Holding the treeline┬áSince it was founded in 1938, Lewis Tree Service has focused on doing one thing and doing it well. John OÔÇÖHanlon uncovers some secrets of its remarkable recent growth, in conversation with COO Tom Rogers. They say that if the human race disappeared, after a century youÔÇÖd hardly know we had existed. Nature is vigorous and quickly encroaches on any neglected space. That includes the terrain through which we have run our oil pipelines, our electricity lines and, of course, our roads.

Click on the icon┬áThe real estate mantra is location, location, location, but the real winners are those who, like Langham Properties Ltd., see tomorrowÔÇÖs location more clearly than others, as Dan Bailey learns. For most of the past 25 years, the city of Edmonton has outgrown the rest of Canada.

Getting a new start┬áA new light rail transit segment, the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, links historic areas of Los Angeles, Gary Toushek learns. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), with an operating budget of $3.4 billion per year, serves as transportation planner, coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the largest counties in the US, with more than 9.6 million peopleÔÇönearly one-third of CaliforniaÔÇÖs residents.

Tweak and improve┬áHow do you affordably sustain excellence in energy management? Continuous improvement and partnerships are the keys, Gary Toushek learns. In 2008, BC Hydro honored Kwantlen Polytechnic University of Surrey, British Columbia, with its Excellence in Energy Management Award.

Power brokers┬áKitchener-Wilmot Hydro has been providing electricity to its customers for nearly a century. April Terreri is your guide to discover the companyÔÇÖs latest endeavors in 21st-century power upgrades. The electrification of the US and Canada has a romantic past with hydroelectric power.

Getting better everyday┬áWork is well under way on the rebuilding, expansion and refurbishment of Kingston General Hospital, Ruari McCallion learns from Krista Wells. The heart of Kingston General Hospital (KGH) in Kingston, Ontario, has quite a historical legacy. From 1841 to 1884 it was the home of CanadaÔÇÖs original Parliament, when the Province of Canada was created under the Act of Union (1840).

Conservation in the Heartland┬áThe Kansas City Board of Public Utilities operates both electricity and water systems for the Kansas community. Keith Regan learns how water and electricity go together surprisingly well. ┬áThe Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) marks its 100th anniversary as a vastly different company than the one founded to help foster the growth of the Midwestern city a century ago.

A family affair┬áAlready unique for being a family-run company 117 years after its founding, J. P. Cullen & Sons is pioneering the use of continuous process improvement and utilizing the latest technologies, president and CEO David Cullen tells Gay Sutton. At construction company J. P.

Right the first time┬áWhile many companies are shrinking, Jacobson Companies is continuing to grow by taking the cost out of its customersÔÇÖ operations. Gay Sutton finds out how from regional operations manager Tim Day.

Spur of the moment┬áA unique private-public partnership in El Paso continues successfully into its second year. April Terreri dons a hard hat to dig up reasons for the successes there. One year ago, Achieving Business Excellence profiled J.D. Abrams, LP, an Austin, Texas-headquartered firm offering heavy civil contractor services and specializing in public works infrastructure projects.