Fine tuning┬áIconic guitar-maker Fender is introducing lean to the factory floor and creating a learning organization. Gay Sutton talks to senior vice president of global manufacturing Russell Espinosa and discovers how a disciple of Taiichi Ohno is sharing his knowledge to keep the company rocking. Think Fender and the name conjures up an image of mighty power chords, screaming guitar solos and sheer rock ÔÇÖn roll. The guitars themselves have achieved iconic status.

Help thy neighbor┬áFred Zaziski, CEO of oil and gas exploration and production company Epsilon Energy, talks to Gay Sutton about the companyÔÇÖs strategy on risk and expansion, and why, in such a cutthroat industry, competitors help their neighbors. Epsilon Energy is a relative newcomer into the highly competitive oil and gas industry, one of a new generation of companies that are locating and extracting these valuable resources, often exploiting areas that had previously been deemed too difficult.Formed in 2005 by Zoran Arandjelovic, who is also chairma

The Roundup Centre at the Calgary Stampede is expanding to become a world-class, year-round destination. The non-profit organization hosts over 1,200 events every year and is a vital tourism destination for the regionThe Calgary Stampede likes to call itself ÔÇ£the greatest outdoor show on earth.ÔÇØ It is certainly the worldÔÇÖs largest outdoor rodeo, and one of CanadaÔÇÖs largest annual events, taking place for ten days every summer from early to mid-July.

As Keith Regan learns, Dimeo Construction believes in constantly evolving and improving how it manages projects, as the Ocean House waterfront mixed-use project exemplifies Dimeo Construction knows that when project owners tap it to serve as construction manager or lead contractor, they are looking to the firm to help take risk out of the project. Providence, Rhode Island-based Dimeo has been doing that for almost 79 years, serving the institutional, higher education and commercial and mixed-use markets from branch offices in Boston and New Haven.

A flood of opportunity┬áAfter 65 consecutive years of sales growth and scores of product additions, Diamond V Mills has become a global player that saw its mettle tested when a flood struck its main manufacturing facility, as Keith Regan learns.  ┬áBy the time the Cedar River crested at a record level of more than 31 feet above flood stage on June 13, 2008, some nine square miles of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, lay under water, including many manufacturing facilities in the cityÔÇÖs industrial area.

Flying deep┬áBusiness strategies that seemed viable at the outset donÔÇÖt always live up to expectation. As Alan T Swaby learns from the COO of Deep Marine Technology, sometimes plan B is the better option. For all those young businesses finding the going a bit tough, take heart.

Conventional wisdomAs part of a resort project in British Columbia, Darwin Construction is building a conference facility to lure conventions to a small resort town, bringing jobs to the area, both construction and post-construction, Andrew Pelis learns. Located in CanadaÔÇÖs only official desert, a boom in property construction is unfolding. The town of Osoyoos is situated in British Columbia, with the picturesque setting of Lake Osoyoos only four minutes from the US border; indeed, the lake itself sits in both countries.

The look and feel of South CarolinaÔÇÖs Myrtle Beach has been changing beyond recognition, and Dargan Construction has been at the heart of it, Ruari McCallion learns from Don LloydThere has always been a certain something about the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. The Atlantic Ocean can be calm or it can be mighty in its wrath, but it can never be ignored. The light has an almost magical quality as the sun rises out of the great sea.

Technology gets the assist┬áKeith Regan learns how Clark ConstructionÔÇÖs use of technology helps it keep even the most complex projects on time and on budget. With a track record reaching back more than a century, Clark Construction is one of the countryÔÇÖs most prolific construction firms. With over $4 billion in revenue, Clark ranked as the 13th-largest construction firm in the country last year based on total revenue, according to Engineering News-Record, and sixth-largest based on domestic revenue.

Special treatment┬áUpgrades to CalgaryÔÇÖs water treatment plants are well under way using the construction management approach, Gary Toushek discovers.