Cracking the nut┬áThroughout the UK, Europe, Australia and Canada, public-private partnerships are an accepted way of procuring new public buildings, but there is still resistance in the US, as Alan T Swaby learns. In a nutshell, public-private partnerships are a way to design, build, finance and maintain community assets such as schools, hospitals or roads, but unlike other financing options, there is then an obligation to provide ongoing maintenance for a certain period of timeÔÇöusually 20 or 30 years.┬á  The public side of the partnership gets what i

Catch the wind┬áA wind of change is blowing through the energy generation sector in Canada, as the St. Lawrence Wind Project attests. You need to be a certain age to remember this, but the British folk singer Donovan had a mega-hit single in 1965 with a song called Catch the Wind. It was a love song, of course, not an environmental statement, but 40-odd years later the world has suddenly fallen in love with the wind. Wind is by no means a new source of energy.

Breaking new ground┬áA new health facility in British Columbia has raised the bar for quality and speed of service as well as maximum value for money, as Alan T Swaby learns. Bringing any major construction project in on time and on budget is something of a feat and should be applauded.

While many competitors in the transportation and logistics business have built up debt through acquisitions of vehicles, Panalpina has taken an entirely different approach, as Alan T Swaby learnsYou would think that the name of the third- or fourth-largest mover of freight in the world might be vaguely familiar, particularly as the writer spent a couple of years living in Switzerland, where the Panalpina Group has its corporate headquarters.

Open for business┬áWhen the New Yorker Hotel embarked on a $65 million renovation, it chose to stay open for the renovation. General manager Kevin Smith shares the secret of its success with Linda Seid Frembes. Finding a good hotel room in New York City used to be like tracking BigfootÔÇöyou had heard of such a thing but had never really seen it. The accommodations in New York have come a long way now that the New Yorker Hotel has completed its $65 million renovation project.

Taking off┬áA multibillion-dollar development program for Miami International Airport is helping it cope comfortably with demand, Ruari McCallion learns from Juan Carlos Arteaga. After weathering the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the low-cost carrier boom at competitor airports, Miami International Airport has rebounded with consistent growth as the undisputed Gateway of the Americas and with an expansion program to more than match its increasing passenger volumes. In the years following an all-time high of 34.5 million passengers in 1997, MI

Man-Shield Construction has been notching up a healthy 30 percent growth annually for the last five years. Group president Bill Sharpe tells Gay Sutton how the company has built its business by working in close partnership with its clients and suppliersMan-Shield Construction, one of CanadaÔÇÖs fastest-growing construction companies, can trace its roots back to 1972 when Joe Bova and Terry Ferraro founded B&F Masonry in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Doing the heavy lifting┬áAs Keith Regan details, Manitex International is using operational excellence and its penchant for innovation to drive into new markets around the world.  Thanks to a strategic mix of innovative product rollouts and targeted acquisitions, Manitex International has become a leading manufacturer of specialty engineered lifting equipment, a major player in the heavy lifting niche of the $110 billion US industrial machinery sector.

The right connection┬áNew power sources and the need to renew the infrastructure add up to good prospects for MSE Power Systems, Ruari McCallion learns from CEO Mark Scher. When the countryÔÇÖs electrical transmission infrastructure was established, windmills were something Don Quixote tilted at. However, the new generation of wind turbines is making a contribution to local and regional power grids from California to Maine.

The right lion┬áFlorida-based Lionstone Development may well be the leading residential and hospitality developer in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as its home state. Ruari McCallion has been sampling what it has to offer. The landscape of Miami seems to be constantly changing, and itÔÇÖs hard to find any building that can truly be described as a landmark in an area where so much is eye-catching.