Manufacturing Technology

Richard Rookes, CEO, MHM Automation

How do you view the current market for automation? There is no better time than now to look at introducing technology to automate manufacturing processes. The international marketplace demands our customers be world leading in their operations and offerings, while also tackling the challenge of accessing labour. Covid has only exacerbated the labour shortage – and automation is an excellent solution to overcome this. What is your take on the industry in New Zealand at present? Is it an exciting space to be working in? New Zealand has always been a global leader in innovation, particularly as it relates to the food industry. However, the sector is fragmented with many small to mid-sized companies that do not have the scale or access to capital to take their technology to the world. MHM Automation has been consolidating a number of these businesses with a focus on building scale and diversification. We see it as an exciting place to be in – the drivers of automation in the food sector are many, from food safety, worker health and safety, food quality and keeping costs low. We see the drivers of automation improving and are excited about helping our customers future-proof their businesses. Briefly introduce me to MHM Automation MHM Automation is a leader in the design and supply of automated solutions to the food sector globally. We are headquartered out of Christchurch (NZ), and also have facilities in Hastings, Auckland, Brisbane and Green Bay, Wisconsin. MHM’s core business is working with the leading meat and dairy processors in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Our client base spans most of the major producers in these markets. MHM has three key product offerings: Chilling and freezing: Our Milmeq product range is a world leader in the chilling and freezing of meat and […]

Company Profile: Nautech Electronics

Nautech at EMEX 2022. Nautech Electronics has worked tirelessly for over 30 years to deliver their clients the high-quality electronic solutions they need. They use the very latest technology and Kiwi ingenuity to establish themselves as a world leader in electronics manufacturing and product engineering. Recognising the marine industry’s growing need for electronics installation and service, Nautech was established in 1989 as a home-based business. They now operate out of a state-of-the-art facility with a team of 78 specialists. With an innovative and collaborative approach, Nautech focus on excellent service, reliable delivery, IP protection and competitive pricing. Today, Nautech continue to deliver their clients the world-class electronic solutions they need to succeed. At Nautech, Quality isn’t just a process – It’s their philosophy. Nautech has partnered with the EMA for the Callaghan Innovation funded Smart Factory Showcase as part of the Industry 4.0 Demonstration Network which launches in July. Andrew Turner, Managing Director and Owner shares the company’s path: Can you tell us a little more about Nautech and the customers you serve? We manufacture for almost all industry sectors, from consumer to automotive, marine, aeronautical the way to defence and aerospace. We also design and develop products for customers as well as our own range of emergency warning products. Can you explain what Total Quality Management means to Nautech? TQM starts with management but is really a culture, it needs “buy in” from the whole team. At Nautech, all members participate in improving processes, products, services, and their own work environment. What advances have you seen in manufacturing since Nautech was established in 1989? So many! Back then, almost all electronics used thru hole components. We purchased our first wave soldering machine in 1996, and later that year, our first SMT placement machine. It was 2000 before we upgraded […]

Zero carbon steel on market

“What Gets Measured Gets Managed” – Peter Drucker By Dr Troy Coyle, CEO, HERA In Aotearoa New Zealand, there are a lot of conversations being had around carbon in the built environment, with our Ministry for Business, Innovation and Enterprise having developed two emissions mitigation frameworks under the Building for Climate Change Programme. These include proposed requirements in the Building Act and Code relating to carbon reductions. From this month, certified zero carbon steel will be available in the New Zealand market through a robust offsetting program. The program, Hōtaka Whakakore Puhanga Waro, has been independently developed and is based on verifiable data. HERA is the facilitator of the program and has partnered with social enterprise Ekos, a leader in environmental financing, to administer the offsetting process. The program will give the option for specification and use of zero carbon steel through offsetting determined on the basis of a robust underlying carbon calculator. New Zealand has committed to a net zero carbon target by 2050. Steel and iron production is the single largest industrial source of CO2 emissions in New Zealand, representing 55% of industrial emissions and around 5% of total gross emissions[1]. As we are all aware, carbon is primarily used in the steel-making process as a reductant, rather than an energy source – counter to how steel is often portrayed in the media. Although there is research into alternative reductants (e.g. hydrogen), currently no commercially viable alternative exists for coal, so until an alternative is developed, offsetting plays an important role in steel’s decarbonisation journey. The zero carbon steel program has been developed to provide independent and robust carbon offsetting rules and a preference for the offsets to be focused on the planting of native trees to provide additional biodiversity and human capital benefits to New Zealand society. […]

