The Wild Bunch: Young Driver Training | True Grit: A Vintage iPhone App
WINTER 2011
Waikato’s business edge
The quick and the dead
How Waikato’s lean thinkers and fast movers are winning business The Big Country: It’s there for the taking, says GM’s Kiwi Daniel Ammann
In this issue: Speed in business
Against the grain A local duo captures the fast and fickle world of smartphone apps. by Lucy Smith PAGE 10
A machine operator at Stainless Design
“Anything that can make us more efficient has got to be good.” The lean team Waikato businesses are going lean to get ahead of the pack. We profile Industrial Tube Manufacturing and Stainless Design, and talk to lean business consultant Dave McDougall. by Paul Kendon PAGE 12
Sweet tooth Sometimes, waiting to come second can win you the race. by Lucy Smith PAGE 20
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To get the most valuable business e c i v Ad ine advice, go L straight to the experts. Get the best expert advice on energy, transport, waste, community, carbon, HR and more, from some of New Zealand’s top sustainability experts. They’ll answer your question within two business days with relevant, up-to-date information and resources. Through the Sustainable Business Network, non-members can now submit one burning question for free, while members have on-going access. Get valuable sustainable business advice now. Visit sustainable.org.nz to submit your question.
Thanks to our generous sponsors EECA Business and NZI for making Adviceline possible.
winter 2011 Power food A locally-run aquaculture business explains how it went global before going local by Paul Kendon PAGE 24
Drive to do good On the road, speed kills – but a local business is
Scope magazine is a quarterly publication focused on leading edge technology and business innovation in the Waikato region. Our purpose is to provide insights, connections and inspiration to business decision makers. This is a unique initiative supported by foundation partners with a shared goal – to stimulate and support Waikato business growth.
Foundation Partners
out to change crash statistics by Sarah Lowe PAGE 26
PROFILE
Daniel Ammann is a former local, now CFO of US car giant General Motors By Dawn Tuffery PAGE 8 Green Fire Islands tells Scope its story By Andrea O’Neil PAGE 32
OPINION
NZTE’s Hans Frauenlob discusses New Zealand’s need for lean businesses PAGE 17
Associate Partner
Sir Robert Jones dismisses Anzac Day as morbid superstition PAGE 28 Dr Andrew West’s plan to boost SMEs PAGE 34
We also appreciate support from: New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, SODA, Opportunity Hamilton, Global Entrepreneurship Week and Blue Star.
INFOGRAPHIC
Our graphic gurus show Waikato businesses where the money for innovation is coming from PAGE 18
GALLERY
Waikato Business Women’s Luncheon Keystone bar launch Wintec Business Breakfast Fashion fundraiser Quake Appearance PAGE 30
Managing editor: Katie Foley Assistant editor: Andrea O’Neil Journalists: Dawn Tuffery, Lucy Smith, Paul Kendon, Sarah Lowe Contributors: Hans Frauenlob, Infovision, Sir Robert Jones, Dr Andrew West Photographers: Anne Challinor, Aaron Sami, Brooke Baker, Libby Higson
Cover illustration by Rebecca Walthall
Proofing: Sue Traveller
Web: Dave Chisholm, Crescendo Multimedia
Advertising enquiries to the publisher: timc@in-business.co.nz
Designer/media coordinator: Rebecca Walthall
ISSN 1174-4057
Design: Richard Thomson Scott Thomson Media
Published in partnership with IN-Business Media www.in-business.co.nz
Publisher: Tim Collins Contact: Scope Magazine www.scopemagazine. co.nz 1 Victoria Street Hamilton Phone: 07 929 4290 Feedback: editor@ scopemagazine.co.nz
SCOPE WINTER 2011
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welcome
The culture of quick The pace seems to be constantly quickening. In this issue we ask: Is there such a thing as doing business too quickly? Every year, shocking statistics emerge about the increasing speed of expected phone and email response times. Last year a UK survey revealed a quarter of British businesses expect a reply to a new business email in 30 minutes, or they will take their custom elsewhere. Younger customers demand the fastest responses, with a third expecting a response within the hour. The survey, commissioned by telco giant Vodafone, also put the average cost of not responding to a new business enquiry at NZ$62,000 for an average business, a NZ$20,000
increase from 2009. So in business, are you either quick, or dead? This edition of Scope addresses the issue of speed in business – what are the upsides of treating commerce as a race, rushing to market and checking your emails at home every hour? And is there a backlash emerging against this quick culture, a new mindset recognising the benefits of slowing down, planning carefully and learning from the past? One way to increase your rate of turnaround is to critically assess your business for any wasted time and resources. Lean
iPhone winner Dear Editor,
We hope you enjoy this fourth edition of Scope, the magazine that brings readers leading edge business innovation and enterprise in the Waikato region. Scope is also published in electronic “ezine” format: visit www.scopemagazine.co.nz to view the ezine, and feel free to share with friends and colleagues. Scope can also be viewed on smartphones. Robyn Stephens wins an iPhone for her feedback on our last issue.
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I was fascinated to read the two-page spread titled “Our cup runneth over – the numbers behind the cup” and to learn the “scope” of the predicted economic stimulus, from tax revenue generated and direct expenditure. As a teacher of Economics I can use this article with my students to illustrate a practical example of increased growth in the economy resulting from the stimulus to demand. I am also the Careers Adviser at Te Kuiti High School and can predict a 2011 surge in employment opportunities, particularly in the food and beverage, accommodation and travel industries. Hopefully there will be some trickle down to rural areas such as ours. It was also good to absorb the optimism from Lyndon Settle about the future of the Waikato region in “Looking good every way you look” and to hear of the increased potential for growth for entrepreneurial companies such as Pacific Aerospace. Get the edge and go Waikato! Robyn Stephens
thinking is an offshoot of the lean manufacturing ideas trumped in the late 1980s, and Scope looks at Waikato businesses at the forefront of the lean revolution (page 12). It is the aim of many businesses to export in the long run – but what’s stopping a start-up from going international from day one? We talk global logistics with paua exporters OceaNZ Blue, a global before local success story (page 24). If you want to fast-forward your business’ success, it pays to investigate the sources of funding and support available. Use our specially commissioned infographic as a guide to innovation funding in the Waikato (page 18). First-mover advantage has long been preached as business gospel, but Scope asks whether there are more advantages in entering a market later, and learning from the mistakes of competitors (page 20). Smartphones, of course, are a great tool for businesses wanting to increase their connectivity and response times. But a wave of nostalgia is sweeping the iPhone generation, and a local app developing duo are taking advantage of this yearning for a slower, simpler time (page 10). I hope you enjoy this fourth edition of Scope. Feedback is always welcome – just email editor@scopemagazine.co.nz. Happy reading! ANDREA O’NEIL ASSISTANT EDITOR
NORTHERN REGION
CENTRAL REGION
SOUTHERN REGION
Auckland Level 10, 385 Queen Street PO Box 3978 Shortland Street Auckland 1140 Ph: + 64 9 375 2100 mzakl@mainzeal.com
Palmerston North 915 Tremaine Ave PO Box 1099 Palmerston North Ph: + 64 6 354 4056 mzpnth@mainzeal.com
Christchurch 57 Princess Street PO Box 25208 Addington Christchurch Ph: + 64 3 341 2191 mzchch@mainzeal.com
Hamilton Level 1, 469 Grey Street PO Box 19359 Hamilton Ph: + 64 7 838 1880 mzham@mainzeal.com
Wellington Level 3, 181 Vivian Street PO Box 6441 Marion Square Wellington Ph: + 64 4 802 7900 mzwgtn@mainzeal.com
Bay of Plenty 20 Cessna Place Mt Maunganui 3116 PO Box 19259 Hamilton 3244 Ph: + 64 7 571 2086 tauranga@mainzeal.com
“Mainzeal’s relationship management has been first class throughout their workforce, from management through to site management and workforce. Issues that have arisen during the project have been dealt with in a positive manner and resolved quickly and efficiently.” - Paul Bennett, Braemar Hospital
Quick on the Draw
ALL LINED UP
Quintessentially American car manufacturer General Motors recently chose its second successive New Zealander for the company’s top financial job. Waikato-born Daniel Ammann is the man who’s just taken control of GM’s purse strings Story by Dawn Tuffery
