Scott Aylett, SEA Electrical a winner
Scott Aylett from SEA Electrical, a Master Electricians member, received a bronze for the Emerging Business Award at the recent Excellence Awards. A bit more about him here…
Recent News
Master electricians excellence awards rewarded talent
Wellington electrical company, Seven Electrical, won the top excellence award at the 2024 Master Electricians Awards ceremony at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland on Friday evening, 25 October, which was attended by Hon Chris Penk, Minister of Housing and Construction.(Pictured left with Alexandra Vranyac-Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer of Master Electricians New Zealand). In addition to scooping the Master Electrician of the Year Award, Seven Electrical took the Excellence Award for a Project (over $5 million) for its work on the purpose-built Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tākina is a multi-architectural award-winning building with an iconic design brought to life by customised LED strip lighting. Electrical companies were declared winners across this year’s other Excellence Awards categories – Emerging Business, Lighting Design, Sustainability, Innovation, and the other two Project Awards: $1 to $5 million and under $1 million. The winner of the Industry Champion Award was also announced, along with Apprentice Challenge winners. “We had a record-breaking 85 entries for the 2024 Master Electricians Excellence Awards,” says Alexandra Vranyac-Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer of Master Electricians New Zealand. “This was our largest event to date and our judges had their work cut out for them by the exceptional quality of entries. The judges undertook an intensive 3-week journey across New Zealand and were impressed by the innovation, leadership and commitment to sustainability that was demonstrated in many of the projects. Kinetic Electrical was awarded the Excellence Award for an Emerging Business – for outstanding achievement in the new business space within the last seven years. The Wellington-based company set up in mid-2018 inspired the judges with its business planning and bold commitment to growth through multiple challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing business and stakeholder turbulence. The Sustainability Award went to Planet Electrical, which embeds environmental sustainability in every aspect […]
Cetogenix: Building renewable futures — with no waste left behind
Each year, the world produces more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon-rich waste from food production, agriculture, sewage treatment and industrial manufacturing. Cleantech startup Cetogenix, a 2024 KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards finalist, has found a way to harness the untapped potential of organic waste to generate renewable energy and other circular economy products. The company’s Ceto-Boost™ system breaks down organic wastes and transforms them into valuable products like biomethane, fertilizers and biomaterials. Their patented process uses hydrothermal oxidation — leveraging temperature, pressure and air without any additional chemicals — to deconstruct waste with remarkable efficiency. This novel approach reduces organic waste volumes by 95% and eliminates contaminants like microplastics and pathogens. Globally, it’s estimated Ceto-Boost™ could replace up to 12% of fossil natural gas production and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 884 million tonnes of CO2e annually. The foundation of this innovation lies in over a decade of science and engineering research while the Cetogenix co-founders were working at Scion. They formed Cetogenix in July 2022 via a successful NZ$4.8 M capital raise with co-investment from Pacific Channel Limited, Angel HQ, Enterprise Angels, and Icehouse Ventures. Since launching, Cetogenix has grown to a team of twelve, who complement strong domestic and international R&D and commercialisation relationships. Within one year of founding, Cetogenix scaled up to a prototype Ceto-Boost™ pilot system in Rotorua, where they still maintain a strong collaborative research partnership with Scion. The company is initially focusing on the global municipal wastewater and agricultural biogas markets and has confirmed pilot trials with end-users in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Maintaining application flexibility and aligning their technology development and intellectual property with evolving market needs has proven crucial for success. With its sustainable waste-to-resource technology, Cetogenix offers a powerful solution to the world’s reliance on fossil carbon — paving the way for […]
NZ Manufacturer October issue out now
Read the best analysis and observations for the manufacturing future for New Zealand. Exchange opinions and experiences with your peers, who are enhancing Productivity and market share in local and international markets. Subscribe to the magazine and send your success stories to us. We will share them for you.Contact publisher@xtra.co.nz
Beyond the Status Quo: Rethinking Workforce Development for a Competitive Future
