Developments

Student venture aims to bring automation to home builders

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 […]

Biosciences company shines amidst global economic gloom

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 […]

Closed borders demand more investment in local workforce

With the number of migrants to New Zealand likely to significantly reduce in the next few years, employers will have to look to other diverse groups in our workforce to ensure their business thrives. Massey University’s Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley says the Covid-19 crisis means the supply of temporary and permanent migrant workers to New Zealand is currently turned off. “And it might remain turned off, depending on the visa category, for between 12 months to three years,” he says. Diversity Works New Zealand Chief Executive Maretha Smit says this means businesses who have relied on immigration to fill labour and skills shortages will have to look at different ways to bolster their workforce. “We would like to see New Zealand organisations more engaged with the older generation in the workforce. Employers should be talking to their wisdom workers to find out how they can retain their skills and institutional knowledge while still accommodating the different ways they may want or need to work as they age,” she says. Fewer migrants will also mean that businesses need to more actively reach out to our younger New Zealanders. “If our economy slows down, there is a risk we could end up with more NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training),” Smit says. “Forward-thinking leaders should be planning now to invest in those young people and bring them into their organisations to create the workforce they need for future success.” Spoonley has been leading the team analysing data from the 2020 New Zealand Workplace Diversity Survey. The survey report will be made public on Wednesday, 6 May but initial findings suggest ageing and employment transition for younger staff do not appear to be important considerations for employers. But he believes that, for some industries at least, they will become increasingly […]

Company Profile: Little Island

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 […]

Manufacturers offer blueprint for economic recovery

A new report released by a group representing New Zealand’s manufacturing industry associations outlines a blueprint to work with Government to strengthen manufacturing capability and reduce trade barriers to support the nation’s post-pandemic economic recovery. The New Zealand Manufacturing Alliance’s Manufacturing Matters report includes a range of policy proposals in the areas of innovation, capital and investment, trade, skills, procurement and achieving sustainable growth in a low-carbon economy. The proposals are designed to address challenges to the sector’s future including growing trade protectionism, the transition to zero carbon, skills shortages, and the shift to the fourth industrial revolution. The report highlights the crucial contribution manufacturing makes to the economy, accounting for 10 percent of New Zealand’s GDP and employment, more than half of exports and a third of business R&D expenditure it also underpins the success of other key sectors. Manufacturing Alliance spokesperson Nick Collins (pictured) says a strong manufacturing sector is crucial to New Zealand’s future prosperity. “The pandemic has highlighted the weaknesses of globalisation, the frailties of international supply chains and the vulnerability of relying on income from tourism and international education as major sources of export revenue. “A vibrant domestic manufacturing sector is going to be critical to New Zealand’s economic recovery, building resilience against future global shocks whether they be pandemics, recession or the challenges of climate change or natural disaster. “In particular, as New Zealand moves into the recovery phase, it will be critical that as a nation we continue to work with others in ensuring international trade laws are upheld in the face of a rising tide of protectionism and other unfair trade practices. “New Zealand’s manufacturers are ready to work with Government to develop an industry transformation strategy to support the nation’s post-pandemic economic recovery.” The Manufacturing Alliance represents The Manufacturers Network, Metals […]

Kiwi businesses need to feel the love

Almost 1000 New Zealand-owned and operated businesses have signed on to the ShopKiwi campaign, which today launched a new website. With Kiwi manufacturers reopening safely, the ShopKiwi website has provided them with an avenue to sell products directly to consumers online. These businesses have stock ready to leave their doors under Alert Level 2. ShopKiwi manager Dane Ambler says now is the time for New Zealanders to act on calls to support locally owned and operated companies as they start to reopen. “Without support, some of these businesses simply will not make it through the Covid-19 fallout. Buying from these businesses will keep the economy rolling and most importantly keep Kiwis in jobs while employment ticks towards record highs. “As the wage subsidy comes to an end, the most important thing for these businesses will be getting money into the till from customers. “A recent survey of more than 1300 Kiwis indicated they are more likely to shop locally once the lockdown is lifted, now is the time to translate that thought into action.”