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hether he’s involved in finance or motorsport, Daniel Ammann likes to move fast. The newly-appointed chief financial officer and senior vice president of General Motors (GM) has moved swiftly up the corporate ladder, and is working towards his racing licence on the side. A driver’s spot at the Hamilton ITM400 isn’t on the cards yet, however. Speaking from Detroit, Ammann says his first days as chief financial officer are
going well. It’s a long way from the Waikato farm where he grew up, and he’s enjoyed an eventful journey. It began at Waikato University, where Ammann gained a Bachelor of Management Studies with first class honours in 1994. He was immediately recruited by Chris Liddell to work at Credit Suisse First Boston in Auckland, moving to the New York branch in 1997. Determination and ambitious risks have consistently been a part of Ammann’s career strategy. He remembers agonising over the decision
General Motors
to move to New York, leaving behind a job and girlfriend in Auckland. “It was all pretty nice and comfortable, but nagging away in the back of my mind was, ‘what if I don’t do it?’ For me that was the motivating factor – ‘if I don’t, I’ll always wonder what would have happened if I had’ – and that was a thing that pushed me over the edge.” What did happen was an eventual move to financial services firm Morgan Stanley, where Ammann spent 11 years and became a managing director. Cue another call from Liddell, by then the chief financial officer of GM, inviting Ammann to join him as treasurer. Ammann already had a connection with
particularly special” about him and credits his success to proactively seeking out opportunities and smart people he can learn from. This involves periodically asking himself whether he’s working on interesting projects and making a difference. “I’ve been lucky enough that all the way along I’ve been able to say yes to those questions. It’s been pretty rewarding to be in the middle of some of these things and make some contribution.” He does anticipate challenges ahead, and considers that there’s plenty to keep him interested at GM for a while yet. “We have a huge amount to do in the company. I expect to be spending most of my time focused on the opera-
“It was all pretty nice and comfortable, but nagging away in the back of my mind was, ‘what if I don’t do it?’ For me that was the motivating factor.” Daniel Ammann, centre, has risen swiftly to a top position at General Motors, following the departure of fellow Kiwi Chris Liddell, far left.
the company, working as an outside advisor from Morgan Stanley during GM’s highprofile bankruptcy and restructuring. When Liddell stepped down this year, Ammann succeeded his fellow Kiwi at the top tier of the world’s second-largest automaker. For him, this development indicates the importance of maintaining relationships. “I guess it’s a reflection that you never know where people will end up.” While Ammann’s ascent might seem meteoric, he claims there’s “nothing
tional side of the business, figuring how we can make money selling cars in the long term.” Ammann’s advice to young New Zealanders considering business careers is to think expansively. “You can get the sense [in New Zealand] that things are a world away, but you’ve just got to get over here and get amongst it. It’s all there for the taking.” He reiterates the importance of putting yourself in a position where interesting things can happen. “Take a little bit of a risk, and if in doubt, do it.”
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Quick on the Draw
Smartphones epitomise the hurried, immediate pace of 21st century life – their applications are adopted and discarded by the social media generation with lightning speed. But many smartphone users idealise simpler times. Two Hamilton app developers are attracting attention in the frenetic app world by championing an obsolete mode of communication.
Against the grain Story by Lucy Smith
Photograph by Anne Challinor
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T
he iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter, is a potent symbol of today’s society: ever on the go, supplying instant gratification, flashy gadgetry, and constant connection. It wouldn’t be out of place alongside flying cars in a 1950s movie set in the future. It’s widely seen as a blessing for the productive and the slackers alike. With a plethora of applications, or apps, available for download, its utility can be extended to anything from a portable gaming device to a dictaphone, a recipe book or a lightsabre. But with advancement comes nostalgia: as old technology vanishes it is followed by a pang of longing for simpler times, when television wasn’t in high definition, milk was delivered to your door, and phones were just phones. Sometimes, though, those worlds collide, and even the most modern of conveniences turns into a weird hybrid between old and new. And in some cases, it can help to revive interest in a dying technology. That’s what Klas Eriksson says is happening to Super 8 video following the release of his iPhone app iSupr8, which he, with business partner and project manager Ryan Lind, designed for United States-based app development company MEA Mobile. The app converts digital video files, taken on an iPhone, into the colours and textures associated with old-fashioned Super 8 film. “We’re not kidding ourselves in thinking that an iPhone is ever going to be able to fully replicate 8mm film, because there are so many other things [about it] that you’re never going to get with an iPhone, but…I think and I hope it will develop an interest,” Eriksson says. Eriksson and Lind are graduates of the Wintec School of Media Arts’ Moving Image programme. They collaborated on much of their coursework and, after graduation, started production company Whenua Pamamao Films together. It’s that passion for filmmaking that led to the development of the app, which Eriksson says has plenty of value beyond the amusement factor. iSupr8 shoots in 720p HD, making it completely feasible to screen a film shot using the app on a full-size cinema screen. “We want it to be a makers’ tool as much as a fun novelty app; we want it to be something that people can actually use on a semi-professional level.” While many of the fans of the app are older people who are re-discovering the look of
Super 8, it has also found favour with a younger demographic who are used to developing photos taken on an iPhone using apps such as Hipstamatic, which gives a similar vintage look to photos. Both Eriksson and Lind put the popularity of such things down to the fact that analogue technology has character that’s often lacking in the digital age. “There’s such a thing as things looking too good, people start craving the unpolished,” Eriksson says. Lind agrees, saying that across all media there’s a push towards the old-school. “People are shying away from the digital revolution, looking for something more appealing. There’s a warmth and a comfort that comes from putting on an old LP instead of listening to a horribly compressed MP3, and I think [that’s also true in] filmmaking.” From a business point of view, probably the most astounding thing about iPhone apps is the viral nature of them, the way they’re so quickly spread through word-of-mouth with little other marketing. Quality is no guarantee of success, and, conversely, success is no guarantee of quality. “It’s a really equal thing, it’s all on how well you do and how well received your apps are – if people like it it’s going to get attention,” Eriksson says. And people do like iSupr8. Eriksson and Lind have been given some investor funding and are working on a “beefed-up” version of the app, with a host of new features and, of course, expanded social networking aspects, including a “community” feature to allow users to share their videos. The Cambridge Super 8 Society in Britain commended the app, with iSupr8 becoming a sponsor for the Society’s Fifth International Super 8 Film Festival this year. One thing there’s not a proper working app for just yet is a crystal ball. Asked about what the future might hold for app technology, both Eriksson and Lind look somewhat perplexed. “It’s so hard to say, technology develops so quickly and new functions come about,” Eriksson says. Geotagging, which allows content to be presented according to geographical location, is shaping up to be a big thing, and is something Eriksson and Lind are currently implementing with iSupr8, collaborating with a New York-based service called Snapr. The only predictable thing about smartphone technology is its sheer unpredictability, Eriksson says. “You never know where it’s going to go, it’s always constantly evolving. We just try to do what feels right for us.”
