Analysis

By Doug Green Its election year. You can tell by the increased political activity currently underway by our party leaders. I don’t know if you saw John Key on television last night but his performance raises more questions than answers. The National focus on off-selling a percentage of energy companies and making available the buying of a percentage of Air New Zealand is dealing with debt. We all know that! It seems like a garage sale – get in some money to pay the power bill. The underlying issues in this country remain to be dealt with and if National doesn’t get tit’s act together soon they will be turfed out come November. These issues include: addressing the tax system (again) and a commitment to the manufacturing sector. I don’t know why political parties don’t get it – if you don’t have things being made and being sold overseas you don’t actually have the base for a strong economy.  If we are dependant on wool and milk alone and these exports can reduce the $M300 weekly debt the country has, then my argument doesn’t hold water. It seems we are dealing with political insanity. A government that will at some stage cut and slash, put more people out of work, not having meaningful employment for them to be involved in. If benefits are reduced in this climate all that is happening (again) is reduction of debt and a further indication of impoverishment, which certain overseas organizations believe we have problems with.

According to the motto “Facts not promises” Engel has invited customers to participate in a spectacular energy bet with a “money back guarantee”. Each customer who purchases a suitable energy package with a tiebar- less Engel victory or Engel duo large-scale machine receives a guarantee that energy consumption will be lower than for a comparable hydraulic machine from the competition. Proof will be provided by way of energy measurement. In the event that the measurements at the customer’s premises show a higher energy consumption for the Engel machine with energy package than for the competitor’s machine, Engel will refund the costs of the energy package. The promotion is scheduled to run from the K 2010 fair until 31 December 2010. There is hardly an issue that is more emotionally rated and yet somehow evades objective criteria than energy consumption. EuroMap 60 provides a fair, drive-independent method of comparing the energy consumption of injection moulding machines from different suppliers. Until now these figures were only published by Engel and displayed on fair exhibits. Many injection moulding machine manufacturers promote would-be energy-saving solutions with strong advertising claims which they often fail to bear upon objective examination – for example energy measurements. Energy package: ecodrive, injection cylinder insulation and ecograph Engel is countering this with a strong argument according to the motto “Facts not promises”. With every purchase of a machine together with a suitable energy package, Engel guarantees that the customer’s energy consumption will be reduced. The energy package consists of the servo-hydraulic ecodrive, an injection cylinder insulation and ecograph – the analysis tool on the Engel control unit which enables the user to always keep track of current energy consumption. The promotion applies to the Engel victory and Engel duo machines from the start of the K Fair until 31 December […]

You can say that again, with Pike River, the Christchurch Earthquake, the Te Aroha meatworks fire, financial companies collapsing and a lack of stimulus being injected into the economy. Without dwelling on tragedy it is of serious concern that New Zealand’s future direction is unclear. Two years into a National government we have not seen any injection of ideas and enthusiasm to grow the manufacturing base of the country. We hear about a trade agreement with Russia in a few years time and how we are getting on better with the Americans. We have plenty of industry specialists and business consultants who continually offer their words of wisdom on what we need to do next to get ahead. We have a government which thinks we can catch up with Australia without clearly showing us how this may be possible. So who is listening to whom? Are the words only posturing without action being seen? To be fair, at least Stephen Joyce recently talked about putting in place vastly improved broadband services. Are all the experts not experts after all, who tell us how it is, who don’t have the clout to make things happen? So what do we make of 2010? It was a year where our small businesses kept their fingers in the dyke, desperately seeking ways to get ahead and to stop any more financial leaks. It was a time of acknowledging that our key markets overseas are best serviced by our export companies themselves. No incentives please, we’re Kiwis! Going through the back issues of NZ Manufacturer for the year, I can read of some inspiring developments by some of our innovators. Very creative people who get through on the smell of an oily rag, make a lot of the running for success, who jump on large […]

I like the attitude of Peter Rocque, the boss of Acton Tools who believes in the value of skills and craftsmanship to resurrect the global economy. He also believes it is time to bring in the redundant, the newly arrived immigrants, the graduates and give them a chance, reinforced by industry knowledge. Help train them, rent them work area space and use of machinery and face the fact that no one else is going to fund anyone in this environment. I don’t know about you but all of this makes perfectly good sense to me. In actual fact it is has a common sense, logical way to go appeal about it. Peter’s thoughts may be the same ones that you have. You may be doing similar things within your company, to move ahead, process the orders and build for the future. Assist with the country’s economic growth. Are you? If that’s the case, why don’t people know about it? Are you guarded about company activities and don’t want to share, as Peter does, through a fear of releasing important information,on the state of your business or are you just too busy to communicate your philosophy for success? If everything at your company is going swimmingly well, then congratulations, and keep up the good work because the country needs manufacturing success today like never before. Where ever you are, in Ashburton, Timaru or Kaitaia, I suggest you take the advice that Peter offers; and that is do not be the decline of manufacturing. Look after the tradespeople in your company. Look for the signs, don’t use band aids and preserve the future. Finally, there are a lot of companies winning awards lately. Gaining overseas orders and contracts? Is your company one of the lucky ones? Let us know and we’ll share […]

