Business News

Manufacturing in the age of sustainability

For companies to be truly sustainable, they not only need to limit the impact of the manufacturing process but create products that benefit society, writes Iain Hosie. Globally, the heat is on companies to continue to reduce waste and prioritise sustainability when developing or manufacturing products. Constantly fine-tuning processes and researching new, environmentally friendly methods is essential to making this change happen. So, using safer, less toxic solvents, or monitoring and changing production processes to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, is great. But as a manufacturer, there is more to sustainability than being clean, green, and doing your bit for climate change. Key to being a sustainable business is creating a range of products and applications that make a difference in society – while also working to limit its impact on the planet. Companies and manufacturers also have an opportunity to influence and encourage sustainable customer behaviour through the way they design and produce their products. This needs to be an increasingly important consideration for manufacturers if they want to be taken seriously in the sustainability stakes. Take the unique technology behind Revolution Fibres’ nanofibre skincare product, ActivLayr, which uses collagen to deliver natural actives deep into the skin. This is in stark contrast to the excessive amount of chemicals found in traditional creams and serums. ActivLayr technology also has strong potential beyond the skincare industry. With the ability for different ingredients to be added to the ActivLayr formula it could one day enable a controlled drug dose to be delivered to a patient for more effective and efficient treatment. The beauty of nanofibre – a class of textile made from superfine fibres 1/500th the width of a human hair which can create vast changes in strength, reactivity, and absorbency – is that it can be used […]

Interview – Karen Swainson

Karen is Operations Manager for Mindful Money, a charitable social enterprise established in 2018. Mindful Money aims to make money a force for good. The current focus is on empowering members of the public to choose a KiwiSaver fund and/or investment fund that aligns with their values. Why do you do what you do? How long have you been doing it? I am committed to working towards an environmentally sustainable and socially just future, and one of the most effective ways of doing that, is by changing the flow of money. After all, money makes the world go round! Finance underpins all the solutions we need to create a future with a resilient economy where we can live in harmony with the planet and provide everyone with what they need to live a healthy, dignified life. So, when I heard about Mindful Money, I knew I wanted to be involved. My background is in project management, encompassing both IT and behaviour change, and I thrive on the challenge of small business and start-ups. I got involved with Mindful Money prior to the launch of the website, in early 2019, and I love the variety of my role – from finance and HR, to project managing the website and presenting to corporates about what we do. When I graduated with a maths degree 20+ years ago I swore I wouldn’t work in finance, but it’s managed to lure me in through the back door by appealing to my values! How are you finding current business conditions? It’s been a year of demonstrating adaptability for us, like so many businesses. With Covid came the market downturn, which put the brakes on anyone wanting to move their KiwiSaver. Our main source of income, through the referral fees we receive when people switch to […]

Timing wrong for minimum wage rise

The EMA says the long-planned minimum wage increase to $20 per hour is coming at precisely the wrong time for some of its members and many other New Zealand businesses. “Not raising the minimum wage was the second most requested change the government could make to assist business in the current environment in our just completed annual member survey,” says Chief Executive Brett O’Riley. “But you also have to look at the cumulative costs being applied to many struggling businesses with an additional five days of sick leave also planned for next year and another public holiday being floated. These additional costs are coming at precisely the wrong time with many businesses still just hanging on and many predictions suggesting the most uncertain period for business will be in the first quarter of 2021.” The EMA’s survey also found 82 per cent of its members would suffer impacts from the additional sick leave. “It’s encouraging that the economy is doing much better than expected but that doesn’t hide the fact we are not doing as well as we would like, and debt levels are soaring. Sectors such as tourism and accommodation are heading into a period where 70 to 80 per cent of their customers aren’t going to turn up because our borders remain firmly shut to them and to the large cohort of export dollar-generating international students.” Mr O’Riley says the EMA would rather work with Government, the unions, and businesses on improving productivity, and increasing skills in the workforce as a pathway to raising wages. “Simply raising wages does not improve productivity. As it is now, we’re aware of members who are not hiring younger people or who are choosing other options as minimum wage increases make the case for further automation at the expense of hiring people. […]

NZ economy better than expected

The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the December 2020 quarter shows the economy in better shape than expected following Covid-19’s massive hit mid-year. It shows a bounce-back after the 11 percent GDP drop over the June quarter, suggesting a V-shaped rather than a more prolonged U-shaped recovery. Today’s figures from StatsNZ show GDP rebounding 14 percent in the September 2020 quarter, the strongest quarterly GDP growth on record in New Zealand. The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index now sits at 10 for the December 2020 quarter, up 2 on the previous quarter and up 6 on a year ago. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said the huge fiscal stimulus package of around $50 billion has cushioned some of the worst impacts of Covid-19, and the continued monetary stimulus package – around $100 billion of quantitative easing, the slashing of the OCR and the introduction of the Reserve Bank’s $28 billion Funding for Lending programme – should ensure businesses and households can continue to borrow to support growth. “New Zealand continues to face risks – including rising debt levels, inflated housing values and an ongoing regulatory burden – but new signs of economic growth and recovery are most welcome,” Mr Hope said. The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index tracks 33 economic indicators including GDP, export volumes, commodity prices, inflation, debt, and business and consumer confidence. The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the December 2020 quarter is on www.businessnz.org.nz