Old meets new: Ryan Lind and Klas Eriksson’s smartphone app allows film-makers to give a vintage feel to 21st century technology
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Quick on the Draw
THE LEAN TEAM Speed, efficiency, waste reduction, open communication – these seemingly commonsense business practices caused shock-waves when “lean manufacturing” ideas burst out of Japan in the late 1980s. Paul Kendon finds Hamilton businesses using lean ideas to get ahead are still considered cutting-edge. Photographs by Aaron Sami
H
ow does a business research and develop export opportunities, launch new products, improve productivity and fatten the bottom line in a shrinking market? Why do some companies conquer new territory, expand market share and succeed internationally, while other businesses falter during tough times and implode under adverse economic conditions? After all, business is business. Something is either produced or promoted. The key to success is to identify the value of your product or service from the customer’s point of view, says Dave McDougall, managing director at management consultant firm Herne Court Associates. He’s talking about lean manufacturing methods made popular by the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. In a nutshell it’s about eliminating waste, fine-tuning your business like an athlete stripping fat while preparing for competition.
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Quick on the Draw
“It’s the pursuit of the perfect process,” McDougall says. “What we’re doing is taking principles and concepts and moving into manufacturing and education. It began with the Toyota Production System. What that did was transform manufacturing, but the principles can apply to service industries just as easily.” McDougall put theory to practice while consulting for the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) to improve the international student enrolment experience. A survey of existing students identified wait times as an issue, so Wintec decided to target the problem. After applying lean ideas such as streamlining the administration side of enrolment, wait times were reduced from more than a month to just two weeks. “By focussing on the process we were able to identify and eliminate waste,” McDougall says. “What do international students appreciate and value? First identify the points along the student journey. Let’s map that job and look at where we can improve. Get the customer to pull the value from the process.” After analysis of every point of the enrolment path Wintec found that although it was very good at ticking off tasks, time was wasted that added no customer value. “In management terms we call this silo building. It is common. It’s human nature to improve your own environment.” But it can be to the detriment or demise of the business. Every organisation has tasks to complete – book-keeping, procurement, recruiting and delivery, to name a few. While these chores add value to the business, they consume considerable resources and
The basics of lean When local businessman John Cook decided to make his company lean, he interpreted the idea as being about energising the whole company. “For lean to work well the entire organisation needs to embrace the principles,” the managing director of Stainless Design says. Cook set up Stainless Design, a metal fabrication firm supplying the dairy, food, pharmaceutical and marine industries, in 1988 with a staff of four. Today Stainless Design is a multi-million dollar business employing over 80 people, exporting directly and indirectly to the United States, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Its company-wide “lean” project has not only led the company to success, but its lean process management system is on the verge of being offered as an off-theshelf solution for external customers. Cook says the basics of lean must involve the whole company. It is the franchise approach where everything
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offer no tangible benefit to the consumer. The danger can be to allow business bureaucracy to drive the company instead of focusing on delivering consumer benefits as valued by the customer. At Wintec, many departments are involved with international student enrolment, which can slow the process down. “By focussing on the process we were able to identify and eliminate waste,” McDougall says.
Dean Pennell, group general manager of Industrial Tube Manufacturing (ITM), says his firm has just started on its lean manufacturing journey. ITM supply steel products to a range of manufacturers. A chair-maker, or any similar manufacturer, may only want a length of three-metre tubing, but may be forced into a position of purchasing longer lengths because that is all that is available. The difference winds up as waste to the customer. While in larger economies like America there are numerous steel mills producing every size and length of steel tubing and pole possible, because the market demand is high, for New Zealand firms more creative solutions are required. “It’s about moving away from that management-led style of the 1950s and getting everyone in the company involved in the business’ performance,” Pennell says. Everyone at ITM has, or is due to complete, lean manufacturing training. A large notice board in an area of the workshop shows the company progress and announces important initiatives. “It’s important
is tracked and ticked off in a way that can be reproduced and refined. It sounds like a McDonalds method of manufacturing, but you won’t find plastic plates or disposable values on the menu. A traffic light system shows what projects are in progress and where each job is at in the production process. At any given time team leaders can see a graphical representation on a large monitor in the heart of the control centre or on their personal computer screen, telling them what team is working on which project and what stage of the process the task is at. Green, amber and red graphs chart the flow of every employee’s progress. Stainless Design has invested heavily in internal training and considers employee education a cornerstone principle. Its on-site training facilities are second to none, with industry experts brought in to provide industry coaching and certification. During regular reviews and study sessions project goals are set. Project objectives must deliver at least a 50 per cent
to involve all staff, and keep everyone informed.” Training began in August last year, with all employees expected to complete the “Skills for Work” lean manufacturing induction course. Teams have already started looking more critically at their workplace. Every item has its place and should be in its place, and use of equipment is recorded and any item not used for more than a month is put in a more practical place. Tools that haven’t been used for a year or more are thrown out, sold or put into storage. “Anything that can make us more efficient has got to be good,” Pennell says. “We haven’t finished training teams, and the knowledge and skills of those already familiar with the philosophies are still bedding in.” The beneficiary of improved processes will be the customer, yet employee morale and staff retention has also improved through the process. Still, the greater aim of ITM’s lean endeavour is to respond to customers’ needs more efficiently and more effectively. “The ultimate achievement would be to be able to supply a customer with a custom length, any time,” Pennell says. Being able to produce custom lengths at short notice will result in less stock being held and more sales for odd sizes. Common 5.5-metre lengths of steel tubing are produced month in, month out, but a customer who wanted something shorter was last year waiting up to six weeks while odd-ball sizes were rolled. By improving the process, production has doubled. “As we get leaner we have cut production time in half,” Pennell says. “We now produce oddball stuff
twice as often. Ultimately we want to be in a position to supply anyone with any length at any time, but we’re a million miles from there yet. For us lean manufacturing is all about quick change-overs – that’s what we want.”
Staff morale at ITM has soared as a result of its lean implementation
The traditional construction planning process has its flaws, says Finlay Irwin, Mainzeal’s Waikato/Bay of Plenty area manager. “In a typical design process, much of the designers’ time is spent in the initial design phases, working with the client on his or her ideas, which leaves little of the budgeted time left to produce
meetings and shift briefs help keep everyone from the factory floor to the executive office informed of the company’s position and progress. “Everyone has a stake in the business.” Lean processes free you to focus on the important parts of the business where your energy is better spent, Cook says. “A lean approach helps us focus on areas of the business where we can improve.”
Future Fantastic Business Fundamentals
THE ELEMENTS OF AN INVESTOR-READY BUSINESS
New Zealanders are full of ideas. WeÕ ve revolutionised industries as diverse as marine propulsion and adventure sports, as ubiquitous as home appliances and navigation. ItÕ s these ideas that launch a company to international heights but bringing them to market can be slow and expensive. So how can a business fund this process? And which businesses do investors favour? This infographic, the culmination of a research project by Infovision, explores these questions to help todayÕ s ideas become tomorrowÕ s blockbusters.
