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Pic: Prime Minister John Key with Tru-Test Group CFO Ian Hadwin and HSBC CEO David Griffiths with the HSBC Best Importer or Exporter with China award. The Chinese dairy industry is about as different from New Zealand’s as you can get. Consider this: – Their average feedlot has 6,000 cows (compared to herds in NZ of 350) – Cows are virtually all feed-lot (compared to NZ’s grass fed) – Their cow-to-human ratio is 1:100 (compared with our 1:1.5) New Zealand’s global leader in animal weigh scales, milk metering and electric fence systems, Tru-Test Group, has just won a New Zealand China Trade Association (NZCTA) award for technology that is set to help revolutionise China’s dairy industry. The HSBC Best Exporter with China award reflects Tru-Test’s success in opening up the market for walk-over weighing and animal weight data management for the country’s 12 million-strong dairy cow industry. With vastly higher input costs than New Zealand (in addition to their feed-lot structure, they import lucerne hay from the US, for example) China needs a systematic means of measuring and managing cow performance. Tru-Test Group introduced the first walk-over weigh scales system to China just over a year ago, and now around 2% of cows in China are being weighed and the data captured. That means 98% are not  underlining the market’s potential. Tru Test Group’s Market Manager for Asia, Nick Howarth, says the likely uptake of the Chinese dairy farmers and the intensity of the Chinese dairy industry’s production is likely to provide valuable insights for the New Zealand industry and further opportunities for companies like us who can export unique kiwi technology. “Given the number of people in China and the size of their industry, their dairy industry will not be a competitor to New Zealand’s Ð instead it’s a […]

  The launch of up to 10 new products and the opportunity for aviation companies to close millions in sales are the two main outcomes expected at a Waikato-based aviation showcase planned for October.  NZ Flair 2011, to be held at Te Kowhai Airfield near Hamilton from October 13 to 15, will showcase a wide range of New Zealand products and services and innovation within the burgeoning aviation sector.  Waikato Aviation Industry Cluster and NZ Flair 2011 organiser Shaun Mitchell, said the event will bring New Zealand’s “under the radar” aviation industry into the international spotlight.  “NZ Flair 2011 will leverage off the extra profile of New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup and is a real opportunity for growth, development and innovation of our industry,” Shaun said.  A New Zealand Trade and Enterprise report from June 2010 showed the New Zealand aviation sector brought an estimated $9.7 billion into the economy in 2009, with $5.9 billion from domestic activities and $3.8 billion from export activities.  The New Horizons report shows the industry is expected to grow to $12.6 billion by 2015 with experts predicting Waikato will net a “significant slice” of the growth.  Waikato economic development leader Sandra Perry, of Opportunity Hamilton, said NZ Flair 2011 was a “coming out” for New Zealand’s multi-billion dollar aviation industry.  “This will attract thousands of visitors and key aviation business people and potential investors from around the world. It’s a real chance for these businesses to get global attention,” Sandra said.  NZ Flair 2011 is modelled on AirVenture Oshkosh, a United States aviation event attracting 500,000 visitors from more than 60 countries.  “It is a combination of exhibitors, demonstrations and air displays. It will incorporate everything aviation, from manufacturing and design to space exploration and pilot training,” Shaun said.  More than 70 […]

BusinessNZ supports the general direction of proposals outlined in the ACC discussion document released today. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly said the principles underlying the scheme were unchanged and 24-hour no-fault coverage would remain. “Providing choice and competition in the work account will allow insurance and rehabilitation packages to better meet the needs of workplaces and employees. “The government does not have to be a monopoly service provider to meet its social and economic objectives,” Mr O’Reilly said. “The ability for the private sector to take part in the workplace accident insurance market will help bring more resources and innovation to the sector, to the benefit of employees.” BusinessNZ also welcomes the extension of the accredited employer scheme. “This scheme allows firms to manage their claims and achieve better safety outcomes.” Mr O’Reilly said with ACC competing against private sector insurers, it was important to ensure a level playing field for them all. “It will be important for ACC premiums to be set in a transparent manner without political interference. “BusinessNZ looks forward to working with Government in the consultation over policy detail.”

