Manufacturing Technology

  By Kevin Piccione, President, Sealed Air Asia Pacific Flexible working is here to stay, and it doesn’t discriminate by industry. In fact, recent research by Microsoft estimates that, across a range of industries in APAC, 73 percent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue, while  67 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams. A flexible set-up is all well and good for those of us tethered to laptops, but not necessarily an option for those in industries like manufacturing, right? Not quite. The Covid-19 pandemic forced non-location dependent peoples across Asia Pacific and the world into their homes for months. This created a need for all businesses, including those that provide essential goods and services, to swiftly adopt a new way of work where adaptability – and sometimes ingenuity – has been a means to survive and provide business continuity. Re-thinking factory work The pandemic has caused businesses at large, including manufacturing companies, to rethink location-dependent work versus non-location dependent work. The contract between employer and employee has fundamentally changed and companies that fail to rethink the workplace risk being left behind by employees in pursuit of a more flexible arrangement. From the office to the shop floor, businesses are experimenting with new operating models that do not require everyone to be physically present. Many companies eased into the transition by implementing temporary flexible work options, with long-term arrangements that prioritised and normalised flexibility. This requires a shift away from the time and attendance tradition toward more performance-based work. Where and how the agreed upon output is delivered is now open to discussion. Employees are more empowered to meet set workplace expectations and adjust schedules to better manage their own work and personal lives. For some companies, that decision is a bit more nuanced. At Sealed Air, for […]

Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce calls for better consideration of commercial and industrial growth as part of city regional spatial planning in the next 30 years. The Hutt Valley is one of the largest manufacturing and technology engine rooms in New Zealand.  The region has earned its name as ‘Technology Valley’ for being a hi-tech, innovative, and creative thinking hub. Boasting over four times the number of scientists, researchers, and technologists, per capita, when compared to the rest of New Zealand, the Hutt Valley is an incubator for innovative hi tech start-ups and advanced manufacturing. With a strong research and development community,  motivated venture capital companies,  a network of support agencies, including the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, Crown Research Institutes and the city councils, the region has become a desirable place to run a business, particularly for owner-operators in the manufacturing and technology sector. As many cities and regions throughout the country experience rapid growth, it is imperative the manufacturing and technology sector is seriously considered when spatial planning for the future. Helen Down, Chief Executive of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce said smart forward thinking spatial planning supports economic growth. “For example, one of the biggest challenges facing the region is a scarcity of quality commercial and industrial buildings with good earthquake ratings, as well as Greenfield and Brownfield sites which enable businesses to build to specific requirements.” High-tech company, Times7, specialises in the design and manufacture of specialised radio frequency identification antennas, known as RAIN (UHF) RFID. From their base in Alicetown, Lower Hutt, Times7 exports all over the world. It is a well-established brand in the global radio frequency identification market. The company recently consolidated their manufacturing back onshore in their Lower Hutt facility after also manufacturing in the United States over the last four […]

Zoe Murphy   Vignesh Kumar  KiwiNet has appointed  Vignesh Kumar to its board of directors as an additional independent board member. KiwiNet has also appointed Zoe Murphy as a board observer, a newly implemented role designed to foster capability and diversity within New Zealand’s research commercialisation governance and leadership. The Kiwi Innovation Network (KiwiNet) is a group of 18 universities, Crown Research Institutes, an Independent Research Organisation and a Crown Entity working together to transform scientific discoveries into new products and services. Together, KiwiNet members represent a total combined research expenditure of over $800 million and 80% of the publicly funded researchers in New Zealand. Engineering and technology professional Vignesh Kumar has over 12 years of experience in global technology design, manufacturing, and operations strategy across North America, East Asia, and the Asia Pacific. Before returning to New Zealand in mid-2018, he worked for Apple Inc. at its US headquarters as one of its Lead Enclosure Hardware Managers, actively sourcing and scaling science and engineering anchored innovations centred on improving the engineering and manufacturability of Apple’s consumer products. Prior experiences included business development at BHL Group in Papua New Guinea and product design in neonatal respiratory support at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Vignesh earned an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, as a Wharton and Kaiser Fellow and a Fulbright Science and Innovation Scholar, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Master of Engineering Studies (Hons) in Medical Device Design and Technologies from the University of Auckland. Vignesh is deeply involved in the local early-stage ecosystem. He also sits on the Return on Science investment committees and is an active venture investor in hardware-enabled software, deep tech, and health technology companies, via his role as a Partner at venture capital firm Global from […]

    New Zealand’s largest and fastest growing hub for deep tech startups is getting a new name, with LevelTwo becoming Outset Ventures. CEO Imche Fourie (pictured) says the new name reflects the evolution of Outset Ventures into the country’s largest company incubating and investing in early stage ventures founded on science and engineering breakthroughs addressing global challenges. “We’ve grown beyond being a shared space on the second floor of a building to a place where entrepreneurs can grow their groundbreaking science and engineering innovations with us ‘from the outset’,” says Ms Fourie. “The new name speaks to our commitment to grow New Zealand’s flourishing deep tech entrepreneurial community, where founders can find support to fuel their global ambitions of curing diseases, slowing climate change, reversing pollution; and producing sustainable foods, fuels and space flights.” Previously the birthplace of Rocket Lab, LanzaTech and Mint Innovation, which once all resided on ‘level two’ within the Outset Ventures building, the company now houses commercial laboratory and workshop facilities, a six-month pre-incubation ‘Launch Lab’ programme, and a $10 million deep tech fund raised with Icehouse Ventures that will back 20-30 ventures over the next three years. Outset Ventures welcomed the third startup into its new Launch Lab programme last month; Dennisson Technologies, which has also received investment from the deep tech fund. The company is developing a soft, clothing-like exosuit as a low-cost, lightweight alternative to traditional medical devices used to help people unable to move their limbs without assistance. “We are thrilled at the massive support from Outset Ventures,” says CEO of Dennisson Technologies Anvil Bañez, who founded the wearable technology company last year with the aim of helping people like his father, who suffered from the effects of Polio, walk again. “The funding, Launch Lab programme, and new connections we are […]

By David Downs, Chairman of the Hi-Tech Trust New Zealand is in the grips of a major skills shortage with a wide variety of industries struggling to fill key roles. A recent report from NZ Tech (the technology industry group) shows the technology sector has a matched skills shortage of approximately 5,000 jobs in the digital tech space, with similar shortages showing up across the advanced manufacturing sector. Availability of skilled staff regularly features as one of the top growth constraints for New Zealand technology firms. But despite this dire predicament, a large part of our population remains cut off from training and upskilling as they are unable to access, or afford, the training ‘on-ramp’ to the high quality jobs the tech sector can offer. Regional New Zealand, lower socio-economic groups, and in particular, Māori, Pasifika and women are most affected. It’s shocking how few people from these cultural and demographic backgrounds are represented in the tech sector, despite years of handwringing and efforts to address the issue. As well as being socially just, increasing access and diversity is also economically smart. All the evidence shows that talent is evenly distributed across the population – but opportunity is not. We need to address the issues which stop full participation in technology careers and to maximise the talent pool. Imagine if we have our next Ernest Rutherford, Beatrice Tinsley or Peter Beck, living in New Zealand at the moment – but he or she is blocked from ever realising that potential because they can’t afford childcare, or the bus fare. Post-Covid-19 we need access to the widest set of skills we can, to help transform our economy and maximise the country’s potential. To this end the Hi-Tech Trust is putting its weight behind the effort to significantly boost inclusion and diversity, […]