Industry 4.0 Adaption to NZ Industry

Dr Mike Edmondson, Founder, Edge Robotics and Automation Ltd One thing I commonly find is the lack of widespread direction and grasping of “Industry 4.0” benefits in the context of NZ industry. The rapidly changing world is hard enough for technical experts, let alone for manufacturers to filter and identify how to use this potential. The drive for improvement from manufacturers and wider industries is certainly present and has been growing with the push from COVID. Here are three topics for our industry, with the hype removed and practical opportunities we could apply: Robotic Automation It is particularly surprising how big a disconnect there is between your typical production manager or GM and the actual costs and capability of robotic systems. Enquirers are often surprised at the modern cost of purchasing industrial robots let alone the opportunities offered with current state-of the-art. The total economics become even more prevalent when an integrator has the innovation skills to take a robot centric approach. This allows you to capture all the additional indirect benefits such as flexibility and reducing both the capital and operating costs. NZ has a great history of successful innovation and leading the world, however, part of the very fabric of that innovation mindset tends to hurt in scaling. Often, we do not value our time or get side-tracked away from our core business trying to reinvent the wheel. Industrial Robots are an easy way to scale and are highly advanced, flexible mass-produced units that come off a production line with 60 odd years of refinement. Leading brands have reliability statistics of 7+years between failure and depending upon the chosen manufacture local factory support. Then you factor in the indirect benefits such as being able to repurpose and reduce complexity of an overall system. The flexibility of robotics […]

Growing our World Class Industries

-Ian Walsh, Managing Director, Intent Group Over the last few years, I have been asked by aspiring NZ companies – ‘Who is world class?’ ‘What are we best at in NZ?’ Or even more insightfully, ‘what could we be best at?’ The current industries that have been resilient throughout COVID, where demand has remained strong and in some cases shown significant growth, provide some clues. It is clear there is huge demand for our food produce, especially kiwifruit, apples, wine and of course the perennial meat and dairy. Over the years I have had the privilege to work in all of these industries. The world sees us as a clean, green, high-quality food producer and, whilst we have areas for improvement, the horticulture industry is a shining example of this. In the last decade we have seen significant growth in wine, kiwifruit and apples to name a few, with wine on a 24-year growth trend! There is significant potential to provide the world with high quality, high margin food and reinforce our global image. Given this, it behoves all parties (employers, government, unions and other stakeholders) to work together to provide a roadmap to a green, profitable, and more sustainable industry. COVID has heightened our awareness of the current challenges the horticultural industry faces and, to be frank, has been grappling with for a long time. Being a seasonal business, there are certain times of the year when there is a higher demand for labour. This is typically around picking and packing (February through to June). Historically, many harvest operators have worked with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), youth schemes, recruiters and so on, to fill the needs, with many a despairing operator/employer explaining that finding good people to fill roles was near impossible. The issues were not so […]

Life memberships honour long-term contribution

Two former board members were presented with life memberships at the EMA Annual General Meeting (AGM) this afternoon to honour their contribution to guiding the member business organisation. Presented by current EMA Board Chairman Andrew Hunt, the first was to Margaret Brown who was on the board for 14 years, retiring from it earlier this year. During her time on the Board Mrs Brown, who is currently Managing Director at ViAGO International Ltd, was Chairwoman of the IT Committee and also a member of the BusinessNZ Council. Acknowledgement of Holdson Games’ Simon Holdsworth’s contribution to the EMA Board was accepted posthumously by his wife Florence and daughter Victoria. Mr Holdsworth was previously an employee and President of the Auckland Employers Association from 1992 to 1995, and also President of the NZ Employers Federation. Holdson Games has been a business member of the EMA since 1964. Andrew Hunt says both Mrs Brown and Mr Holdsworth made huge contributions and thanked them and their families for their invaluable service. “The EMA’s strength is its members, and their willingness to contribute to the wider business community. We acknowledge the work of Simon and Margaret by giving freely of their time, and willingly sharing their extensive and practical business experience to guide the business member-focused strategy of the EMA,” he says. Mr Hunt says the EMA has been re-inventing itself to keep up to date with its business members’ needs for 134 years and will continue to do so by continually refreshing and diversifying its Board now and into the future. Also at the AGM the EMA’s first online-only Annual Report for the financial year to June 30 2020 was released. It highlights a challenging year amid Covid-19 for the EMA and the business community as a whole, and agile initiatives to support them.

