Central Today issue 65

Issue 65 | August/September 2011

Jumping on the

bandwagon The Central North Island is ready to reap tourism benefits during the RWC, then continue harvesting rewards after the final whistle

Investment

Fonterra’s new face

Selling

Small business

Where to spend and how to get capital injection Making sales meetings rock

Meet Theo Spierings, Fonterra’s incoming CEO Putting SMEs on a winning track

News | Initiatives | Interviews | Personalities | Information | Success | Profiles | Finance | Property | Sustainability | Export | Transport | Retail | Solutions | ISSN 1174-9520

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 3

Issue 65 | August/September 2011

Jumping on the

bandwagon to reap The Central North Island is ready then tourism benefits during the RWC, after continue harvesting rewards whistle the final

Investment

Where to spend and how to get

capital injection

Selling

Making sales meetings rock

Fonterra’s new sface incoming CEO Meet Theo Spierings, Fonterra’

Small business track Putting SMEs on a winning

| Solutions | ISSN 1174-9520 | Export | Transport | Retail | Property | Sustainability | Success | Profiles | Finance | Personalities | Information News | Initiatives | Interviews

Central Today Issue 65

17,429 ABC circulation as at 30/06/10

www.centraltoday.co.nz Head office Academy House 47B Birmingham Drive PO Box 1879 Christchurch

News 6 Sales/Technology

managing director Gary Collins

• Making sales meetings rock • Kiss your trackpad goodbye

General manager Rebecca Harris

7 Economics

administration Kylie Moore admin manager Kelly Clarke Rebecca McQueen Kimberley Wells Judy Slater Tayla Brown sales & advertising Robert Cochrane Graeme Tall John Somerville Jane Watson Mogens Petersen Melissa Sinclair Annabel Judd Janet Campbell

sales executives

newsroom Jonathon Taylor Marie Sherry Bridget Gourlay

• Gareth Morgan explains why falling property prices please him • Keeping time on your side

8 Logistics

• How mobile and automation software can help keep the customer satisfied • Putting SMEs on a winning track

Business

9 Management

• Welcoming in Theo Spierings, Fonterra’s new CEO

16 Export

• SCA Hygiene puts geothermal steam to pioneering use in its papermaking process, benefitting the company and the community

10 Cover Story

• The Central North Island is getting ready to reap tourism benefits during the RWC, then continue harvesting rewards after the final whistle

18 Focus

editor

Phone: 03 961 5050 Fax: 0800 555 054 Email: editor@academy.net.nz

12 Investment special

• When it comes to financing growth, where do you start and what are your options?

14 Agribusiness/Events Diary • News from inside the sector • Courses, seminars and events near you

production Carolynne Brown assistant Melanie Stanbury designers CJ McKay Ian Knott Kirsty Opie Jarred Shakespeare Sarah Betman

15 Lifestyles

• The ultimate night’s sleep, Fujifilm’s GPS tracking camera, an affordable private island, a processor refusing to act its size, the ultimate desk toy and the king of cognacs

• Geon Print and Communication Solutions scoops up the supreme award at Pride In Print 2011. Brent Stewart Construction is a shining example of one builder’s drive to be the best. Breadcraft Wairarapa achieves baking perfection, while there’s a new ball game happening for the New Zealand Rugby Museum

26 Business development

• New moves and initiatives mean exciting times for McMillan and Lockwood, the Lawrenson Group, Fitzroy Engineering and McBeth Plumbing and Gas

34 Property & Construction

• Logistical thinking puts SKL8 on the success fast-track, while a passion for excellence drives Richard Hull Builders and Tasman Design and Civil to excel in different areas

Phone: 03 961 5050 Fax: 0800 555 054 Email: production@academy.net.nz

42 Transport & Motoring

• Prestige Collision Repairs straighten out in the Waikato

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A-Mark Publishing expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done, by any such a person in reliance, whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

Advertising feature articles are classified as advertising content and as such, information contained in them is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice.

Contents Copyright 2011 by A-Mark Publishing (NZ) Ltd. All rights reserved. No article or advertisement may be reproduced without written permission.

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4 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 5

News |Sales/Technology

Designing

Kiss your trackpad goodbye

powerful productive

sales meetings

By John Treace

committed to excellence. They want to make money, they want to focus their attention on that goal and they want to work for managers who are committed to being the best.