 By Karlene Davis, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Thai airports will soon experience a smoother, more efficient flow of baggage and cargo handling, while greener vehicles will run on the country’s roads in the near future, thanks to two Kiwi companies who have secured partnerships in Thailand.  DieselGas, specialising in dual fuel technology, have developed electronic conversion kits that allow vehicles to switch between using diesel and gas, while baggage-handling specialists Glidepath provide design, manufacture and implementation services – useful as Thailand upscales airport infrastructure.     Glidepath and DieselGas’s respective partnerships with Thai companies aren’t surprising given Thailand’s heavy concentration on automobile manufacturing for export in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market. The manufacture of electronic goods is another huge area.  Other New Zealand companies considering Thailand need only look to the country’s projected continual growth for 2010. Foreign Direct Investment here increased to NZ$9.85 billion in the first half, and this is set to accelerate in 2011.  From an economic standpoint, Thailand hit a 15-year high with 12 percent growth in the first quarter for 2010, while GDP growth for the second quarter was equally strong at nine percent year-on-year. In fact, Thailand’s first half of 2010 alone saw its best two consecutive quarters of growth since 1995, despite political turmoil. Though disruptive, the roads, ports and most businesses remained unaffected and in September, the Thai finance ministry raised its 2010 forecast for the third time in six months. This presents further opportunities for New Zealand manufacturers.  Like most of Asia, Thailand is also looking to reduce greenhouse emissions and is keen to identify low-carbon projects that may be eligible for the Clean Technology Fund, one of two Climate Investment Funds, which helps developing countries transform their industries to produce less carbon emissions.  DieselGas’s entry into the Thai […]

The Reserve Bank seems to have recognised the weaknesses in our trading partners that should have prevented any Official Cash Rate (OCR) hikes until this point, but has not found the resolve to reverse earlier hikes. The two hikes have and will continue to reduce growth in the export economy say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA). NZMEA Chief Executive John Walley says, “There has been talk of further quantitative easing in the United States, and the Bank of Japan has just intervened in currency markets to bring down the value of the Yen. We will see our growth prospects continue to suffer while these comparisons are ignored.” “Debt has become the dominant force in the economy with businesses and households choosing to retire debt rather than invest or consume. This means lower inflationary pressure over the medium term. “This begs the question: why has monetary policy stimulus been removed? The tradeable sector has never been an inflation driver, and with the domestic pressure gone there is no reason to inflict damage on the tradeable sector. As we have said previously, pride should not get in the way of a prudent decision. “The message is simple; we will not see new export investment leading the recovery with the dollar at 72US cents.”

Employers are getting it wrong more than right when it comes to dealing with personal grievance claims, and one of the key reasons is failure to follow procedure. Angela Atkins, Human Resources Institute of New Zealand training facilitator and author explores why. A recent Employers and Manufacturers Association review of the 521 cases which went before the Employment Relations Authority in 2008 showed that 67% fell in favour of the employee. Part of the problem is that in many cases employers have not followed the required process, which is particularly true when it comes to dealing with poor performance in the workplace. Poor performance issues can seriously impact productivity, team spirit and workplace culture, however the good news is that if you follow the process correctly when dealing with the problem, it may well remedy the problem in the early stages without the need for further action. Essentially the required procedure for dealing with poor performance involves the following steps: Discuss and Give Advice on How to Improve The first step in dealing with poor performance is to have a discussion with the employee about where they are not meeting expectations. An employer needs to give guidance and support as well as discussing what the employee needs to take responsibility for. It’s important to put this performance plan in writing, outlining specifically what is needed for improvement, and who will do what by when. The plan also provides written documentation of process having been followed, and should state that if improvement doesn’t occur, then disciplinary action may occur. Work through a Warning Procedure If there is no improvement as a result of stage one then an employer may take disciplinary action and work through giving a warning. The time frames will differ depending on the situation. Advise the employee in […]