Innovation is only the beginning – let’s make sure New Zealand captures the value
From August issue of NZ Manufacturer magazine -Stephanie Fry, General Manager, Stratmore Construction Solutions Limited The recent announcement of a 100% pine biomass-derived alternative to traditional petroleum bitumen is genuinely exciting. Developed right here in the Hutt Valley, it represents exactly the sort of innovation New Zealand should be […]
New Competenz and EMA partnership strengthens support and capability for NZ business
NZ Manufacturer magazine, August 2026 Competenz and the EMA (Employers and Manufacturers Association) have announced a new partnership that extends support for employers beyond apprenticeships and vocational training into broader business capability. With both organisations supporting thousands of New Zealand businesses across engineering, manufacturing and trades sectors, the partnership gives […]
What is stopping competition in New Zealand?
As New Zealanders grapple with the cost of everyday essentials, from the supermarket checkout to power bills and bank fees, pressure is growing to address weak competition in critical sectors. Rebalancing Markets: Competition, power, and a fair economy, hosted by Business School research centre Juncture: Dialogues on Inclusive Capitalism, saw experts […]
Want to break free from big tech? ‘Self‑hosting’ could be the answer
Nikolai Hampton, School of Science, Edith Cowan University Paul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan University You’re probably familiar with the idea that in the world of big tech, “we” are the product. Our data is the currency being traded every time we navigate our social […]
Mind the Gap: Closing the distance between AI hype and factory reality
From August 2026 issue NZ Manufacturer magazine. Manufacturers are under pressure to adopt AI fast. But an AI that doesn’t know your operation isn’t a productivity tool — it’s a liability with good grammar. Here’s why AI needs grounding before you let it loose on your business. By Ursula Riemer, […]
From Garage to Global: 20 years of Brolly Sheets
Family-owned, Kiwi-designed brand Brolly Sheets began with a problem at home. Founder Diane Hurford sewed the first Brolly Sheet after repeated middle-of-the-night bed changes during toilet training. The reusable, absorbent, waterproof bed pad quickly gained traction. What started as a homemade solution grew into a New Zealand manufacturing and export […]
NZ’s largest industrial landowner set to invest $110m in rooftop solar
New Zealand’s largest industrial landowner is set to invest over $110 million in a rooftop solar and battery storage rollout it says will lower production costs for local and export firms while reducing pressure on the national electricity grid at peak times. Over the next decade, the initiative will see […]
Stop managing outcomes, start managing behaviour
Your culture is the operating system driving those results — whether you measure it or not Ask a room of manufacturing leaders whether culture matters and every hand goes up. Ask them how they measure it, or when they last deliberately intervened in it — and the hands come down. […]
Profile: Green Gorilla tells sustainability story that matches its impact
Green Gorilla has spent more than a decade challenging the idea that waste should simply be hauled away and buried. Since 2010, the 100% New Zealand-owned business has grown into a major waste and resource recovery operator, helping customers recover more materials, reduce landfill and take a more practical approach […]
Manufacturing’s automation moment is here – now comes the workforce challenge
Jo Verry, Senior Key Account Manager at industry training organisation, Competenz You lock up your warehouse at night, switch off the lights and press play on an autonomous drone. By morning, it has flown the aisles, scanned barcodes, completed stocktakes and delivered real-time inventory data before the first staff member […]
Why the most valuable asset in your plant isn’t on the balance sheet
-Mike Warmington, Director, Platform 1 As the owner you can be the most valuable asset in the business. Manufacturing companies focus on equipment, inventory, capacity, and productivity. All are very important to success, however what is often overlooked is that a key asset is the systemisation and transferability of the […]
New Zealand talks about productivity, but does not build the capability to deliver it
From July 2026 issue, NZ Manufacturer magazine.We invite readers to feedback to us on this excellent article. How do you see things? How is Productivity in your workplace? Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon & Co New Zealand does not have a shortage of productivity commentary. We have reports, benchmarks, speeches, and […]
Connecting the dots
David Altena has 30 years of tech industry experience and is a founding director of The Better SMB Limited. david@altena.solutions Rob Bull, Director of the New Zealand Lean Academy rob@nzla.nz Connecting The Dots Everyone’s busy, capable and pulling in different directions Most manufacturers know what they need to do, but they’re doing it in pieces, with strategy, people and operations moving separately instead of together. The result is a growing list of sensible initiatives, moving in different directions and quietly cancelling each other out. We have explored several of the pressures facing New Zealand manufacturers – the cost of doing nothing, the investment gap many businesses create for themselves and the disciplines that separate the top performers from the rest. For some, that may have translated into a familiar feeling: we know what could be better here. The harder question is this: are those improvements connected inside your business, or are they sitting in different conversations, owned by different people, progressing at different speeds? Because when effort isn’t aligned, even good decisions create friction. The business stays busy, capable people work hard – and progress stalls. Direction without traction Most manufacturers have a strategy of some sort, even if it lives largely in the owner’s head. There is usually a clear sense of where to take the business, what needs to change and what success should look like. The problem is not ambition. It’s translation. Strategy often moves in one direction, while day‑to‑day decisions move in another. It doesn’t change what gets reviewed weekly, what leaders spend their time on, or what behaviours are rewarded or tolerated. The strategic intent exists, but it never reaches the work. When that happens, people make sensible decisions based on local priorities, not enterprise direction. No one […]