Business Sophistication
(NUMBER OF MARKETS, PROCES S COMPLEXITY, ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE)
Global Growth
Technical Stretch
Stage of Business Development
Investment and Returns
Establishment
Acumen
Connectedness
OF FUNDING FOR
Early Stage
improvement or double efficiency, and teams then present proposals including a cost analysis. And the effort has paid off – the company now functions like a well-oiled machine. “In terms of where we are today, we have a very engaged work force,” Cook says. Daily team
Business Characteristics
John Cook’s lean staff training has been so successful he is planning to sell it as an off-the-shelf business solution
Stainless Design is a recipient of NZTE funding and has participated in Wintec’s research voucher scheme. Our infographic is designed to help Waikato businesses understand and access support and funding available to them. See pages 18–19
Opportunism
New Zealand’s total investment in Research and Development 2010: NZ$1.862 Billion
iv
infovision
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Quick on the Draw
For Dean Pennell, lean thinking is all about saving waste and hassle for the customer
quality construction blueprints,” he says. “At the end of the process, clients often believe they have received a 100 per cent complete design, only to realise during construction their design has unanticipated flaws and needs amending. This is a common occurrence, which causes project tensions as budgets and programmes are compromised.” To make the outsourced design procedure less costly and more efficient, the company has introduced a lean planning process, which they have trialled in the design and build of a local hospital development. Irwin says Mainzeal thinks of lean manufacturing as just-in-time manufacturing. “In construction you want everything sorted well before you need it,” he says. “If we get delays there are often huge costs.” By getting the key sub-contractors around the table early, Mainzeal were able to create a plan that allowed for all services to be catered for while avoiding costly delays. The sub-contractors were happy to be involved in the design process as they could be confident of avoiding costly delays during construction. The design consultants have embraced the concept as they can avoid spending hours of unproductive design time resolving site queries and instead put more innovation into the design – a direct benefit to the client. “The key to success was understanding how each party derives its income
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and then creating an environment where parties are motivated to contribute to the success of the project,” Irwin says. Such smart commercial arrangements allow the client to directly benefit from having a collaborative design and construction team without the relationship between designer, client and construction firm being compromised. “This is an important factor,” Irwin says. “Our clients must see transparency and honesty, something the traditional model often impedes.” Although lean manufacturing methods have not been applied to the entire organisation, the trialling of a lean design and build process during the construction of Braemar Hospital in Hamilton is resulting in efficiencies of time and scale. “We’re not pursuing lean in a strict sense. However, we are collaborating with the supply chain to pull the information,” Irwin says. Take the ducting in the Braemar complex for example. The designer allows for structural beams concealed in service ducts, but never considers all the piping, cabling and electrical equipment that will also be installed in the cavities. Space is allocated but often sub-contractors must work around each other to accommodate all the services required or desired because the designer is not concerned how plugs, points and pipes fit around the design. Lean planning made this process pain-free.
“Our clients must see transparency and honesty, something the traditional model often impedes.”
opinion
Strengthening your business with lean thinking Our exporting businesses need to be bigger, better, faster and stronger. Some say the key is to become leaner. internationally. The Lean Business course, in particular, can help companies create more value for customers using fewer resources. Businesses that apply a “lean thinking” mindset can improve flow, reduce the time required to make and deliver products or services, and create an environment where staff continually strive to improve processes. More than 215 businesses have participated in lean business courses run by NZTE during the past three years. About half of Hans Frauenlob
HANS FRAUENLOB IS NEW ZEALAND TRADE AND ENTERPRISE’S GENERAL MANAGER FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. NZTE IS THE GOVERNMENT’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. ITS JOB IS TO LIFT THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE BY HELPING MORE NEW ZEALAND BUSINESSES TO GROW AND COMPETE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NZTE’S PROGRAMMES AND SERVICES SEE WWW.NZTE.GOVT.NZ. DETAILS ABOUT THE WAIKATO REGIONAL BUSINESS PARTNER CAN BE FOUND AT WWW. OPPORTUNITYHAMILTON.CO.NZ.
Expanding Kiwi businesses quickly hit natural barriers: the four walls of New Zealand. Yet what lies beyond – export, import and doing business in the global marketplace – can seem like nothing but the unknown and the untested. The fact that we have a shortage of firms with the skills and the scale to perform internationally is not news to anyone, but the ways in which businesses can be helped and also help themselves are not as commonly known. The concept of lean thinking is in itself an import and not a particularly recent one, coming from Japan in the 1980s. But modern New Zealand adaptations of lean concepts are having real results: participants in NZTE’s “Lean Business” programme over the past three years have seen productivity gains of between 20 and 200 per cent and say they are more resilient to tough economic conditions as a result. NZTE helps to prepare businesses for the global marketplace by offering tailored packages of programmes and services to support the different stages of a business lifecycle – from start-up, through growth, and on to operating
“Participants in NZTE’s Lean Business programme over the past three years have seen productivity gains of between 20 and 200 per cent.” those have subsequently received matched funding of $20,000 to help them implement lean tools and techniques. It’s been mainly manufacturing businesses that have taken part so far, but we are also encouraging exporters of services to give it a go. We believe the concepts are relevant to any business wanting to lift productivity and remain competitive. The same goes for our “Better by Design” programme, which helps companies in a range of industries understand how to
use design across their entire business. This type of “design integration” means using design principles to unlock better thinking, approaches, and customer connections, not just learning how to design great products. Companies that have been through the programme are reporting faster uptake of new products in the market, increased export revenues, and a revitalised sense of purpose and direction. These are two of several programmes we make available to businesses we’re helping to grow internationally, including a number of Waikato companies. However, if your business is just starting to explore growth opportunities, I recommend you contact NZTE’s Waikato regional business partners, Opportunity Hamilton and Waikato Innovation Park. NZTE and the Ministry of Science and Innovation have been appointing 14 such partners around New Zealand to support business growth and innovation in their regions. They work with local businesses and provide advice and access to research and development funding. These partners may be able to issue you NZTE Capability Development Vouchers, which can be used as partial payment for the cost of management courses, including privately-run lean business courses.
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Future Fantastic New Zealanders are full of ideas. WeÕ ve revolutionised industries as diverse as marine propulsion and adventure sports, as ubiquitous as home appliances and navigation. ItÕ s these ideas that launch a company to international heights but bringing them to market can be slow and expensive. So how can a business fund this process? And which businesses do investors favour? This infographic, the culmination of a research project by Infovision, explores these questions to help todayÕ s ideas become tomorrowÕ s blockbusters.
Is this a minor or a major advance in your field and just how hard a nut is it to crack? Your investors will want to know just how close you are to changing the world
Technical Stretch
Innovating can be a risky business and investors want bang for their buck. What are the ratios that they can expect?
infographic by
Investment and Returns
Pathway to Market
What are the skills and qualifications of your team? You may be a whizz in the lab but a lack of business skills wonÕ t shore up investor confidence
Passion, drive, fervour, zeal and enthusiasm Ð investors are looking for the energy that takes their cash over the finish line. Have you got it?
Business Characteristics
Business Fundamentals
THE ELEMENTS OF AN INVESTOR-READY BUSINESS
Investors need a businessperson to back up their investment in your innovation. Do you know how to go global?
Opportunism
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infovision www.info-vision.co.nz
What are the obstacles between you and your market? Commercialisation can be a long road, what are the speed-bumps?
