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Business, Covid, and the 2020 election

Most businesspeople approve of the Government’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, but many are uncomfortable with New Zealand’s resultant debt. And business wants a plan for raising economic performance to deal with Covid fallout. The key findings of the Deloitte and Chapman Tripp Election Survey hosted by BusinessNZ- were presented at the virtual Deloitte and Chapman Tripp Election Conference hosted by BusinessNZ in Auckland today. This year’s survey shows a clear view by business that the Government has done well in its initial response to the Covid-19 situation. There are mixed feelings about whether the Government has spent the right amount on business support, but there is strong support for the wage subsidy and leave schemes. Looking ahead to the period of Covid- and post-Covid recovery, businesses want to see the Government focused on economic well-being, with a coordinated plan for recovery that includes building infrastructure. For the general business environment, businesses want to see the regulatory burden on business reduced, the RMA overhauled, and 90-day job trials allowed for all businesses. A large majority don’t want tax increases. Deloitte Chief Executive Thomas Pippos says, “The survey defines the areas of interest to New Zealand business. This year’s results show a clear focus for future governments, even with the high levels of uncertainty caused by Covid-19. “There is an understanding that as a country, we are dealing with an unanticipated and disruptive situation. Overall, survey results suggest there is general support for the actions taken by the Government to date in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic which is the key positive the Government can take from the survey findings.” Chapman Tripp Chief Executive Partner Nick Wells says, “With little sign of the pandemic easing in the short term, and an uncertain prospect of a vaccine, our collective focus needs to […]

Immigration changes “a great boost” to local businesses

Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Leeann Watson says businesses in Waitaha Canterbury will welcome the news that valued workers that have been stuck offshore will now have the opportunity to return to Aotearoa New Zealand. The announcement by Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi will help new residents stuck offshore keep their residency status while Covid-19 travel restrictions remain in place. This means that individuals whose travel conditions are about to expire will receive a 12 month extension to travel to New Zealand, and those whose travel conditions have expired on or after 2 February 2020 (when travel restrictions began) will be issued a new visa, also valid for 12 months. “The announcement that visa holders that are normally resident here and have retained their job can apply for a border exemption is a great boost to local businesses,” says Ms Watson. “Sectors right across the region have felt the impact of the loss of these workers, many of whom hold essential positions in their workplaces. Employers have indicated that many projects have been delayed or negatively impacted in infrastructure, health, and telecommunications without these critical workers. “Many of these visa holders have lived in New Zealand for years and make a strong contribution to our communities. “This is a really positive step towards establishing a balance between efficient border management controls and the importance of allowing the movement of people into the country for our economic recovery. It also provides businesses with a degree of certainty around this issue during what continues to be a very challenging and unsettling time.”

Applications open for ATNZ Apprentice of the Year 2020

The country’s largest employer of mechanical engineering apprentices, Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) is excited to announce applications are now open for their highly coveted Apprentice of the Year Award. ATNZ General Manager Susanne Martin said the award is open to all apprentices in their second year or more of mechanical engineering training who have signed a current training agreement with ATNZ and recognises the skills and talent of an exceptional all-rounder. This is the third year of the awards for ATNZ, a not-for-profit group training organisation that employs more than 340 engineering apprentices and places them with host companies around New Zealand. “This award celebrates an ATNZ apprentice who is not only a high performer thriving in their apprenticeship, but also has an outstanding attitude. They are proactive in their work, particularly around health and safety, and show obvious enjoyment in what they do,” Ms Martin said. Along with being crowned ATNZ Apprentice of the Year, the winner will receive $1,000 of tools and a $1,000 JBHiFi voucher – doubling the value of the prize pool of previous years. Ms Martin said applications come from across all spheres of the engineering trade. She believes the unprecedented challenges of 2020 will have further spotlighted extraordinary future tradies. “Every year we’re blown away by the calibre of applications, and the obvious talent we are nurturing as we grow the next generation of Kiwi tradespeople. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever, we need success stories to celebrate. We know during the lockdown and restart, what assets our apprentices have been to our host companies. That’s why we ask host companies to recognise the valuable contribution they have made to their workplaces and encourage their learners to apply,” Ms Martin said. Applications must be received by no later […]