Designing a powerful sales meeting is not an easy task, but it is one Bringing value of the most important aspects of With so much at stake in a sales meeting, how building and maintaining a highcan we ensure that the meeting will bring value to the sales team and produce sales? velocity sales organisation. The objective of all sales meetings The answer is simple, but the implementation should be to increase sales — period. is not: Managers need to develop a statement That’s why we call them sales meetings.

Entertaining the participants and having them leave full of enthusiasm is a good thing, but it should never overshadow the need to produce sales.

It is the sales management’s responsibility to be a good shepherd of corporate resources, so spending money without expecting a measurable return is not good business.

Every high-performing salesperson who attends a meeting will be thinking, “Is this meeting making me money, or is my time being wasted?”

High performers will usually produce at least 60 percent of the company’s revenues, so when sales managers waste top salespeople’s time with poorly designed meetings, they send several negative messages: ■ that management is not considerate of employees’ time (high performers know that time is money), and ■ that management does not understand the business, does not know what needs to be done to increase sales, and is wasting corporate resources.

of strategic intent for the meeting, along with defined, time-sensitive metrics that will be used to measure the meeting’s success.

For example, we might say that the strategic intent of our meeting is to train reps to sell X product, with the goal of 80 percent of them exceeding quota within thirty days of the meeting and maintaining that performance through the end of the year.

The challenge in developing a statement of strategic intent is in knowing what needs to be accomplished in the meeting to reach the required performance goal. The specifics must be laid out, and an aggressive but realistic performance goal must be defined.

This statement of strategic intent is useful for ensuring powerful results meetings and as a management evaluation tool.

Powerful sales meetings driven by statements of strategic intent and clear objectives are at the core of powerful companies. Management teams that hold them regularly will always stay on top.

John R. Treace has more than 30 years experience as a sales executive in the medical products industry, with 10 years specialising in restructuring sales departments. In 2010 he founded JR Treace & Associates, a sales management consulting business.

Visit www.treaceconsulting.com

If the sales team begins to suspect that management doesn’t know how to increase sales, morale will be negatively affected and team members will question their choice of employers. Unproductive meetings also signal to salespeople that management is not 6 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

Designed in Christchurch, the Swiftpoint micro mouse boasts that it will “change the way you use your laptop”. Tech guru Ian Knott plugs the Swiftpoint into his 17” Macbook Pro and puts it to the test.

I’m often a little skeptical of products that claim to revolutionise the way we’ve been doing an everyday action quite successfully for years. But Christchurch-based Swiftpoint Limited claims its home-grown, awardwinning mouse will do exactly that, and to a point I agree.

The Swiftpoint is designed to be held much like a pen, but it feels much better than that. Let’s be honest, the prospect of holding a pen for extended periods of time has my fingers aching at the very thought of it. The mouse is lighter than many pens and the grip point is thicker, which encourages your hand to be in a very natural, almost handshake-like position.

From there, only a small movement of the fingers, not the whole hand or wrist, is required to perform most tasks onscreen.

Talking wirelessly to a tiny USB receiver, that also doubles as a magnetic docking point, the mouse lasts for 2-4 weeks on a full charge and about an hour off a 30 second ‘RapidCharge’. When transporting your laptop from one room to another, the mouse docks nicely to the receiver, but the connection isn’t strong enough to hold in a laptop bag, so the mouse needs to be stored separately.

There is no ‘off’ switch on the mouse itself.

The long battery life is attributed to the fact that because of a clever feature called ‘SmarTouch’, the mouse only works when your thumb and middle finger grip the sides.

The Swiftpoint has two buttons — the foremost being left-click and the smaller one behind it being the right-click. Just to the right of them is the scroll wheel which can be operated with your index finger or, for faster scrolling, the mouse can be tilted slightly to the right and the wheel can be rolled back and forth on the desk or whatever surface you’re using. The two buttons do have secondary functions for productivity: left-click + scroll is zoom in and out, and right-click + scroll is a faster page scroll.

It took me a good day to get used to moving the Swiftpoint around, but after doing a bit of web surfing, word processing and graphic design I was well and truly sold. Returning to a full sized mouse now feels like moving a house brick around the desk.

The Swiftpoint comes with an adhesive Parking accessory that covers your trackpad (provided you’re not using the mouse with your desktop computer — in which case any mousepad or desk surface should suffice) and right-hand side of your laptop’s palm rest (sorry southpaws, but the Swiftpoint doesn’t cater for you as yet).

