automated building control. Our challenge is getting the right people with the right skill sets involved, to properly monitor our environments, minimize the amount of energy needed to maintain them and maximize equipment longevity." So what next for a company that only formed less than a quarter century ago, has 60 locations worldwide and more than 4,500 employees, with over 1,500 based at headquarters? " The Westbrook expansion is intended to meet at least our next fi ve years of growth, and as we continue down the lean process we anticipate achieving a lot more. The next challenge will be to create more administration space by consolidating our corporate and administration space." Having constructed its new building in just 13 months, the renovation phase of the existing building is due for completion in 2010. 97 www. bus- ex. com October 08 IDEXX Laboratories a group whose entire focus is on lean and six sigma. This has allowed us to improve our quality and reduce costs. Change is always a challenge, and we regard our efforts as continuous education and continuous improvement," he explains. " The manufacturing process does not involve straight- line production; we run an assembly line for the diagnostic kits but also operate three press- feed automated lines for the diagnostic test kits. We're adding a higher- speed fourth line and feeding into that are the re- agents or biologics, which require material testing and separating processes prior to assembly." Maintenance is another key area for Rand's team, to help maintain quality levels. " Probably the most signifi cant challenge is viral control, which is hugely critical for biotech- type manufacturing processes. This requires a lot of sophisticated

98 www. bus- ex. com October 08 Toboldlygo… Mark Kolebaba explains to Gay Sutton how Diamonds North is doing things differently, not so much to lead the field, but to accelerate the diamond exploration process and stay ahead of the competition