Business News

Welcome to the driver’s seat Jacinda – but are you still driving the same car?

-Dr. Wolfgang Scholz, Director HERA Now we have a new government – we have a left of centre mix of policies. Which on first principle should be building innovative, high value local manufacturing with the aim of increased prosperity and our ability to pay our way in the world. And for me, I congratulate the team around Prime Minister Jacinda Arden for being in the driver seat and look forward to seeing her make true on her promise “let’s do it”. You may recall some of our advocacy clearly advised that our local SME’s should gain from these policies. And, although still lacking details – we need to make sure that the promised R&D tax credits and business innovation, government procurement rules applying for subcontractors and pushing low emission technologies are indeed implemented. But for this to happen, we all need to continue formulating policy to our new coalition partners and make sure our voices are heard by them. The original election policies got it right While keenly awaiting the announcement of the agreed policy framework for our new government, I stumbled across the pre-election policies. It’s a worth-while read that reminds us what we requested and what was promised to us in respect to key policies affecting our businesses. We advocated that for our economy to grow sustainably we needed to “get of the grass” and invest in niche market industries with higher paying wages and export potential. A move that would increase the number of companies with sound R&D innovation strategies in New Zealand. We also said it couldn’t just be start-ups such as the IT industry, but had to include transforming our existing companies – as without them, we miss the critical mass. But for this to happen, accessible incentives for those willing to invest in R&D […]

Hopes for CPTPP

BusinessNZ has welcomed progress towards the new Trans Pacific Partnership, now CPTPP. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope says a successful conclusion to negotiations would mean new income and jobs in New Zealand. “The value and volume of our exports increase enormously in countries where we reach a free trade agreement, and every extra billion dollars in exports equates to 8,500 new jobs. “But New Zealand has not yet achieved many trade agreements – only 8, with 16 countries, far fewer than many other comparable countries have. “The CPTPP would greatly increase this number, cutting tariffs in many more places and increasing diversity in markets, helping insulate us against any economic headwinds we may face in the future. “New Zealand exporters are typically smaller than their global competitors and have further to go to get their goods to market. They currently find it hard to compete in markets where we don’t have trade agreements. “A successful conclusion to the CPTPP would be a huge boost for New Zealand’s exports.”

CPTPP moves welcome

ExportNZ says news that TPP – now CPTPP – is back on track will be appreciated by exporters. ExportNZ Executive Director Catherine Beard has welcomed signs of movement in the deal. “It’s great news that the deal is still alive, and that New Zealand is still in there. “It sounds like some concerns with the deal have been addressed while core elements such as tariff reduction have been retained. “On the back of the just-released ExportNZ DHL Export Barometer where exporters are very confident for the year ahead, this bodes well for export growth. “ExportNZ looks forward to working with the Government as it progresses the deal back in New Zealand.”

Fero committed to long-term partnership with Samoa

New Zealand’s leading wiring and assembly solutions manufacturer says it has a long-term commitment to Samoa and hopes it will lead the way to other New Zealand businesses setting up operation there. Fero is an Auckland-based family-owned business that manufactures wiring looms for local technology manufacturers, ranging from automotive and marine lighting, to air conditioning units, air quality sensors and aeronautical units. It is in the process of setting up operations in the premises formerly occupied by Yazaki EDS, which closed recently puttig more than 700 people out of work. Fero has already signed up 60 former Yazaki employees and plans to employ more once its Samoan operations begin later in the year. The company intends to expand to 200 people over the coming two years. General Manager Sam Fulton says the decision to relocate Fero’s off-shore operations from China to Samoa came about after the company analysed its long-term prospects. “We are always looking for ways of doing things better, faster, cheaper for customers and we want to be known for being relied on to deliver – no matter what the timeframe, quantity or specification. Growing challenges with China were making it increasingly difficult to live up to those promises.” Fero investigated several alternative off-shore options before learning of Yazaki’s intended departure from Samoa. It presented the perfect opportunity because, like Fero, Yazaki manufactured wiring looms and also had very high-quality standards and skilled employees. Mr Fulton says Fero had three major requirements of its new off-shore operation: quality, productivity and minimal impact on its New Zealand management resources. “Yazaki’s premises are perfect for our needs and its employees ticked all three boxes in abundance. Their quality standards were so high that they had gone four years running with zero production defects. Its former employees are therefore extremely knowledgeable, […]

Is your talent management strategy ready for the global skills gap?

