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Why the Right to Repair will benefit New Zealand manufacturers

From NZ Manufacturer magazine March 2025 www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz NZ Manufacturer March 25 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited – Issuu *Jim Goddin, Head of Circular Economy at thinkstep-anz. The recent first reading of the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill in New Zealand’s Parliament marks a pivotal moment for businesses, consumers, and the environment. If enacted, this legislation will require manufacturers to provide spare parts, repair manuals, and software access to consumers and independent repairers. While some manufacturers may be concerned about potential costs or intellectual property risks, the right to repair presents significant benefits for New Zealand’s manufacturing sector. It can drive business innovation, reduce waste, enhance customer loyalty, and build a more resilient, circular economy. Understanding the Right to Repair The right to repair ensures that consumers and independent repairers have access to the tools, parts, and information necessary to maintain and fix products. It challenges restrictive policies that limit repairs to authorised service providers, often increasing costs and contributing to e-waste. Key elements of the Right to Repair include: Access to spare parts and manuals – Manufacturers should provide genuine replacement parts and repair guides. Repair-friendly design – Products should be designed to allow easy repairs without specialised or proprietary tools. Protection against restrictive policies – Consumers should not be locked out of repairs due to software restrictions or warranty clauses. The legislation is particularly relevant to industries such as electronics, appliances, vehicles, and agricultural machinery, where manufacturers traditionally limit repair options, increasing costs for businesses and consumers alike. The Right to Repair and its Impact on manufacturers Some manufacturers may worry that making spare parts and repair information available will reduce profits from new product sales or increase compliance costs. However, international experience […]

Smart Industry Readiness Index: Key Themes and Findings

From March issue NZ Manufacturer magazine. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz NZ Manufacturer March 25 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited – Issuu Adam Sharman, CEO LMAC Group APAC The Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) has emerged as a critical tool for manufacturing organisations seeking to navigate their digital transformation journeys. At LMAC Group we have supported over 200 business across New Zealand and the UK to define, start and optimise their Industry 4.0 journeys through our digital transformation approach using the Smart Industry Readiness Index. Reflecting on this experience, in this article we will discuss the key themes and insights into the current state of Industry 4.0 adoption and their implications for manufacturing business across the industry As New Zealand manufacturers seek to optimise and accelerate their productivity through Industry 4.0, they face several distinctive challenges: Scale and Investment Capacity: With most New Zealand manufacturers being SMEs, many face challenges in securing sufficient capital for comprehensive digital transformation initiatives. Talent Acquisition: The limited local talent pool for specialised digital skills creates a significant barrier, with many organisations struggling to attract and retain experts in areas like industrial IoT, data science, and automation engineering. Connectivity Infrastructure: Regional manufacturers sometimes contend with limited high-speed internet access, constraining their ability to implement cloud-based solutions or real-time monitoring systems. Integration with Legacy Systems: Many established New Zealand manufacturers operate with older equipment and systems that present integration challenges for newer digital technologies. New Zealand manufacturers exhibit a characteristically pragmatic approach to technology implementation. Rather than pursuing cutting-edge technologies for their own sake, Kiwi businesses tend to prioritise practical solutions with clear returns on investment. This approach serves many companies well but can sometimes limit exploration of more transformative technologies that might deliver longer-term competitive advantages. Most Commonly Identified Priority Dimensions for New Zealand Manufacturers SIRI assessments […]

A tale of two sectors

From March issue NZ Manufacturer magazine www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz NZ Manufacturer March 25 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited – Issuu Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon & Co NZ I was reminded last week of the level of complexity and difficulty to solve our productivity crisis. It’s clear to me that we have a multi-speed economy, with certain sectors having made great progress over the last 10 years with others still on the starting blocks. The dairy sector has been developing and implementing best practices, training leaders, building capability and employing appropriate technology for over 25 years. Fonterra has lead the charge and most other dairy companies have followed this lead, by developing and employing solutions to improve productivity, reduce waste, improve yield and reduce costs. It has led to fantastic outcomes, with the most recent payout reflecting both the great work on the farm and the much improved off-the-farm processing capability. It would be untenable to consider competing globally with the capability the sector had in 1999. The payout would have been significantly lower and dare I say many processors would have been seriously impacted. This is, of course, not to say the job is finished, because it isn’t, but the direction of travel for the sector looks good. In contrast, the global construction sector has seen little-to-no productivity growth over the last 50 years, and in New Zealand it’s no different. There is a unified view that productivity needs to improve, however little or no concerted action has been taken to adopt best practices. The tales of late delivery, cost overruns and underperformance on completion are now so common that these outcomes are expected. Indeed 94% of construction projects don’t achieve cost, time or quality objectives. When a job is costed at $2 billion, it’s no […]