This Parking adhesive provides a slightly textured surface for the mouse to work on and protects your palm-rest from wear and tear. The Parking accessory also places a rectangular pad bottom-centre of your trackpad that is magnetised enough to hold the Swiftpoint in place between your hands while you type.

While this all works perfectly well and as expected, I still like to use my Macbook Pro trackpad as it has intuitive multi-finger swipes that are second to none. However the trackpad is far less sensitive with the adhesive Parking accessory over it and I had to give it a decent tap to select items.

Eventually it annoyed me enough to remove the adhesive, cut around the magnetic Parking rectangle and just have that stuck on along with a trimmed 3M MP200PS Precise Adhesive Back Mouse Pad to the right.

Now I’m in laptop heaven with the best of both worlds, the precise control of a mouse and a fully usable trackpad for those times when a mouse just isn’t convenient.

For only $99, the Swiftpoint mouse is well worth picking up for regular laptop users and the fact that you’ll be supporting New Zealand ingenuity is the icing on the cake.

For more information on the Swiftpoint visit www.futuremouse.com Ian Knott has been commentating on various forms of technology for the last 16 years. He’s had columns on gadgets, gaming, computing and digital entertainment in many newspapers, magazines and websites in New Zealand and overseas.

News | Economics

the investment property cycle Gareth Morgan says why he thinks falling property prices are a good thing

property that’s yielding you something like 7-9 percent on the value of the property once you take your rent and take off all your expenses, then stay in that market.

That’s a good asset to have. But if your net rent, after all your costs, is only earning you 2-4 percent, then you’re a speculator, and I would like to see that carpet pulled out from under your feet. Absolutely I would.

Interviewer: Gareth, I hear you’re pretty delighted that house prices are falling and continuing to fall.

Morgan: I’m absolutely thrilled, actually, and let’s hope they fall quite a bit further, because we’ve had two decades of New Zealanders thinking the only way to get rich is to buy houses.

How dumb is that? I mean they’re nothing but speculators, sponsored by the Reserve Bank, telling the commercial banks to lend on housing before they lend on anything else and sponsored by some tax breaks. So the whole thing’s been driven by stupid policy and the result is that we’ve over invested in housing by a ridiculous amount, to the detriment of all the other industries that employ people and generate income. So it has to change.

Most economists will tell you that. It’s just a matter of when and we’ve been in that process now since 2007, the house prices are adjusting, absolutely, and I’ve got a fairly famous graph now that shows how much more to go. We’re about half way, a bit over perhaps, and I sort of feel it’s probably better to get it over with now we’re so far into the process, let’s not draw it out anymore, let’s just dump the things down another 15 percent probably, and then we can get on.

What we’re trying to do is get a clear message to mums and dads out there — “Don’t invest in property to make money. Invest in property to have a house — whatever level of house you want — it’s up to you, but don’t invest in it to make money”. And once you get that message stamped on their foreheads, then we’ll start allocating the capital in this country correctly so we’ll start generating incomes and jobs and we’ll start climbing back up that OCED ladder.

So bring it on, I say, just drop them.

Morgan: Well there’s that, because more and more people are getting locked out of the housing market, obviously the younger ones, and I don’t think that’s good, because the younger ones are the dynamos of the current day and the future. And what happens is they just leave the country. So you start hollowing out, and you’ve got a bunch of bloody old pensioners, playing one-upmanship against each other on household speculation. I mean what the hell is that? I think the benefits far outweigh the costs, and the costs will be people in that market up to their necks and beyond with debt who will get cleaned up, but too bad, it’s the countries’ income that matters far more than that.

Interviewer: So if house prices do continue to drop and maybe go down another 15 percent, is that just good because it will allow a whole new generation of people to own homes?

Morgan: Let’s just start on the rental properties first. I think if you can have a rental

So it’s not a downer on property, it’s a downer on the pricing of the asset. It’s been nothing but a speculative boom.

The rules of investment are if you want to make money you concentrate your investment.

Well we all know that, and we have been concentrating that in housing.

But it’s just gone beyond a joke, it’s ridiculous.

And the number of land agents has gone down by 30 percent, well I would like to see it down 60 percent, which would be the natural rate.

But you can concentrate in other assets too, like factories or farms, or whatever they are.

But it’s all about yield, we are in a new era now. Yield matters. Investing for capital gain is extremely high risk in this environment.

And the reason is because globally credit is not

Interviewer: So if I had a rental property, and a free lunch anymore. Banks aren’t ringing you I was going to sell it up, what would I invest up trying to get you to double your mortgage.

The banks are trying to stay alive. in instead?

