Business News

A recent ‘Pulse Check’ survey of Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) member organisations shows just how critical the wage subsidy has been, ahead of many wage subsidy payments coming to a close on 12 June. The survey was sent to approximately 8,750 businesspeople and received 276 responses. Of the respondents, 86% accessed the wage subsidy, with nearly all whom accessed the payments indicating that it helped to keep their business going. Over 82% said it has helped them to keep all employees. Applications for the first phase of the wage subsidy opened on March 17 and payments were for a 12-week period. An extension of the subsidy will be available from 10 June. Of the survey respondents, only 37% said they would be applying for the subsidy wage extension which requires businesses to have a 50% drop in revenue due to COVID-19. Of those that would be applying, 92% said it would enable them to keep their business going; 78% said it would enable them to retain some or all of their employees. Chief Executive Leeann Watson says the results demonstrate how important the subsidy has been for employers and employees in the Canterbury region. “This survey shows that the wage subsidy has been a lifeline for local businesses to continue to protect the livelihoods of many in our local community, reducing job losses and business failure. “The results also show how important finding the right balance for the extension threshold will be to ensure it is still within reach of those businesses that are viable long-term but may be struggling in the interim due to still not being able to operate at full capacity for a number of reasons. We continue to work closely with Government, alongside BusinessNZ, to ensure there is targeted ongoing support for businesses significantly […]

A group of engineering and science students who met during a free University of Auckland venture development programme run last summer, are preparing to take their building automation ideas to the world. Nikau Robotics is utilising leading-edge automation technology to increase productivity for small and medium construction businesses. The team is  developing a smart computer numerical control (CNC) wood router that can intake a stack of wooden panels and process them automatically to pre-cut, drill, and carve wooden panels. The machine they have designed is highly portable to enable onsite use for fast, accurate cuts of wood without the need for external suppliers. The concept is the brainchild of Mechatronics Engineering student Harrison Lawton. “It occurred to me while helping a contractor renovate my family home for several weeks, how strenuous and repetitive the work was. Almost the entire woodworking process was highly predictable and required a great deal of measuring and precision. From my background in robotics, “I was aware these are the ideal characteristics for automation. After scouring the internet for a machine to meet these requirements, it became apparent there was no product that was able to effectively satisfy the market’s demands, so I began to design my own.” Harrison took his idea with him to the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. While taking part in its Summer Lab programme, he formed a motivated and talented team and a suite of new skills and knowledge. “The programme was beyond amazing and I would recommend it to anyone”. A core part of the Summer Lab programme is market validation; testing assumptions about your idea and ensuring  there is a market of a viable size. The Nikau Robotics team’s ideas were validated by their research.  Harrison says the problem of inefficient construction is a global concern. “In the past 20 […]

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s dire consequences for the global economy, a young New Zealand biosciences company has appointed its first Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Auckland BioSciences, which has grown rapidly since it was established in 2014 by Dr John Chang and Suzana Chang, manufactures animal serums which it exports to veterinary vaccine manufacturers and research institutions in 14 countries including China, India and Russia, and the Americas.   Its manufacturing process, which has been disrupted by New Zealand’s pandemic response, involves separating serum from animal blood sourced from meat processing companies around New Zealand. Dr Chang, who is the company’s Managing Director, says turnover in the last financial year was more than $10 million and further significant growth is expected in the current year despite production ceasing during the lockdown. He says the financial impact has been lessened by the Government’s wage subsidy scheme.  “For Auckland BioSciences, the government wage subsidy had the desired effect. In the early, uncertain days of lockdown, a young company like ours would have had to reduce staff, including our production staff. But we are now back in production and aiming high.” In just six years, Auckland BioSciences has gone from being based in a shipping container at an Auckland abattoir to having more than 40 staff at its headquarters in Rosedale, Auckland, its recently-opened office and additional processing site in Christchurch and manufacturing sites around the country. It has now reached a level of maturity where it requires a dedicated CFO. “We are delighted that Mark Dawson has taken up the new role of Chief Financial Officer at Auckland BioSciences. He brings more than 30 years of finance and accounting, and corporate governance experience to the company,” Dr Chang says. Prior to joining Auckland BioSciences, Mr Dawson was the Acting CEO of Development West Coast. He managed […]

James Crow, Co-founder and non-executive director How do you see current business opportunities for your company? This is new territory for us all but what the past two months have reaffirmed is that the need for locally manufactured food with environmental credentials is only growing. Consumers have become more aware of what they are consuming over the lockdown and will be more receptive to the health and lifestyle benefits that plant based foods can offer. As our hospitality channels rebuild, we will look to develop specific products and formats for that industry as well. Our current capital raise via Snowball Effect will allow us to react more quickly to these developing trends to expand our current range, while also acquiring a plant based yoghurt business to round out our offering. Do you export and to where? We have tested the waters with exports into an independent Australian retailer chain of 100 stores and a successful two year pilot in a premium Singapore supermarket chain of 45 stores. This work has shown where the opportunities are and the work that will be required to secure these regions for Little Island in the future. After 10 years, is everything on track? For a start-up “on track” is generally code for you tackled the last obstacle and are charging ahead. The secret to our success so far has been building production capacity and knowledge in what we do, from the ground up, and this is going well. We have very good business fundamentals that now require further capital to accelerate growth. Through our current capital raise we have a solid strategy to develop our people and products to become the dominant plant based business both in New Zealand and in our chosen export markets. How easy is it to retain staff? As a […]