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New Zealand still makes things, but for how much longer?

By Hon Dr Megan Woods, Labour spokesperson for Manufacturing and Industry The workers losing their jobs at the McCain’s Hastings vegetable processing factory don’t need economists to tell them that the economy isn’t working for them. They already know it. So do the workers at Heinz Wattie’s, at Kinleith Mill, at Winstone Pulp, at Sealord, and at the many businesses that have shut their doors in the last two years. New Zealand’s manufacturing sector has faced headwinds for a long time, but the past year has seen flash points that will be much harder to recover from. Under this Government, we’ve seen output fall sharply, and the economy weaken. High interest rates and cheap imported goods produced with low-cost labour are squeezing our domestic market. Internationally, our distance from major markets makes it harder to compete. Low productivity growth and a tax system that has consistently rewarded property speculation over productive enterprise have left our industrial base more fragile than it should be. No one party owns that history, but a government that understood the problem would have come in with a plan to turn it around. Since National took office, 36,000 New Zealanders have lost their jobs. Business liquidations have hit a fifteen-year high. Each closure, each lost shift, each production line that goes quiet hits suppliers, communities, and regional economies in ways that ripple outward for years. The recent closures of regional manufacturing plants – particularly in timber, pulp, and food processing – show how exposed some of our communities are to single employers. And in places like Hawke’s Bay, losing McCain’s doesn’t just impact the workers and their families, it impacts everyone in New Zealand. It impacts growers, who now have fewer places to sell their produce; consumers, who will face even higher food prices; and regions […]

Kauricone enhances InterfaceOS

NZ-developed operating system to reduce costs and boost productivity Kauricone has announced significant enhancements to InterfaceOS, its lightweight, productivity-focused operating system designed to help organisations and individuals reduce IT costs while improving performance on both new and older desktop and laptop computers. InterfaceOS simplifies computing environments by reducing system complexity, extending hardware life, and delivering a fully integrated suite of productivity tools — all under a single perpetual license. Users can purchase an InterfaceOS Suite Perpetual License for $162 (including GST), which activates one Parent License and five Child Licenses and includes all bundled application software — providing immediate value without ongoing subscription costs. Designed for performance and efficiency InterfaceOS is engineered to deliver fast, responsive computing: Lightweight Architecture — Quick start-up times and smooth operation Low Resource Requirements — Runs efficiently on as little as 4GB RAM and 256GB storage Optimised 64-bit Processing — Fast execution of everyday tasks Extended Hardware Life — Enables older computers to run modern applications without lag Simplified user experience InterfaceOS reduces complexity to improve productivity: Intuitive Interface Design — Easy to learn and navigate Integrated File Management — Consistent folder and file manager across browser and applications No Right-Click Design — Streamlined interactions for faster workflows Custom Window Sizing — Optimised screen real estate for multitasking Multiple Monitor Support — Portrait or extended display modes Pre-Installed productivity suite InterfaceOS includes a complete set of professional tools: Office Suite — LibreOffice Writer, Calc, and Impress Opens Microsoft Office files directly Save in Microsoft formats or OpenDocument (.odt, .ods, .odp) Creative Tools — GIMP image editor and VLC media player Developer Tools — Geany text editor and command-line interface Task Management — Interface Active Programs for fast switching and recovery Seamless connectivity InterfaceOS supports modern work environments: Smartphone file transfer integration Simplified Wi-Fi, wired, and […]