The world has changed totally on that. So it’s great news what’s happened.

Keeping time on your side

By Megan Alexander, general manager at Robert Half New Zealand

Most professionals we deal with have experienced “time regret”— that feeling of frustration over yet another day passing by without having made a significant dent in the ‘to do’ list.

Work is easily derailed by time-eaters such as meetings, ad hoc requests and the distractions enabled by technology — including email and mobile phones.

Difficulty in meeting job productivity goals is a common problem at all levels in the workplace, even the highest. The situation can be improved however, by making some simple adjustments to the way you work.

The real secret to time management — and accomplishing objectives — is better selfmanagement. Here are six tips that can help you take control of your day.

1

Analyse your schedule Where does your time really go? For the next week, write down what you do and when during the work day. Examining how you spend a typical day at the office will help you to identify when you are most productive, how often you sort through emails, make

phone calls or engage in meetings and in what ways (or by whom), you are most often interrupted or distracted. In addition, you will learn which projects take the most time and can decide whether they deserve such a large portion of your attention.

2 Create ‘time windows’

After you’ve determined what can be changed, develop an action plan. Think about setting aside “time windows” for specific tasks, such as reviewing emails, making and returning phone calls, or catching up on articles in industry publications. Also, create a regular schedule that takes advantage of your body clock — if you are sharpest before lunchtime, schedule more difficult tasks for completion in the morning hours.

3 Let messages wait

Keeping a constant vigil on your email and voicemail can distract you from more demanding tasks. Unless your role requires it, try to avoid reading and responding every time a new message arrives. Instead, schedule times throughout the day when you focus exclusively on messages. You’ll cut down on ongoing anxiety while making your responses less hasty and more useful.

4 Rediscover single-tasking

You can’t solve a technical challenge while talking on the phone, filing paperwork

and planning for an upcoming meeting.

When working on a crucial assignment, give the issue at hand your undivided attention so you do it right the first time.

Fight the urge to multi-task, which often impedes real productivity by leading to oversights and errors.

as a daily coffee or a lunchtime walk.

Making more effective use of your time while at work requires commitment and good communication with managers and colleagues.

5 G‘check ive yourself permission to out’ If unnecessary interruptions tend to prevent you from completing important tasks, don’t be afraid to close the door, or advise your colleagues that you are off limits for the next few hours, so you can focus on your work.

By creating a flexible yet realistic plan that also takes into account how you work best, you’ll be able to keep your “to do” list from snowballing. Before long you’ll find yourself spending less time scrambling to get things done and more time enjoying a sense of accomplishment.

6 Reward yourself

Keeping to a schedule, no matter how personalised or flexible, is challenging because it takes discipline. Give yourself credit for adhering to your agenda and accomplishing all “mustdo-today” items. Be realistic too — some days you will be more productive than others, so don’t worry if you get off track temporarily. Ensure you also create a balanced schedule that makes the most effective use of your time while allowing you to do things for yourself, such www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 7

News | Logistics

“Dude, where’s my stuff?”

How mobile and automation software can help keep the customer satisfied …

If you run a warehouse, how would you feel if a customer imposed a financial penalty on you every time you mucked up an order?

Well, it’s happening now.

A leading retailer is imposing a penalty of between $15 and $20 on its suppliers for each incorrect item they send it. The retailer asserts that’s fair compensation for the cost of contacting the supplier, re-ordering and returning the unwanted goods — not to mention the frustration of having to tell a customer that the item they want isn’t available.

In the tougher economic climate, businesses are less tolerant of errors. If goods wanted can’t be supplied by one outlet, there are others which can be approached. And if they can fill an order that you can’t, they also get the chance to take more business from you.

Prompt delivery is crucial to some retailers whose market is dictated by the seasons; clothing, for example.

Winter goods not delivered before autumn are less likely to be sold, and could even be returned to the wholesaler for that reason.

Too often, such hiccups are simply the result of human error. People aren’t that hot at performing dull, repetitive tasks: keeping track of inventory, re-ordering before it runs low, or informing customers about the status of their orders.

Supply chain and distribution software takes over many of those dreary tasks, issuing alerts and requesting approvals as work is completed or goods picked and packed — it can also notify customers.

But it’s mobile devices and automation that are revolutionising the supply and service chains; moving vital information in real time and freeing staff from the drudgery of paperwork.

Tracking the invisible Keeping tabs on an order used to be a time-consuming chore, dependent on phone calls, scraps of paper and word of mouth. But while online processes have

brought increased efficiency, they’ve also made tracking a bit trickier.

