Improving to thrive Despite dark times for much of the industry, Intermet Corporation believes the next 18 months will be bright ones as it continues to reap gains from lean manufacturing and related initiatives, Keith Regan reports. As a major supplier to the automotive industry in the United States, itÔÇÖs easy to imagine Intermet Corporation girding for the worst.

From refuse to re-use

Keith Regan reports on how steps being taken today by IESI’s Seneca Meadows landfill reflect a strong belief in doing right by the community.

The Seneca Meadows landfill in central New York State has a long track record of innovation in the environmental area. That reputation helped attract the interest of IESI, a Fort Worth, Texas, solid waste management firm with operations across much of the US, which bought the landfill in 2003. Two years later, IESI merged with BFI Canada Income Fund.

Building on innovationWith a new CEO in place, the consumer division of Husqvarna is aiming to expand on a culture of innovation in products and process alike, as Keith Regan learns. The name may not roll off the tongue of Americans just yet, but Sweden-based Husqvarna is already the worldÔÇÖs largest maker of outdoor power equipment, such as lawn mowers, chainsaws and portable garden trimmers and pruning tools, as well as a top provider of specialty cutting tools to the construction industry.

Perfecting improvement While lean and continuous improvement have been part of the culture for some time at Flowserve Corp., Keith Regan learns how the company is looking to extend its initiatives into supply chain and logistics. Although Flowserve Corp. celebrated its 10th anniversary only recently, the companyÔÇÖs roots reach back more than 200 years to the 1790 founding of Simpson & Thompson. TodayÔÇÖs Flowserve, based in Irving, Texas, was formed by the merger in 1997 of BW/IP and Durco International.

WeÔÇÖve got the powerAfter thirty years treading water, the nuclear power industry in the US is undergoing a renaissance.

Healing by designJeff Land, VP of corporate real estate for Catholic Healthcare West, explains to Gary Toushek the many facets of building and retrofitting healthcare facilities. Jeff Land knows a thing or two about hospitals. ÔÇ£Building better hospitals is not materially more expensive than building poorly designed hospitals; therefore, we need to endeavor that new hospitals be constructed using the best evidence-based design possible. New hospitals should be built properly, with patient healing in mind.

Ahead in the sandsBantrel provides a wide range of services for its petroleum clients in the oil sands of Alberta, Gary Toushek discovers. Bantrel began 25 years ago as a small group of engineers with the objective of pursuing gas and oil projects in the Beaufort Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. When a drilling moratorium was put on that region, the group began working for some of the emerging oil sands giants in Alberta, such as Suncor and Syncrude, and as the oil sands grew, Bantrel grew as well.

Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

Making tracksDenverÔÇÖs Regional Transportation District puts light rail expansion on the fast track, Jenn Monroe reports. When first introduced, light rail was not an easy sell in the greater Denver area. Bill Van Meter was a junior transportation planner for the Regional Transportation District of Denver at the time. ÔÇ£When we started the central corridor, one of the big challenges was proving the concept,ÔÇØ he remembers.