Business News

Revolutionary power-efficient solution for network energy infrastructure

An exclusive Australian supplier of DC Power Converters and energy solutions, Powerbox Australia, recently released EnergyHub by Enatel Energy at Comms Connect Melbourne Exhibition and Conference. More than 1500 people from a broad range of industries attended this years event seeking out the very latest communications information, technologies and solutions. EnergyHub is a complete lithium-ion power solution for providers of power utilities, telecommunications and security, as well as transport operators. These industry sectors have historically relied on lead-acid battery solutions and worn the associated operation costs. Incorporating both DC rectifier technology and integrated lithium-ion battery modules, EnergyHub from Enatel Energy offers a truly dynamic li-ion solution. EnergyHub offers significant financial benefits because solutions are more efficient and less maintenance is required over the long term, vastly reducing operational costs when compared to the conventional lead-acid type batteries still widely used. As organisations begin to work with brand new EnergyHub, they will notice that this revolutionary system allows for much greater energy density and depth of discharge. “EnergyHub, which utilises li-on batteries, leaves more room for revenue-generating network equipment. Tight cell management from Enatel’s proprietary BMS in combination with the new RM848HE Rectifiers allows for optimised charging/discharging to improve system functionality,” said James Rutty, Business Development Manager of Powerbox Australia. “In addition, the EnergyHub requires zero set-up cost, can be easily scaled up to meet changing load demands and it shares a hot pluggable interface with EnergyPak battery modules to maximise usability.” According to Mr Rutty, safety of the system is ensured with the use of ‘Cold Terminal Design’, which stops voltage from travelling through the battery’s power and control pins to cut off the supply of current when it’s not connected to the charger. EnergyHub offers complete transparency of all energy data including battery cycle life, depth of discharge information, […]

Plastic packaging re-think needed

The first-ever study on NZ’s entire plastic packaging system highlights how even radically improved recycling will not solve all its problems. New Zealanders need to rethink the way we make, use and dispose of plastic packaging. It highlights how everyone has a role to play and no one entity can solve the issues associated with plastic packaging. A co-ordinated circular economy approach is required, which tackles the root causes of the problem not just individual symptoms. In a circular economy the life cycles of materials are maximised, usage optimised and at the end of life, all materials are reutilised so that nothing is wasted. This presents a viable and prosperous alternative to the dominant linear, ‘take, make, waste’ system. The study was led by James Griffin of SBN’s Circular Economy Accelerator. “There has been an explosion in the use of plastic packaging in the last 60 years because it is relatively cheap, lightweight and durable. Unfortunately, systems to properly manage it have not kept pace. This has led to a global waste and pollution crisis, including here in New Zealand. More recently, the stresses in our system were highlighted when China effectively closed its doors to the world’s waste.” The study identifies measures to significantly increase recycling rates such as reduction in the types and formats of plastics used, more on-shore processing facilities, consistent collections around the country, increasing demand for recycled materials and a container deposit scheme. James cautions that, although such measures offer opportunities to improve the situation, recycling alone cannot solve the issues associated with plastic packaging. “There needs to be a wider approach, for example, problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging needs to be identified and eliminated from our supply chains. Reuse models need to be adopted and scaled as an alternative to single-use plastics.” The SBN […]

Has your business registered for the Food Act 2014?

It’s the final countdown for businesses that make, sell or transport food to meet the 28 February 2019 Food Act registration deadline. This includes food manufacturing, such as manufacturers of dried/dehydrated fruit or vegetables, confectionery, meat, poultry, fish products, dairy products and fresh ready-to-eat salads. New Zealand Food Safety (a business unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries/MPI), is urging owners/managers of all New Zealand businesses that make, sell or transport food, which have not registered yet, to find out immediately if they need to register a plan or programme under the Food Act 2014. The Food Act came into force on 1 March 2016 and introduced a common-sense, risk-based approach to food safety. New Zealand Food Safety’s Manager Food & Beverage, Sally Johnston said that under the Food Act all people growing, making, transporting and selling food had a responsibility to keep it safe and suitable. “Most New Zealand food businesses have now registered, which is excellent,” Ms Johnston said. “New Zealand Food Safety, local councils and industry organisations are working hard to help all remaining businesses to meet the 28 February 2019 deadline for registration. “If existing food businesses are not registered by the 28 February deadline, they will be operating unregistered businesses, their retail customers may refuse to accept their goods or use their services, and MPI and local councils may need to take enforcement action. So, immediate action needs to be taken to get registered. “We want make it easier for businesses to make safe and suitable food and comply with food safety requirements.” Under the Food Act, new food businesses have to register as soon as they start trading and existing food businesses (operating under the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 or Food Act 1981) had from 1 March 2016 until 28 February 2019 to register […]

Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidance

Rutger Bregman tells panel that the real issue is the rich not paying their fair share Martin Farrer This is not rocket science’: Rutger Bregman tells Davos to talk about tax – video A discussion panel at the Davos World Economic Forum has become a sensation after a Dutch historian took billionaires to task for not paying taxes. In a video shared tens of thousands of times, Rutger Bregman, author of the book Utopia for Realists, bemoans the failure of attendees at the recent gathering in Switzerland to address the key issue in the battle for greater equality: the failure of rich people to pay their fair share of taxes. Noting that 1,500 people had travelled to Davos by private jet to hear David Attenborough talk about climate change, he said he was bewildered that no one was talking about raising taxes on the rich. “I hear people talking the language of participation, justice, equality and transparency but almost no one raises the real issue of tax avoidance, right? And of the rich just not paying their fair share,” Bregman tells the Time magazine panel on inequality. “It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one’s allowed to speak about water.” Industry had to “stop talking about philanthropy and start talking about taxes”, he said, and cited the high tax regime of 1950s America as an example to disprove arguments by businesspeople at Davos such as Michael Dell that economies with high personal taxation could not succeed. “That’s it,” he says. “Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit in my opinion.” A member of the audience, former Yahoo chief financial officer Ken Goldman, challenged his comments and said it was a “one-sided panel”. He argued the fiscal settings across the global economy had been successful and had created record employment. But […]

X-Frame for waste free buildings gets commercialisation boost

Clip-together modular building design can be rapidly assembled, disassembled and reused, eliminating waste during a building’s lifecycle Victoria University of Wellington PhD candidate Ged Finch is fast tracking the commercialisation of his X-Frame structural frame solution for waste free buildings with support from the KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Programme. The game-changing framing system can be disassembled and re-used at the end of a building’s useful life. Finch’s design, a self-braced interlocking wood design which clips together eliminating the need for single-use fixings, has the potential to eliminate waste and reduce the amount of raw materials being used by the building industry. Approximately half of all New Zealand’s waste—about 1.6 million tonnes every year—is generated by the construction sector. “The current widespread use of adhesive-based fixings and single-life materials means that building a single new home will create about four tonnes of waste during construction, and even more when it’s eventually demolished and taken to the landfill,” says Finch. Finch, who has been working with Viclink, Victoria University of Wellington’s commercialisation office, also secured a place on KiwiNet’s Emerging Innovator programme to help commercialise the green architectural solution. Every single component of Finch’s X-Frame design, cut by a computer-controlled router, can be disassembled and reused, so no waste is produced at any stage of a building’s lifecycle. The clip-together design allows any type of structure—floors, walls, ceilings—to be rapidly assembled and disassembled many times over, using unskilled labour and a bare minimum of tools, akin to flat-pack furniture. Adding doors or windows at a later stage is simple, and when kids leave home: “they could literally take their rooms with them, as our modular design also clips onto standard framing.” Dr James Hutchinson, CEO of KiwiNet, says: “Ged’s vision is to transition the building sector from a linear (take, make, dispose) economy to […]

Engineer and business leader awarded Honorary Doctorate

Visionary business leader and engineer, Dr Ian Parton, will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Auckland. Dr Parton studied at the University of Auckland’s School of Engineering its Ardmore days, graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering in 1969 and a PhD in 1972, both in Civil Engineering. His engineering career has spanned more than 40 years, during which time he was instrumental the transformation of New Zealand’s business and export engineering service. This includes being managing director of Worley Group where, under his leadership, the company grew to become one of New Zealand’s oldest engineering and management consulting firms and one of our largest employee-owned consulting firms, active in over 40 countries. He was in 2007 awarded the William Pickering Award for Engineering Leadership. Dr Parton’s philanthropic contributions to the University of Auckland are many and varied, and include being on the committee for the University’s current philanthropic campaign, For All Our Futures. University of Auckland Dean of Engineering, Professor Nic Smith, says Dr Parton’s career is remarkable for its longevity, diversity and the profound impact he has made as an Engineering Leader across multiple sectors. “In his long relationship with the University, he has brought his strengths and passion for the profession, making a huge and highly valued contribution to the increasing vigour of the discipline of Engineering at the University of Auckland.”

Key business groups merge to boost manufacturing sector

Three of New Zealand’s most influential business networks are merging to help boost the manufacturing sector for the years ahead. The Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (The Chamber), The Manufacturers’ Network (TMN), and the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) are merging their operations supporting manufacturers to further enhance their respective services to the New Zealand business community. The Chamber Chief Executive Leeann Watson says the merger is a vital step towards future-proofing the manufacturing sector in New Zealand and will have a significant positive impact on the business community as a whole. “We are really excited about the additional benefits and opportunities the merging of our services will bring to business and, in particular, manufacturing across New Zealand,” says Ms Watson. “This initiative will provide TMN members access to a much greater range of services and expertise available through The Chamber and EMA, and additional manufacturing expertise for our manufacturing members.” EMA Chief Executive Kim Campbell (right) says the merger comes at a key time for employers. “TMN is working in exciting and challenging areas of manufacturing expertise such as rapidly evolving technological change, robotics and applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the workplace,” says Mr Campbell. “The specialist expertise TMN will bring to our existing membership will position our manufacturing members well for the future.” The Manufacturers’ Network Chief Executive Dr Dieter Adam (above) says the merger will bring benefits for all involved. “We look forward to working together to further enhance manufacturing in New Zealand, given the exponential changes the industry is facing.” TMN will continue to support manufacturing across New Zealand through The Chamber and EMA. It will operate in a similar fashion to the successful ExportNZ model which has specialist exporters serviced under that umbrella, but within the BusinessNZ family.