Manawatu and Palmerston North outperforms NZ

Infometrics latest Quarterly Economic Monitor shows that regional economies such as Manawatū and Palmerston North are performing almost twice as well as the national economy. “While the regions have been hit by COVID-19, Manawatū, Palmerston North and the wider Manawatū-Whanganui region have outperformed the national economy,” says Linda Stewart, Chief Executive of the Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA). “It shows how the regions are driving the economy in terms of primary-related exports. Due to Manawatū’s diversified economy we can add education, public administration, research, logistics and manufacturing as well. “While the Manawatū and Palmerston North economies have taken a hit, our economic diversity means that we are in a good position to weather the storm. It also shows the soundness of the economic development strategy that the region is following,” she says. A useful measure is non-residential consents, which points to both infrastructure and commercial activity. While the rest of the country contracted -8.8%, in Manawatū, non-residential consents were up 57.2% and a record 84.4% in Palmerston North. Housing consents in Manawatū are 2.5 times greater than the rest of New Zealand and an impressive 4.5 times in Palmerston North. Ms Stewart says construction activity is not a flash in the pan. “Construction sector jobs have expanded 86% in Palmerston North and Manawatū since 2000, creating thousands of jobs. With a multi-billion-dollar bow wave of infrastructure now starting, we have solid foundations underpinning this. “Another measure is jobseeker claimants. The increase in job seeker benefits due to Covid-19 restrictions on business is currently half the New Zealand rate in Manawatū and impressively, 63% less in Palmerston North.” “CEDA is not playing down the massive business impact that COVID-19 has and will continue to have upon businesses and people, especially once the […]

The Interview: Greg Kushnir, Founder, Emrod

Greg Kushnir. How are you finding current business conditions?Challenging. But there’s really only two things one can do about it. Complain (which doesn’t help much) or get busy doing whatever possible to persevere. We have been very busy all through the Covid-19 turmoil and actually hired additional staff during lockdown. Do you believe that through adversity opportunities exist?Competition is important and so is having an incentive to those who “win” it. It provides the sense of urgency which is essential for turning a good idea into a great start-up. This virus is not going to go anywhere soon. Has Covid impacted on your business plans? It has, unfortunately. It’s rather hard to build things like electronic systems and antennas if you can’t access your lab and test facilities. We have also suffered from delays in supply of components from overseas. But we have been luckier than most and I’m very grateful to be living in a country that has dealt with Covid so well. We have colleagues and friends overseas that have been under lockdown for months now. My heart goes to them. I wish we could do more to help those who have been less fortunate in dealing with the pandemic. Is your company utilising government financial assistance? We are. We have been utilising an R&D grant from Callahan Innovation. It would have been very hard to get to where we are without the consistent support we have been receiving from Callahan Innovation which extends far beyond the financial support. What are your short and long term plans for Emrod ? Develop deep IP in New Zealand and make sure we are providing maximum value to Kiwi employees and investors. In the short term we will be developing and delivering wireless power systems to electricity distribution companies. I would […]

NZ food industry benefits from leading-edge portable drying technology

Drying Solutions Ltd founder Robert and wife Paulette Barnes with their Rexmoi dryer, a unit that services the food and pet-food industry. When Robert Barnes was asked by a friend to build a dryer to dehydrate macadamia nuts 25 years ago, he never thought it would be the start of his own drying machine business. Robert, an electrician and refrigeration engineer by trade, set up his own refrigeration and air-conditioning company in 1989, attracting Port of Tauranga as one of his clients. Since 1995 he has also been using his skills to develop highly innovative Rexmoi Dryers. He sold the refrigeration and air conditioning business five years ago to focus solely on Drying Solutions Ltd. Now Robert is gearing up to exhibit a Rexmoi dryer, at his fourth Foodtech Packtech show next month. Robert says he is proud that his dryers enable people to turn ordinary products, in some cases waste material, into high-quality, high-value finished goods for the ultimate benefit of New Zealand. Rexmoi dryers use a refrigeration system, rather like a heat pump, to create a warm, dry enclosure where the products are dried. Warm, dry, filtered air flows over the product to remove the moisture which is then condensed and drained out through a small pipe. The product is laid out on stainless steel trays mounted on trolleys for easy handling. Several different types of tray are available to suit the various products such as wet slices, nuts, raisins, pet-food and bushy material. The dryers use much less energy than other drying systems and are totally enclosed so no smells or gases are emitted into the atmosphere. They are covered by several patents and trademarks. The drying process is controlled by a programmable controller which Robert sets in conjunction with the client to provide an optimum drying […]