Business book shows how to take advantage of international marketplace

Expanding internationally might feel like a pipe dream for many businesses, but despite Covid-19 there’s a global marketplace ready right now – you just need to know how to do it well. In the new book, Business Beyond Borders: Take Your Company Global ($33.95), international business specialist Cynthia Dearin, Founder of Dearin & Associates, provides a step-by-step, accessible guide for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to amplify their impact on the international stage. Drawing upon decades of experience in international business, including extensive stints working abroad in global roles, Dearin brings a unique perspective on international expansion, and guides readers on how to execute the right strategy to ensure their success. In the book, readers learn: Why you need an international strategy … even now Mistakes to avoid when selecting international markets How to find your ideal international clients The key to bridging the cultural divide & building trust The rules of international marketing & pricing Filled with real world case studies, tips and action points. Business Beyond Borders provides business owners and entrepreneurs with the tools to map out their international vision, take the first steps on their international journey and begin the adventure of going global. Author Cynthia Dearin is an international business strategist and lawyer, and the founder of Dearin & Associates. With 23 years of international experience, she is on a mission to empower business owners and CEOs to scale internationally and amplify their impact in the world. An Australian-qualified legal practitioner, Cynthia worked in the UK, US, Europe and Middle East, as an Australian diplomat and as a management consultant. She also spent three years as the CEO of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Cynthia is proficient in Arabic and French, both of which she uses professionally. Her previous book is […]

IoT helps glass manufacturer disrupt industry with four-day supply delivery

New Zealand glass manufacturer, Architectural Glass Products (AGP), has deployed Internet of Things (IoT) technology from Pollin8 and Thinxtra for around-the-clock tracking of its products and delivery trolleys, ensuring it avoids losing assets, and bolstering its industry leading customer service. AGP was founded in response to market demand for high quality glass that can be manufactured and delivered in short timeframes. Established in 2019, the company has become the nation’s largest manufacturer of insulated glass units (IGUs). It currently operates a four-hectare, highly automated factory in Hautapu on the North Island. AGP owns over 1,750 purpose-built delivery trolleys, worth NZ$3,000 each, to transport its fragile, high-value glass products. To reduce the risk of these assets going missing and ensure their efficient return to the facility, AGP installed low-cost IoT tracking devices from NZ’s Pollin8, which communicate over Thinxtra’s 0G Network. This allows the manufacturer to track assets in real-time so they can be retrieved efficiently to maintain its four-day order-to-delivery service. “Before AGP came to market, the time from ordering the glass to delivery was unpredictable, and customers never quite knew specifically when their products would arrive. We have completely disrupted the market by delivering in four days,” said Gene Sanford at AGP. “Having Pollin8 and Thinxtra’s joint IoT solution in place from the start has proved central to our ability to deliver this level of service. Rather than resorting to the time consuming task of counting assets on a map with a basic GPS solution, we have a dashboard and data that inform us which customer has the trolleys and how long they have had them, enabling us to quickly take action to maintain our high service levels. “Our customers’ cash flow can be improved significantly knowing their supply will be delivered on time; getting our assets back quickly […]

