NZ Productivity Organisation

Company Profile – Oasis Engineering, Tauranga

Industry 4.0 – Just do it! Oasis Engineering began as the maintenance division of the Gisborne Oasis soft drink brand, before moving to Tauranga and becoming known for its close-tolerance machined parts in difficult to work materials, including stainless steel and titanium. They now make parts for every major compressed natural gas (CNG) company in over 40 countries. Oasis and its team of 30 manufacture precision stainless steel machined and assembled components, primarily for the natural gas industry. We recently caught up with Kevin Flint, General Manager of Oasis, to hear how their Industry 4.0 journey has been progressing. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your role at Oasis? I am the General Manager of Oasis Engineering Ltd. From Blackpool in the UK, I have been in the manufacturing industry for over 30 years. I emigrated to New Zealand in 2006 and I’ve been employed at Oasis Engineering since 2007. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Masters in Product Development, and am a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (UK). My first professional role was to design Automated Production Machines and write the PLC programs. Industry 4.0 has been in my blood since I began my professional career. Can you tell us what Oasis Engineering do? We are a manufacturing company based in Tauranga with 30 employees. We design and manufacture products for the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) Industry, Hydrogen Refuelling Industry, Food and Dairy Industry. Currently, 80 per cent of our products are exported to over 20 countries, but mainly the USA and Canada. When did Oasis begin their Industry 4.0 journey? I first became aware of Industry 4.0 after Oasis Engineering was bought by German company, Elaflex Hiby GmbH in April 2017. They have a factory similar to ours in Plettenburg […]

Serious about sustainability? Delve into your supply chain!

-Barbara Nebel, CEO thinkstep-anz Supply chains are ‘having a moment’ – and not an easy one. As a manufacturer, you’re likely to be facing supply chain challenges due to Covid-19 and global unrest. The current situation highlights the critical role supply chains play in manufacturing. Read on to learn how Kawerau-based manufacturer Essity Australasia (formerly Asaleo Care) is future-proofing its supply chain, with benefits to its business, the natural environment and local communities. Zooming out: the global picture and SDG12 But first, let’s start with the global picture. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise that supply chains play a critical role in creating a more sustainable world. In fact, supply chains have their own SDG. It’s SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and it’s linked to many other goals in the SDG framework. Why the link? Because, by purchasing responsibly, manufacturers can have positive impacts far beyond their own businesses. For example, by ‘buying local’, they can help build sustainable cities and communities (SDG11). By using renewable energy, they can contribute to affordable and clean energy (SDG7) and promote climate action (SDG13). Essity Australasia: SDG12 in action Essity Australasia is a good example of SDG12 in action. The manufacturer produces personal care and hygiene products and is the only New Zealand manufacturer of toilet and hand towel tissue products. The company is serious about understanding and managing its environmental and social impacts, including through its supply chain. Understanding the sustainability of its supply chain Essity Australasia uses Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to review the environmental impacts of its products across their life cycles. LCAs measure the impacts, including carbon emissions, involved when the manufacturer makes its personal care and hygiene products (using resources like trees, water and energy and services like transport). They also calculate the impacts involved […]

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 […]

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 […]

Getting back on track

It is very good news that the country is now in Orange and flexibility around people gathering allows business to breathe a sigh of relief. We can only go up from here! As a nation – as a business nation – we have been wrapped up in Covid cotton wool for so long that many businesses closed and others will not get back to previous levels of performance. And of course, we don’t have enough skilled people for the work at hand at present and the continual threat of OE and crossing the ditch for better financial reward means it will be years before New Zealand can get back on a firm financial footing. Into the black…if at all. Keeping all the balls in the air is a challenge for this small economy, with so much demand on government finances to maintain existing systems. Closing down the country during Covid may have worked for health and safety but certainly not for business. One could argue that an amount of money needs to be spent on skilled workers, both internal and from overseas, (some will come back) to help realign the economy. Decent rates of pay so that effort is rewarded and a real incentive for improving productivity and efficiency. Keeping in mind, of course, that supply chain issues affect movement of goods, affect productivity, just as it does the current demand for New Zealand products. Changing markets, changing times. This government is going to have to live with their decision to halt the good work of so many businesses for the rest of their lives. It will haunt them to know that those who had, suddenly, had not. To arbitrarily decide who trades and who doesn’t – not based on their own personal business experience – was always going to […]

Technologies enable smart factories to self-adapt

By Jarrod Kinchington, Infor ANZ vice president and managing director Judging by the headlines, continuous logistics issues, continued pandemic restrictions, and rising prices for raw materials will mean that manufacturers have their work cut out for 2022. In addition, the drive towards sustainability is adding pressure to readjust the manufacturing footprint. Most manufacturers are still stuck with a geographic footprint, which was driven by labour arbitrage around the globe, rather than by factors such as closeness to customers or ecological concerns. To increase efficiency, many producers have started to implement Industry 4.0 technologies. Industry 4.0 came with the promise of a smart factory being profitable at the production lot size of one unit. The concept was introduced at the brink of the millennium change with the introduction of cyber-physical systems to share, analyse and guide intelligent actions for various processes in the industry to make the machines smarter and to lower downtime. Analytics can also be used for other aspects like logistics, demand forecasts, production scheduling and quality control, capacity utilisation and efficiency boosting. But we still stand at the beginning for leveraging the true potential of Industry 4.0. Smart technologies offer no less than the possibility to redesign the global manufacturing footprint, to position factories closer to markets, reduce logistics nightmares and increase visibility of the ecosystem partners, including suppliers and customers. There are six important ingredients for a strategy to create the future-proof smart factory: Customers increasingly demand highly personalised products as well as an enhanced customer experience. Manufacturing companies adopt highly agile cloud-based solutions to gain the ability to increase individualisation, service additions, and serve higher flexibility requirements. The need to reduce delays and transport costs, as well as the drive toward a more sustainable production and the imperative to reduce the distance to the physical end-consumer […]

