General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a task order through the US General Services Administration's Alliant Contract to support the relocation of the US Department of Homeland Security's headquarters.

The task order has a ceiling value of $876 million and duration of seven years if all options are exercised.

Car maker BMW is to invest £500 million in its UK production network, it has been announced.

The company has said it will invest £500 million in UK manufacturing operations over the next three years and has also confirmed that the UK will be a production location for its next generation MINI models.

This takes the company’s investment across all its UK operations to more than £1.5 billion since 2000.

Mazda Motor Corporation has said it will build its next midsize automobile entirely in Japan, rather than the United States.

Its current midsize model Mazda6 (known as Atenza in Japan) is produced in three locations, the Hofu Plant in Japan, AutoAlliance International (AAI) in Michigan, USA, and at FAW Car Co., Ltd. in Changchun, Jilin province, China.

The company said it would continue to make the Mazda6 in the US “until the end of its current cycle plan” but that its successor would be made in Hofu.

Greek company Raycap has announced the completion of its new photovoltaic power generation facility in Drama, north-eastern Greece.

The new plant, one of the largest solar power plants in northern Greece, is equipped with 18,200 high-efficiency thin-film solar panels, while two 800kW central inverters ensure efficient and reliable power distribution to the grid. The plant is expected to generate two million KWh per annum.

Thomas R. Cutler investigates the role of automated guided vehicles and the need for independent experts to facilitate their implementation in food and consumer packaged goods.

Suppliers of end-of-line automation and material handling in the food sector have a distinct scope of technology to consider, including various types of palletizing robots, stretch wrapping equipment, labeling systems, pallet control systems, and laser-guided automatic vehicles.

Corporate sabbaticals refresh tired executives, and are an underutilized strategic tool for improving bottom line results, says Rita Foley

Morale and execution are the cornerstones of powerful sales organizations, but while execution can easily be measured, morale is more of an art than a science, says John R. Treace.

John Shook, Chairman and CEO of the Lean Enterprise Institute, says we need to rethink the way we manage our supply chains after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Henry Ford could get the customer any type of Model T as long as it was black, but the Ford Motor Company now finds itself in the strange position of being able to supply vehicles in any color except (metallic) black as a result of the catastrophe in Japan.

There must be fifty ways, we suppose, but George F. Brown, Jr. and David G. Hartman tell us in detail about the five essential factors for being successful in China.

The mining equipment division of Timberland Equipment manufactures custom-engineered equipment capable of giving reliable service for 50 years. The company therefore relies on new markets and new mines for expansion.

Established in Woodstock, Ontario in 1947 to manufacture lifting equipment for the lumber industry, Timberland Equipment has since diversified into a number of complementary industries and has become recognized as an expert in each.