Checkmarx launches supply chain solution

Checkmarx, has launched the Checkmarx Supply Chain Security solution to identify suspicious and potentially malicious open source packages across the modern application development lifecycle. Attackers are shifting their attention to the software supply chain by abusing open source software ecosystems, which have traditionally been trusted by the worldwide developer community. Checkmarx is bringing a developer-first approach to detecting supply chain attacks in code packages, leveraging a comprehensive suite of threat intelligence, behavioral intelligence and machine-learning models. Supply chain security research and thought leadership Over the past few months, the Checkmarx security research team has identified hundreds of malicious open source packages. Research articles highlighting three main types – dependency confusion, typosquatting and chainjacking – are available in the Checkmarx blog. Working in concert with Checkmarx Software Composition Analysis (SCA), Checkmarx Supply Chain Security identifies anomalies in the health and security of open source projects, analyses contributor reputation and also directly interrogates the behaviour of packages via analysis within a detonation chamber. The result is full-spectrum software supply chain insight and analysis that closes a significant gap in organisations’ application security. Current solutions in the market are reactive in that they rely on community feedback to detect vulnerable code and analyse the code, but not the person behind it. The Checkmarx Supply Chain Security solution is built on the principle of ‘don’t take code from strangers’. Checkmarx Supply Chain Security enables organisations to accelerate modern application development using open source software safely and securely through a full suite of critical capabilities: Health and Wellness and Software Bill of Materials (SBOM):Provides knowledge of the open source package and community, combined with SBOM creation. Malicious Package Detection:Detects dependency confusion, typosquatting, chainjacking and other malicious activities and packages. Contributor Reputation: Restores trust in the provenance of open source packages by eliminating the need to manually analyse contributor activity across all projects that could impact an organisation. Behaviour […]

Control what is made

-Simon Ganley, Ganley Engineering Have you ever wondered how manufacturers control what they make so they produce everything to the top of the specification and only use the minimum amount of energy to achieve that? Well, most bulk manufacturers of food and industrial products use sensors that sit in or on the line that measure what is being made to automatically control the process. And world-wide, NDC Technologies have grown to become the largest suppliers of this technology. There is a limit to how long any manufacturer can afford to fill up the scrap bin with substandard product, how long they can waste money on power consumption and how long they can compete with companies who do things properly. So, some of the things we do in NZ and elsewhere, is control the moisture and resin in MDF and particle board. This is done with a succession of sensors that control up at the wet-end and provide total control at the finished product. We control sugar moisture on-line and new developments will see the control of colour and lactose where degrees of brown have been an issue. Developed in NZ, most biscuits are now automatically process controlled with colour and moisture which saves huge amounts of energy, staff time and ingredients. The world’s largest French fries maker controls the moisture, oil, colour, bed depth and temperature at the fryer. Other makers produce anything at all. The same goes for potato and corn crisps. The big producers became big because they control what they make. Controlling production provides a fast payback. For confectionery, we control the layers of syrup when it is sprayed in the pan to make up hard-shell products and for chocolate the top producers control the moisture and cocoa butter. For milk powder, pharmaceuticals and other products made […]

Power your future with clean, renewable energy

-Barbara Nebel, CEO thinkstep-anz Every manufacturer needs reliable, affordable energy. The electricity you use, the thermal energy or coal that powers your boilers, the liquid fuels that run your vehicles – energy is one of your business’ most important resources. So, let’s take your energy requirements a step further. Adding ‘clean, renewable energy’ to the list will make your manufacturing operations less dependent on fossil fuels and help avert climate catastrophe. Include a ‘resilient source of energy’ and you’ll help your business withstand potential energy shocks as geo-political tensions grow. Reliable. Affordable. Clean. Renewable. Resilient. That’s a lot to ask of an energy source! Or is it? In this article we show you how to get started – and where to look as you become more ambitious. 1. Start with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) The 17 SDGs aim to end poverty, protect the planet, promote prosperity, and ensure peace for all. All 193 UN member states, including New Zealand, have adopted the goals. Based on our thinkstep-anz research, the Climate Change goal (SDG 13) is the top sustainability priority for companies in New Zealand and Australia – and maybe for your manufacturing business too. For many manufacturers, SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) will be another critical goal. SDG 7 and SDG 13 share some common targets: encouraging energy resilience, moving away from fossil fuels, and improving access to clean energy. Tackling either goal is a win for your business, our planet and its people. Operational efficiency + sustainable action together! Windmill on grass field during golden hour. Photo credit: Karsten Würth on Unsplash. 2. Understand your energy consumption 100% renewable energy is SDG 7’s holy grail. The share of renewables in New Zealand’s total primary energy supply is currently around 40% (MBIE, 2020). We’re not where we […]