Organisations that offer their employees higher levels of trust, cooperation, fairness and economic benefits are rewarded with increased productivity, according to research by a Victoria University Economics Professor.   “We’ve all heard of the Golden Rule ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’—this works in economics as it does in life. If people are treated well they will work harder,” says Professor Morris Altman, who specialises in behavioural economics.   “So a Golden Rule for sustainable wealth creation is building more trusting and cooperative economic organisations.”   He cites Toyota as an example of a successful, competitive company with an employee-centred philosophy, including offering high wages, giving employees more say in the day-to-day operations of the company, offering more transparency about the company’s finances and avoiding heavy-handed monitoring of employees.   He also says in North America, department store Costco does just as well as Walmart, despite paying its workers approximately double the wages and offering better health benefits.   “The rate of return is just as good because Costco’s workers respond to being treated well by being more productive—it’s that simple.”   However, Professor Altman’s research shows that along with the success of the Golden Rule approach, it is possible for both highly self-serving as well as ‘trusting’ firms to survive in highly competitive environments. Although research indicates it is largely the trusting firms that are more productive in the long run, he believes it is not enough just to depend on the goodwill of employers to deliver a Golden Rule economy.   “As libertarian economist Friedrich Hayek argued, ‘we need institutions or circumstances that induce evil people to do good things’. This is happening increasingly in the world economy as tighter labour markets, often coupled with democratic rights, motivate employers to adopt and develop […]

  The Budget gave business little to sing and dance about. It was a ‘holding’ Budget, delivered in an election year with promises of things to come (ie, growth). The usual deficits apply and every commentator I have read in the past week does not see things changing much. With serious issues to face like growth in manufacturing I wonder where the imputus is going to come from to move the country ahead. I wonder where the vision is to develop a more dynamic economy. As I have said before, we do need a Minister of Manufacturing who can help move the country ahead. Not with promises of matching Australia by 2025 but with a more realistic aim. A Minister who can use the allocated $m36 for a boat race for manufacturing development instead. In the end, tourism is not going to do it for us.We need to make and export our own goods instead of relying on masses of Australian and Asian visitors to be a major revenue source. What do you think? What is your company doing to succeed? Let us know how it is for you. What are your impressions of the Budget?

In the picture: Industry Cluster (WAIC) chairman John Jones, left, and advisory board member John Cook sign the paperwork, with Opportunity Hamilton chief executive Sandra Perry and WAIC general manager Shaun Mitchell. It’s an exciting time in Waikato’s aviation history with the regionally-based Aviation Industry Cluster spreading its wings to become a business entity and charitable trust in its own right. The sign-over comes at a time the cluster is leading New Zealand aviation in numerous achievements, including the construction of a specialist aircraft paint facility near Hamilton International Airport. Opportunity Hamilton, the city’s economic development agency, has managed the aviation cluster contract since 2009 when it took over from the Katolyst Group. Opportunity Hamilton chief executive Sandra Perry, AIC chairman John Jones, AIC general manager Shaun Mitchell and board member John Cook, of Stainless Design, recently met to sign papers allowing the cluster to become its own entity. Sandra said the cluster stepping out of its own was the next step in recognising its vision to be the centre of light aircraft manufacture, maintenance and pilot training in Australasia.  “Upon setting up the cluster in three years ago, the goal was always for it to become self-sufficient so the signing has been a real achievement for everybody involved. It shows how there is huge potential for aviation in our region and in New Zealand,” Sandra said. Construction of the paint facility is a major accomplishment to the cluster’s achievements, including manufacturing more than 1000 aircraft, establishing an aluminium heat treatment plant and sealing a 650m grass runway. Aviation Industry Cluster Chairman, John Jones says the clusters’ milestones had the world taking notice of the region’s aviation sector. “Our counterparts throughout Australasia now really see aviation in the Waikato and in New Zealand as taking off, whereas in the past […]