News Ticker

How manufacturers can prepare for the ESPR
Tech isn’t the Hero, it’s the plucky sidekick
Finding Your True Competitive Edge: A Guide for Manufacturers
Fixing manufacturing’s billion-dollar harm problem
Steel awards showcase local industry’s expertise and sophistication
Aotearoa’s Industry 4.0 journey
5S – Not That Old Chestnut
Scott Aylett, SEA Electrical a winner

Business News

  Good start to 2015

The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during February 2015, shows total sales in January 2015 increased 10.29% (year on year export sales increased by 11.61% with domestic sales increasing 6.52%) on January 2014. The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$502m in annualised sales, with an export content of 75%. Net confidence fell to 21, down from 38 in December. The current performance index (a combination of profitability and cash flow) is at 100.3, down from 101.3 last month, the change index (capacity utilisation, staff levels, orders and inventories) was at 100, down from 103 in the last survey, and the forecast index (investment, sales, profitability and staff) is at 106.5, down on the last result of 108.33.  Anything over 100 indicates expansion. Constraints reported were 50% markets, 36% production capacity, and 14% skilled staff. Net 7% of firms reported a modest rise in productivity for January. Staff numbers for January increased 0.62%. Tradespersons, supervisors, managers, and operators/labourers all reported a moderate shortage, while professional/scientists showed a minor shortage. “Domestic sales continued their positive trend, bouncing back from falls in the middle of 2014.  Year on year export sales turned positive this month, after their falling trend towards the end of 2014.  The market constraint reduced, while the production capacity constraint increased,” says NZMEA Chief Executive John Walley. “Confidence and all three index measures fell back this month, even though both export and domestic sales saw improvements.  This is in contrast to recent months, where confidence and index measures have often been improving in the face of falling or flat sales.” “For most exporters the rebound of the U.S. economy is providing a bright spot and growth opportunities; in contrast the recent rise of the NZ$ against the AU$ has added pressure for […]

Rex Bionics

Rex Bionics widens full-year loss as commercialisation costs rise

Rex Bionics Plc, the New Zealand company listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market, said higher costs to commercialise its robotic exoskeletons widened its full year loss to 3.56 million pounds from 480,000 pounds a year earlier. The London based company, whose exoskeletons allows wheelchair bound people to walk, has changed its reporting date to March 31 from Nov. 30 but has released unaudited results for the 12 months ended Nov. 30 that include, for the first time, the results of its two subsidiaries in New Zealand and Australia. It will release final, audited results for the 16 months ending March 31 in May. Rex Bionic’s shares recently traded at 67.5 pounds, having almost halved in value in December after the company warned that commercial sales would take longer than expected to eventuate. In a market update with the release of its results, the company reiterated that it expects only nominal sales this financial year, with some improvement in the first half of the 2016 financial year, and “a stronger growth trajectory” towards the end of that period. Chief executive Crispin Simon said the company was making good progress with plans to accumulate compelling clinical evidence rather than just user feedback on the health benefits of its robotic exoskeletons. Preliminary data from a study of 11 wheelchair dependent patients showed all were able to complete the prescribed exercises and competently use the Rex joystick, with no adverse events. Further details on the trial will be presented at medical conferences in the next few months. The company’s main focus is on a 100 patient clinical trial to convince the rehabilitation community of Rex’s benefits with ethics committee approval expected this month and the first patient recruited soon after. It is also bringing forward a US clinical trial to secure FDA […]

Claudia Batten

Kiwi global entrepreneur to speak at University of Waikato

Members of the public have an opportunity to hear from Kiwi entrepreneur extraordinaire Claudia Batten at a free public talk being held at the University of Waikato on Friday, 13 March. Ms Batten, a globally successful technology entrepreneur who has lived in the United States for the past 13 years, will be the guest speaker at an event organised by Waikato Management School’s Alumni Board. A regular speaker on digital innovations and building businesses for the future, she will discuss emerging trends in robotics, e-commerce, gamification, crowdsourcing and data. Ms Batten was recently appointed as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s regional director for North America, where she is tasked with the challenge of helping Kiwi businesses to break into the highly competitive markets of the US, Canada and Mexico. She is also a director of The Icehouse, an Auckland-based incubator company that helps small-to-medium-enterprises to grow. The free talk will be held at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts from 6-9pm. Parking available from Gate 2B, Knighton Road, Hamilton. Following the talk, the public is also invited to attend a dinner with Claudia Batten, at a cost of $60 per person. If you’d like to attend the talk and/or dinner, email nwalm@waikato.ac.nz or phone 07 838 4477 by Tuesday, 10 March. Ms Batten brings a wealth of experience to her new role at NZTE, having achieved great commercial success with many of her own start-up technology businesses over the past 15 years. In 2014, she received a World Class New Zealand Supreme Award from the Kea New Zealand global business network, whose annual awards celebrate our most inspirational Kiwis living at home and abroad. She was part of the founding team of Massive, a first-of-its kind network for delivering online advertisements to video games, which was later sold to Microsoft […]