“You don’t have much visibility along the way, and people want to track where it’s at,” Greentree product director Stephen Sims says. “They want to know the status of their order, especially if it’s coming from overseas.”

Single entry Automation can solve this problem.

Electronic data entry (EDI) means an order flows easily from a single entry.

Built-in validation rules mean orders are prioritised, ensuring urgent requests are handled promptly, and automatic notifications mean the customer is kept informed at each stage.

This kind of service is crucial for maintaining good customer relations, since electronic ordering means less personal contact.

Going mobile The other major imperative in running a supply chain today is the ability to do more with less; in the warehouse, it’s storing, picking and packing large numbers of items, employing only what used to be called a ‘skeleton’ staff. Mobile devices are delivering better results.

In the warehouse, a staff member equipped with a mobile device can receive an order on their screen, then see where to find it. They can pick it, see instantly whether they have enough in stock to fill the order, and mark it for packing and despatch.

The order is processed, the customer notified that their goods are on their way, invoicing is authorised, and the inventory is also updated so the warehouse manager knows whether it needs replenishing for further orders.

These devices can scan barcodes, reducing errors and simplifying both ordering and replenishment.

“Your accuracy of information to the customer is so much tighter because you’re collapsing the time to collect the information,” Sims says.

“You’re talking about small time savings, but they all add up.”

8 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

Getting on a winning track Smaller business owners nervous about the costs and process of engaging a bigger professional design agency to develop branding and marketing support now have a solution, literally, at hand.

Ready Set Business has developed a range of web-based Toolkits providing professionally designed, cost-effective marketing and branding packages aimed at small to medium businesses who can view a suite of products on-line. The agency is founded on the principle that good design should not cost a fortune and should be available to all businesses. It is meeting a gap in the market between the overseas ‘one logo’ websites and the larger corporate agencies.

Owner Michaela James (above), who also owns the successful Mount Maunganui agency Design Juice, noticed that when small businesses approached Design Juice for branding and marketing support, they were very cost focused and also surprised at how easy her team made the process.

James says small business owners are often wary of approaching bigger agencies and, as a consequence, many often end up doing nothing in terms of basic marketing and branding. By clearly outlining the costs per package there are no surprises, making the process simple, seamless and non-threatening, James says.

There are a range of Toolkits starting with a basic logo design (costing $325), through to a comprehensive marketing package including logo, business card, letterhead, website design and development (costing $1215). If a business already has an existing logo it can

‘pick and choose’ from a range of services including signage, brochures and other forms of advertising.

The advantage of a web-based service, James says, is that the client can view the range of products and costs from the comfort of their own office — and probably late at night as most hard working SME owners tend to do. They can make a decision without any pressure.

“We meet that need by providing the small business owner with a cost-effective, customised branding package that is relevant for the size of their business and match it with service and support levels that, until now, have only been reserved for clients of large corporate agencies.

“We don’t see why the two should be mutually exclusive. We offer the same levels of design expertise and client service as bigger agencies.

The client sees the range of products and pricing on our website; they receive proofs via email and we talk to them on the phone. There really is no need for face to face meetings but of course we’re delighted whenever we do get to meet clients.”

She already has links with related businesses — such as accountants, copywriters and media placement agencies, who can work with Ready Set Business to cost effectively develop business assistance and support for her Ready Set Business clients.

In the future, James hopes to develop an interactive forum on the website so clients and others can engage in discussion on the trials and tribulations of running a small business, network and swap ideas.

Ready Set Business has Toolkits available at www.readysetbusiness.co.nz

News | Management

New hand on Fonterra helm The Fonterra co-operative has announced the appointment of Theo Spierings as its new CEO, assuming responsibilities from departing CEO Andrew Ferrier on September 26.

At first glance role familiarity doesn’t seem to be an issue, as Spierings led the Dutch farmer dairy co-operative, Royal Friesland Foods, into a merger with Campina in 2008.

And according to Fonterra’s chairman, Sir Henry van der Heyden, experience won’t be an issue either, as Spierings brings 25 years’ knowledge of the global dairy industry with him.

“Mr Spierings has a wealth of experience in managing dairy businesses across Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Most importantly, Mr Spierings has an in-built respect for the co-operative structure and for farmers and their commitment to co-operative principles. He is well recognised by his peers for his people leadership, delivery of results and strong strategic skills.”

