Business News

Key business players back thriving Manawatū business confidence

Manawatū has emerged as one of New Zealand’s most resilient regions to come out of COVID-19, with some of the country’s leading companies heavily investing in the region. Strong business investment and an annual GDP growth of 4.6 per cent, coupled with the burgeoning Central New Zealand Distribution Hub (CNZDH) development, Manawatū is primed for unprecedented levels of growth. This investment is backed by annual commercial building consents for the region growing by 91 per cent between 2019 and 2021, compared with just two per cent nationally. CEDA spokesperson Ray Mudgway says the growing attractiveness of Manawatū for New Zealand and international companies has been aided by the CNZDH development, which will see the region become New Zealand’s central distribution hub. “COVID-19 and the latest lockdown in Auckland have highlighted the vulnerability of global supply chains along with the pressure on the efficient delivery of goods in New Zealand,” says Mudgway. “Businesses are recognising the advantages we have in Manawatū and the work being done to develop the regions strengths as a multi-modal logistics hub.” Mudgway says more than $8 billion of transport and infrastructure investment is planned and already under way in Palmerston North city and Manawatū in the next 10 years, fuelled by significant public and private investment. New Zealand food giant, Countdown is backing the region, opening their new $100 million distribution centre three weeks early to cope with demand in their supply chain. Countdown’s National Non-Retail Property & Development Manager, Bruce Waite, says their newly expanded distribution hub has already helped to relieve pressure on their network, exacerbated by the Auckland lockdown. “We’ve been able to supply many of our Waikato stores from our expanded central hub, which we weren’t previously able to do, giving us more flexibility and allowing us to be locationally reactive.” Waite believes Manawatū is ideally located to service the lower North Island, not only because of its central geographical location, but for […]

The Interview: Tellfrankie.com – Georgie Fenwicke, CEO and Founder

What do you do? Frankie is a Property and Operations Control Centre to get ahead of downtime and breakdowns. We build worldclass software that gets Ops teams and technicians/contractors on the same page. Is yours a growing business? Absolutely – we launched in 2020 through the first covid winter. That sounds a bit dark, but for us – it was extremely valuable as we were able to build a really useful product with our customers. Why did your business start? Operational chaos and complexity of managing property and equipment at scale on budget. We experienced the tools first hand and knew there was a better way. What opportunities do you see? Improve maintenance dollars spent and reduce downtime Increase productivity and revenue for contractors Create simple data driven decision making in a complex world of manufacturing and property maintenance Areas of activity? Potential growth areas? We’re going Global! How difficult is it to get the required required? We’re building a worldclass team at Frankie and have a mixture of Kiwis and American-Kiwis. Sam Minnee, former CEO/CTO of Silverstripe just joined on and in 2022 – we’re looking for great minds in Operations and Software Engineering We have a strong belief in ownership and getting s*** done at Frankie. Our remuneration is a combination of salary + ESOP Do you export? We’re just getting started here! What do you do? I’m the CEO and founder. My background was working in Supply Chain and then transport tech at Uber and Lime. I’m fascinated by workflow at a micro and macro scale and how it has the ability to level up how cities and businesses operate How do you see the current business climate? Positive and full of opportunity in the right places. You only have to start a discussion with a manufacturer […]

BusinessNZ says no

BusinessNZ has confirmed it is refusing to be the Government’s nominated partner in implementing unlawful compulsory national pay agreements known as Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs). BusinessNZ CEO Kirk Hope says New Zealand’s peak business organisation is not prepared to be part of a compulsory scheme that is unfair and out of touch with modern ways of working and has formally rejected the Government’s offer to be the default bargaining party for employers in the FPA scheme. “Compulsory FPAs are unlawful under both current domestic and international employment laws and are totally out of step with how we need to work in 2021. “They aren’t needed, they remove the flexibility and autonomy of modern workplaces and won’t improve pay and conditions for hardworking Kiwis. “We’ve told the Government from day one that FPAs are fundamentally flawed but they haven’t listened. MBIE officials sent us a letter during lockdown formally requesting we become the default bargaining party for businesses. That followed a Cabinet paper in May that wrote us into the proposed system without our agreement. “After thoroughly reviewing the latest proposal, we’ve formally refused the Government’s offer. It’s wrong for us to be part of a scheme that will do more harm than good to businesses and employees. “That also means we have turned down $250,000 in Government funding. The Government will fund the CTU the same amount to act for employees, but that also shuts out all non-affiliated unions, currently bargaining for their members, from the process, giving the CTU a monopoly on bargaining for all employees in New Zealand.” Mr Hope says the BusinessNZ Network, directly and indirectly, represents over 70,000 businesses across the country employing nearly 80% of New Zealand’s workforce, but that still didn’t give the organisation a mandate to represent all businesses. “Our role is to […]

