Farra positions itself for the future
Evolution in industry is inevitable and keeping up with the engineering impact is vital for survival. Cast your mind back to the skills, tools and processes from your own beginnings and change is obvious. How we machine, weld, prepare, fabricate, protect and maintain has changed radically without even mentioning manning […]
University of Auckland welcomes world renowned 3D Printing researcher
Multi-award-winning product design developer and engineering researcher Professor Olaf Diegel will join the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Engineering in early 2019. The University is delighted to welcome Professor Diegel, its third appointee under the Government’s Entrepreneurial Universities programme. He is a New Zealander returning to take up a new […]
Eight myths about AI’s effect on the workplace
The interplay between technology and work has always been a hot topic. While technology has typically created more jobs than it has destroyed on a historical basis, this context rarely stops people from believing that things are “different” this time around. In this case, it’s the potential impact of artificial […]
Food container has long life
Sæplast has extended its range of rugged and hygienic reusable plastic containers for the food processing industry with the introduction of a further size. The new Sæplast 300PE is a square 800x800mm container with a height of 770mm giving it a net volume of 268 litres. This can be increased […]
Seequent’s strong growth leads to export award nomination
Seequent is helping customers in over 90 countries make better decisions about the world’s earth, environment and energy challenges. Shaun Maloney, CEO of Seequent, says the nomination is a fantastic acknowledgement for the team who have delivered some stunning achievements for the company over the past “really big” year. “We’ve […]
Women in Engineering: Alisha Baddock, Beca, Christchurch
Why do you do what you do? I love being able to find a solution to a problem and create tangible ways to fix them. I’m a people person and what gets me up in the morning is being able to work with my team to provide new innovative solutions […]
CSST taps Planet to spur economic growth in New Zealand
In an exciting new venture, Planet, an integrated aerospace and data analytics company, and New Zealand’s Centre for Space Science Technology (CSST) have announced a partnership to help drive regional economic growth by distributing Planet’s daily, global Earth observation data and analytics. CSST will act as the distribution hub and […]
Industry calls for plan for waste management
Workers and consumers will be paying the price of reforms which drive up the cost of doing business if we don’t have a balanced debate on the management of the country’s waste stream, says Packaging New Zealand – one it says needs to be founded in fact, not just emotion. […]
Ban on plastic bags another step towards a waste-free circular economy
The Sustainable Business Network welcomes the Government’s announcement today that single-use plastic bags will be phased out. It’s another positive step towards a circular economy for New Zealand. Rachel Brown, CEO of the Sustainable Business Network, says: “The environmental impact of plastic packaging, particularly single-use plastic bags, is now well-known. […]
Airport evening takes off
The chance to poke around an international airport is not to be missed so it was no surprise the full house sign went up in record time when the Maintenance Engineering Society (MESNZ) was invited to bring its Kaeser Compressors Network Evening Series to Auckland International Airport in July. Building […]
Micro credentials welcome addition to industry training
The Industry Training Federation welcomes the announcement that micro credentials will be recognised as part of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework. Industries have been looking for new and more flexible ways to recognise skill sets developed in response to changing technologies, employment structures and work requirements. “If anything is certain […]
Boost for New Zealand beverage market
Fonterra Farmers see first-hand the operations at the new plant. Two New Zealand companies have teamed up to install a state of the art technology at the Apollo plant in Whakatu, Hawke’s Bay, that will bring some of the best in fruit and dairy beverages to Kiwis’ across the […]
Innovation in adversity: Transformative approaches to outsourcing
As the year winds down, businesses across New Zealand reflect on lessons learned and strategise for growth. For some, this year has been transformative, driven by innovative approaches to overcoming industry challenges. Director of Auckland public relations agency Impact PR Mark Devlin, discusses how selective outsourcing can be leveraged to expand capacity and access lucrative export markets. For many SME manufacturers, this is a frenetic time of year. Trying to pack in two months of production and administration along with plans for time with the family in the three weeks before Christmas can be exhausting. The public relations sector is no different. Media continue to churn out content, client crises and issues still arise (frequently when the CEO is at the beach for some reason) and we work with journalists looking for stories they can hold to publish over the summer season when the news cycle tends to quieten. That said, the end of the year is often the only time many of us will get to reflect back on lessons learned and look ahead to better more efficient ways of achieving business growth. Over the past 12 months, I have worked with two businesses in very different sectors that stood out in this regard. Both of these have developed new ways of overcoming the challenges associated with outsourcing to dramatically expand their capacity and develop new export markets. Wool carpet manufacturer Bremworth is a great example of how unanticipated adversity can be turned into an opportunity for growth. In the months following the extensive damage to their Napier facility caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, the company moved to develop a hybrid manufacturing model under which New Zealand wool is sent offshore to be spun into yarn and dyed – before being sent back here to be made into premium wool […]