Manufacturing a key player in our export story

From March issue NZ Manufacturer magazine www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz NZ Manufacturer March 25 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited – Issuu Chris Penk, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing Starting 2025 by taking on the role of Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing has been an exciting time. As readers of NZ Manufacturer will be well aware, these areas lie at the heart of the New Zealand economic engine. Manufacturing is a key player in our export story and the vast majority of NZ businesses are “small” (with 97% having fewer than 20 FTE employees). So let me start by saying how grateful I am to everyone in the sector who is producing the goods, quite literally(!), to ensure New Zealand’s economic growth. My initial approach is to listen carefully to what manufacturers see as their challenges and opportunities. This will provide a countrywide perspective, on top of what I hear from constituent businesses within Kaipara ki Mahurangi. The area that I represent in northwest and the rural north of Auckland includes some significant industrial zones, so I appreciate manufacturing is a key enabler of employment and social cohesion in local communities. My “starter for 10” would be making sure that manufacturing businesses can navigate bureaucratic roadblocks and – wherever possible – removing those roadblocks. I have observed that the compliance burden is too high and doesn’t reflect a risk-based approach. Greater balance is needed, which is why smart regulation (as opposed to removing all regulation) is our watchword as a government. Trade is another key pillar to aid growth, and it’s our ambition to double the value of New Zealand exports within a decade. We’re getting on with signing new trade agreements across the globe – knowing the quality of our great […]

NZ–Canada initiative to drive food export growth

From March issue NZ Manufacturer magazine www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz By Mark Devlin, Managing Director, Impact PR New Zealand’s food manufacturing sector has long been the pride of our nation—an industry built on innovation, quality and a deep-rooted commitment to sustainability. Yet, in an increasingly competitive global market, even our best ideas need a boost to flourish on the world stage. The recent announcement of a Government-backed export initiative with Canada is a significant step in that direction. A new era for Kiwi food exports The latest initiative, which saw the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) and its local counterpart New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN), promises to accelerate the commercialisation of Kiwi food innovations. It is designed to give our food and beverage firms access to emerging technologies, comprehensive market intelligence and robust research and development support. With Canada’s 40 million consumers within reach, this collaborative programme could open a new frontier for New Zealand’s agricultural exports—a sector that accounts for nearly half of all goods and services sold offshore. The move is part of a broader strategy to double the value of New Zealand food exports by 2030. Recent forecasts predict that our food and fibre exports will reach a staggering $56.9 billion by mid-2025. For an industry that already invests over half a billion dollars annually in agri-food research, such ambitious targets underline the urgency of transforming research outputs into commercially viable products. Building an international innovation ecosystem At the heart of this initiative lies the innovative ‘Catalyst Model’ developed by NZFIN. This model is engineered to create a domestic international ecosystem, seamlessly integrating food innovation facilities across Auckland, Waikato, Otago, Palmerston North and Canterbury […]

No More Excuses: Manufacturers Need to Lead NZ Productivity Shift

From March issue NZ Manufacturer magazine www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz By David Altena and Rob Bull Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-better-smb/ David Altena is Head of Growth & Partnerships | SmartSpace.ai Co-Founder | The Better SMB Podcast Rob Bull is Director & Principal Consultant at Plexus Consultant & Co-Founder & Host of The Better SMB Podcast New Zealand’s productivity crisis has dragged on for decades, waiting hasn’t worked. Our productivity lags other OECD nations, with clear consequences: stagnant wages, reduced competitiveness, declining living standards, weak business investment, an over-reliance on commodities and low-value industries. We work longer and harder, not smarter. The Treasury has called it our biggest economic challenge, yet we continue to treat it as an abstract problem rather than an urgent, business-led priority. The Numbers Don’t Lie To make any meaningful progress and catch our peers, businesses en masse must focus actively on performance improvement. Even with that level of action and momentum, it would still take three to five years before we begin seeing national productivity improvements. To achieve this, we’re not talking about “some manufacturing businesses” making incremental improvements. We need to redefine New Zealand’s economic landscape… According to Statistics NZ (2023) there are ~ 23,000 NZ manufacturing businesses. For meaningful change we need 15,000 manufacturers, or two-thirds, to make this their top priority for the next five years. Why Government Targets Won’t be Enough Our government has set ambitious targets spanning: Doubling exports Improving R&D Strengthening skills Reducing crime rates Improved healthcare Focusing on sustainability But these span every sector and shift with the political cycle. While government policy provides a foundation, it’s not enough. Business leaders must take charge. Without individual businesses improving their performance, national productivity will remain stagnant. What if prioritising productivity delivered more impact than today’s scattergun approach? Without productivity gains, even billions in […]

Q & A with Geoff Necklen of Roadside Supports

What does your company do? We are a steel product manufacturer. . How long have you been in business? 41 years this month. What products do you make? We manufacture our own Roadsign Supports brand range of highway sign pole systems for the NZ market primarily. This includes motorway signage, and urban signage on single post units called Monopoles which are our main products. We are also involved in special electronic poles for bus and congestion management. How are you finding business at present? We have been steady this year but sales volumes are a bit down. I am getting good enquiries, however, and am confident about next year. Where do you source your components? We source all our materials locally from merchants and utilise second-tier suppliers such as profile cutters and galvanisers. Suppliers such as profile cutters and galvanisers. We try to source NZ AUS material as much as possible. Where do you see growth for your company in the future? The roads of national significance and associated new highway projects announced by National mean we have a long-term future with the products we make. The electronics industry is also exciting, and we are right there with many new project solutions with our good client partner.