David O’Connor, Head of Emerging Markets, The Learning Wave As a nation, we take pride in our innovation and adaptability. However, when it comes to workforce development, we still find ourselves lagging behind. The challenges are clear: a widening skills gap, ongoing productivity issues, a growing need for both transferable and technical skills, and businesses struggling to meet global competition demands. Are we ready to push boundaries and adopt effective solutions for today’s workforce and tomorrow’s needs? Or are we content to tinker at the edges of a broken system? Recent conversations suggest the latter. So, what can we do? It’s easy to blame outdated educational structures, funding issues, inter-agency hurdles, and slow policy changes. But are we truly held back by the system, or are we reluctant to challenge the status quo? Current structures, though well-intentioned, often miss the mark when it comes to evolving business needs. We need a shift towards flexibility, continuous learning, and strong industry partnerships. We must stop waiting for the government to solve the skills gap; we require more business-led initiatives. Relying solely on government action is unrealistic and short-term thinking. Instead of waiting for mandates or funding schemes, the government should incentivize businesses with tax breaks for upskilling and training their staff. The business community must lead the way. Organisations can – and should- drive change by partnering to source and fund necessary skills training. Many companies recognize the value of investing in their workforce, and there’s an opportunity to create a coordinated, industry-wide effort that harnesses the best training available. Small businesses often claim they can’t make an impact, but we can transform isolated successes into a nationwide movement. Collaboration among businesses is key to creating a more agile and responsive training ecosystem that meets the needs of both employers and their […]
Holidays Act reform – let’s get it done once and done right
By EMA Head of Advocacy and Strategy Alan McDonald It’s hard to think of a piece of legislation that has needed reform for as long as the Holidays Act. Successive governments have been aware of longstanding concerns over the Act among workers, employers and payroll providers alike and promised to fix the issues. But they have also largely failed to deliver any meaningful change. Businesses have long been calling for the Holidays Act to be scrapped and rewritten, saying it’s too complicated and is costing businesses time and money. Unfortunately, the approach to addressing those issues has been largely to ignore the main problems and tinker with existing legislation, adding further complexity. The main issue for many employers was how the Act calculates annual leave, public holidays, sick days, and bereavement leave. With the rise of different styles of work, it was challenging to accurately figure out how much workers were owed. The previous government had a go at reforming the legislation, and in March 2020, Cabinet endorsed in full the 22 recommendations for improvements to the Act made by a tripartite Holidays Act Taskforce. However, the draft bill was far too complicated and didn’t see the light of day. Now, the coalition government is attempting to reform the legislation and an exposure draft on the Holidays Act Bill was released for targeted consultation in September. The EMA was one of the organisations tapped to review the exposure draft and provide feedback. We’ve worked with select members of the EMA to make sure we canvassed a range of opinions across the business community. We also recently tested out thinking with around 500 members on a webinar and they largely agreed with the direction of our approach as it provides something efficient and simple for employers to operate. We have been under a non-disclosure agreement as […]
Can we be world-class leaders?
From October issue NZ Manufacturer magazine www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz -Ian Walsh, Partner, Argon and Co Recently, I had the opportunity to work with business leaders on New Zealand’s productivity performance and, how it compares to key trading nations and OECD members. Over the past 50 years, New Zealand’s ranking has fallen from being in the top five to the bottom five. It’s a tough reality, but more interestingly, the discussion centred around why Scandinavian countries and Ireland excel while we continue to struggle. Many attribute New Zealand’s lagging performance to factors like distance to market, limited access to capital, and the small size of our domestic markets. Undoubtedly these do play a role, but they are largely beyond a business’s control. No matter how efficient we become, we still face the challenge of shipping goods across the globe. If we focus on these external factors alone, we will continue to run the risk of overlooking the most crucial areas where we can improve – leadership and people management. Studies show that New Zealand consistently underperforms in these areas compared to other OECD nations, and this is not a recent development. Over the last 40 years, other countries have systematically invested in cultivating great leaders, while New Zealand seems to have fallen into five fatal assumptions about leadership. The Five Fatal Assumptions About Leadership in New Zealand: Promoting the best operator to leader will work out Many workplaces fall into the trap of promoting the best operator to leadership roles. While they are often respected for their technical skills, they may lack the ability to manage people effectively. This can result in the loss of a great operator and sometimes even a demotivated team. Leadership requires a different skill set—one that needs to be developed, not assumed. Leaders are born, not made The […]
We need to pay attention to completely natural, consumer quality-verified, unprocessed food
