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Opening their West Auckland plant to students to host a Competenz Discovery Tour during August’s national Got a Trade Week proved a good way for award-winning winemaker Matua Valley Wines to help young people learn about a career in their industry and connect with a potential future workforce. Matua winemaker Nikolai St George who led the tour says the company was pleased to host the students and help them learn about the career opportunities available to them. “I can remember being in the situation these students are in, and I know that getting the right careers advice early on is really important,” says Nikolai. “It gives you direction and something to work towards – and that’s motivating. Employers and schools need to do more of this.” Students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori a Rohe in Mangere, Auckland were among those attending the tour. “Today was a great experience,” says student Ruhia Henare-Samuels. “I learnt the whole cycle of how wine is made and how it is put into bottles. I’d like to thank the staff at Matua for having me on this taster day.” Got a Trade Week was also a chance for students and jobseekers to hear from current learners, including apprentices, who are enjoying the benefits of training on-the job in their chosen trade. Trainees earn while they learn and finish their training with a job in their chosen field – not looking for one. They also gain practical skills they can use from day one and qualifications that are recognised by employers across New Zealand. Competenz customer Matua joined 18 other companies around the country in generously opening their doors to host a Competenz Discovery Tour.

Today’s drop in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) has been hailed as the right move in the current economic climate by the Employers and Manufacturers Association. The Reserve Bank reduced the OCR by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent. Chief Executive Officer, Kim Campbell, says the much anticipated drop was in keeping with the EMA’s call to keep the country’s economy competitive. “We think this is good news for our members and keeps us on a steady economic keel,” says Mr Campbell. He says the economic fundamentals remain stable and he would expect it to continue in this direction – with growth at two percent and inflation still below target. “Obviously, today’s announcement is excellent news for our exporters. We’ve seen some sectors improve markedly over the past few months, as was evidenced in the most recent July trade figures, with meat and fruit leading the way. Tourism is also performing extremely well at present, contributing around four percent to our gross domestic product. “Imported goods rose in July by 4.8% compared with a year earlier. While there is some inflation being experienced, it’s manageable,” says Mr Campbell.

The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during August 2015, shows total sales in July 2015 increased 2.48% (year on year export sales increased by 4.70% with domestic sales decreasing 0.18%) on July 2014. The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$511m in annualised sales, with an export content of 56%. Net confidence rose to 12, up from 6 in June. The current performance index (a combination of profitability and cash flow) is at 107, up from 102.3 last month, the change index (capacity utilisation, staff levels, orders and inventories) was at 97, up from 96 in the last survey, and the forecast index (investment, sales, profitability and staff) is at 107.33, up on the last result of 103.33. Anything over 100 indicates expansion. Constraints reported were 80% markets, 12% production capacity, 4% skilled staff and 4% capital. Net 24% of firms reported a modest rise in productivity in July. Staff numbers for July decreased 1.78% year on year. Tradespersons, supervisors, managers, professional/scientists and operators/labourers all reported a moderate shortage “Export sales bounced back in July, moving back into expansion and improving 4.7% on July 2014. Domestic sales improved once again; however are still yet to break back into year on year increases, “says NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam. “Manufacturers and exporters continue to feel more positive, with sentiment improving across the board, including confidence and all three index measures up on June’s result. Staff numbers fell year on year for the first time since February, however over the last two years trend staff levels in manufacturing have been positive. “The lower currency continues to be commented on as a positive for most, putting their margin and export competitiveness in a better position. Conversely, there are some who have seen input costs rise […]

By Johnathan Chen The recent New Balance case should be a big wake up call for Kiwi companies exporting to Asian markets, especially those capitalising on e-commerce to do so. Selling online is a great idea as it gives companies ready access to untapped consumer markets – especially in China, where the emerging middle class’ demand for foreign goods is hard to service except by e-commerce platforms, and for those consumers that are in more remote areas of China. The reach of e-commerce is far and wide; at it is expanding at a rapid pace. But beware; the risks that come with it are significantly larger too. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. the US sportswear and shoe giant, was recently ordered to pay $22m in damages for infringing a trade mark – the largest amount awarded in China’s Guangzhou Court history for a trade mark case. James & Wells Head of Asia Division, Johnathan Chen, says that with e-commerce growing incredibly fast in China it’s a very tempting avenue for Kiwi companies wanting to increase sales to take, but they need to be careful. “The New Balance example shows that Chinese courts really mean business and will take action against ‘blatant infringers’. It gave the benefit of the doubt to the original IP rights owner, even over a huge international company,” he says. In 2006 New Balance set up a Chinese subsidiary and marketed its products under the Chinese brand ‘Xinbailun’ (which references ‘New (Xin) Balance (Bailun)’). However, the brand ‘Bailun’ had already been registered in 1996 by a private businessman in relation to shoes, hats and other clothing. He subsequently registered a series of related marks, which included ‘Xinbailun’, and was granted trade mark rights in 2008. He then sued New Balance in 2011, who claimed they were innocent […]

Katalin Csikasz, TechPro Plus www.techproplus.co.nz In last month’s edition of NZ Manufacturer we touched on two projects where companies gained the competitive edge to become industry market leaders. The first project, which we detailed in last month’s publication, involved providing the industry with a reliable in-ground corrosion control solution which has subsequently become an industry specification; giving the company both recognition and a competitive edge. We also provided a model which could assist you to become a market leader, helping you stay ahead of the competition and/or implement your idea to benefit the industry. In this month’s edition we will provide more detail about how to become a market leader by outlining a project which positively impacted the New Zealand Telecommunication industry. This project is a great example of how using innovative, outside the box design thinking can minimise project complexity and reduce installation cost. Innovative design solution impacting the New Zealand Telecommunication Industry: In early 2000, as the Principal Engineer for TechPro Plus, I was onsite as a representative of a pole manufacturing company to observe the installation of both a 3m ground stub and the supplied telecommunication column. To complete the task the project required a hiab and traffic management for two days as well as a small concrete mixer, about 6 installers and a massive hole in the ground. This was a complex and challenging task that required the team to work hard to fight the rigid 100 outside diameter duct pipes through a tiny hole into the ground stub. The realisation that there must be a better way to do this was the moment when my innovative, sophisticated design of the “I” beam open section ground stub was born. Despite the 250% cost increase of the ground stub itself, due to its sophisticated details; the design […]