Hydraulink gives wings to hope in the America’s Cup

Hydraulink hydraulic hose and maintenance expertise will go on display to millions of people in 225 countries when the 36th America’s Cup begins in coming months. The defending champion Emirates Team New Zealand – and entire field of challengers which will fight it out to meet the Kiwis in the final – all use Hydraulink hoses and fittings to control their complex hydraulic systems, such as the vital foil cant technology. Rapid and sensitive hydraulic actuation of the foils is vital to the performance edge of each boat as it skims above the waves at speeds reaching 47-50 knots (90+kph) in what is expected to be a lightning-fast defence series from March 6-12. The super yachts demand quality products that perform where the absolute pinnacle of engineering standards and reliability is required, in the same way that Hydraulink protects the uptime and dependability of individual pieces of expensive machinery and multi-million-dollar mobile fleets and industrial plant. The event will be seen around the world by the biggest audience ever expected in the America’s Cup’s history, when the 36th America’s Cup begins with the Prada Cup Challenger from January 15-Feb 22. Preliminary races, including the Prada Christmas Cup, commence in December, with more than 120 broadcasters already signed up in the first wave of support announced in October. Digital platforms are expected to help make this the most widely accessible America’s Cup ever. Hydraulink’s introduction to involvement in the America’s Cup began when Hydraulink Director Lee Short was watching a race in the build-up to the NZ win in the America’s Cup in San Diego in 1995. “A hydraulic leak on the mast boom of Team New Zealand sprayed oil into the cockpit, causing a few issues. I thought, ‘We can do better than that’, so, when the team arrived back […]

ATNZ Apprentice of the Year a story of resilience

Perseverance and passion were rewarded for Lachlan Hamilton-Ralph, named the Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) Apprentice of the Year 2020 at the recent awards ceremony in Auckland. General engineering apprentice Lachlan was runner-up for the award in 2019, which celebrates an ATNZ apprentice who demonstrates outstanding performance in their work, a great attitude, is proactive on the job and demonstrates pride and enjoyment in what they do. This is the third year of the annual awards for ATNZ, a not-for-profit group training organisation (GTO) that employs more than 330 engineering apprentices and places them with host companies around New Zealand where they do their learning. Following feedback from the judges that year, Lachlan and his workplace Obtuse Limited worked hard to prepare him for another shot at the coveted award, and he was delighted to walk away with the trophy. Representing the judges, ATNZ general manager Susanne Martin said they had a difficult time coming to their decision on the winner. “I say it every year, but it’s true: the calibre of applications and the passion for their work and studies exemplified in those submissions, continues to blow the minds of the judging panel. “This year has been the toughest yet. Our judges were spellbound by the level of detail, high standard of references, and touches of humour. On more than one occasion they were heard to remark: ‘Can’t we give it to them all?’” Ms Martin described how they were impressed with Lachlan’s thoughtful and thorough application and glowing feedback from colleagues and customers. “Lachlan’s exemplary references, particularly from Obtuse customers, his outstanding study performance, and the variety of extra responsibilities he has taken on, really wowed us. We were also inspired by his resilience, in the face of both a challenging year with the global pandemic and in […]

What we said when the PM came to visit

– Sarah Ramsay, Chief Executive Officer, United Machinists The Prime Minister was so disappointed she couldn’t make United’s Hawaiian launch party, she dropped in for a visit a couple of weeks later with her own party of some 30 media, entourage and diplomatic police. We can confirm it isn’t an act – Jacinda Ardern in person is the real-deal, a people person that puts you at ease immediately and is genuinely interested. Thoughtful, curious and obviously read up before her visit, she was eager to discuss the operations of our workshop and our views on the contract manufacturing industry: How difficult is it to find skilled staff? What can be done to help push apprenticeships? What can schools be doing to draw attention to careers in engineering? Why is it important for NZ to retain manufacturing? What can the government do to help push this? We told her our vision was to bring sexy back into manufacturing – she had a good laugh at that. We told her that now is the time for a renaissance of hi-tech manufacturing in New Zealand. The time to redefine what manufacturing looks like. That it’s not a dirty old mill or lathe, with ‘you’ll get it when its good and ready’ service. It’s the ‘Machine Shop of the Future’ – a state of the art, temperature-controlled facility making highly intricate parts for industries such as medical, cinematography, marine and aerospace. Utilising the very latest in CNC, robotic and software technology available. But that investments into machine capacity will come to nought, if we don’t have the highly skilled people to run them. Of the seven qualified CNC machinists we have hired in the past 18 months, six have been from overseas. “Go hard & Go Early” – a motto often used by Prime […]

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