Ability to Deliver Skill Sets
Aspiration
Acumen
Connectedness
The big picture: do you see opportunities to diversify, extend, grow and apply your science everywhere? Investors need to see your vision
As well as helping raise start-up capital, networking also provides critical, on-demand expertise
Business Sophistication
(NUMBER OF MARKETS, PROCES S COMPLEXITY, ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE)
High
Low
High
LOCAL TOUCH-POINTS FOR INNOVATION FUNDING SOURCES TechNZ
Regional Partners Opportunity Hamilton Waikato Innovation Park
TechNZ TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT GRANT
NZTE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT VOUCHER ANGEL/VENTURE CAPITAL
TechNZ TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER VOUCHER
Establishment
TechNZ PROJECT FUNDING
Stage of Business Development
GROWTH CAPITAL (PRIVATE EQUITY)
Global Growth
NZTE
NZTE ESCALATOR PROGRAMME
Early Stage
THE UPWARD SPIRAL OF FUNDING FOR INNOVATION INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING BANK BOOTSTRAPPING FRIENDS FAMILY AND FOOLS TechNZ CAPABILITY FUNDING
New Zealand’s total investment in Research and Development 2010: NZ$1.862 Billion infographic reproduction enquiries to editor@scopemagazine.co.nz
Source Data: Andrews, M. (2010, November 26). Interview with Marie Claire Andrews. Angel HQ. (2010, November 28). Angel HQ | Wellington Angel Investment Group. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://angelhq.co.nz Grow Wellington. (2010, November 17). Grow Wellington - Home. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://www.growwellington.co.nz/page/home.aspx International Monetary Fund (2010) (Retrieved March 7 2011, from http://www.imf.org) New Zealand Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. (2010, November 15). NZVCA - New Zealand Venture Capital Association - Private Equity New Zealand, Venture Capital New Zealand, Company NZ, Finance New Zealand. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://www.nzvca.co.nz New Zealand Private Equity and Venture Captial Association Inc. (2008). Fuel for your Business. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. (2010). Welcome to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://www.nzte.govt.nz/Pages/default.aspx Reynolds, S., Marshall, R., Campbell, H., & Brenton-Rule, T. (2010, December 14). Workshop with FRST and MoRST staff. TechNZ. (2010, November 23). TechNZ | FRST | Foundation for Research Science & Technology. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://www.frst.govt.nz/techNZ, International Monetary Fund (imf.org) 2011 SCOPE WINTER 2011
19
Quick on the Draw
David Thorrold is a second mover on two counts, with his sweetener improving on a competitor’s product, and his company preparing for its future stock market float using lessons from a failed attempt 20 first SCOPE WINTER 2011
SWEET TOOTH In the rush and urgency of modern commerce, a product is often seen as less important than the speed at which it gets to market. But a new business philosophy is emerging that preaches the virtues of holding back: introducing second mover advantage. Story by Lucy Smith Photograph by Aaron Sami
I
n the business world, conventional wisdom dictates that if you have a great idea, you’ve got to be first to market: you’re either quick, or you’re dead. First-mover advantage has become almost gospel in the dotcom era, when every second person seems to be an entrepreneur and new businesses are popping up constantly. With the speed at which competition can move, it’s no longer safe to spend a lot of time developing an idea prior to launch – rather, if you want to secure that critical firstmover advantage, you’ve got to be in with all guns blazing and get started before someone else does. But does that mean that, if you are second to market, you’re doomed to forever play Pepsi to the market leader Coca-Cola? Not necessarily, because just as being first to market is no guarantee of success, being second doesn’t mean you’re at a complete disadvantage, as BioVittoria CEO David Thorrold will soon tell you. In the United States today, there are two natural calorie-free sweeteners available in the food and beverage industry. One is stevia, a sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana or sweetleaf plant, brands of which are produced by a number of companies. The other is Fruit-Sweetness, the brand name for a fruit-derived zero-calorie sweetener produced in China by BioVittoria, a product development and marketing company based at Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton. Fruit-Sweetness is derived from the monk fruit, or luo han guo, a Chinese melon that contains an extremely sweet, yet calorie-free, naturally-occurring antioxidant. When the antioxidant is concentrated and spray dried it becomes a fine white powder, very similar to icing sugar, that’s about 300 times sweeter than sugar. To put that in perspective, a quarter of a gram of FruitSweetness can replace eight teaspoons of sugar – about what you’d find in an average can of soft drink. While stevia has been used for decades in the natural health industry, it only achieved FDA approval, that holiest of food marketing grails, at the end of 2008. Fruit-Sweetness followed it a year later. “The launch of stevia had encouraged a lot of product formulators to start working with natural zero-calorie products, so there were many, many projects underway already,” Thorrold says. “We were able to benefit from that because the first mover
had some significant limitations, and that’s really the key to it – if [the second mover] can answer the questions the first mover can’t answer, or can solve the problems the first mover can’t solve, you can get quite an advantage.” Being able to achieve what the first mover may have failed to is one of the big considerations for determining potential success, says Bold Horizon senior brand strategist Wayne Attwell. “The first mover has done the hard yards, developing the market, learning what works and what is acceptable, usually at considerable financial cost. Market followers simply pick up from an advanced position and have the opportunity to improve on what’s already in place.” As examples of companies who have used the secondmover advantage and succeeded, he cites Google, which followed long after other search engines such as Yahoo! and Altavista, but which “learned from others and made a better product, [and is now] the market leader by a country mile”. Likewise, Facebook was by no means the first player in the social media game, “but through innovation, product differentiation and clever integration into people’s social networks and lives has become today’s leader”. BioVittoria already had a significant advantage over stevia in terms of its market positioning, Thorrold says. “Having done consumer work, the people working with the first generation of stevia knew there was some consumer resistance to this leaf that no one had ever heard of before.” Fruit, on the other hand, doesn’t face the same problem. “Fruit being in your food is not unusual… [but] a leaf in your food isn’t very common, you drink tea but that’s about it, really. And fruit comes with its own connotations that are almost universally positive.” It’s challenging and costly to create awareness and acceptance of a new product, Attwell says. In some cases “it could be so costly as to crush the company entering, unless they have deep pockets or substantial venture funding”. But when a company can follow a trail that’s already been blazed, it removes much of that financial burden from the equation. Of course, when it involves food, taste is perhaps the top priority. Stevia is known for having quite a pronounced aftertaste, an astringent, liquorice-like flavour, which doesn’t go down well with some consumers. Fruit-Sweetness, on the other hand, only
SCOPE WINTER 2011 21
BioVittoria
Quick on the Draw
Monk fruit
extracts certain sweet compounds out of the monk fruit, so has very little flavour beyond that sweetness, with perhaps a very slight fruity note. So, BioVittoria were able to solve the problems of both consumer resistance and taste that had dogged manufacturers of stevia-based sweeteners. “It was just an easier position for us to start from, in terms of [asking] ‘how is the consumer going to respond to this?’ knowing nothing about the product.” That’s not to say the first-mover advantage is a total myth. eBay was the first online auction site and in many countries remains the major player – with the obvious exception of New Zealand, where Trade Me was the first mover and is still alpha. Microsoft started out as the dominant force in desktop computing and has managed to stay there. And offline, when Nike was formed in 1964, it created a new market for a new product, and is still the world’s largest sportswear manufacturer. But, like most things in business, it’s not easy, Attwell says. “The entry company will have to aggressively deconstruct and re-invent their product and brand in order to keep one step ahead, constantly innovating and adapting to changing market conditions.” In some ways, BioVittoria is a second mover even to itself. They’ve been making Fruit-Sweetness, previously called Pure-Lo, since about 2004, and it’s now in its third generation. “When we first started making this, it was quite a lot darker-coloured and had a much stronger flavour. It was very sweet, but it had other off-flavours associated with it. So what we’ve done is make it higher purity, and by making it higher purity we’re making it better tasting,” Thorrold says. As well, an unsuccessful attempt at listing on the NZX in 2009 has not only given the company some experience in the listing process, almost a practice run for when the global economy improves and the business is larger and therefore more attractive to investors, but it has also forced the company to develop its internal processes to the level required for that. “If we were to list again in the future we wouldn’t be going through such a process
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of improvement, we’re operating at that level now. Certainly if we do end up listing again, it will be a lot easier the second time round.” But in any case, BioVittoria has some exciting times ahead. Now that the company has the crucial “gold seal” of the FDA – who’ve given it the official “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) notification – it can get some traction on working with the big food and beverage companies. Just last month the company announced a five-year marketing partnership with global sugar giant Tate and Lyle. Already, Fruit-Sweetness can be found in some smaller products in the US market, and Thorrold hopes that by the end of this year products containing the ingredient will have been launched by larger companies. But New Zealanders won’t be seeing Fruit-Sweetness products on the shelves any time soon: “It’s a small market and it’s quite a long regulatory process.” Next, BioVittoria is setting its sights on the European market, which is large, wealthy and, like much of the Western world, interested in natural ingredients.
“The first mover has done the hard yards, developing the market, learning what works and what is acceptable, usually at considerable financial cost. Market followers pick up from an advanced position.” It’s clear that business is all about problemsolving, for your own offering and for your customers. That’s what BioVittoria has done: it’s solved the problems inherent in previous iterations of its own product, and it’s solved the food and beverage industry’s problems with a natural, caloriefree sweetener. But business is also about looking for advantages and taking them when you find them, and BioVittoria has been there, too. “Without a doubt, our progress has been quicker than it would have been if there had been no stevia before us.”
