Sustainability

The world wants Kiwi manufacturing: Turning acquisitions into advantage

By Sean Doherty,Manufacturing Commentator | NZ Industry Trends Global investment is reshaping the future of Kiwi manufacturers—and the outlook is surprisingly positive. It has been a historic couple of years for New Zealand’s manufacturing and food processing sectors. From Invercargill to Auckland, a remarkable string of large manufacturing companies have been acquired by overseas buyers—or are in the process of changing hands. Fonterra’s consumer brands, Alliance Group, Synlait Milk, MHM Automation, Robotics Plus, Bremworth, Rakon, and a host of others have all attracted international attention. At first glance, headlines about foreign buyers snapping up New Zealand businesses can feel unsettling. The instinct is to ask: are we losing jobs and intellectual property? But when you dig into the details, a more encouraging picture emerges — one of fresh capital, global market access, jobs protected, and innovation accelerated. Here’s what’s really going on, and why there’s reason to be optimistic. The world wants what we’ve built The sheer scale of interest in New Zealand companies tells a story of success, not failure. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, 52 deals were announced, a 41 percent increase on the same period a year earlier. International investors from France, Ireland, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Australia, and Sri Lanka have all been writing cheques. Why? Because New Zealand companies have built something genuinely valuable. Robotics Plus, a Tauranga-based agricultural robotics company, attracted Yamaha Motor—one of the world’s leading industrial conglomerates—because its autonomous orchard vehicles and AI-powered systems are among the best in the world. Yamaha has now made Robotics Plus part of the foundation of its new global agricultural automation company, Yamaha Agriculture Inc. That’s not a loss. It’s a global validation of Kiwi ingenuity. […]

From data to decisions: getting more value from sustainability measurement

From February issue, NZ Manufacturer magazine The way manufacturers measure sustainability is changing rapidly. New tools, improved data and AI-enabled platforms mean businesses can now measure far more than they could a few years ago. Carbon, circularity, risk and supply chains — the list keeps growing. For manufacturers, this often shows up as long lists of metrics across plants, products and suppliers. Energy and fuel use on the factory floor, raw materials, packaging, transport and supplier emissions are all in scope. Without clear priorities, teams can spend months collecting data without clarity on what to act on first. Measuring everything is rarely practical, and it is not the goal. What matters is measuring the right things, at the right level of detail, to support decisions that reduce risk and create value. As Jeff Vickers, Technical Director at sustainability firm thinkstep-anz, puts it plainly: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” He also cautions that “we need to focus our efforts on measuring what matters most so that we don’t get lost in the detail.” Why focused measurement leads to better outcomes More data does not automatically mean better decisions. The real value comes from measuring what matters and using it well. A focused approach to measurement helps organisations: Keep priorities clear: A small set of meaningful metrics makes it easier to see what matters most and act with confidence. Put effort where it counts: Time and budget are spent on data that actually changes decisions, rather than information that sits unused. Protect credibility: Reported numbers are understood, can be explained and are clearly linked to actions being taken. Meet expectations: Measurement focuses on the issues regulators and investors care about most, reducing the risk of blind spots. This approach avoids the risks of over-measurement while strengthening insight, trust, and performance. […]