Spierings was acting CEO of Royal Friesland Foods when he presided over all aspects of its complex and sensitive merger with Campina.

He left the company shortly after completing the merger as, prior to the transaction, both parties had already agreed on an independent CEO to take the new entity forward.

Sir Henry says as well as a 25-year history in the global dairy industry, Spierings had held a variety of general management, operations and supply chain and sales and marketing positions across a number of geographies.

Opportunity Spierings says the role provides a great opportunity to work in an industry he loved.

“I am honoured to be invited to lead Fonterra into its second decade. The Fonterra Board, Andrew Ferrier and his team have established a strong foundation and my challenge is to build an even more successful global dairy co-operative.”

This challenge, he says, has been aided by good work already done and he has great respect for the foresight New Zealand farmers had shown in creating Fonterra in the first place.

“A huge amount has been achieved in the past 10 years since Fonterra was established. Trading Among Farmers — the newly approved capital structure — is a good example, but what makes Fonterra really unique is its combination of low-cost pasturebased farming and its status as the world’s largest milk processor.”

Theo Spierings

Fonterra’s incoming CEO ■ Ten years experience at senior executive level in Royal Friesland Foods/FrieslandCampina

■ In 1988 was promoted to production manager, after joining Royal Friesland Foods as an international management trainee

■ From 1991 he worked in a number of production management and advisory roles in Indonesia

■ In 1994 moved to Saudi Arabia as plant manager to implement a turn-around

■ In 1996 was promoted to operations director to construct a new factory in Royal Friesland Foods’ Peruvian greenfield operation

■ In 2000 moved back to the Middle East as commercial director to integrate and restructure the regional marketing and sales operations

■ In 2001 took up the role as managing director for Export and New Business Development based in The Netherlands

■ In 2002 was appointed managing director in Lagos, Nigeria, to build Royal Friesland Foods’ highest growth and profit-generating operating company

“I am used to working for farmers and I know they demand results. Being entrepreneurs themselves, they expect continuous improved performance of both their co-operative and throughout the value chain. ”I am acutely aware of Fonterra’s importance to the New Zealand economy and look forward to leading an organisation that has the potential to have such a positive impact on its home country.

of Management of Royal Friesland Foods with full responsibility for Friesland International, with businesses spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East

of Royal Friesland Foods to lead it through the merger with Campina

■ After chairing FrieslandCampina’s merger team, left the company in 2009, in line with a pre-agreed decision to appoint an independent CEO to head the new entity

■ In 2006 led the development of ‘Vision 2015’, a 10-year corporate strategy for Royal Friesland Foods, covering the entire business consisting of a branded consumer business, a cheese business and an ingredients business

■ Owns and runs his own company which focuses on corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions in fast moving consumer goods.

“I am used to working for farmers…

Being entrepreneurs themselves, they expect continuous improved performance of both their co-operative and throughout the value chain.”

Theo Spierings, Fonterra’s newly appointed CEO

Adding value The co-operative’s strong performance makes it clear that the challenge ahead was to add another layer of value across the business, he says.

■ Late 2004 was elected to the Board ■ In early 2007 became acting CEO

“I thrive on the prospect of contributing to Fonterra’s continued success, which I know is of great importance to not only its farmers and employees, but to every New Zealander.”

Strategy focus Spierings, 46, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Food Technology/Biotechnology and a Masters in Business Administration. He is married with three children and lives in the Netherlands where he owns and runs his own company which focuses on corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions in fast moving consumer goods.

With the co-operative heading into a new production season, Sir Henry says that in the meantime it is back to business as usual.

‘03450’

“In September all members of the co-operative and all staff will want to say a big thank you to Andrew Ferrier for the great job he has done during the past eight years. After that we will reach out to welcome Theo Spierings.”

Sir Henry says 2011 would be a record financial year for the co-operative and therefore it was most appropriate for Ferrier to announce last year’s financial results before he handed over to Spierings at the end of September. www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 9

News | Cover Story

I

g a o w n d n ba

n case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a bit of a shin-dig coming our way. It’s on the front pages of newspapers, in the itineraries of business meetings and it’s the whisper on the streets — after 24 years, can we win again?

Yes, the Rugby World Cup is nearly upon us.

An estimated 85,000 visitors, most from corporate backgrounds and high socio-economic groups, are arriving for the six-week tournament.

Rotorua has been a tourist destination for more than a century. In the 1800s, Maori guides showed tourists from New Zealand and overseas the Pink and White Terraces. Although they were destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1886, today Rotorua is still a hub for tourism.