Hutt Valley manufacturer stepping up to fill skill shortages

Like many other industries across New Zealand at present, the manufacturing industry is struggling with a shortage of trained talent due to Covid-19 restrictions on immigration and current work levels. One Hutt Valley manufacturer is taking on this challenge proposing an innovative way to help young people into engineering. MJH Engineering Ltd is one of New Zealand’s leading structural steel fabricators, specialising in the fabrication and installation of large-scale structural steel projects including industrial warehouses, commercial buildings, multi-storey tower-blocks, and seismic strengthening projects. Over the past couple of years, the Seaview-based company has grown in size due to its excellent track record of delivering top quality results and its reputation as one of the preferred steel subcontractors around town. Jeremy Mikoz, HR & Development Manager for MJH Engineering Ltd, says with the demand of projects comes the challenge of finding the right workers. “While there are private training enterprises out there, we’re finding in our industry that many students coming out of these institutions just aren’t receiving the training they need to be ‘job ready’. “On top of that New Zealand is now in one of the worst labour shortages we have seen in the last 10 years which in turn puts more pressure on obtaining talent and solving our work-flow issues.” As a result, Mikoz says they have come up with a solution – the “MJH Welding School.” The school, based at MJH Engineering, would provide a 6-week full-time training course with qualifications to help young people learn on the job skills and theory in welding. At the end of this course, the young people would come out with Unit Standards, a welding qualification, and 240 hours of practical, industry-related training. To top it off MJH Engineering would guarantee the 6 young people with jobs at the end of […]

Adoption of Industry 4.0 paves the way for growth in manufacturing

by Dr Troy Coyle, CEO, HERA Our world is changing. Climate change and pandemics have garnered much attention but there is another revolution underway. One that is likely to change the very fabric of the way we live and work. It is called Industry 4.0 and is the next stage of the industrial revolution. In 1794, the industrial revolution forever changed manufacturing with the introduction of the mechanical loom. Things changed fast. A mere hundred years later the first production line enabled mass production. Jump forward another hundred years and we witnessed the birth of industrial robots, that together with advances in electronics and IT have automated much of the manufacturing process. Today, we are entering a new age – Industry 4.0 – the age of cyber-physical systems; the marriage of physical production, and smart digital technology. It is not sci-fi. It is not the realm of filmmakers and futurists. Change is happening now and promises to transform industry as much, if not more so than, the introduction of water, steam, and electricity did in the past. What is Industry 4.0? In essence, Industry 4.0 enables companies to have better control and understanding of their business. The new technologies save time, boost productivity, and reduce waste. A panacea for considerable and sustainable growth. A quick search of the internet will provide you with a mountain of anachronisms – IoT, IIoT, CPS, AI, Big Data – to explain Industry 4.0. It is a catch-all term that encompasses all the technologies that enable businesses to collect and analyse data to help automate and streamline their systems and processes. It promises faster response times, increased efficiency and profits, and better quality products at a lower cost. Impact of new technology HERA’s latest report in collaboration with BERL, ‘Modelling the potential economic impacts of […]

What does a circular economy look like?

Part 2 of 2 of thinkstep-anz’s circular economy series By Dr. Jim Goddin In last month’s issue we introduced the circular economy’s inner and outer ‘loops’. Unlike the outermost loops, which focus on avoiding waste and recycling, the inner loops focus on recovering the significant value (manufacturing, intellectual property, branding, advertising, and services) that is lost when products are recycled. We called for greater ambition from New Zealand businesses and the Government to tackle these inner loops and set out the circular and economic advantages of doing this. Here we share local and international examples of companies tackling the inner loops – through their products, supply chains and business models. Designing products and systems with circularity in mind Reusabowl: circular products and systems Reusabowl provides a solution for waste created by single-use takeaway containers. The reusable food container goes far beyond recycling. The Wellington-based company has a reuse network that consists of many of the city’s eateries, making it easy for customers to pick up and drop off bowls at various locations. Reusabowl has also designed the systems around their product with circularity in mind. The Reusabowl container is made with a by-product of the rice-making process that would otherwise go to waste. At the end of their useful life, the bowls are collected and commercially composted. Lids for their containers are made of food-grade silicone and get recycled into headphones at the end of their life. XFrame: circular design tackling waste in the building industry Another example is XFrame, a structural wall framing system that allows walls to be deconstructed and reused many times. XFrame’s circular design tackles the source of New Zealand’s single largest contributor to landfills: the building industry. The Sustainable Business Network notes that construction projects using XFrame reduce the quantity of waste sent to landfills […]

