Spain's Grifols has agreed to buy US-based Talecris Biotherapeutics for Ôé¼2.8 billion, it has been announced.

Martin Ashcroft revisits HJ Heinz to see how the culture changing Heinz Global Performance System is driving sustainable continuous improvement through its sites all over the world.

When I last wrote about HJ Heinz two years ago ¹, Gary Thomas, Director of Global Continuous Improvement and Risk Management, told me how lean and six sigma were being used to drive a step change in performance in the company’s North American production facilities.

The Ledcor Group has roots as deep as the oil, gas and natural resources it has long helped its clients mine from beneath the earth in Western Canada. The company got its start in 1947 when founder William Lede built the access road and well site for Leduc No. 1, the rig that led to Imperial Oil's famous discovery of oil in the province of Alberta.

The original refinery was built in 1938 and purchased by San Joaquin Oil Co. in 1968. In 1979 the refinery became San Joaquin Refining Co., Inc.,a privately heldcompany located in Bakersfield, California. Major upgrades were accomplished in 1975, 1987, and again in 2001. Bakersfield is in Kern County, located in the San Joaquin Valley.

CanadaÔÇÖs government has announced a $35 billion, 30-year federal shipbuilding strategy, designed to reinvigorate the sector.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, has signed an initial agreement to spend 300 billion rupees ($6.4 billion) on the construction of a six million tonne a year steel plant in southern India.

Goldcorp Inc. has agreed to sell its San Dimas gold and silver mine in Mexico to Mala Noche Resources Corp. for $500 million, it has been announced.  San Dimas, which is located about 150 kilometers west of the city of Durango in the state of Durango, will turn Vancouver-based Mala Noche into a metals producer.

South AfricaÔÇÖs Sasol is planning to spend $10 billion (R77 billion) on a coal-to-liquids project in the Indian state of Orissa, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Drug and medical device maker Covidien is buying Minnesota-based medical device maker ev3 Inc. for $2.6 billion.