Its cultural offerings, extreme sports and the famed hot pools draw in the crowds.

Expected to inject anything from $500-$700 million into the economy, the old saying about making hay while the sun shines applies to the RWC influx.

But once the sun sets on our rugby party, is there a way to continue harvesting the crop?

One strategy Destination Rotorua Marketing (DRM) has for luring tourists during the Rugby World Cup is its ‘Mini-Rotorua’ in downtown Auckland. Number One Queen Street, right on the waterfront is passed by an estimated 25,000 people a day. This number will skyrocket during the Cup. DRM will use the space for a multi-layered programme of activities, which it hopes will sell the unique environment and experiences of Rotorua as soon as tourists arrive in the country.

Bridget Gourlay spoke to central North Island tourism leaders to find out what they are doing to lure visitors in the short term and how the efforts put in place for RWC are expected to impact on the next decade of tourist activity.

DRM’s acting general manager Tania Bui says they’ll have a downtown presence until late March 2012. “We will have Rugby World Cup tourists but also have a number of cruiseships coming in over that period. We want to capture them so they are aware of Rotorua — how

they can book a rental car or bus to help them come across from Tauranga.”

One interesting statistic, indicative of today’s technological age, is that 75 percent of all travel research is done online. Tania Bui says DRM has spent money on ad words, but is also concentrating on “making sure the website is well-optimised so we’re using the power of search engines instead of ad words — because the word ‘holiday’ for example is expensive!”

Bui points out that it’s about more than just tourists. “We’re going to have approximately 3000 media in the country, following their teams around.” That’s exposure for each region to an international audience that very rarely comes about.

Rotorua will be holding matches between Ireland, Russia, Fiji, Samoa and Namibia. To set itself apart, Rotorua will, for example, be showing off its sporting institute — a point of interest for rugby journos.

Hosting hijinks Destination Great Lake Taupo general manager Scott Pearson says one of the first things it and other local agencies did when New Zealand won the World Cup rights in 2005 was put in an application to host key teams.

There were many hoops to jump through, but Taupo was given South Africa, Wales and Ireland to host for part of the tournament. In celebration of this, Taupo will be putting on events to welcome and celebrate those teams, and to show off New Zealand to them.

Taupo is trying to market itself to tourists as the place to stay between games as a base, because of its central location and beautiful scenery.

To get on their radar, Taupo launched a specialised Taupo2011 website for digital traffic. It also met with Official Tour Agents in Europe and the UK, selling Taupo to them — trying to get package tour groups to stay for longer.

“It’s all about trying to increase guest nights and visitor spend,” Pearson says.

10 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

News | Cover Story

Wowing and wooing 85,000 visitors takes a lot of effort. That’s why there will be festivals and events to show off the country throughout the Rugby World Cup. “When they’re coming through our region they’re not just looking at the attractions or the beautiful lakes, they’re taking in everything from the locally sourced wooden furniture they’re sitting on to the food and cuisine,” Destination Rotorua Marketing’s Tania Bui says.

Look out for NZ Flair, a three-day event in Hamilton in mid-October, showcasing innovation and capability in aviation design, manufacturing, maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) and pilot training.

In Taupo, an expo at the Clean Energy Centre will showcase a range of sustainable technologies.

The travelling REAL NZ Festival aims to show off our vibrant arts scene, history and food. For example, two photography exhibitions will tour — one a series of iconic All Black images by Peter Bush and the other called ‘Half Time and Oranges’.

Travelling theatre by Taki Rua Productions, the national Maori Theatre Company, called ‘Strange Resting Places’ will incorporate dance, waiata and music to tell the story of the relationship between an Italian and a Maori soldier during World War II. Some of the events are annual occasions with a twist such as the 60-year-old Hawke’s Bay’s Blossom Festival parade.

This year there will be a special welcome to the French and Canadian teams, in town to play in Napier the following day.

For more information on events supporting the Rugby World Cup, check out: ■ www.nz2011.govt.nz/experiencerealnz/

■ www.nz2011.govt.nz/business/

■ www.nz2011.govt.nz/business/real-nz-showcase

■ www.realnzfestival.com

Seaside success Like Taupo, Tauranga isn’t holding any games, but is still expecting a large slice of the tourism pie. “We jumped on the bandwagon pretty early,” says Glenn Ormsby, general manager of Tourism Bay of Plenty.