India

Importance of India highlighted by trade talks and soaring business confidence

On the back of a further round of trade talks between New Zealand and India that were concluded last week, soaring Indian business confidence levels continue to underpin the importance of the world’s second biggest country to New Zealand. It ishe 10th round of negotiations to create a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries concluded last week, attended by five negotiators from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, supported by the High Commission in India. Greg Thompson, National Director, Tax at Grant Thornton New Zealand, said that a recent International Business Review (IBR) survey of 35 countries showed India had the highest business confidence at 98% with New Zealand second equal with Ireland at 82%. “India’s business confidence levels have been high for some time and this buoyancy can only flow through to the rest of the economy and a continuation of the growth in trade between India and New Zealand,” he said. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, India is New Zealand’s 15th-largest bilateral trading partner. For the year ended June 2013, overall goods trade between the two countries was over NZ$ 1.1 billion. Of that total, $725.912 million was New Zealand exports going to India, making India our 12th-largest export destination. “Even this figure understates the importance of the Indian market, with exports having increased rapidly from just NZ$366 million five years earlier, reflecting India’s emerging economic power. “India is also a key services market and has quickly become New Zealand’s second-largest source of international students. There were 11,652 international fee-paying students from India in New Zealand in 2013, nearly double the number in 2008. “Over 29,000 Indians visited New Zealand in 2012, preferring to come during their summer (April to June) making them a valuable source of visitors for New Zealand’s autumn […]

Delcam PIC

Delcam announces new Leadership

Manufacturing software developer Delcam announces that Pete Baxter has been appointed to lead Delcam in the new role of Vice President. Pete joins Delcam from its parent company, Autodesk, Inc, where he was a Vice President of Sales and served as the country manager for Autodesk in the United Kingdom. “I’m thrilled to announce the appointment of Pete Baxter as Vice President, Delcam Ltd.,” said Buzz Kross, Autodesk senior vice president, Design, Lifecycle and Simulation. “In his new role, Pete will be responsible for managing the global Delcam business, and for leading the company in the next stage of its growth. Pete brings to Delcam extensive leadership experience and knowledge, critical in helping Delcam develop closer connections to Autodesk, to the benefit of both organisations and our customers.” “I am delighted to be joining Delcam, and helping create the next generation of manufacturing software,” said Pete Baxter, Vice President, Delcam, Ltd. “The company has an unrivalled reputation for the support and industry-leading products it offers to manufacturing companies around the world. I look forward to working with Delcam’s staff and reseller channel to accelerate the growth of the business and to deliver an even better manufacturing experience to our customers.” Pete joined Autodesk in 2004, most recently serving as a Vice President in the Autodesk Worldwide Sales organisation. Prior to that, he held a number of other sales and management roles, including head of sales for Northern Europe, where he was responsible for sales across the Manufacturing, AEC, Media and Entertainment industries. Previously, Pete held management positions at companies including Revit Technology Corporation, Bentley Systems and PTC.

Developer PIC

Developer co-funds “essential” roading and work is underway

Multi-million-dollar roading and infrastructure projects are finally underway at the State Highway 6, new Eastern Arterial Road (EAR) and the State Highway Glenda Drive intersections in Queenstown, to the relief of Shotover Park developer, the Porter Group. Porter Group CEO Alastair Porter said that after so many years the wider community would be delighted to see these roading projects getting underway. “It’s been a case of working with the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) and the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) for many years to finally achieve this,” he said. The new roading will access a new 8,000sqm Mitre 10 Mega store scheduled to open in spring 2015 and a future PAK’nSAVE supermarket. “In addition to these there’s approximately another 30 commercial industrial adjoining sites on the Shotover Park development that have been sold to predominantly Queenstown businesses, many of which are very keen to get on with their development,” said Mr Porter. “This is wonderful news for Queenstown because it will significantly expand affordable living opportunities and broaden the range of products and services which are desperately needed to underwrite Queenstown’s continued rapid growth.” Mr Porter said the State Highway 6 Eastern Arterial Road roundabout project was “long overdue”. He said NZTA had made it clear that a private funding contribution was essential for this project to proceed. For this purpose the Porter Group had arranged funding for two-thirds of the required private contributions. Also to ensure that a connection between Glenda Drive and the new EAR could be open before next winter 2015, the Porter Group let a contract to Fulton Hogan in November to undertake pre-road earthworks and underground services. “The whole community is aware of the number of accidents there have been at this intersection, let alone congestion problems,” said Mr Porter. “For this reason we […]