Election Year Excuses? Why Manufacturers Can’t Afford Them

From February issue, NZ Manufacturer magazine David Altena is Head of Growth & Partnerships at SmartSpace.ai & C0-Founder & Host of The Better SMB Podcast. david@altena.solutions We are entering a familiar three yearly cycle of hesitation. As we flip into another election year, a subtle but pervasive “hush” descends over factories from Penrose to Invercargill. Business cases for new CNC machinery get shuffled to the bottom of the pile. Recruitment for that much needed engineer is “put on hold until we know who is running the Beehive.” Election years tempt businesses to pause, waiting for policy clarity. But in manufacturing, hesitation is costly. Whoever wins, the fundamentals won’t change. Capability, capital confidence and innovation still matter. Waiting is the real risk. We have been waiting for the miracle decisions every three years for decades. It is no surprise that the MBIE and Foreign Affairs Long Term Insights Briefing released in December 2025 still describes New Zealand as being stuck in a low-productivity rut. Another report to feed the lack of progress on this subject over the last 40-years. “Wait and see” is not a strategy, it’s slow-motion surrender. (Ab0ve)Rob Bull is Director of The New Zealand Lean Academy. rob@nzla.nz Myth Busting: The “Pause Button” Election-year uncertainty is the ultimate security blanket. It’s the perfect, explainable excuse for inaction, but let’s look at the reality of the productivity gap. New Zealand has struggled with a tail of underperformance compared to our OECD peers[1] and according to The Economist, New Zealand’s economic performance is now ranked 33rd (of 37) in 2024[2] (we were as high as 3rd in the 1950’s!). That gap doesn’t take a holiday because there are billboards on the side of the road and policy ideas thrown about like a lolly scramble. The truth is sitting there right […]

Productivity and baby boomer business owners

From March issue, NZ Manufacturer magazine By Mike Warmington, Platform 1 For many SME baby boomer business owners last year, the economy forced them to think more of productivity and how to do things smarter. Some made strong gains however these were generally the larger SME sized businesses and above. Smaller businesses with long term owners often struggled to pivot to using technology or Ai as an enabler to be more productive. Bringing in a consultant is perhaps an option and there are a multitude of companies running courses and programmes on Ai in social media promising to upskill people 15 min a day for 30 days. But is it helpful to just be a generalist on all the productivity uses in your business ? You can’t do everything and it comes down to ensuring you execute on your critical biggest productivity bottlenecks. Many owners know where their bottlenecks are and it’s not the skills but the willingness to embrace emerging technologies to improve these bottlenecks that is the challenge. Learning something new and foreign later in life can be daunting, when what you want to do, and deserve to do is to slow down. Another option is to find a technology and Ai savvy potential Business Partner to work in your business, using their experience and knowledge to help enable technology and Ai for productivity gains. With planning skills honed in much larger organisations that have training budgets and resources they will work with you to identify bottlenecks and implement productivity solutions. They acquire skin in the game over time to a structured managed plan and you exit with more wealth, as your business becomes more productive and profitable. A business we worked with did over 4000 specialised scheduled preventative maintenance jobs a month managed on an Access database and a […]

The Year in Review – Business Exit Landscape

Mike Warmington, Platform 1 This year has been marked by fluctuations in the business exit landscape. The first quarter saw lots of activity and some deal flow. The middle two quarters saw business owners contemplating transitioning out, more likely to hold off as they endured a tougher sales environment putting the squeeze on their businesses. Our meeting numbers with business owners we had not previously met were significantly up on 2024, however this did not translate into as many engagements as we would normally expect from that level of activity. The market is experiencing record demand from individuals seeking business ownership or transition opportunities. Three Reserve Bank OCR cuts since August and lower interest rates made a noticeable positive difference ,along with increasingly positive business confidence survey results. We have found more business owners we spoke to during the year are only now prepared to either push the button on engagement now or indicate they will take action in early 2026. Having held off through COVID and the recent recession many owners are years behind in their exit planning or executing .In our opinion NZ faces the largest business ownership transition it has ever seen : Over 50% of New Zealand SME owners are aged 55 or older Over 40% of business owners plan to exit in the next 5 years Over 70% of business owners plan to exit in the next 10 years While exact numbers are assumptions, figures from a variety of other sources all quote essentially the same statistics.This demographic reality means thousands of businesses will change hands in the next decade creating both challenges and opportunities. Here’s what I’m seeing in the market: Management Buy-Ins are gaining awareness and traction – external talented entrepreneurial people transitioning in over time. Employee Ownership Models are emerging to keep businesses […]

Reflecting on 2025: Circularity, Sustainability and Transformation for Steel Manufacturing