By Alexandre Pachulski, Co-Founder of Talentsoft Our global economy has begun yet another transformation. We are in the early stages of a fourth industrial revolution that will bring major changes to our societies, driven by advances in connectivity, automation, and artificial intelligence. With that, has come a global gap in the skilled talent necessary to keep pace. As expert Klaus Schwab, puts it, “the changes are so profound that, from a perspective of human history, there has never been a time of greater promise or potential peril.” So how do we fulfill this great promise? A critical piece involves rethinking how we cultivate and manage the talent whom will be leading us forward; whom we will reply upon to innovate, deliver, and maintain these unprecedented developments in technology? The greatest promises of technology cannot be realised without human talent. For that technology to grow and for our economies to thrive, we must be aware of and work to bridge the widening global gap in qualified talent, particularly in manufacturing and STEM-dependent careers, which are central to this latest industrial revolution. There’s an exciting opportunity for forward-thinking leaders to be proactive—especially those in HR, as they are often at the centre of their company’s talent management strategy. The first step for leadership is to assess where they are right now and what changes need to be made to compete effectively in this new era. Leaders who can readily embrace new technologies and strategies will have a significant advantage over those who don’t. Key areas to assess are: Integration and Connectivity The pace of business and reliance on real-time data insists that companies embrace cloud-based technologies and software that can connect easily to existing solutions. Teams needs to be able to work from centralized data so decisions can made from up-to-date information; […]

NZ Manufacturer Media Kit 2018 now available

NZ Manufacturer Media Kit 2018 now available. To receive a copy, email publisher@xtra.co.nz

10 ways automation could boost your business

Clive Hickman, chief executive of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), and Jeremy Hadall, chief technologist of the MTC, outline the business changes they expect to see over the next five years as a result of automation. 1. Productivity will increase Think about the introduction of robots to a car production line. Volkswagen has gone from around 4,000 people working in this environment to nearer 150, while at the same time increasing overall employee numbers from 30,000 to 70,000 across the business. Business Impact: Improved productivity is good news, as businesses will get more bang for their buck. When you become more productive, you create more demand, and therefore more jobs. More jobs could also mean a higher skill level of employee. 2. Workers will be safer and happier We strongly disagree that people will be replaced by automation. Yes, people will be redistributed, but this will be one of the most important benefits automation brings. Wherever there exists a dirty, dull and dangerous job with humans exposed to risk, there exists the perfect opportunity for automation. Business Impact: Workers’ quality of life could be drastically improved as well as allowing them to move into a more highly skilled role including operating the robot. For businesses, this means a workforce with improved prospects, better morale, and a higher skill level. 3. Customer service will reach new heights Ocado is one of the best examples of how customers can benefit from a business adopting automation. To a large extent, they are only able to fulfil their promise of the faster delivery times that you and I have come to expect because so many of their processes are automated. Business Impact: Automation can be an invaluable tool for cutting down on errors, facilitating faster deliveries, and for speeding up processes such as restocking. […]

Welcome to the driver’s seat Jacinda – but are you still driving the same car?