-Phyllis Tichinin, soil scientist, founder of True Health Ltd The health narrative is increasingly moving away from processed food, especially ultra-processed foods (UPFs). More emphasis is being put on vitamin and mineral, antioxidant and polyphenol content, also called nutrient density or ORAC. Consumers are becoming concerned about pesticides and packaging chemicals in what they eat. They are looking for food that fully nourishes and heals cells. Ultra-processed items are receiving bad press and labelled as the cause of chronic disease. In America, ninety three percent of Americans have some form of inflammatory chronic disease: cancer, diabetes, fatty liver, Alzheimer’s, allergies, etc. More than half of the population is obese. Seventy-seven percent of young men are unfit for military service. These figures are mirrored in health statistics worldwide. While sedentary screen time, air and water toxins, and stress are implicated, Influential functional medicine doctors and health celebrities are placing the majority of the blame on consumption of processed food. (Check out Dr Casey Means interviews on the Web or Spotify) Our NZ consumption of UPFs is only slightly lower than in the USA and the UK – around 50%, even for children under 5. This global trend has implications for NZ’s food and packaging industries. Most of the food we export is minimally processed, compared to the ultra-processed foods like packaged snacks, desserts, energy bars, etc. We are presently well positioned with a reputation for natural quality, but in most food categories Italy and France have international reputations superior to ours. We can’t cruise on our laurels in this space and we certainly can’t afford to lose any ground. Food wrapping and containers that preserve vitamins, minerals and flavour components without the use of any chemical, heavy metal, or plastic need to be a focus of innovation. Hand in hand […]
The only way is up: how Gallagher Security’s vertically integrated manufacturing model delivers
Global security manufacturer, Gallagher Security has a proud history of delivering its solutions to the world with uninterrupted movement and the assurance they can ship 95% of purchase orders the next day, worldwide. On the eve of World Manufacturing Day on October 4, Gallagher, a frequent award-winner for its manufacturing prowess, acknowledges its vertically integrated manufacturing and engineering capabilities which are backed by more than 86 years of entrepreneurial spirit. Gallagher Security Chief Executive, Mark Junge says, “Because our solutions are designed, engineered, manufactured, and distributed from our head office site in Hamilton, New Zealand, we have complete oversight of manufacturing and distribution, ensuring we maintain quality, and can quickly and easily make changes, invest in raw materials, and implement strategies to ensure continued availability.” With control over the full supply chain, Gallagher can rapidly respond to emerging challenges resulting in shorter lead times, guaranteed quality, full visibility, and the ability to deliver on demand. Such was the case with events of recent years which hit manufacturers around the world hard. The Covid-19 pandemic and associated supply chain and shipping complications pushed Gallagher to re-engineer its products with parts they could access to ensure continued supply. It’s this ability to pivot and their commitment to relentless innovation that minimises the risk of third-party limitations and global risks to people and organisations,’ echoing their customer centric approach and putting people at the heart of everything they do. And the world is watching. In 2023 alone, Gallagher took home five manufacturing awards across Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom at the Australian Security Industry Awards, US, and UK OSPAs (Outstanding Security Performance Award), Security and Fire Matters and Fire and Security Matters awards, respectively. Already in 2024, Gallagher has been awarded a further three Manufacturing awards at the Fire […]
Stop calling workplace safety failures ‘accidents’
By Paul Jarvie, EMA Manager of Employment Relations & Safety With the Government signalling that significant reform of our workplace health and safety regulations are on the way, it’s time to look at the language we use around preventable harms. For too long, ‘accident’ has been a blanket term that absolves responsibility. Whether at home, on the road, or in our workplaces, we’ve grown accustomed to shrugging off incidents as ‘accidents’. But are they truly random acts beyond our control, or is there more to the story? When we label something an ‘accident’, we imply innocence and inevitability. It’s a linguistic shrug that suggests nothing could have been done differently. But the reality, backed by extensive research, paints a different picture. Insurance companies that provide cover for ‘accidental damage’ base their premiums entirely on historical data of such events. They know these events will happen, how many, when and how. The premium setting process uses vast databases to ensure the number of claims do not exceed their premium income – that’s how they remain in business. It’s a similar system to ACC for injury claims. In 2023, ACC handled nearly 200,000 workplace claims, with many stemming from repeat incidents that were likely to have been identified in companies’ hazard registers. As such, they were neither unknown nor unforeseen. This data underscores the need for a more nuanced approach in our safety lexicon. In workplaces, terms like ‘incident’ or ‘near miss’ are often used interchangeably with ‘accident’. Yet, these terms don’t adequately capture the essence of what really happened: a failure in systems, procedures or human judgement that resulted in harm or damage. Take aviation, where research from the Pilot Institute found that pilot error accounted for 69.1% of plane crashes, with 17.2% due to mechanical issues and 13% of unknown […]