Sustainability Outlook 2025: Six tips for manufacturers

www.thinkstep-anz.com From February issue NZ Manufacturer magazine Sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have”—it’s a must-have. For New Zealand manufacturers, 2025 will bring new challenges and exciting opportunities. As the world grapples with climate change, resource scarcity, and shifting regulations, businesses that embrace sustainability will not only keep up but thrive. To stay competitive, manufacturers need to navigate changes in climate adaptation, the circular economy, transparency, and stakeholder expectations. It’s about planning ahead, staying flexible, and taking action. Here are six practical tips from thinkstep-anz’s sustainability experts to help you lead the way in 2025. Stay financially, environmentally and socially sustainable 2025 is expected to bring continued disruption and uncertainty on the global stage. Political and economic turbulence may distract some industries from their sustainability goals. However, maintaining focus on long-term objectives is critical. “Succeeding sustainably means being financially sustainable as well as environmentally and socially,” explains Emily Townsend, Services Director at thinkstep-anz. For manufacturers, this means building resilience by investing in sustainable practices that match up with stakeholder priorities and market expectations. Even if external pressures temporarily lessen, pushing forward with sustainability can pay dividends in the long run. Your Action: Review your sustainability strategy to ensure it balances environmental goals with financial and social resilience. Focus on initiatives that will have long-term benefits for your business and stakeholders. Prepare for the circular economy to go mainstream The circular economy is no longer a niche concept. In 2025, manufacturers exporting to the EU will face increasing requirements to quantify and communicate the circularity of their products. Aligning with standards like ISO 59020 and incorporating circularity metrics into Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) will become essential to maintaining market access. “We’ll see the circular economy go mainstream,” predicts Jim Goddin, Head of Circular Economy at thinkstep-anz. This trend is also gaining traction […]

Building a comprehensive business case for factory technology investment – Beyond the numbers

From NZ Manufacturer magazine, February 2025. Adam Sharman, CEO LMAC Group, APAC As the imperative for technology adoption in manufacturing increase, investment decisions are becoming increasingly complex. Gone are the days when a simple ROI calculation could justify major capital expenditure. Forward-thinking manufacturers are now developing comprehensive business cases that look beyond immediate financial returns to consider broader strategic implications, particularly around workforce sustainability and competitive positioning. The Demographic Imperative One of the most compelling arguments for technology investment lies in addressing the looming demographic crisis facing manufacturing. Across developed economies, the manufacturing workforce is aging rapidly, with experienced workers retiring faster than they can be replaced. This isn’t just a temporary staffing challenge – it represents a fundamental shift in labour market dynamics that will persist for decades. Modern automation and digital technologies offer a powerful response to this demographic challenge. Rather than viewing technology merely as a cost-saving measure, manufacturers should consider how it helps future-proof their operations against workforce scarcity. Advanced robotics and automation systems can maintain productivity even as skilled labor becomes harder to find. More importantly, they can make manufacturing more attractive to a new generation of workers who expect to work with cutting-edge technology. Transforming Work, Not Eliminating It When building a business case for technology adoption, it’s crucial to move beyond the simplistic narrative of automation replacing workers. Instead, focus on how technology transforms and elevates human roles. Modern manufacturing technologies create opportunities for workers to develop new skills and take on more engaging responsibilities. Repetitive, physically demanding tasks can be automated, allowing workers to focus on higher-value activities that require human judgment and creativity. This transformation has important implications for workforce development and retention. Younger workers are often more attracted to workplaces that offer opportunities to work with advanced technology. By investing […]

From Survive to Thrive: FMCG Strategies for Growth and Profitability in 2025

From NZ Manufacturer magazine, February 2025. Chris Foord, Partner, Argon & Co New Zealand As we look forward to 2025 the outlook for business and NZ are improving. Many businesses in 2024 were focused on the “survive till 2025” mindset, controlling costs and avoiding discretionary spend. Very few though forgot about the consumer/customer and the need to continue to serve, surprise and delight with excellent product, service and pricing. Most FMCG businesses will be looking to return to better margin positions in 2025 and indications are favourable that this is achievable. The inflation beast has been tamed, so interest rates have fallen and are predicted to drop further (albeit not by a huge amount) through 2025. Business sentiment is on the rebound. Consumer confidence is at its highest level for two years, which in turn improves business confidence. Whilst the signs are positive, navigating from the survival mindset to a thrive mindset doesn’t happen without intent. So, what are some helpful tips to consider as FMCG businesses transition into what should be a period of growth, and importantly how to create value and embed sustainable profitability. Here are some areas to consider and explore: Align operations to execute your business strategy Plan to drive profitable growth Unlock, deliver and celebrate quick wins Create and embed a continuous improvement culture AI: Proof of Value Align operations to execute your business strategy Operations is where the rubber hits the road for your business strategy. Are your operational teams involved in the key decisions as you launch new products, drive innovation, review range, pricing and promotional plans? If not, they should be. They operationalise strategy, plans and tactics into reality. Get them onboard early and you will realise value faster and more effectively. Plan to drive profitable growth Continue your focus on productivity. […]

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