Looking back at 2014 and ahead to 2015…GETBA
Jane Tongatule, General Manager, Greater East Tamaki Business Association Inc. (GETBA) East Tamaki is Auckland’s largest industrial precinct. This significant manufacturing and distribution hub continues to grow at a rate higher than the regional average and provides 30,000 jobs. Business NZ’s Performance Manufacturing Index has shown continued growth since mid-2014, […]
Building the skills of your manufacturing workforce
Manufacturing is about people. -Roger Usmar, Sector Development Manager, Competenz A manufacturing career that spans ‘shop floor to senior management’ in operations, competitive (‘lean’) manufacturing and human resources has helped Roger Usmar understand the challenges manufacturers face. It’s also convinced him that investing strategically in training to build a […]
Manufacturers dig their way back – 2014 in review
Importantly, the price of oil has collapsed by 30 per cent with more to follow. -Kim Campbell, chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association kim.campbell@ema.co.nz Last century we used to say anything good for the Australian economy was good for New Zealand. When their economy went well they bought […]
Significant challenges face primary industries
They (the primary industries)will need a higher proportion of well-qualified staff – with post-school education and training. Andy Somerville, CEO Primary Industry Capability Alliance. A recent investigation into the future capability needs of the primary industries has clearly spelt out the significant challenge that exists. The primary industries – including […]
Export growth falls, but still positive
The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during November 2014, shows total sales in October 2014 decreased 4.61% (year on year export sales increased by 1.11% with domestic sales decreasing 8.81%) on October 2013. The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$482m in […]
Interest rate cut overdue
The Employers and Manufacturers Association has joined the call for an early cut to interest rates. According to the EMA the Reserve Bank should reduce the Official Cash Rate right away or risk deflation next year when the economy is predicted to slow. “A year ago we said interest rates […]
How minerals can aid the economies of rural New Zealand
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) welcomes a report released today by the New Zealand Initiative stating why the resource rich parts of rural New Zealand need to tap into the wealth beneath their feet. The report, titled Poverty of wealth – why minerals need to be part of the rural […]
How Life Cycle Engineering can make manufacturing more competitive
By Professor Sami Kara Director of Postgraduate Research Faculty of Engineering University of New South Wales Manufacturers in New Zealand and Australia are hearing a constant refrain: to remain competitive in the global manufacturing marketplace, companies must become more productive with fewer resources and must find ways to differentiate themselves […]
The Future of Manufacturing (for us)
Editorial– November issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz Security and climate change overshadowed G20 talks on boosting global economic growth at the summit, although the leaders did sign off on a package of measures to add an extra 2.1 percentage points to global growth over five years. In this ever-changing world, New […]
NZ expects to benefit from G20 resolution
New Zealand expects to benefit from commitments secured at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, from the world’s 20 biggest economies, to lift economic growth by an extra 2.1 percent by 2018. In a communique released at the end of the weekend summit in Brisbane, the G20 group, made up of countries […]
Why it pays to join the circular economy
We all know that the current linear economic model is not sustainable. Materials are extracted, manufactured into products and then discarded into landfill – it’s a system that wastes valuable resources, causes environmental damage and will make it near impossible to satisfy the demands of the 3 billion new consumers […]
Staff wanted
Employment activity reached its highest level as the manufacturing sector continued to show stronger expansion during October, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for October was 59.3 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 […]
Paying a ‘unique’ price: Why it can pay to be the same
-Frank Phillips, Managing Director, Fulcrum The Hook “But we’re unique, no one else takes bespoke orders that morning, processes and ships them that afternoon.” “Not even your competitors?” “Yes, they do….but they are much bigger and can afford to develop systems that are perfect for themselves”. “Is there anyway to test how bespoke these orders really are?” The Problem This conversation, in various guises happens regularly with clients, and sometimes it’s true, but often, we’re not as unique as we think. And that’s a good thing! The more unique we are, or decide to be, in our operations the more expensive our journey to digitisation becomes. This becomes particularly salient against the backdrop of New Zealand’s beating heart of manufacturing SME’s being in the midst of a perpetual battle when it comes to digitisation. Firstly, weighing up the challenging costs of developing digital systems and automated processes that are fit for purpose with realistic return on investment. Whilst secondly, being touted the value of Industry 4 technologies but facing a skills barrier to adoption. The Solution So what advice would I give to any manufacturing business looking to digitisation and automation be? It’s simple. Start thinking about your internal operations differently. Or paradoxically, not different at all. Whilst there is widespread appreciation for needing a clear competitive advantage, that thing or things that set you apart and make you unique. Extending this thinking to everything about your business can hamper digital progress, driving you to look for or build bespoke solutions that match your processes perfectly. Where competitive advantage should be ‘up in lights’ externally. Internally we should be asking ourselves the question ‘how can we make this process as similar as possible to other operations’. This is for two reasons: It’s cheaper to borrow than build. If that’s the […]