Wayne Attwell
Quick on the Draw
POWER FOOD Conventional business wisdom is this: start small and local, tread cautiously, grow incrementally. Scope talks to a Waikato-run aquaculture exporter turning this equation upside down. Story by Paul Kendon ize matters when it comes to tales of creatures fished from the deep – the bigger the better. So when paua exporters OceaNZ Blue discovered the huge international demand for New Zealand paua, it re-wrote the typical local business story by going global before it went local. “One of the reasons we went international before supplying the domestic market is because our biggest market is Asian,” says John Illingsworth, director of OceaNZ Blue. Paua is valued as a high protein “status food” among wealthy Asian consumers. “The drivers of growth are population. Population increases, [which] increases wealth. As people become wealthy, they want better things, wear nicer clothes and eat status foods,” Illingsworth says. New Zealand paua is particularly prized due to the quality of our water and the quantity of our product. But aside from these qualities, the upsurge in demand for New Zealand paua is driven by global seaweed shortages causing paua, also known as the abalone sea snail, to lose its natural habitat. The world’s five main species of paua originate from South Africa, the United States, Japan, South America and New Zealand. Ours are the biggest and considered among the best. In warmer
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climates paua can grow faster but the adult snails are smaller. New Zealand-farmed paua take four years to grow to market size, although it can take as long as five years to meet the market. Predicting a surge in international demand, a handful of investors were persuaded to start up OceaNZ Blue in 2002, well aware they wouldn’t be producing product for market until at least 2007. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, NIWA, had built an aquaculture park in Northland’s Ruakaka, and offered Illingsworth and his partners an opportunity to establish and run the paua farm. “In business you need good partners,” he says. “Without the support of a good bank and NIWA, New Zealand probably wouldn’t have much of an abalone export market. Paua farming isn’t technically difficult but requires the right mix of scientific and engineering skills, and resources.” The farm now employs 17 full-time staff and is a major economic contributor to the Northland region, while still being run by Illingsworth from the Waikato. Over $5 million has been invested to date, with a return on investment on the horizon after covering half a decade of start-up costs. “It’s probably taken longer and cost more than expected. The biggest cost of all was
getting market,” Illingsworth says. “In our first year we sold 20 tonne of paua. The next year, 45 tonne. Last year 75 tonne and this year it will be 115 tonne. Only now are we starting to make some money.” he journey to market was also made rough by circumstances outside of Illingsworth’s control. “When we went into the market the timing was very bad. There was a significant fall in the selling price and the New Zealand dollar was very high.” Plus, seafood is not particularly export friendly, but New Zealand paua, which is bigger and hardier than those produced overseas, will happily travel for up to 36 hours. Paua is sold in one of four ways: dried, frozen, canned or live. For the export market, OceaNZ Blue is focused on the frozen and canned markets. “It wasn’t a quick journey to market but I think we have been successful,” Illingsworth says. “Entrepreneurs don’t grow business, they create them.” The sheer scale of production at the Ruakaka farm tells you things are now going very well indeed for OceaNZ Blue. Its aim is to produce 115 tonnes this year, which will make them a larger producer than most competitors, who sit at 70 to 80 tonnes, and bring the firm close to
Digizign
Ninety per cent of the paua processed annually by OceaNZ Blue is exported, mostly to affluent Asian markets.
“We need to encourage entrepreneurs. And to do that you need capital and a lot of tenacity. We need to do more at entry level to assist.” their main competitor, Australian firm Great Southern Waters, who produce 150 tonnes a year. To give you an idea of how many shellfish OceaNZ Blue processes, 100 tonnes of saleable paua requires the spawning of 3 million juveniles. Production on this scale requires a lot of water. Fresh sea water is pumped 600 metres to the farm from Bream Bay. Twelve thousand litres per second of seawater is pumped through the farm. That’s about 40 million cubic litres of water to feed between five to six million juveniles in the system. While the company has now started selling fresh, frozen and live paua domestically through local distributors and direct from the OceaNZ Blue website, most OceaNZ Blue paua is sold in Japan, South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and in those parts of the United States with large Asian
communities, such as New York and San Francisco. The export focus of the company has meant acquiring a good sense of how to do business with Asian partners. “When you do business with Asians you have to develop relationships,” Illingsworth says. “It is a concept they call ‘guanxi’. What it means is an understanding between you and your business partner – you can’t do business without it.” Illingsworth sees big potential for his business, but stresses the importance of support for those brave enough to go global from day one. “If New Zealand is going to be an exporter of products, we need to encourage entrepreneurs. And to do that you need capital and a lot of tenacity. We need to do more at entry level to assist,” he says. “This is an industry with huge potential. Not only abalone, but salmon or similar. Aquaculture could be a billiondollar industry because we have the best sea water in the world.” But no amount of funding or support can replace the sheer hard graft required to sustain a successful export business. “We’re at a turning point after eight years. But it doesn’t end here. It’s like riding a bike up hill. Don’t stop pedalling before you reach the top or you’ll slip backward. It is so important to keep working at it. It is a journey without an end.”
Window on
New Zealand www.newzealandstocklibrary.co.nz
Drive to do good The dangers attending young drivers are a constant fixture in the news. But a Waikato academic, and anxious father, is out to change our dire road crash statistics with the help of a carload of technical gear and the magic of the internet. Sarah Lowe reports on an invention gaining traction in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. Photograph by Brooke Baker
I
f you are at all worried about being conspicuous as you drive through town, you shouldn’t take a ride in the eDrive filming vehicle. Most cars slow, people point, and wherever the car is parked it invites a barrage of questions. This is because it isn’t exactly your average car. It’s the result of a lot of research, took months to fit out, and contains an impressive $60,000 worth of gear. On board are nine high-definition cameras, a stack of ultra-fast computers, and a complex network to coordinate cameras and computers with their own inbuilt power supply. There is a GPS system to help verify where the footage was taken and sensors provide information on steering wheel movements, speed and G-forces. If you’re wondering whether all this is for a good cause, the answer is absolutely. Road safety expert Dr Robert Isler has developed a programme he says will save lives on our roads. That’s a huge call, but Isler, a senior lecturer in psychology at Waikato University, and his team have the research to back it up. His research indicates the important part of learning to drive isn’t actually the manual part – steering and changing gears – in fact, this is usually learned too quickly, and drivers become too confident for their own good. The skills that are directly related to crash
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risk have much more to do with spotting, anticipating and managing hazards. Research has shown the part of the brain responsible for these actions can be trained, and safely at that. Enter eDrive. The footage captured by the filming vehicle shows from the driver’s perspective exactly what a real-life road might serve up. Children crossing, weather conditions, you name it, and the nine cameras will probably have caught it. These videos are then collated and integrated into a single realistic-looking dashboard, so that drivers can practise their “hazard-vision” on the internet without having to get out onto the road, or concentrate on their steering to do it. “This isn’t something we dreamed up overnight,” Isler says. “It is all evidencebased, shown to work, and that’s why I’m so confident in this application.” Racing legend Greg Murphy is a supporter of the project, and is also the online programme’s host. “This is a project very close to my heart,” Murphy says in the introductory video, “because I know first-hand how important it is to have these skills.” Another video shows him speaking about his own driving experience, and how, without the skills eDrive fosters, he would certainly not be around today to talk about it. A little morbid, perhaps, but you only have to look at the headlines speaking of yet another New Zealand road
eDrive’s online training video programmes young drivers’ brains to avoid road hazards
crash to truly see the meaning of morbid. Government agencies New Zealand Transport Authority and the Accident Compensation Corporation have helped fund the project, and have sponsored access through their own websites. BP and Suzuki are also sponsors and eDrive hopes to get further input from New Zealand companies, for example to be able to include tangible “rewards” that users can find along the journey, to keep them motivated. eDrive’s team includes server experts in Wellington, web designers and illustrators in Auckland, a Hamilton-based board of directors, not to mention the camera and vehicle specialists who put the car together with great patience. The footage
“We didn’t have something to copy and improve on. Much of it was stuff we were inventing as we went.” was painstakingly captured over a number of months. Local police lent a hand in some locations, setting up scenarios and helping to film them. The filming done in and around Christchurch was done before February’s earthquake, so this footage shows the town centre and buildings intact as they were before the disaster. One of the challenges of production
was having no existing software model to build on. “We didn’t have something to copy and improve on,” Isler says. “Much of it was stuff we were inventing as we went.” In post-production, countless hours of footage needed to be viewed, searched and narrowed down so that the curriculum was complete. After that, all the clips collected needed to be composited into the fully functional digital dashboard, including the view from all the mirrors, appropriate windscreen wipers, indicators and speedometer. Though it has clearly taken a while and a lot of work to get to this point, it seems the eDrive team are setting their sights on bigger and better already. A future improved version of the website is
already being investigated, perhaps with 360-degree cameras that allow users to look right around their virtual car. Overseas versions are also next on their list, with interest in the technology already coming in from Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. When asked about the motivation behind eDrive, it is with a parent’s hat on that Isler replies. He describes the unsettled feeling he has had during latenight waits for his teenage daughters to pull into the driveway. “If we can find a way to send more teenagers home safe to their families at the end of their time on the road each day, then we’ve done our job. If all this technology can achieve that, it has all been worth it.”
