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CGT decision strengthens confidence in tax system

BusinessNZ has congratulated the Government for its decision not to proceed with a capital gains tax. Chief Executive Kirk Hope said the proposed tax would have hit businesses hard, reducing funds available for investment and job growth and increasing their compliance burden. “Our members have been very clear that they did not see the justification for an expensive new tax that would have reduced the competitiveness of the New Zealand business sector for no discernible gain. “BusinessNZ was appreciative of being included in the working group process and commends much of what is in the report, but in the end could not support a capital gains tax. “The Government is to be commended for listening as New Zealanders made their views clear. “It is clear that NZ First has played a significant role in a capital gains tax not proceeding, and the business community will thank them for not compromising their concerns. “We feel the process of working group proposals followed by widespread consultation has been successful in delivering a result that the majority of New Zealanders can support. “With the Governments decision not to proceed with a capital gains tax decision, the benefits of our relatively broad-based, simple and fair tax system have been retained, and New Zealanders’ confidence in the tax system strengthened.”

Skills needed to remain competitive

-Doug Green, Publisher Every now and again we step outside the square and have a good, long look at what we are doing. So it should be with manufacturing. Specifically, to enhance the awareness of just what it is the modern New Zealand manufacturer does. Part of that, of course, is to recognise the contribution manufacturing brings to the New Zealand economy. The design, original concept processes that add so much to what is eventually made and finds its way on overseas markets. Manufacturers are modernising their technologies, equipment, systems and infrastructure consistently and applying that sophistication to their materials and production in an effort to create jobs and reduce energy costs. The jobs themselves are changing too. New, modern ways of manufacturing require highly-skilled workers. The current Government, to this end, needs to sought out what kind of ITOs will be in place to skill the workforce to play a key role in competitiveness on local and world markets. Developing talent is a real challenge and the changing nature of manufacturing is making it harder for talent to keep up. Government needs to invest more in manufacturers, their suppliers and interested stakeholders to create workforce development programs that train and equip workers with the right skills to remain competitive.

Synlait embarks on business transformation for growth and diversification

Synlait has chosen Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage to support its supply chain and manufacturing operations and growth as part of a five-year business transformation plan. The goal is to modernise and streamline operations for the integrated dairy business, one with over 150,000 metric tonnes of annual sales volumes across domestic and international markets including Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Australasia. An existing Infor customer, Synlait is looking to improve employee engagement and increase operational efficacy and efficiency by aligning to best dairy industry practices. This will be facilitated and enabled by Infor’s food and beverage dairy industry specialised CloudSuite software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise solution. “The foundation of our business is all about partnering with other businesses and people who share our passion and commitment to excellence, integrity, and quality,” said Chris France, director of strategy and business transformation, Synlait. “Infor is a strategic partner for our business transformation plan with its ability to help us leverage dairy industry expertise, data insights and real-world knowledge via its innovative Infor CloudSuite F&B solution.” “Infor understands the unique challenges of the food and beverage industry in the Australia and New Zealand markets, and is committed to continue delivering finely-tuned industry-specific solutions in the cloud to help our customers maximise efficiencies and accelerate growth,” said Helen Masters, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Infor Asia Pacific and Japan.

businessman is working on tablet and using smart phone in office

Safe and sound – Is your smart factory secure?

Alarms, cameras, locks and fences are all commonly recommended to keep burglars out of homes. Obtaining clear guidance for securing your smart factory isn’t quite as easy to come by. Here Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial equipment supplier, EU Automation, discusses smart factory security and what manufacturers should consider when protecting their facility. In a connected factory, manufacturers have access to a constant data stream from the shop floor, commercial operations and supply. The Internet of Things (IoT) generates a huge amount of data, gathered from machines and components, which can be accessed and analysed remotely. Though it brings a facility a number of advantages, connectivity also introduces a vulnerability in terms of cyber-security. With information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) more closely connected than ever, systems are more vulnerable to attackers. The risk is increased by remote access or third-party access. According to Dark Reading magazine, the second most cyber-attacked industry after healthcare is manufacturing. With high profile ransomware attacks such as WannaCry disrupting large companies such as Honda, manufacturers know they must be vigilant. In the manufacturing industry, cyber-crime is usually a type of data theft, ransomware or data manipulation. Hackers can modify procedures to disrupt production processes, gain access to private patent data or cause system downtime, all of which can cause serious losses to a company. Engineering businesses must ensure that their operations, data and valuable intellectual property (IP) are protected. Businesses need to understand the limitations of their own capabilities and systems to form a well-rounded cyber-security strategy. For example, legacy equipment can be a target for cyber-criminals. Old equipment was not designed to be connected to the internet, which means that cyber security was not a priority during its design. Industrial control systems as well as programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have […]

