Honeywell Electronic Materials announced today it will more than double its refining and casting capacity for high-purity copper and tin at its Spokane, Washington facility in response to rising demand in the semiconductor industry.

Demand for the copper material has been steadily growing as new advanced chip designs continue to require high-purity copper. Additional industry growth has come as memory manufacturers transition from aluminum to copper. The use of copper and tin for advanced chip packaging applications is similarly on the rise.

Rockhopper Exploration has announced further significant oil finds in the North Falkland Basin in the South Atlantic.

The company has encountered more oil during drilling of a fifth well to a total depth of 2,696 metres within its Sea Lion prospect.

Canadian Solar Inc has opened a new warehouse facility in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey to provide additional photovoltaic module storage capacity for the growing business.

The first shipment of modules is expected to arrive in mid-September 2011. The warehouse itself utilizes solar energy from its PV rooftop mounted system.

UK transport group National Express has announced its acquisition of one the largest student transport service providers in the US.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Petermann Partners Inc is the fifth largest provider of student transport services in the US, with operations across 10 states in the Midwest, West and Southwest.

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc, has announced a 9 percent increase in mineral reserves from 286.2 million to 312.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum at its Endako molybdenum mine located near Fraser Lake, British Columbia, extending its mine life by 20 months through 2028.

Ireland’s Kerry Group has announced its acquisition of the German sweet ingredients and flavours producer SuCrest.

The Co. Kerry-based company said the move would significantly expand its sweet ingredients and flavours business in the EMEA region.

SuCrest has production and product development facilities located in Hochheim, Germany and Vitebsk, Belarus, as well as a sales representative office in Moscow. The company is a leading provider of sweet ingredients to the bakery, ice cream, confectionery, cereal and snack sectors in European markets.

Leading in business is never easy, but if you do it with your head down, blocking out input from employees, you’re making a huge mistake. OfficeMax Founder and former CEO Michael Feuer explains that when you miss out on employee input, you miss out on big-time innovation.

In today’s tough economy, small business owners are faced with the difficult task of doing much more with a lot less. Ed Hess reminds them that even though they might be making cuts to their prices and budgets, now is not the time to start cutting great customer service out of their business plans.

Improving working capital has become a focus for every CFO and is crucial to business growth and profitability, says David Taylor. Yet current strategies often fail to recognize the role accounts receivable can play in reducing the cost of working capital, while also having a positive impact on customer relationships and even the wider economy.

As a business leader, you can’t always get all your employees’ input on big-time decisions. Often, you have to make a decision quickly or risk losing the opportunity altogether. Michael Feuer offers advice on how to make profitable mind-to-market decisions without getting sidetracked by consensus overload.