SCOPE WINTER 2011 27
Is Anzac Day a suitable way to remember New Zealand’s wars, or is it merely self-serving, jingoistic superstition? Sir Robert Jones gives Scope his two cents’ worth.
A load of poppycock? A
Photograph by flickr.com user Donna_Rutherford used under a Creative Commons licence
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nother Anzac Day has come and gone at the usual cost to long-suffering taxpayers, as our self-indulgent politicians fly off to Turkey, Flanders and London, ostensibly to attend ludicrous ceremonies honouring the war dead. I confess to bafflement at it all. For a start, if we must have a remembrance day for our war dead, then why on earth do we celebrate a devastating military defeat, inflicted on us by a nation we invaded? I’m damn sure the French don’t celebrate the Battle of Waterloo or the Germans, the D-Day landing. New Zealand has a long history of declaring war on countries, going back over a century. No-one has ever declared war on us. That said, our participation in the Second World War and subsequently the Asian wars, first in Korea, then Malaya and finally in Vietnam, were all in my view honourable and justifiable actions. But the same cannot be said about our involvement in South Africa and especially the First World War which was one of the most disgraceful events in human history. Yet it is that war and the Gallipoli misadventure in particular, which have increasingly become the focus of our remembrance day, in which Gallipoli is presented as something noble and virtuous and, absurdly, as some sort of nationhood coming-of-age. No historian has ever been able to find a justification for the First World War, but certainly as said, it marks one of the most shameful episodes in human history. Britain was a major culprit. After Waterloo a century earlier, a macho breastbeating characterised Britain’s attitude to the world. Encouraged by George IV, young
Local links, National range, International benefits - always sustainable
NZ National Party photograph used under a Creative Commons licence
men were urged to learn boxing so as to avoid “European effimacy”. By the end of the 19th century, British triumphalism reached its zenith, epitomised by the music hall song, “We don’t want to fight but by jingo if we do, we’ve got the men, we’ve got the ships, and we’ve got the money too”. This chest-thumping nationalistic bravado was subsequently known as jingoism. Germany was equally culpable, with its new nation muscle-flexing, its senseless provocative building of a huge navy and its kowtowing to Austrian expansionism in the Balkans. But over-riding everything was a massive failure of leadership and common sense and an absurd series of events eventually leading to war. In the first 18 months of the Great War, two and a half million men volunteered in Britain. In New Zealand and Australia recruiting offices were overwhelmed as young men rushed to enlist. And why? Well, we know, because in both countries enlisters were asked why they wanted to go to war. Was it for “King and Country”, as nowadays it is dishonestly represented? Not bloody likely. Consistently in Australia and New Zealand, the volunteers all sang the same song, namely that they wanted to travel and see the world. Two years later common sense prevailed as the harsh realities sank in. A battle over introducing conscription then arose as a sensible refusal to step forward prevailed. It has been my observation in my world-wide travels that the worshipping of dead ancestors is the most distinguishing characteristic of simple, undeveloped and primitive societies. It is pointless. When you’re dead no amount of future generation veneration is of any use to you. It can
logically only serve one function, namely to make the living feel better. For that human reason, illogical though it be, such ceremonies will doubtless continue. Of course, paying tribute to the surviving veterans is a different matter, but in Australia much of this has been captured by tasteless military parades, reminiscent of the old May Day communist tyrannies.
“The worshipping of dead ancestors is the most distinguishing characteristic of simple, undeveloped and primitive societies.” Worse still, in New Zealand, society’s ultimate parasites have gained control, namely the superstition purveyors in the form of the clergy and their dawn services bleating out nonsense skyward. If their “loving God” actually existed, these wars would not have. Political journalist Richard Long wrote an article appearing the day after the last Anzac Day, arguing that the recent years’ swelling of interest in Anzac Day ceremonies may be a backlash reaction to the public’s dismay at the Waitangi Day ceremony and its annual wrecking at the hands of low-lifes. Perhaps therein lies the answer. Why not scrub Waitangi Day and Anzac Day and replace them with New Zealand Day? We could celebrate all of our history, including Waitangi and our old soldiers but with much, much more, so that it becomes a positive day of joy.
We are a
SCOPE WINTER 2011 29
business
gallery startup ›› Waikato Business Women’s Luncheon
The Waikato business community’s better half met to network under the April sunshine. After mingling and sitting down to lunch, groups were encouraged to share inspirational “Wonder Woman” stories with the assembled crowd.
