Coca-Cola Co. CEO Muhtar Kent checked another Chinese city off the list on Oct. 24, traveling to Shijiazhuang to open the Atlanta-based beverage giant's 43rd bottling plant in the country. Though unknown to many Americans, Shijiazhuang is the capital of Hebei province, which has more than 72 million people. The fact that Coke spent $106 million on the new plant in partnership with COFCO, its Chinese bottling partner, shows that it sees such cities as anything but obscure. In fact, they're central to a three-year, $4 billion China investment plan that culminates in 2014.
HOLLISTER, Idaho — Residents of the small southern Idaho town of Hollister are hopeful that a new filtration system planned for a local Greek yogurt plant will solve what they say is a smelly problem. The Times-News (http://bit.ly/1aAM3y3 ) reports Chobani is installing a reverse-osmosis filtration system to reduce the volume of acid whey discharged from the company's Twin Falls plant. The acid whey is typically hauled to a farm near Hollister and spread on the land as a soil amendment. The whey is also used as feed for livestock.
Sierra Nevada Space Systems flew and landed its Dream Chaser space plane for the first time Saturday in California, gliding it down for a landing despite trouble with the landing gear on touchdown. The Dream Chaser was carried aloft by a helicopter for Saturday’s test. Accounts from the test flight indicated problems with the left landing gear caused damage when the unmanned craft landed, but how significant the issue was isn’t clear. Nevertheless, the Louisville-based division of Sierra Nevada Corp. counted the Dream Chasers computer-controlled, autonomous test flight as a success.
Turkey is due to unveil Tuesday a three-billion-euro rail tunnel under the Bosphorus connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides, one of several mega projects driven by the Islamic-rooted government in the country's main gateway city. The 13.6-kilometre (8.5 miles) tunnel includes an immersed tube tunnel which government officials say is the world's deepest at 60 metres (nearly 200 feet) below the seabed. The inauguration of the ambitious project that has cost an estimated three billion euros coincides with the 90th anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey.