Marshall Industries celebrates ninety years of roofing in Southland

Manufacturing from 1938 and still going strong. A Southland business that has spent generations working on the region’s homes, farms, and businesses is marking a major milestone, with a legacy that has quietly helped shape the way New Zealand builds. Marshall Industries is celebrating ninety years in business, a journey that has seen the company become a familiar and trusted name across Southland and Otago, while also playing a pioneering role in the country’s roofing industry. Originally established in 1938 as Owen Marshall Plumbing Ltd, the business was responsible for a major innovation in New Zealand construction. The company was the first in the country to develop and produce continuous long-run corrugated roofing iron, designing and building its own machinery in Invercargill using local tradespeople. It was a breakthrough that changed how roofing was manufactured and installed across New Zealand, setting a new standard that is still widely used today. The company also led another national first, developing continuous spouting systems and manufacturing twenty machines locally, in the 1940s, which were then distributed across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Managing Director Tom Marshall says these milestones reflect a long history of practical innovation driven by the needs of the industry. “There has always been a strong focus on finding better ways to do the job,” Marshall says. “That early innovation came from local knowledge and skilled tradespeople right here in Southland, and it is something we are incredibly proud of.” Alongside this legacy of innovation, the business has continued to deliver roofing solutions across the region, protecting homes, farm buildings and commercial properties through decades of growth, change and Southland weather. Marshall says reaching ninety years is something the whole team is proud of, but it is also a reflection of the community that has supported the business […]

Fonterra’s real turnaround was productivity

From April issue of NZ Manufacturer magazine Geerten Lengkeek, Managing Director, Productivity People Miles Hurrell’s resignation marks the end of a significant chapter for Fonterra, and in many ways, for New Zealand. Fonterra isn’t just another company. It’s our largest business, a global-scale manufacturer, and the commercial engine behind a big part of our primary sector. When Fonterra performs, New Zealand performs. What stands out to me about the Hurrell era is this:the real turnaround wasn’t about growth, it was about productivity. He inherited a business that had achieved global scale, but not always strong returns. Revenue was high, but capital wasn’t working as hard as it could. Over the past six to seven years, that has fundamentally shifted. Return on capital has moved from around 5–6% to consistently around 11–12%, without a material increase in milk supply. That tells you something important. This wasn’t a volume story. It was a conversion story, and that’s what productivity really is. Better conversion of milk into value. Better use of assets to drive throughput and margin. Better deployment of capital into earnings. A big part of that has been strategic focus. Simplifying the portfolio, exiting lower-return businesses, and refocusing on Ingredients and Foodservice where Fonterra has real advantage. But just as important is what’s happened inside the system. This is a manufacturing business at scale. Productivity is won or lost in how well you manage flow, yield, and asset utilisation: from farm through to processing and export. Many years ago, my colleague Nick Brownsword and I were involved in the early operational excellence work in Fonterra. Even then, it was clear how much opportunity existed in improving flow, reducing waste, and aligning the system end-to-end. What’s been encouraging is seeing how those ideas have evolved and matured, and how this is […]

How one local council helped 1,200 low‑income residents finance solar and home energy upgrades

Could this work in New Zealand? Feedback please. Paris Hadfield, Research Fellow, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University Most of Australia’s existing homes are old, uncomfortable and expensive to run. Too many are energy inefficient, and rising electricity and gas prices are making things worse. Mainstream programs are supporting home energy upgrades. But the transition isn’t happening quickly enough and risks leaving behind the households that could benefit most. Innovative finance models could help. Local initiatives can make solar and electrification more accessible. Darebin City Council’s Solar Saver program Running from 2014-2025, Darebin City Council’s Solar Saver program helped almost 1,200 low-income and vulnerable homeowners in the area get A$4.8 million worth of home energy upgrades. Council paid the upfront cost of installing solar and, in later iterations of the program, reverse cycle air conditioners and hot water heat pumps. Factoring in state government rebates, these costs were added to the homeowner’s property taxes as a “special rates charge”. The homeowner could then repay this money over ten years – interest-free. Suppliers were selected through council tender to make the process easier for homeowners, while ensuring quality products and services including component and performance warranties. This provided certainty for residents, one of whom said: the council’s not going to get involved with some shonky person who’s going to come in and tell you: “Terribly sorry, we’ve got to double the price because you’ve got a nail in the wrong place on your roof” or something. The scheme reduced financial risks and burdens for low-income homeowners. By using council rates to repay the money, the loan is attached to the property itself rather than the homeowner. This means any remaining debt is recouped if and when the house is sold, avoiding a situation where someone is paying a debt for solar […]

