When Hamilton manufacturer Innovative Dairy Systems (IDS) won a Euro 4.5 million contract to deliver a cheese making machine to a large food manufacturing company in Ireland it encountered a significant challenge. The challenge wasn’t a technical one, even though the buyer wanted a machine with the capacity to produce up to eight tonnes of […]
New Zealand expertise in renewable energy will be put to good use in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan when a University of Canterbury (UC) engineering student returns to her homeland. Sonam Zam is a new graduate of UC’s Master of Engineering Studies (Renewable Energy) programme in the Civil and Natural Resources Engineering department. Her travel to Christchurch […]
With changing consumer and business demands bringing greater competition to global markets, companies in New Zealand’s engineering and manufacturing sectors must consistently evolve in order to win new business and succeed. A term that has saturated global markets for the last decade is Industry 4.0 – the digitalisation of manufacturing. What we are in fact […]
Facteon’s new partnership with Universal Robots to benefit local manufacturers Global factory solutions specialist, Facteon, has announced its collaboration with Universal Robots – an international market leader in collaborative robots (cobots). The partnership, which will make cobots more accessible to the New Zealand manufacturing sector, is the latest move from Facteon and showcases the business’s […]
New Plymouth-based McKechnie Aluminium is now home to New Zealand’s largest and most technologically advanced aluminium extrusion press. The Italian press, named ‘Giulia’ literally means ‘youth’ and its broader meaning is ‘new’ and ‘prosperous’. McKechnie Managing Director Mr Pramod Khatri says: “This significant investment is part of our strategy to grow our business and futureproof our customer base, employees and local community. McKechnie has been manufacturing, exporting and creating employment […]
The engineering and metals industries are at an exciting but challenging crossroads. While BAU is vital from a cash flow and business stability standpoint, the work of future proofing is urgent, both to shore up the sector now and protect it over the volatile next decade and beyond. This is the philosophy behind HERA’s Future […]
By Adele Rose – 3R Group Chief Executive When it comes to action on human-accelerated climate change in New Zealand we often look to conversations held in the main centres like Auckland and Wellington, or action from central Government to lead the way. But Hawke’s Bay is showing regional Aotearoa is just as capable of […]
Barbara Nebel, CEO, thinkstep-anz This year has seen a significant rise in consumer concern around environmental and social issues, and a corresponding demand for better information about products and business practices. Colmar Brunton’s Better Futures report[1] in February found that New Zealanders had the highest levels of concern about climate change in a decade, but […]
Fiona Kingsford, CEO, Competenz 2019 has been a year of extremes in the manufacturing industry, impacted by both a skills shortage and a government reform that will reshape vocational education. New Zealand is facing its biggest skills shortage in decades. By 2024, more than 18,000 people will be needed to fill new roles and replace […]
-Leeann Watson, Chief Executive Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce The last year has been– not quite the transformational 2019 that many expected – but as we head into 2020 and the general election, I think that will likely change. There was the release of a Government Budget focused on wellbeing, as well as the announcement […]