igus 7th axis extends working space by up to 400 percent

Articulated arm robots can travel over six metres, quadrupling their working space: the 7th axis is now compatible with all lightweight articulated arm robots worldwide thanks to a simple Plug & Play kit. So far, models from Universal Robots, Epson and the igus robolink series from Treotham have benefited from this increased mobility. Now Omron, Franka Emika, Doosan, Yuanda Robotics and many other lightweight robotics suppliers are joining the list. The first users of the so-called 7th axis, a linear axis with an electric toothed belt drive that igus launched in 2020, were thrilled according to Alexander Mühlens: “Suddenly, thanks to the additional axis, their articulated arm robots are as mobile as humans. This enables them to take on multiple tasks in automation environments making them significantly more productive,” says the Head of Automation Technology at igus. “We therefore decided to extend the compatibility of the system to all manufacturers worldwide – such as Omron, Franka Emika, Doosan and Yuanda Robotics. With a matching Plug & Play kit of hardware and software we make customisation possible.” Ready-to-connect complete solution for all lightweight articulated arm robots In the future, all lightweight articulated arm robots with a weight range of 10 to 50 kilograms or, depending on the dynamics, a payload of 2 to 20 kilograms can use the 7th axis. Treotham supplies the system as a ready-to-connect complete solution from a single source. It consists of a drylin ZLW toothed belt axis with a length of up to six metres and two parallel rails made of aluminium. These can be mounted on the floor, walls or ceilings and a toothed belt drive with stepper motor for a positioning accuracy of 0.3 millimetres. Also included is: an energy chain for guiding energy and data cables; a switch cabinet integration kit with cables; […]

Hutt Valley businesses step up to help build talent pipeline in the region

-Rebecca Reed It’s the same old story for every business, particularly those in the manufacturing sector…how do you fill the shortage of tradespeople and find the right workers for the job? The lack of skilled workers in Aotearoa has only intensified since Covid, with employers battling to attract and retain talent to keep up with their workflow demands. In the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce recent Business Confidence Survey at the end of 2021, 56% of employers in the region said they were struggling for talent. Chief Executive, Patrick McKibbin, has been a long admirer of an innovative model born out of the Hawkes Bay that has become a real success story in attracting and retaining young talent. This model was the brainchild of engineering employer, Patton Engineering. After struggling to find and attract the right workers, particularly apprentices, Patton Engineering decided to do something about it themselves. In 2018, Patton Engineering partnered with Hastings Boys’ High School to create a model to support students towards a pathway into engineering that could be rolled out nationwide. To realise this vision, they focused on secondary students who were undertaking trades training as part of their technology class. Machinery, materials, and gear were provided to the school through sponsorships, grants, and donations. Patton Engineering also engaged their suppliers, like Steel and Tube, to provide the school with materials at the same cost it sells to Patton. This Steel and Tube deal is now available to all schools across New Zealand. How exactly does the model work? Essentially Patton Engineering, and now another 31 employers working with the school, provide work experiences through the year and then get to see and select the future employees for their business. For the business this has a fantastic ROI with lower cost to recruit, lower churn […]

Foster productivity growth for a strong recovery and better living standards

Strong government support to protect jobs and incomes in the face of the pandemic helped New Zealand recover rapidly from the severe Covid-19-induced downturn, but challenges remain to set the economy on a sustainable growth path, according to a new OECD report. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 2007 while the employment rate rose to its highest level on record in the third quarter of 2021. However, inflation and house prices have picked up significantly and both household and government debt have increased. The latest OECD Economic Survey of New Zealand recommends that fiscal policy be adjusted in the near term to help stabilise the economy. Boosting productivity, particularly by making better use of digital technologies, would support further increases in living standards. Economic growth is expected to slow as capacity constraints bite and macroeconomic policies are tightened. Consumption growth is also expected to ease to a more sustainable pace as employment growth slows. After surging to 4.7% in 2021, New Zealand’s GDP is expected to rise by 3.8% this year before easing to 2.5% growth in 2023. “The near-term economic outlook is positive. The New Zealand economy has recovered strongly from the pandemic. The need for policy action is pressing in a number of areas to make economic growth sustainable. For instance, helping the digital sector to grow would help boost labour productivity.” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said, presenting the Survey alongside Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications David Clark. “Linking pension eligibility to life expectancy and adopting long-term debt-to-GDP targets would help address the projected increase in government debt.” With affordability for first homebuyers at low levels and a buoyant housing market, it is important for the government to complete reforms to increase housing supply and […]

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