Christchurch apprentice graduate soars to the edge of New Zealand’s space future

When a spaceplane flew last year carrying experimental hardware developed for California Polytechnic (Cal Poly), a young Canterbury engineer was watching closely – knowing components she had helped manufacture were on board. Yelena Cunningham, 21, a Manufacturing Engineer at Dawn Aerospace in Christchurch, played a role in building parts used in the Cal Poly spaceplane flight in June. Seeing her work move from technical drawing to flight-ready hardware was a defining moment. “I’ve made a few components for the spaceplane which I’ve taken from just being a technical drawing to an actual part,” says Yelena. “We got to watch the spaceplane launch… just seeing and knowing that my parts were on that was unreal. It was really, really cool.” Yelena works in Dawn’s machine shop, producing high-precision components that support the manufacture of aerospace propulsion systems used by customers globally. Her pathway into advanced manufacturing began early. “I worked part time in two workshops during Year 13,” she says. “Then I moved halfway through my apprenticeship from the company I was at to Dawn Aerospace because I got this opportunity – and it’s been really cool. Dawn is the fourth workshop I’ve been in.” At Dawn, apprentices are trusted with sophisticated equipment and complex production work. “They’ve been really good,” she says. “They put me on the top machine in our workshop to allow me to learn on that. And they’ve been really patient. “All the guys in the workshop are knowledgeable and passing on that knowledge is really cool. They let me do the programming and the CAD. Their patience allows me to learn without pressure.” Dawn Aerospace employs around 130 people globally, with roughly half based in New Zealand. Apprenticeships are an important pathway, with Yelena one of three to have come through the business. Dawn Aerospace Brand […]

The cost of Deindustrialisation: How New Zealand’s manufacturing decline threatens our economic future

NZ Manufacturer magazine wants more business owners and decisionmakers to speak up and positively make suggestions on issues affecting the future of manufacturing. Dont be silent when your ideas can make a difference. Speak up for your country. Doug Green, Publisher By Sean Doherty, Manufacturing Commentator | NZ Industry Trends Manufacturing is not just another sector in New Zealand; it is one of the core systems that keeps regional communities alive and anchors our standard of living. When factories close in Whakatāne, or the outer suburbs of Christchurch, we do not seamlessly “move up the value chain.” We lose well‑paid careers, technical capability, and the dense network of firms and supply chains that make an economy resilient. The signs of deindustrialisation are already all around us Long‑standing manufacturing plants shutting, production shifting offshore, and investment decisions quietly goes against New Zealand. The immediate impact is job loss, but the deeper damage is structural. Manufacturing has long provided thousands of solid, mid‑skill, mid‑wage jobs for people who are prepared to learn a trade, run complex processes, and take responsibility for quality and output. As these roles disappear, the labour market splits into a small group of high‑income professionals and a growing pool of low‑paid service jobs in areas like tourism and hospitality. That mix locks in stagnant wages, weakens social mobility, and drives up fiscal pressure as more households rely on government support to close the income gap. For regions, the consequences are even more personal. A single plant in a provincial town can support hundreds of families directly and many more through suppliers—maintenance firms, transport operators, engineering workshops, automation integrators, local business services. When production ceases, these networks unravel. Young people see fewer reasons to stay, schools lose roll numbers, and community struggle. Once this cycle takes hold, it is […]