Troy Coyle, CEO, HERA As 2025 draws to a close, it’s clear this has been a year of transformation and momentum for Aotearoa New Zealand’s steel manufacturing industry and for HERA. The national conversation around sustainability and circular design has matured significantly, with steel once again proving itself to be the rockstar of the circular economy. One of the biggest milestones for our sector was undoubtedly the announcement of the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) at New Zealand Steel. This long-anticipated investment represents a major step forward for domestic steelmaking, enabling the production of lower-carbon steel from locally recycled scrap. It’s a tangible example of how industry can decarbonise while strengthening regional manufacturing resilience. The EAF signals a new era where circularity, innovation, and sustainability sit at the core of our national manufacturing. At HERA, we’ve seen that growing interest in low-carbon and circular design first-hand. Our newly released update to “How to Specify Low Carbon Steel” guide, has rapidly become our most downloaded publication, reflecting the appetite among engineers, designers, and specifiers to make informed material choices that reduce embodied carbon. This surge in demand shows that Aotearoa New Zealand’s construction and manufacturing sectors are ready to move from ambition to action. Circularity goes beyond just lowering emissions. It’s about designing systems that keep materials in use for as long as possible and few materials perform better than steel in this regard. That’s why one of HERA’s proudest achievements in 2025 was launching our Low-Carbon Circular Design Guidance. This guidance provides a practical framework for designers and manufacturers to apply circular economy principles in real projects, helping to close the loop between design, fabrication, and reuse. It showed that >50% reductions in carbon emissions were readily achievable through clever design and material selection. This work has been further strengthened by our successful application for […]

What 2025 taught us about sustainability and resilience

By Barbara Nebel, CEO, thinkstep-anz In 2025 we saw something important: progress on sustainability continued, even as regulations shifted and economic conditions became challenging. For many organisations, sustainability has become central to resilience, competitiveness and long-term planning. Rather than slowing down, they took more confident steps to manage risk and prepare for the future. Climate disclosure: fewer rules, but the same risks One of the major changes this year was the government’s plan to reduce the number of businesses that need to report their climate-related risks and opportunities. This shift removes the pressure of mandatory disclose and allows businesses to take a more pragmatic approach. It also raised a fair question: if fewer organisations need to disclose, does that mean the financial impacts of a changing climate are becoming less relevant? At thinkstep-anz, we know the answer is no. Climate disclosure has always been more than a compliance task. For manufacturers and other businesses with complex supply chains, it is a practical tool for managing risk. Regulations may shift, but the physical and transition risks of climate change remain. Extreme weather, changing markets and new policies will continue to affect operations, logistics and access to materials. That is why we integrate climate risk and scenario analysis directly into clients’ risk management frameworks. When climate insights sit within existing decision-making processes, they guide investment, planning and strategic direction. After two years of supporting organisations on their disclosure journeys, we are seeing a clear shift: clients are not just reporting; they are preparing for the future with greater clarity and confidence. Scope 3 emissions: more time, better tools Changing regulations also brought more time for some organisations to measure and report their scope 3 supply chain emissions. For many, scope 3 includes the upstream materials they purchase and the downstream use […]

A year of supporting innovation, safety and export growth

By EMA Head of Membership, Export and Manufacturing Simon Devoy It’s not news that New Zealand’s economy remains heavily reliant on commodity-based exports. Yet the country is steadily carving out a reputation for high‑tech, high‑value manufacturing. While we’re known globally for milk powder, meat and timber, we are increasingly competing across advanced sectors, including aerospace, agritech, medical devices and precision engineering. The ambition is to be seen as an innovation nation, but there are significant challenges that must be addressed. Throughout 2025, the EMA’s focus in the manufacturing sector has been on two linked priorities: reducing workplace harm and helping the sector modernise and become better connected so businesses can scale and export with confidence. Despite the sector’s strengths, stubborn rates of workplace injury continue to drag on productivity and impose high costs. In response, we partnered with ACC and data specialists Flock to launch the Manufacturing Safety Dashboard, an anonymised benchmarking tool that allows manufacturers to compare reported incidents across sub‑sectors and identify where to focus safety improvements. This tool converts raw accident data into actionable insight. It highlights where injuries cluster, identifies high-risk tasks, and demonstrates which businesses are making measurable progress. This approach moves safety conversations from awareness to actionable intelligence, and anonymised peer data provides a clear pathway for improvement rather than a spotlight on failure. The sector has also shown a strong appetite for peer-led guidance and practical tools that enable measurable improvement. To address this, we partnered with ASB to run the Manufacturers’ Workshop Series exploring the impact of Industry 4.0 technology on New Zealand manufacturing. These workshops offered a practical examination of automation, data integration, and digital technologies through interactive demonstrations, including digital twin simulations. This hands‑on approach enabled manufacturers with lower levels of automation to see the potential of technology to improve efficiency, safety […]