Pure Bottling now BRC Certified

Pure Bottling New Zealand from Tauranga has recently added the Global Quality Standard of BRC (British Retail Consortium) to its list of Certifications. This puts Pure Bottling in the unique position of being the only BRC Certified Contract Beverage Packer in New Zealand outside of the wineries. “Gaining a Globally recognised Food Safety benchmark like BRC is an important part of us becoming a world class operation and also allows our customers to gain access to many export markets” Pure Bottling General Manager Craig Ayres noted. “It was a big effort by all of the team to achieve the Double AA Audit result and the benefits can now flow through to our customers” BRC, now in its eigth issue provides a framework to manage product safety, integrity, legality and quality, and the operational controls for these criteria in the food and food ingredient manufacturing, processing and packing industry. Pure Bottling is a 4 year old organisation started by Group CEO Hamish Gordon and has rapidly grown to become a Production Partner of choice for some of New Zealand’s leading brands and retailers. They are passionate about working with brands that stand for something and want to work together to take quality NZ products throughout New Zealand and Internationally. Now with three production lines in operation across Glass & PET, Pure Bottling is ideally placed to be both a flexible and efficient Co-Packing partner. The Capabilities stretch across Soft Drinks, Juice, Kombucha, Alcohol, Liqueur & more.

Australia and New Zealand receive standardisation for oral fluid drug testing

Standard adds process and technology guidelines for workplace testing The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA) welcomes the new standards for oral fluid testing processes and technologies. TDDA has long believed that oral fluid testing technology and processes required reviewing and to become a joint Australian and New Zealand standard. The AS/NZS 4760:2019 (CH-039 Detection of Drugs in Oral Fluids) Oral Fluid testing standard by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand dictates consistency around testing methodology, the quality of devices required, and how labs manage test samples. “The new standardisation delivers value to employees and employers alike. It provides a framework and guidelines to ensure that oral fluid testing is carried out in a way that will deliver accurate, reliable results,” says Kirk Hardy, CEO, TDDA. TDDA is on track to be the first to achieve cross Tasman accreditation and provide independent and reliable externally audited oral fluid drug testing collection service to International Standards Organisation (ISO) standards. TDDA-Omega laboratories is also seeking accreditation to AS/NZS 4760: 2019 for the provision of laboratory confirmation services. “If a drug tester follows the standard, they’ll use a process that ensures the testing carried out meets the requirements of the AS/NZS 4760:2019, giving it more scientific rigour to withstand legal challenges. We’re also in the process of verifying a device to meet the criteria of the new standard” says Hardy. Even with standardisation improvements with collection, Hardy warns that oral fluid testing isn’t a catch-all testing product, and not all workplace testers are accredited or will follow the standard. “Businesses who care about compliance and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 need to make sure they’re using an independent, accredited, certified tester that follows the new standard. But companies also need to understand it’s not a one size fits all test,” says Hardy. […]

Government education reform consultation inadequate

With the closure of the six week vocational education sector consultation period, a key industry leader has called the process inadequate with dire consequences for the economy. The Government’s proposed changes include the replacement of regional polytechnics with a new, national tertiary training organisation – the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology. The responsibility for the arrangement of training and work-based learning, such as trade apprenticeships, would no longer be delivered by industry owned Industry Training Organisations. Garry Fissenden CEO of The Skills Organisation, New Zealand’s largest Industry Training Organisation (ITO) which represents 22 industries, 4,400 employers and over 10,000 apprentices, is critical not just of the proposed changes but the length of the consultation process offered to employers and the trade education sector. “The Government is currently spending longer consulting on raising the proportion of egg in imported mayonnaise and reviewing the current import standards for Asian zoo elephants coming in from Australia and Sri Lanka than on its total overhaul to the vocational education system! “We are concerned that so little time has been dedicated to better understanding industry needs and reservations about the proposed changes – which would have a dramatic effect on the career prospects of the next generation of young New Zealanders as well as having an immediate impact on business. “Despite seeing the results of research from more than 900 employers which found the majority say they will hire fewer apprentices if the proposal to move the managing of apprentices away from ITOs is implemented, the Government remains resolute in its desire to fast track this reform through,” he says. According to latest statistics, apprenticeships are a key employment pathway for Maori – who make up around 17% of all industry apprentices/trainees. In contrast, Maori make up just under 15% of the general population […]