First AML-BionVehdin-MilanCooper-ChrisCaigou

First AML raises $30 Million in Series B funding

New Zealand-based RegTech to enter Europe in global launch Growth fueled by strong customer demand and growing scrutiny in the wake of the Pandora Papers First AML provides an end-to-end due diligence platform that allows B2B companies to onboard and monitor clients more efficiently Over 350,000 entities have been verified in the company’s database Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Anti-money laundering (AML) tech company First AML has raised NZ $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Blackbird Ventures and international investor Headline, together with renewed commitments from existing investors Bedrock Capital, Icehouse Ventures and Pushpay founder Eliot Crowther. Fraud and money laundering, already a critical challenge to all digital transactions, have been on the rise due to the global instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigations such as the Pandora Papers have also reignited concerns on AML compliance and the transparency of international financial transactions. Emerging legislation and regulation is also requiring a greater number of businesses and financial intermediaries to perform CDD and AML checks throughout the lifetime of all their customer relationships. First AML is solving this problem through its regulatory technology (RegTech) solution that allows B2B clients such as financial service providers, law firms, real estate agencies, and accountants, to streamline their anti-money laundering compliance processes and minimise risk. In the picture: Bion Vehdin, Milan Cooper, Chris Caigou. The company’s end-to-end due diligence platform automates the identity verification of customers, with complete visibility and management oversight. It also includes improved biometric identification for remote verification and visual tools to help users understand the ownership of complex company structures. Leveraging global trends and network effects Launched in 2017 in New Zealand, First AML has since expanded to Australia in 2021. Raised on the back of strong international customer demand, today’s Series B round […]

Why manufacturing needs a new approach to cybersecurity

– by Robert Nobilo, Regional Director ANZ at Virsec Cyber-attacks continue to be an increasing concern for every industry. But recently they’re becoming a bigger issue for the manufacturing industry than most others. Cyber criminals frequently target manufacturing operations for their ransomware attacks. According to PwC’s Cyber Threats 2020: A Year in Retrospect report, the manufacturing sector and retail sectors shared the dubious honour of being the industries most targeted by ransomware: each accounted for 17 per cent of the total, well ahead of the second sector, technology, media and telecommunications with 10 per cent. The PwC report detailed one ransomware attack on a multinational manufacturer based in New Zealand; “The attack saw the vast majority of its systems encrypted and rendered inoperable, breaking its supply chain, halting global manufacturing and distribution, and putting its banking covenants at risk.” Another manufacturer hit by a cyber attack was local brewer Lion Australia, which also produces dairy products. In June 2020, it was hit by two ransomware attacks within 10 days, forcing it to halt beer production. The attackers were reported to be demanding a payment in excess of $AUD 1 million. Earlier this year, JBS USA Holdings, the world’s largest meat company, was hit by a ransomware attack and, as a result, paid a $11 million ransom. JBS Australia, Australia’s largest meat and food processing company, was disrupted by this attack and forced to close 47 meat processing plants in Australia. With these and other successful attacks, manufacturing will continue to be a high value target of ransomware gangs. The costly impact of ransomware on manufacturing The manufacturing sector is particularly sensitive to the impacts of ransomware and other cyber-attacks on two counts. Firstly, any disruption of day-to-day operations would likely leave a manufacturer unable to meet production demands, resulting […]

think step webinars

WEBINAR The EU, TCFD, and trade Thursday 28 October 2021, 3:00pm NZDT Hear from EU expert Caroline Lambert on what the European Union’s sustainable reporting requirements will mean and how they will impact non-financial reporting requirements in New Zealand in thinkstep-anz’s upcoming webinar. WEBINAR Planetary Accounting: Going beyond carbon Thursday 25 November 2021, 3:00pm NZDT How can we safely operate within the environmental limits without causing permanent harm to earth? In thinkstep-anz’s upcoming webinar, the Planetary Accounting Network Founding Director Kate Meyer and thinkstep-anz’s Technical Director Jeff Vickers will discuss how LCA and planetary accounting work together to minimise the causes of irreversible damage from our activities. www.thinkstep-anz.com

The Interview: Scott Matthews, Chief Executive, Easy Build Ltd

-by Rebecca Reed Why buy a modular house? Most of us dream of home ownership, in fact most people would argue that it’s a human right. We have all been raised in an environment in NZ where you commonly design your own home, and every home is different. The building industry advertise this all the time, but then customers wonder why the house is often poorly insulated, expensive and requires lots of heating. This is very different to many parts of the world where people by a house off plan and it is one of perhaps 30 in the same location that looks similar. I often make the analogy that if you want a good, reliable and fairly priced car, you would buy a Toyota Corolla, however if you want something different you would drive a custom build or a Ferrari. Looking at a modular home vs. a custom designed home, the pricing difference is similar, but you’ll get better bang for your buck with a modular home in terms of build time, thermal efficiency, environmental friendliness, and other benefits, when compared to a standard construction house of the same price. Modular homes are normally quick to build, well insulated and built, minimise waste and are normally priced the same as a similar sized home, but superior quality. Where did the concept come from for your company? The concept is relatively old, with the original inventor using this method some 30 years ago. However, the designs were brought up to date and the business was launched in its own right 5 years ago. We have a simple but enduring purpose. We want to provide Kiwis with warm, robust, and affordable housing because we believe everyone should enjoy living in their own EasyBuild home. What is your point of difference? We’re […]

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