It won’t be the new machines that win in 2026. It will be the people running them

Adam Harvey, Business Performance Partner – Manufacturing, The Learning Wave What if next year looked different? Picture this: Same pressures. Same market conditions. But instead of starting 2026 already firefighting, you’re ahead of demand. Your people anticipate issues before they hit production. Technology accelerates performance instead of slowing it down. The morning meeting is about what you’re improving, not what you’re recovering from. That’s the position some manufacturers have put themselves in this year. And let’s be honest. They didn’t get there because 2025 was easy. This has been one of the toughest planning cycles in recent memory. Margin squeeze. Labour shortages. Compliance tightening. Digital expectations rising. Budgets dissected line by line just to keep the lights on and the line moving. But while most held back waiting for “the right moment”, the bold manufacturers, big and small, doubled down on capability. Not because it was part of a grand strategy. In some cases, because the same issues kept cropping up, and the old approach wasn’t working. Not because they had spare time. Because they knew they couldn’t afford to wait. We saw it everywhere: Lion invested in teams’ problem-solving capability and OEE improved Altus backed their leaders to own and solve problems and culture and collaboration lifted – this piece of work paid for itself 3X Tegel moved safety from reactive to proactive by growing rep capability Ashburton Meats and Kraft Heinz built their leaders ahead of operational change Tasman Tanning, Essity, AFFCO, George Weston Foods, Vitaco and Inghams built performance skills. Their frontline teams now act earlier, make better decisions, solve problems faster, reduce waste, and speak up when performance is at risk Buckleys continued building capability at every level Foot Science International, Baker Boys and Argus ManuTech prepared their teams for digital transformation They didn’t just […]

Reflecting on a year of New Zealand manufacturing

From The Year in Review, NZ Manufacturer magazine, December issue. By Hon Chris Penk, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing As 2025 draws to a close, it’s a good moment to reflect on a year of resilience and progress for New Zealand’s manufacturing sector. The year brought challenges, but there is much to celebrate, and I’m proud to represent a sector that spans so many different industries. Manufacturing is at the heart of our economy. It’s the petroleum processor in Taranaki, the wood miller in Rotorua, the food and beverage producer in Hastings, the metal fabricator in Hamilton, the chemical technician in New Plymouth, the machinery engineer in Christchurch, and the equipment assembler in Dunedin that we have to thank. The sector employs more than 220,000 people, generates roughly 8 percent of GDP, and accounts for 60 percent of our exports. Over the past year, export growth has been strong, reflecting the dedication and innovation of manufacturers across the country. One highlight for me was hosting the first Minister for Manufacturing Awards at SouthMACH in Christchurch in May, supported by Advanced Manufacturing Aotearoa. These awards celebrated leadership and creativity, with 38 entries narrowed to 16 finalists across four categories. It was a fantastic opportunity to recognise excellence and connect as an industry. More recently, I have been inspired by Kiwi manufacturers winning awards at regional, chamber, and national business events. Gallagher New Zealand Trade and Enterprise received the Supreme Award at the International Business Awards. RML Machinery in the Waikato, AROTEC Diagnostics Limited in the Hutt Valley, and United Machinists in Dunedin each earned top honours in their regions. These successes show how manufacturers are fueling regional prosperity, boosting our competitive edge, and showcasing worldclass expertise. Many parts of the sector are not standing still; they are growing and […]

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