Small company wins design award for a rubbish idea

Hideaways Bins is the winner of a prestigious international Red Dot design award for its innovative kitchen bin design. Their winning product, called Concelo, is a kitchen waste bin designed to overcome common issues – including grime and odours – associated with the most-used but least-thought-about kitchen appliance. The New Zealand-designed and manufactured Concelo bin was one of more than 6,300 entries submitted from 59 countries for the highly-regarded international design competition based in Essen, Germany. Entries are judged by an international jury panel of 40 experts who only award the sought-after Red Dot seal of quality to products that feature an outstanding design. Past jurors include noted shoe designer Jimmy Choo. The Silverdale-based Hideaway Bins, run by daughter and father team Jamie and Allen Bertelsen, won a coveted Red Dot Award in the Product Design category for household appliances and household accessories. The recognition for Hideaway Bins puts it in good company – other notable New Zealand winners have included Air New Zealand for their SkyCouch design and Fisher & Paykel for their Gas on Glass cooktop and its 60cm Built-In oven. International brands who have received Red Dot awards include Apple, Bulgari, Porsche, Volkswagen, Montblanc, Sony and 3M. Jamie says the goal was to design the best bin possible for the home owner. “We set about this task after applying for and receiving a Callaghan Innovation grant towards research and development costs. It took seven years of research, development and testing but the result is a paradigm shift for a kitchen appliance that is used 20 to 30 times a day on average.” The company’s investment in R&D has been a crucial part of their success. “We couldn’t have made this fabulous design without the hard work and commitment of our small R&D team. We also used a […]

New Engineering New Zealand President to focus on diversity

Engineering New Zealand’s new President Ben Holland says diversity and inclusion will be a strong theme of his tenure. A Wellington-based civil engineer who is Head of Commercial and Major Projects Governance at WSP Opus, Ben says he is determined to make the engineering profession more welcoming and accepting of all people. He is a strong supporter of the Diversity Agenda, a collaboration between Engineering New Zealand and the Institute of Architects that’s set a target of 20% more women in engineering and architecture by 2021. “I want to see the Diversity Agenda ramping up and pushing our industries to embrace all forms of diversity, including diversity of ethnicity, religion and sexuality. “I also want to keep broadening Engineering New Zealand’s membership outside our traditional civil and structural spheres, into fields like software and medical-device engineering. “Together, we are stronger voice for engineers and the critical work they do for New Zealand.” Engineering New Zealand currently has 22,700 members, up from 15,000 four years ago. Ben succeeds Dean Kimpton in the role, which has a one-year term.

Transforming the manufacturing industry with Internet-of-Things

By Mike Russell COO Central Innovation In a highly competitive global marketplace, businesses are searching for and adopting revolutionary technology and processes to stay relevant. According to the latest IDC Worldwide semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide[1], New Zealand shares the second highest position with Australia in APAC region when it comes to the IoT spenders per capita. The report further highlights that the top three industries spending most on IoT solutions in 2018 were discrete manufacturing ($43.9 billion), process manufacturing ($33.2 billion) and utilities ($20.1 billion). With the advent of automation and analytics, manufacturing is moving from mass production to mass customisation. The immense growth of IoT in the industry has resulted in factories being able to extract critical data on operations. By using big data and machine learning they are achieving more efficiency in their workplace as well as enhancing customer experience. Without a doubt, IoT is a clear investment area for the manufacturing industry particularly in the Asia Pacific Region which is among the world’s top regions for IoT adoption and usage[2]. To effectively work with new technologies, businesses must be prepared to think differently, adapt and invest to remain competitive. According to the MBIE report[3], Industry 4.0 is seen both as a threat and an opportunity for New Zealand manufacturers. The ministry believes that Industry 4.0 technologies have the potential to make a type of short run, customised production that will enable more specialisation to become efficient and profitable. This would be especially important for the manufacturing industry where it currently accounts for 12 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP value. This means there is untapped potential for New Zealand businesses to stand out from their competitors in the race to transform their businesses. Business productivity The bottom-line when adopting new technology is that it will […]

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