How Tidy International helps float Kingfisher’s boats

When the Mason family bought into a Tauranga-based manufacturer of catamaran-hulled boats, the business management software being used included TidyEnterprise and Xero, critical to the co-ordination and control of their production and supply. After steadily maturing the workflows over the course of the year that followed the Mason family involvement, Kingfisher Boats today enjoys a software system that provides accurate stock and Work-in-Progress reports, with further developments in the works to accelerate overall business efficiency, optimise production processes and deliver company-wide data visibility. Kingfisher Boats is both designer and builder of the Kingfisher range of quality aluminium vessels with catamaran hulls sold through an approved marine distributor network. This growing New Zealand business, with its workshop facilities based in the city of Tauranga, happens to be located in the same city as Tidy’s international headquarters. Kingfisher has built up a solid range of marine-craft products for over 19 years, including commercial and recreational vessels ranging from 3m to 18m in length. Laura Mason, General Manager of the company, comments “what sets Kingfisher Boats apart is our focus on alloy catamarans. We’re unique in producing metal cats under 6 metres with a single engine – delivering a more stable platform in a compact package.” Situation Upon joining the business, Mason soon recognised opportunities for enhancing the manufacturing processes. Applying experience she gained in the automotive industry, with its long history of process standardisation and optimisation; from the production-line efficiency made famous by Henry Ford to Toyota’s Kaizen methodology of continuous improvement, Mason sought to advance the somewhat unstructured approach characteristic of smaller businesses towards a defined and repeatable model. Mason emphasises, “this does need to be differentiated depending on the boat we’re manufacturing. When we’re doing a multimillion dollar 18-metre vessel, there’s a lot of customisation so repeatability isn’t important. But […]

The sky’s the limit for growing Hutt Valley manufacturer

A high-tech design and manufacturing company based in the Hutt Valley is taking on the world while nurturing the region’s young talent. Times-7 designs and manufactures radio frequency identification antennas, otherwise known as RAIN (UHF) RFID. Founded in 2006,the company has established itself as a leading company in the global RFID market, exporting its products worldwide. Jos Kunnen, CEO and Managing Director, is committed to sustainable manufacturing in the Hutt Valley, saying, “this is the perfect place to be with other businesses around us that can support our growth and ambitions.” As uncertain as the future seemed when Covid-19 emerged, Jos says demand has skyrocketed due to an expanding market for RFID products. “We export almost everything we make, so we rely heavily on what happens in the rest of the world, especially North America and Europe.” When the first wave of covid-19 hit the US and Europe, projects stopped because no one could install products in retail stores, factories, or warehouses. Orders slowed, and supply chains became stressed and unpredictable. “Many companies suddenly realised they were not accurately tracking their inventory. They had to figure out how much stock they had but couldn’t get into their warehouses to check due to lockdown. They needed automation, so the demand for RFID products soared.” Last year, Times-7 celebrated its 15th year in business and is well-positioned for growth. Before Covid-19, companies were already piloting or deploying RFID; however, they realised they needed to speed up the implementation process. “This has driven demand. We are a part of a global RAIN Alliance group, and there are reports of others in our industry also experiencing significant growth. For context, the annual number of UHF RFID tagged items has risen from 21 billion to 28 billion over the last year. “All these tags need […]

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