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.

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.

Chrysler plans to halt production at all 30 of its factories for one month, and is reportedly revisiting talks of a merger with General Motors, as both firms are witnessing their cash reserves dwindle.   The moves come as other US and foreign automakers are announcing steep production cuts that will idle tens of thousands of other US workers as the industry copes with withered demand for new cars and trucks. Ford said yesterday that it would stop production for an extra week in January at all but two of its plants because of flagging consumer demand.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has lost its right to market beer using the trademark ÔÇ£BudÔÇØ in the European Union, after Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar said it had already registered the name in France, Austria, and former Czechoslovakia in 1958. Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in Ceske Budejovice, which was known as Budweis by its German-speaking inhabitants, and beer has been brewed there since 1265.┬á Budvar disputed that "Bud" is the geographic nickname for the Bohemian city known for producing a "mildly bitter" beer with "a sweetish taste and a distinctive aroma."

Toyota Motor Corp.

Rock on┬áInternational growth is the next step for West Rock Energy Consultants, as small oil companies around the globe seek the knowledge and technological expertise of Canadian engineers. President Greg Shpytkovsky talks to Gay Sutton about his plans for expansion. In recent years, innumerable small companies have been setting up in Canada to explore for oil and gas, and in spite of the current tough financial climate, they are continuing to find the necessary investment in fairly respectable numbers.

Top of VirginiaTwo recent and independent assessments show that the population of northern Virginia has access to some of the best medical treatment to be found anywhere, as Jeff Daniels learns. Last year 3,066 babies were delivered at the five hospitals making up Valley HealthÔÇöa group of not-for-profit healthcare providers located along a 100-mile stretch of the Shenandoah Valley running through rural Virginia, West Virginia and even into Maryland.

The living hospital┬áThe Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, a keynote project for Detroit and southeastern Michigan, is soon to be handed over by Turner Construction Company, John OÔÇÖHanlon learns from project manager Jay McKee. Founded in 1902, Turner Construction CompanyÔÇÖs first job was to build reinforced concrete stairs in the New York City subway system. A century later itÔÇÖs a multibillion-dollar business spread across 43 offices in the United States and realizing projects in the Middle East, Europe, China and India as well.

A moving experience┬áThe aviation industry has been hit harder than most over the last year, but ground support equipment maker TUG Technologies has been weathering the storm. CEO Stefaan Ver Eecke tells Gay Sutton how the implementation of lean manufacturing has made all the difference. Chances are that if youÔÇÖre flying anywhere in the world on business or for pleasure, your baggage and quite probably your plane will be maneuvered around the airport by ground support equipment (GSE) manufactured by TUG Technologies.

It's good to talk┬áWill Smith, vice president of development and construction for The Strategic Group, AlbertaÔÇÖs largest private owners and developers of commercial real estate, explains to Gay Sutton why this young company is both a long-term player and an expert communicator.  The Strategic Group has been in existence for a little under six years, and during that time its activities have mirrored the property boom in Canada.