Trish Moore (Southern Cross Health), Judith Bright (Asset Recruitment), Judy Davison (Asset Recruitment), Carmel Strange (Asset Recruitment)
Connie Short (Westpac), Karen Rabjohns (Calder and Lawson Travel), Kirstin Tye (Calder and Lawson Travel), Wendy Harrison (Calder and Lawson Travel)
Jude Macdonald (Melaleuca), Chris Whitehead (Westpac), Bev McIntosh (Waikato Business News)
Shannan Bennett (McCaw Lewis), Megan Wackrow (McCaw Lewis), Melissa Gibson (McCaw Lewis), Lindsay Geenty (McCaw Lewis), Charlotte Isaac (McCaw Lewis)
Colleen Kaelin (Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust), Juergen Pothmann (Refugee Services NZ), Haidee Kalirai (HMS Trust), Ruchi Sharma (AIESEC)
John Dunston and Tracy Martin (Waikato Motor Group)
Les Rohleder (Waikato Chamber of Commerce), Colleen Kaelin (HMS Trust), Juergen Pothmann (Refugee Services NZ), Brenda Holloway (Women’s physiotherapist)
Lisa Pemberton (Wintec), Heidi Pihama (Windy Ridge Function and Events Centre)
Photographs by Anne Challinor
›› Keystone bar launch
Nearly 100 Waikato Chamber of Commerce members, associates and guests gathered at Keystone on Victoria Street recently to munch and mingle. Keystone major shareholder John Lawrenson was a gracious host offering chicken kebabs, quiche and Monteith’s craft beer. Keystone is the flagship of a fleet of bars owned by Lawrenson including The Helm, Furnace, Bar 101, Easy Tiger and the recently purchased The Corner Post, formerly known as Mooses. Photographs by Libby Higson
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›› Wintec Business Breakfast
The annual Wintec business breakfast was held in the institute’s new Atrium early this month. Around 65 business leaders from around the Waikato region attended. Wintec chair Gordon Chesterman welcomed everyone to the event then Wintec chief executive Mark Flowers made a presentation to all attending about the organisation’s 2010 performance, provided an update on campus developments, and outlined Wintec’s focus for the coming years. Photographs by Mark Hamilton
Matthew Cooper (Sport Waikato), Kelvin Whiting (Hillcrest High School), Mike Blake (Waikato Chamber of Commerce)
John Gallagher (Gallagher Group), Jack Ninnes (WEL Networks), Geoff McDonald (Norris Ward McKinnon), Clint Baddeley (Wintec Council)
Bernie Crosby (Prolife Foods), Peter Stark (Montana Catering)
›› Quake Appearance
Billed as Hamilton’s most fashionable Christchurch earthquake fundraiser, Waikato’s bold and beautiful gathered at the Meteor in late April to party for a good cause – the Red Cross. After quaffing bubbles and nibbling hors d’oeuvres, guests watched Chiefs rugby players and former New Zealand’s Next Top Model contestants model clothes by top designers including Annah Stretton, Sera Lilly, Ruby Boutique and Madame Hawke. The evening was hosted by Cleo Bachelor of the Year Nick Oswald. Photographs by Libby Higson Jeremy Horton, Phil Harris, Jacqui Harris, Sarah Horton
Danny Hartman, Eileen Hartman, Donna Gifford
Emma McMahon, Natalie Erceg, Moniek Kindred, Tessa Murphy, Cathy Bourke, Aimee Mann
Hannah Usmar, Emerita Baik, Rebecca Cleave
Moira Duffy, Zelda Senekal, Rebecca Foote
Jo Stark, Peter Stark, Wendy Stevenson, Mike Stevenson
Komal Kumar, Kelsi Osborn
SCOPE WINTER 2011 31
From the desk of . . . Rachel Wark Green Fire Islands
A local film and theatre production company is attracting heavyweight international buzz with its cultural mash-up of Maori and Irish music, poetry and dance. Its stage show, designed to combat Kiwis’ cultural cringe, has been invited to perform at London’s 2012 Olympics. As told to Andrea O’Neil
Mum came up with the idea. In 1997 one of my brothers passed away in a car accident, and she travelled the world. When she came back to New Zealand she realised what a great place New Zealand is. And she heard on the news that New Zealand has the highest youth suicide rate in the world and she said ‘what the hell’s going on, it’s such a great country, why?’ So she thought, ‘I’ve got to do something about it’.
It’s all about changing people’s perceptions. This is a really awesome place to live, and we’re not as isolated as we think we are. In Hawke’s Bay we did an awareness week in our small town, Waipawa. But we needed something that was going to go international.
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Dónal Lunny, who’s the musical director of Green Fire Islands, he’s a bit of a superstar in Ireland. Mum and him, they’ve been friends for a number of years. They got talking about the similarities in music and culture between the two cultures, Celtic and Maori. And they thought it would be a great project to get the two together.
That was over ten years ago now. It took three years for the production to come out. She met with copious amounts of people trying to find the right people to make the right fit – get the right musicians, get the right people on board. All on no money, of course.
This collaboration can break down racial barriers.
We have really good people working behind it.
The big thing is that we’ve got two invitations to go international.
In New Zealand there’s these two different cultures, Maori and European, who have come together, and they’re figuring out how to collaborate and work together so that we can be one. The storyline for the show, there’s a dispute, it’s resolved, and then from there comes a relationship.
Our filmer, Alun Bollinger, he’s a cinematographer for Lord of the Rings. He’s a great example of a New Zealander who’s really done amazing things, and he’s still a scruffy guy from Reefton, but he’s got this huge name around the world. And also Glenn Colquhoun, he’s a New Zealand poet, and he’s amazing.
Numerous times people would say ‘I cried through the whole thing’.
Stage shows eventually die out.
We have an invitation to the City of London Festival. Their theme is Australasia for this year. It’s a big festival, there’s millions and millions of people there. But then the more significant offer is next year for the 2012 Olympics, as part of the official cultural programme. So this is pretty huge. The financial goal for the next year is to be touring Europe and being able to take this tour worldwide.
We got standing ovations in Wellington, which doesn’t happen often. Wellington is a very tough crowd. They said that if there was another show the next night, it would have been sold out over and over.
You can’t help it, they’re a boom, they’re a hit for maybe three years and then that’s it, their life’s over and they’ve made a load of money. The real one that’s going to carry on will be the film.
Do you know Buena Vista Social Club? It’s a similar kind of collaboration story, and the DVD went viral and global and they sold millions of copies. Well, we’ve been likened to that.
SCOPE WINTER 2011
33
opinion
A full service offering for small business New Zealand’s slow economic decline can only be reversed by some fast footwork in aid of small businesses. Education expert Dr Andrew West believes polytechnics hold the key to our economic recovery. DR ANDREW WEST IS A CONSULTANT TO POLYTECHNICS NATIONWIDE AND FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF AGRESEARCH, THE NEW ZEALAND QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY AND GNS SCIENCE.
Andrew West has ridden motorcycles since he was 17. He owns three Triumphs; two classics and a new Daytona 675. He says whilst he’s still “young” enough to ride a young man’s bike, he will.
34 SCOPE WINTER 2011
New Zealand’s economy needs to perform better. Not as a result of the recent earthquake or the global financial crisis – our economic problems are long-standing. In the past four decades we have slid down the OECD’s prosperity rankings from 8th in 1970 to 23rd in 2009. The big hit was in 1973 when Britain joined the EU and largely denied us access to our traditional markets. We have been suffering since. Our rate of productivity growth, which defines our wealth, lags behind many other countries, such as Australia and Denmark. Small businesses are at the heart of any economy, ours included. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), those firms with fewer than 50 employees, dominate our economy by number and by employment. They are often owner-operated with a competitive advantage based on innovations in processes, products or services. They can be technically sophisticated in a narrow niche and they almost invariably, by their own admission, need support in access to skills, technology and capital. Many large, successful companies began life as an SME. If we are to reverse our relative economic decline then we need our SMEs to perform better. The government has an important role to play here, but its principal form of support, setting stable macroeconomic policies, is insufficiently “hands-on”. Relevant hands-on support for our SMEs is not easy,
however. Small firms can be notoriously difficult to engage with – they are often challenged by daily, tactical issues and lack the resources to engage with government agencies for that support. The problem then is how best to engage SMEs in governmentsponsored support, in order to improve their technological sophistication, skills and knowledge. To do this, New Zealand needs to provide an integrated package of research, development, technology adoption and training support to its SMEs. New Zealand is fortunate to still have institutes of technology and polytechnics dedicated to the service of vocations, professions, industries and firms. Some countries have abandoned their institutes of technology or polytechnics to their cost. We haven’t. Polytechnics such as Hamilton’s Wintec are the ideal class of institution to work with SMEs, because only they provide the necessary “full service offering” of applied research and development integrated with practical training, from certificates through diplomas to degrees. In contrast, government support schemes for science and technology are not fully linked to its various training initiatives.
“Small firms can be notoriously difficult to engage with – they are often challenged by daily, tactical issues and don’t have the resources to engage with government agencies for support.” But polytechnics presently lack sufficient capability and capacity to engage with a large number of SMEs. It has to be built up in them. We can support our SMEs and make the most of our polytechnics if we link them to business support clusters appearing in many New Zealand cities, such as Hamilton’s Waikato Innovation Park. What’s more, the Crown Research Institute Industrial Research Ltd can make a big contribution to helping polytechnics engage with SMEs by providing scientific reinforcement and by helping develop relevant technical curricula. Consequently, it is time for government, which owns the polytechnics, to take the following three actions: expand the role of polytechnics to provide applied research and development integrated with practical training to SMEs; recognise the importance of better support to SMEs for improved, national, economic performance; and when finances permit, introduce a decently-sized government fund dedicated to engaging SMEs with polytechnics. It is not a lot to ask or do. It is, however, sensible and ultimately, necessary.
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