McCain employees walking towards production facility

Turning manufacturing around

The announcement by McCains of their closure in Hastings and that of Heinz Wattie’s to close three sites around the country has come with a (wait for it) vacuum of comment, suggestions and concern. Neither does it affirm the benefits of having fifty cent cans of vegetables coming into NZ for sale in supermarkets. It shows greed is alive and kicking! Especially if growers need to readapt and align with the dairy and sheep sectors to survive. Where are the industry leaders, Government officials and ministers leading the charge to do something about the situation, so we do not continue to see the reduction in manufacturing throughout this and other sectors? Have any ideas been expressed and shared as to how this situation can be reversed because, after all, we do want home grown produce and continue to have pride in our land-based industries, don’t we? Is the lack of outrage down to the lack of belief in the ability to come up with concrete ideas to turn the sector around. This must at least be the bottom line to bring about change. Here are a couple you can feed back to me on. Or you might have an idea you want to share: Idea No.1 Is it possible for all affected growers to pull together their produce and start a grower’s co-op, on the North Island and on the South Island, to take on the supermarkets, get a decent return for their efforts and continue to have the populous support “home grown”? Idea No 2 The nation of 5m deposits $1 a week, for a month, into a bank account, NZ Future Manufacturing (for example). After the month there will be $20m in the account. A site is selected, central North Island (Palmerston North, for example) where a manufacturing […]

Ecostore: Building world-class sustainable manufacturing from Auckland

Offering environmentally responsible and eco-friendly alternatives to conventional products has been the goal of Ecostore since its foundation in 1993. That purpose is backed by a sophisticated manufacturing operation in Auckland, where ecostore develops, manufactures and packs its home cleaning, personal care and baby products at its own Toitū Net Carbon Zero-certified factory in Pakuranga. A B Corp-certified business with products sold across New Zealand and into multiple export markets, Ecostore’s growth story is one of continuous improvement. The EMA’s Nicholas Russell spoke to Ecostore Chief Operating Officer Tony Acland about how the company has used smart design, practical technology and better factory flows to lift performance, capability and scale. How does manufacturing support ecostore’s growth and export strategy? Tony Acland: Manufacturing is at the heart of Ecostore’s business model. By owning our production and packing, the company can move faster on product innovation, control quality, and continuously improve how products are made. As demand has grown over the past decade, the focus has been on redesigning layouts, upgrading equipment and improving material flows so the factory can scale efficiently while maintaining high environmental and quality standards. That mindset has driven major changes in how the site operates, from relocating and re-positioning key production equipment into brighter, cleaner, better-ventilated areas, through to re-engineering how raw materials and packaging move through the facility. The result is a manufacturing environment that better supports higher volumes, smoother workflows and more consistent output. What practical investments have made the biggest difference on the factory floor? Tony Acland: One standout example has been investing in equipment that improves both efficiency and accessibility. The installation of vacuum bag lifters means powder batches can now be manufactured without manual handling of large volumes, making production faster, safer and more inclusive for a wider range of workers. Space and logistics were another key focus. As […]

Exporting in 2026: Sustainability and proof

Exporters are not being asked for their sustainability commitments. They are being asked to prove them. Across global markets, sustainability is becoming a condition of doing business. Not because it is the “right thing to do” (although it is), but because regulators, retailers and procurement teams are building sustainability into the rules of trade. Eloise Joiner, Sustainability Lead at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), shared with thinkstep-anz team at our recent team days what NZTE is hearing directly from exporters and what this means for New Zealand businesses trying to grow internationally. Her talk was a timely reminder that while the sustainability conversation may feel noisy, complex and sometimes uncertain at home, the international direction is clear. Here are our takeaways Regulation is moving fast and it is not just climate Eloise highlighted that around 70% of New Zealand exports go to countries with mandatory climate disclosures either proposed or enforced. But climate is only one part of the picture. Exporters are also navigating requirements related to modern slavery, packaging, end-of-life responsibility and product design. For many companies, the challenge is not a single regulation. It is the growing number of overlapping requirements across multiple markets. The result is a system that is often fragmented and hard to interpret, particularly for businesses exporting to more than one region. \ The EU is setting the pace and everyone else is watching Eloise made it clear that Europe is setting the direction on sustainability requirements, and exporters will increasingly need to respond. Read more about the Europe’s sustainability demands on NZTE’s website. The challenge is not just the volume of regulation. It is the complexity, fragmentation and ambiguity, especially for companies selling into multiple markets. New Zealand’s domestic policy signals may not match what exporters face internationally. Despite any changes New […]

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