New Zealand’s pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins

Jonathan Boston, Professor of Public Policy, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington Budget 2020’s focus on “jobs, jobs and jobs” is understandable, commendable and vital. COVID-19 poses the largest threat to paid employment since the Great Depression almost 90 years ago. The number of people receiving Job Seeker Support (Work Ready) – the main benefit available for the unemployed – rose almost 50% between February and early May, from about 80,000 to 120,000. That is a crisis in anyone’s language. Paid employment is not only important economically, it is about social and psychological health. This is reflected in a long-standing cross-party commitment to high employment levels and a high labour market participation rate. Significant and protracted unemployment serves no good purpose. To combat this, the budget aims to protect existing jobs where possible, generate new jobs through targeted public investments, and ultimately create the conditions for a return to sustainable job growth. But worse is still to come. Treasury is forecasting an unemployment rate of close to 10% before year’s end. Given the unprecedented impact of the pandemic, however, all such forecasts are highly conditional. So can the 2020 budget help avoid mass unemployment? Are the measures announced sufficient to address the scale and distinctive aspects of the current crisis? A little context helps in answering such questions. New Zealand started from a good position By OECD standards, New Zealand entered the pandemic with a relatively low unemployment rate. In March 2020 the official unemployment rate was about 4.2%, slightly up on 4.0% in December 2019. This compared with pre-pandemic unemployment rates of around 4.0% in the UK, 5.2% in Australia and 7.4% in the Euro zone. Fortunately, too, the government’s comprehensive wage subsidy scheme has so far limited the spike in unemployment. By contrast, the US unemployment rate rose dramatically from 4.4% in […]

Balance about right in Rebuilding Together budget

The EMA says the Government’s budget amidst COVID-19 was always going to have to strike the right balance between spending and debt levels to regenerate the economy for the benefit of all. Chief Executive Brett O’Riley believes it does provide a first step in doing this, but is keen to continue to work together with the Government on long term economic recovery and additional sector-specific plans. “We are particularly pleased with the $4 billion business support package, the $3b for shovel-ready infrastructure projects, and the focus on innovation and digitisation and vocational education and training,” he says. “For businesses who have suffered a 50 per cent downturn since this time last year the extension of the wage subsidy by eight weeks will be welcome news, and for SMEs $10m target for them to improve their e-commerce offering and additional incentives and grants to encourage e-commerce adoption will be crucial.” The EMA says the combination of immediate and ongoing support, especially in the digital space, does help especially in the short term. “We know it’s hard for businesses, especially SMEs to look at innovation when they’re struggling to stay solvent, but now is the time to capitalise on the things they’ve had to do differently and use the Government’s support to do things better into the future,” says Mr O’Riley. The EMA believes that increased support for R&D including the short-term temporary loan scheme to incentivise businesses to continue with plans, with the help of one-off finance administered by Callaghan Innovation, is the key for many to be able to pivot and regenerate. “We’re also pleased to see the $216m boost to NZTE to expand its scope of support to businesses, particularly with digital services,” says Mr O’Riley. And although positive economic indicators are set to take a plunge in the […]

Covid – 19 and Peter Beck

Rocket Lab is a private American aerospace manufacturer and smallsat launch service provider with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. Rocket Lab has received almost $2.9 million in wage subsidies from the Government for 412 staff. So Peter Beck saying that the small businesses in danger of falling over at this time should be allowed to do just that is a bit rich. Peter needs to remember that the economical situation these businesses find themselves in are to some extent the result of the Government putting the country into an economic lockdown. Maybe some businesses before the virus were not wrapped in finance – like Rocket Lab – but they have been around for a long time and celebrated some level of economic success.

Fast-track consents necessary for Covid 19 recovery

Fast-tracking resource consents for critical infrastructure and development projects is a pragmatic and welcome government response to assisting the Covid 19 recovery process says Resource Reform NZ- (RRNZ), a coalition of business and environmental interests. The Minister for the Environment David Parker has today announced fast-track amendments to the Resource Management Act to better enable economic recovery from Covid-19. The temporary amendments to the Act will be made in June. RRNZ supports key elements in the proposed amendment bill which include rapid approvals for selected public and private sector projects and a commitment to retain environmental bottom lines. Often lengthy public consultation processes will also be put on temporary hold while the amendments place Central Government requirements for the economic rebuild as a main driver for consents. RRNZ says the Minister’s announcement recognises the need to remove some of the structural issues in the RMA, that the Group identified in its work programme since 2016, which have proved incompatible to the need to provide a faster infrastructure response to accommodate previous rapid growth. “They are the same issues that would prevent a rapid start to the Government’s programme to accelerate shovel-ready and other infrastructure projects as it seeks to ramp up activity and employment in the infrastructure sector post Covid 19,” the RRNZ Group says. Under the proposed amendments selected public or private projects will go through a bespoke approvals process with the Minister acting as gatekeeper. The RRNZ group says it looks forward to seeing the criteria he must apply as these will be critical to ensure projects are transformational, provide the necessary high levels of employment and meet longer term strategies and goals for infrastructure provision in New Zealand – three waters projects are one example. The commitment to retain environmental bottom lines is also critical as many […]

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Developments