Manufacturing – A year in review

-Dieter Adam, Chief Executive, The Manufacturers’ Network It is the time again to look back on the year that was – how did our manufacturing sector do, and what were the major developments that impacted our sector in another year of political change, both in New Zealand and around the world? Internationally, issues around trade have dominated much of the economic headlines, with the trade war between the USA and China, but conflict between the USA and Europe not far behind – not to mention Brexit, the trade implications of which appear to be just as uncertain as the question of whether it’ll actually happen or not. While these trade disagreements have not yet had a major impact New Zealand exporters, they remain as a downside risk if they start impacting the wider flow of goods and supply chain which our companies are involved in. The exchange rate experienced some depreciation throughout this year, however, much of this has been eroded over the last month. While 2018 has experienced a more favorable exchange rate than the highs experienced in 2014 and 2016, it remains systemically higher than the average of the previous decade, with the AUD cross-rate remaining as the biggest concern. Domestically in 2018, we have seen a number of policy changes which will impact our sector. The improvements made to the Government’s R&D policy, increasing the proposed tax credit rate to 15% while halving the eligibility threshold to $50,000, have been a good step forward, and the move to use a committee for monetary policy decisions at the Reserve Bank makes solid sense. On the downside, the Employment Relations Amendment bill has been moving through the parliamentary process largely unchanged, with the only material concession being a weakening of the requirement to participate in collective bargaining by introducing […]

Iconic Buy NZ Made celebrates 30th birthday

The Buy New Zealand Made Campaign is turning 30 and celebrating with events around the country to showcase member companies along with the iconic kiwi trademark, which has evolved to become a significant marketing tool for businesses in an increasingly competitive world. Launched in 1988 by the then Manufacturing Federation, the campaign is now owned by BusinessNZ and is completely private sector-funded. It provides the licence for businesses to use the kiwi trademark to promote their New Zealand-made goods and services that meet the requirements of the Fair Trading Act for country of origin labelling. “The kiwi trademark is a trusted brand that is globally recognised as a label depicting NZ-made products,” says Executive Director Ryan Jennings. “When products carry the registered trademark, buyers can be confident it’s made in New Zealand. “Our main purpose is to provide an accountable and trusted brand to promote New Zealand-made products both at home and abroad.” The campaign was first introduced as a 12-month promotion for consumers to support businesses who manufactured in NZ and ‘keep your country working’. Three decades on, the kiwi trademark has helped thousands of businesses to gain market origin advantage. Mr Jennings says there is great value now and in the future for companies that qualify to use the trademark. “Internationally, consumers recognise the value of knowing where a product comes from and New Zealanders are increasingly looking for the reassurance that country of origin labelling brings. To create the Celebrating 30 Years of the Buy New Zealand Made Campaign video https://youtu.be/UDWgS9eUUno the team visited companies from Invercargill to an hour’s drive beyond Auckland, many of whom have been in business for 30 years or more. Mr Jennings says what stood out at each was the passion for their product, how well they knew their customers, and the dedication […]

New managing director appointed at Hamilton engineering firm

Long-time engineering manager Gerard O’Connor has been named as the new managing director (MD) of leading Hamilton-based global process and chemical engineering firm PDV Consultants. Mr O’Connor has been with the firm for the best part of 22 years and is well-regarded by colleagues, industry peers and clients. “I’m very excited and honoured,” says Mr O’Connor. “PDV has been my life for more than two decades and I feel very privileged to be now leading the company.” As PDV’s former engineering manager for the Asia-Pacific region, Mr O’Connor has successfully designed and managed many large scale client projects in New Zealand, Indonesia, the USA, the UK, Australia and China over the past two decades. PDV Consultants is a global expert in food processing technologies and systems design, headquartered in Hamilton, New Zealand, with an office in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Many of their projects for global food manufacturers involve spray dryer and evaporation technology. The company was founded 28 years by David and Anne Platts. The couple have announced their retirement from the firm at the end of November. Mr Platts is stepping down as MD, a role Mr O’Connor will take over on 30th November. “I’m really pleased that Gerard will be taking on the role,” says Mr Platts. “Gerard is very experienced and knows our business well. Under his leadership it’ll be business-as-usual.” Since opening in 1990, PDV has grown from two to 25 staff – including 21 in the firm’s Alexandra Street headquarters and four international staff based in Ireland. PDV’s team of highly qualified chemical, process and mechanical engineers have delivered projects for clients including Fonterra, Tatua, the Dairy Goat Cooperative, Danone, Glanbia (Ireland and USA), Dairconcepts (USA), First Milk (UK), South West Cheese and more. Mr O’Connor says that PDV Consulting is a New Zealand success […]

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