crisps could do the trick.

After almost 115 years in business, Godrej Industries has an excellent track record in ethical behaviour. Managing director Nadir Godrej explains to Gay Sutton how good labour relations and environmental best practice have helped to promote growth.

The last 10 years have witnessed an incredible blossoming in the Indian economy, and one of the companies playing a key role in promoting India as a producer of quality chemical products is Godrej Industries, part of the Godrej Group.

It has already won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup; and when it comes to liquefied natural gas (LNG), Qatar is the undisputed world leader. Ras Laffan City has scored a hat trick over the last year by achieving 77 million tons of LNG production capacity, 5,000 LNG tanker calls, and the loading of six massive LNG tankers at the same time.

Parmalat South Africa’s operations director Hannes Wagener and marketing executive Cathy Eve talk to Gay Sutton about expanding the market for quality and innovative dairy products and increasing operational efficiency.

Sam Howard speaks to Willie Wood, senior sustainable horticulture manager at Chingford Fruit Limited, to find out how partnerships with producers and growers worldwide are impacting the products found on UK supermarket shelves.

Sanjay Dayal, chief executive of BlueScope Steel Asia, talks to Jayne Alverca about the myriad ways in which the company is transforming a commodity into value-added building solutions.

Global automotive manufacturer Nissan is gearing up to double production at its South African plant over the next five years. Managing director Mike Whitfield talks to Gay Sutton about driving up capacity at the plant and localising the supply chain.

Neil Morris, head of strategic planning at Yorkshire Building Society, explains how adopting a robust approach to strategic planning and M&A activity has enabled the mutual organisation to grow and prosper following the recent financial crisis.

Cooper Standard has announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in Craiova, Romania, further expanding its global automotive body sealing and fluid handling businesses.

Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Cooper Standard is a global supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include body sealing systems, fluid handling systems and anti-vibration systems.

For one South African retailer, a major shift in strategy has been the key to reviving its fortunes, enabling it to compete more effectively and ensuring long term sustainability.