uniVision 2.2: Image processing software receives PROFINET interface

Update strengthens uniVision platform with new features uniVision – the parameterisable standard software for two and three-dimensional image processing from Treotham – has been given an update. The latest release 2.2 enables Smart Cameras and control units to be integrated into controls quickly and easily via a PROFINET interface. New software modules and new functions for the visualisation of results also make this update particularly valuable for users. Thanks to the integrated interface in Smart Cameras and control units, the results of image and profile evaluations can now be transferred in real time via the established Industrial Ethernet standard. This makes seamless communication between the sensor, software and control even easier. As a future-proof technology, PROFINET stands for the digitalisation of production processes in line with Industry 4.0 like no other protocol. According to the Profibus association, the PROFINET standard experienced an enormous growth of around 25 percent once again in 2019! With a total number of 6.4 million recorded devices, it is the most used real-time interface in the world. “This is therefore an ideal opportunity for us to shape this development by integrating PROFINET in uniVision”, explains Wenglor Product Manager Martin Knittel. Process data can also be processed via other interfaces such as digital IOs, TCP/IP or UDP. Web-based visualisation increases user-friendliness Another feature of the uniVision update 2.2 is the new web-based visualisation function. This enables the results to be displayed as overlays (e.g. measurement points or lines) directly in the image or height profile. A “good/bad” display of the overlays in the signal colours red and green is also available, showing the user whether the test points are OK (OK) or not OK (NOK). All measurement results can thus be shown quickly and flexibly via a browser-based display. “The user wants to see at first glance […]

Cheers to a good brew

Sam Wood (left) and Willy Cowper. -Aaldert Verplanke Brewing your own beer is a challenge for most people and more known for the disasters than the good ”batch”. This story is about Kiwi ingenuity, passion, perseverance, believing in the product and a “sustainability” philosophy. Ian Williams is a brew master and has travelled the world practicing his trade. Encouraged by his uncle to come up with a “fail proof” brewing kit for home brewers, Ian spent about 2 years developing the process and ingredients to produce high quality beer at home. When he finished his first prototype, it was time to consider manufacturing a saleable product. He took the design to Sam Wood at ATI engineering in Hastings to manufacture the brewing appliance. Sam was keen and thought, “great – all the design and development work is done; now we just have to make it.” However, to get to a sellable product it took another year and a half. Producing an appliance that involves heating, cooling and pressure, has lots of challenges. Keeping the cost down was one of them, and still is. The WilliamsWarn BrewMaster was finally created, capable of producing consistently good beer with ingredients supplied by WilliamsWarn. This would not have happened if it were not for NZ and overseas investors who believed in the product – Sam had also become a shareholder. However, the small number of appliances produced meant that costs were prohibitive, so the decision was made to design a lower cost product that could be manufactured offshore using mass manufacturing techniques not available here in NZ. A complete rethink and redesign by Sam resulted in the introduction of the BrewKeg™ that is now produced in four different brew batch sizes, from a small 10L homebrew kit up to 150L for the microbreweries. It […]

Post-Covid-19 construction crunch – From survive to thrive

– Stephanie Pretorius, Intent Group New Zealand’s construction industry has been heavily disrupted since the arrival of Covid-19 to our shores. A relief package is now available, with the New Zealand Government investing heavily in the industry to the tune of $3B. Funded infrastructure projects include a significant amount of ‘shovel ready’ projects identified to support the short-term pipeline over the next 12 months. Despite extra funding, certain segments of construction are likely to still be negatively impacted. As an example, Auckland alone recently lost $500 from Council revenue budgets; the flow on effects are still to be determined. The funding pipeline may be affected for multiple years and there is risk of misalignment of capacity as funding may swing between years. The intent of the fast tracked ‘shovel ready’ projects is to quickly stabilise cashflow, as well as the pipeline for the industry, and to help construction survive in the short term. But how can we take this further and help construction to thrive in the long term? As a sector, construction has been ‘sailing close to the wind’ for a long time with tight margins and low productivity. The Construction Accord (Accord) has set the tone for the future, outlining goals for improved productivity, capability and resilience. Now is the time for industry players to take ownership of the direction for their own long-term sustainability. If improving productivity is an Accord goal – who will be the first to take bold action? Staking a claim to become excellent at what you do, and getting better every day, is going to pay dividends in terms of preferred supplier status, higher profitability, people retention and development, and ultimately long term survival. Many construction businesses took away lessons learnt from their Covid-19 experience as the ability to respond and adapt to […]

Manufacturers call for urgent decision on Level 4 operating

Manufacturers are calling on the Government for a pre‐emptive decision to allow all manufacturing (including exports) to remain operating if there is a move to Level 4. New Zealand Manufacturing Alliance* spokesperson Rachel Barker, CEO of Plastics New Zealand, says New Zealand cannot afford to shut down its manufacturing again and businesses need a decision now. “Another shutdown of our manufacturing businesses would be devastating not just for sector businesses but for New Zealand,” says Barker. “The Government has had months to work on a decision to keep manufacturing open during Level 4. “Our businesses are prepared, with proven safe work protocols in place for operating under Level 3, keeping thousands of Kiwis in jobs and safe. It would be a smooth transition into operations under Level 4. “We need to see a proactive and pre‐emptive decision now from Government to allow all manufacturing businesses to remain operating ahead of any possible move into Level 4.” “Keeping all manufacturing operating will be critical to keeping people in jobs, domestic and export supply chains moving and helping our economy keep ticking over.”

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