Greater effort needed by NZ businesses to strengthen Asian ties

New Zealand businesses still have a lot to learn if they want to succeed in lucrative Asian markets, according to Crowe Horwarth Managing Principal and current President of the Hong Kong New Zealand Business Association Andrew Sayers. Sayers, who leads the firm’s Asia Business team in New Zealand, said New Zealand companies have made big strides in recent years, however, there was a lot of room for improvement. “The Asian region is playing an increasingly important role in our economy, accounting for six of our current top 10 trading partners,” he said. “There are still significant trade and investment opportunities that have yet to be explored but New Zealand businesses need to put greater effort into understanding and engaging with their Asian counterparts. “Cultural and values differences continue to present challenges for doing business in Asia, and can often be the tipping point when it comes to getting something off the ground locally or offshore. If done well, the benefits of improving business relationships between New Zealand and Asia are numerous, from job creation to joint ventures.” Sayers said with the surge in business opportunities between the Asia Pacific regions, Crowe Horwath had moved to bolster its Asia Business team. Recent local appointments to the global accounting and business advisory firm have included high powered Asian business experts Kenneth Leong and Yan Zhang. Zhang has over 20 years experience in international trade and investment, while Leong has a long track record of facilitating business across cultures, from deal origination to execution. “In essence, they will act as ‘relationship brokers’ between Asian investors and Asian business owners, and New Zealand businesses. I have no doubt that our clients will benefit from the wealth of experience and extensive Asian networks that both Zhang and Leong bring to the business.” Sayers said the […]

Leaders seek deeper trans-Tasman links

The 10th anniversary meeting of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum takes place in Auckland tomorrow. The Leadership Forum is an annual meeting of business, political and community leaders from Australia and New Zealand sharing a goal of closer trans-Tasman relations. Past work of the Forum has included helping accelerate the Single Economic Market (SEM), border control reforms, supporting joint trade agreements with other nations, and work on expanding investment in both countries. This year’s meeting will continue the focus on trade, tourism and progress towards SEM along with productivity, technology, infrastructure and investment issues. New Zealand Co-Chair Adrian Littlewood (Chief Executive Auckland Airport) said the success of CER and a deepening SEM means Australia and New Zealand have a strong platform from which to grow trade with each other and with the rest of the world. “Our goal at this Forum is to develop some new ideas for leadership between the two countries and together as we face the world,” said Mr Littlewood. McKinsey & Company will be assisting the Forum’s thinking on global connectedness by presenting a report on the flows of goods, services, capital and people our two countries have with the rest of the world. Australian Co-Chair Hon Warwick Smith AM (Senior Managing Director ANZ Bank and Chairman Australia China Council) said business placed a high priority on securing investment for future business growth. “The Trans-Tasman relationship as a whole would particularly benefit from a better understanding in both countries of the importance of foreign direct investment for generating growth,” Mr Smith said. He said the Forum would advocate for a better trans-Tasman investment environment. The Forum’s Secretariat is supported by BusinessNZ, with funding from business and the New Zealand Government. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly said trans-Tasman businesses shared many common issues, including the need […]

New Zealand falling behind in sustainable business practices

There is a growing demand by New Zealand businesses for a return to government intervention in sustainable development issues, said one of the keynote speakers at the recent Sustainability Symposium at the University of Waikato. Professor of Management Communication Juliet Roper says the New Zealand government has taken a hands-off approach to the environment and climate change, by claiming that too much regulation would economically disadvantage New Zealand businesses relative to international competitors. Yet despite initial relief from the business community, her research shows some businesses are now concerned about the repercussions for New Zealand’s ‘clean, green’ brand image. “New Zealand is falling behind the rest of the world in regulating for sustainable business practices, especially in comparison to European countries,” says Professor Roper. “We have been warned of the flow-on consequences of this for years by major UK retailers such as Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer.” “There needs to be more stringent legislation and that needs to be monitored for compliance. We all benefit from New Zealand’s clean, green image, so we need to back it up with some overarching policy,” says Professor Roper. The sustainability symposium attracted about 50 researchers from across campus to examine sustainability from a wide range of economic, social, education, health and cultural perspectives. About half of the academics who presented papers at the symposium were from Waikato Management School, which was the first business school in New Zealand to place a strong focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

NZ manufacturers suffer, Australian assets look cheaper as dollar parity looms

New Zealand manufacturing exporters are facing record headwinds from the kiwi’s strength against the Australian dollar, with foreign exchange traders and strategists almost evenly split on whether the currencies will reach parity. The New Zealand dollar touched a post-float record of 96.77 Australian cents overnight and recently traded at 96.53 cents. Six of 13 strategists and advisers in a BusinessDesk survey today say the kiwi dollar will reach A$1 this year. The options market is pricing in a 56 percent chance of parity, according to Bloomberg data. The kiwi has gained about 9 percent against the Australian dollar since the start of the fourth quarter last year, making New Zealand products less competitive across the Tasman and reducing the value of sales when they are repatriated from the nation’s second-largest market. Exports to Australia dropped almost 4 percent in the fourth quarter, government figures show. The New Zealand economy is on a stronger path than Australia’s and the gap may widen amid signs dairy product prices are recovering while hard commodities such as iron ore and coal remain weak. A gap of 125 basis points in New Zealand’s favour has opened up between central bank benchmark interest rates and traders are betting Australia could cut rates again. “Australia is a mine and New Zealand is a farm,” said Fergus McDonald, who helps manage about $2.5 billion as head of bonds and currency at Nikko Asset Management NZ. “Economically speaking, New Zealand is on a better trajectory than Australia at the moment and our interest rates are probably going to be higher for quite some time, so that does support a little bit further strength in the kiwi.” The degree that ‘farm’ products are recovering will be known overnight, with the GlobalDairyTrade auction, after the price of whole milk powder soared […]

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