Dr, Wolfgang Scholz, Director, HERA Now we have a new government – we have a left of centre mix of policies. Which on first principle should be building innovative, high value local manufacturing with the aim of increased prosperity and our ability to pay our way in the world. And for me, I congratulate the team around ‘Prime Minister to be’ Jacinda Arden for being in the driver seat and look forward to seeing her make true on her promise “let’s do it”. You may recall some of our advocacy clearly advised that our local SME’s should gain from these policies. And, although still lacking details – we need to make sure that the promised R&D tax credits and business innovation, government procurement rules applying for subcontractors and pushing low emission technologies are indeed implemented. But for this to happen, we all need to continue formulating policy to our new coalition partners and make sure our voices are heard by them. The original election policies got it right While keenly awaiting the announcement of the agreed policy framework for our new government, I stumbled across the pre-election policies. It’s a worth-while read that reminds us what we requested and what was promised to us in respect to key policies affecting our businesses. We advocated that for our economy to grow sustainably we needed to “get of the grass” and invest in niche market industries with higher paying wages and export potential. A move that would increase the number of companies with sound R&D innovation strategies in New Zealand. We also said it couldn’t just be start-ups such as the IT industry, but had to include transforming our existing companies – as without them, we miss the critical mass. But for this to happen, accessible incentives for those willing to invest […]

Move Fast and Break Things

(On Jonathan Taplin)He is hunting big game; it is his contention that the giants of the cyberworld-from Google to Amazon-are threats to the fundamental foundations of democracy and that they also cement inequality into our systems in new and dangerous ways. (Jonathan Taplin is Director of the Annenberg Innovation Lab and a former tour manager for Bob Dylan and The Band, as well as a film producer for Martin Scorsese. An expert in digital media entertainment, Taplin is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the California Broadband Taskforce and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Council on Technology and Innovation. Fake news. Digital monopolies. Stealth Marketing. This is the story of how the internet, which began as a dream, has become a nightmare and the people that did it. The modern world is defined by vast digital monopolies turning ever-larger profits. Those of us who consume the content that feeds them are farmed for the purposes of being sold ever more products and advertising. Those that create the content – the artists, writers and musicians – are finding they can no longer survive in this unforgiving economic landscape. But it didn’t have to be this way. In Move Fast and Break Things, Jonathan Taplin offers a succinct and powerful history of how online life began to be shaped around the values of the entrepreneurs like Peter Thiel and Larry Page who founded these all-powerful companies. Their unprecedented growth came at the heavy cost of tolerating piracy of books, music and film, while at the same time promoting opaque business practices and subordinating the privacy of individual users to create the surveillance marketing monoculture in which we now live. It is the story of a massive reallocation of revenue in which $50 billion a […]

Engineering the exoskeleton – from aliens to mechanically enhanced humans

Inspired by the ‘power loader’ exoskeleton worn by Sigourney Weaver’s character in Aliens, Richard Little set out to design and build a pair of robotic legs. The resulting REX Suits are operated by a joystick that allows the wearer to walk, move sideways, turn around, climb stairs, and exercise. Exoskeletons are hyped up as devices that will allow the injured and paralysed to walk, elderly and stroke sufferers to remain independent for longer, the military to get more from soldiers, and even turn all of us into mechanically enhanced humans. They have captured the imagination of researchers across the world, from start-ups to NASA. A Scots-born engineer, Richard says he was motivated to develop the system after his childhood best friend Robert Irving was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Little and Irving co-founded Rex Bionics in 2003. Now NZ based, Richard is passionate about using technology and particularly robotics to help people. Little said it was hard to describe the experience of watching someone stand and walk after being in a wheelchair for years. “Every time – it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it before – it’s very emotional.” Researchers have developed exoskeletons controlled by a non-invasive system linked to the brain, allowing an even wider range of wheelchair users to walk. What’s more, when combined with virtual reality and tactile feedback the systems even appear to promote a degree of recovery for people with paraplegia. It’s a development that excites Richard, whose team have also been exploring the possibility of thought control with their own device. Richards latest business, Exsurgo Rehab, has been formed with an experienced medical and technology team to deliver medical devices that will alleviate the suffering and improve the quality of life of potentially millions of stroke sufferers world-wide. Richard is a multi-award-winning inventor […]

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