“About three years ago when the Official Travel Agents (OTAs) were appointed, what we did was contact every OTA around the world. We told them who we are, where we are and what we had to offer. Out of that we were especially lucky with the French — we’re expecting 1700 French in various stages.

maintaining the flow from those markets is important. The Rugby World Cup will give those markets greater exposure. That will hopefully offset in the next 36 months some of the impact from economic environment.”

She’s also hoping to attract some of the Australian ski market.

“Everyone knows about South Island ski fields. But we’ve been doing campaigns and we’re hoping people, especially Aussies visiting Rotorua, will realise they can ski here next winter.”

From his contacts with tour agents overseas, Destination Great Lake Taupo’s Scott “We got onto it early. We’re encouraging Pearson has heard that the headline-making people to use the Bay of Plenty as a homebase Christchurch earthquake has meant many – it’s only two and a half hours to Auckland and people have thought New Zealand is more quite central. damaged than it actually is.

“People can swim with whales, canoe “What people retain, when they hear the and see glow-worms. And we’re used to news overseas, is that New Zealand has accommodating for heaps of people because challenges and their first reaction is to step of our large summer season. We can provide back a little bit. upmarket apartments and hotels on the “The advantage pre-tournament is that people waterfront to camping.” are realising through the media that we are One big bonus, Ormsby says, are extra cruise still open for business. If we hadn’t had the ships scheduled to call during the tournament. World Cup we may have seen a lot of people “Potentially that’s another five thousand putting New Zealand to one side for this year.” (visitors) in the region, leading up to our Despite all the cutting edge marketing like (summertime) cruise season. social media and Google ad words, or the big “We’ve got 82 ships this year compared to 52 spending on things like the Giant Rugby Ball, last year — that’s 202,000 people all up for the Pearson agrees with Bui that it’s individual season including crew. This is very important experiences that resonate the most. for our region.”

“Word of mouth is still the biggest contributor to bring people down to New Zealand. That’s why it’s so important we show everybody a good time.

Tourism operators say the Rugby World Cup will be more than just a busy few weeks in spring “A successful tournament will certainly help us; 2011. They hope that it will be successful in it will have a legacy like the Lord of the Rings bringing people here in the long term too. did. There’s nothing like getting people down here experiencing our region and seeing the “The word of mouth that will come through scenery and activities.” from people’s Rugby World Cup experiences we will see in the next European winter — the New Zealand summer of 2012-13,” Tania Bui says.

Future fortune

“The European markets including the UK are still in the grips of financial hell and

Images provided courtesy of Destination Rotorua

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 11

News Special | Investment/Finance

Growing your stake

By Bridget Gourlay

You want to grow your small business, but where do you start? Do you invest in your staff? What about new equipment or software?

Marketing? R&D? Although there’s no set formula, there are some rules that apply to all businesses looking to grow.

Business Mentors NZ CEO Ray Scholfield says firstly he recommends using his own not for profit organisation. Completely free, businesses can get an experienced mentor to cast their fresh pair of eyes on your accounts, direction and ideas.

“People get married to a business, and with working long hours they can’t see the woods for the trees. The old corny saying ‘they’re working in it, not on it’ applies.

“Often someone independent can come in and be totally objective. Their only agenda is to help a business do better.”

In terms of growth, BMNZ has plenty of experience in that. Schofield himself was a voluntary mentor for years before becoming CEO and says a mentor often sees areas for growth the owner doesn’t.

“Sometimes people’s perceptions of what they need can be absolutely accurate, less than accurate, or nothing like what the real need is. People think ‘I could be doing better; I just need some sales and marketing assistance to lift the business up and perform better.’

“But often in those circumstances, while they could benefit from a more focused sales and marketing approach, it may well be that their financial management and performance needs major work as well.

12 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

“There’s no point trying to develop strategies and planning if in fact the performance of the business is not appropriate. Then you look to address planning and sales and marketing.”

Do…

Stick to your strengths

● Have a business mentor for a fresh look and good advice

Scholfield advises business owners stick to their strengths when trying to grow.

“Someone could start off as an apprentice panel beater. And over time they could prove to have real skill in that area and decide they want to own their own business.

“They may be a very good panel beater, but suddenly they’re trying to be a general manager. As they start to grow their business and employ staff they are doing something they don’t have any skills in — and managing people can be quite challenging!

“Managing clients can be challenging.

Collecting money owed to you is not easy.

All those things take people outside of their key skillset.”

That’s where you invest. If, for example, doing accounts is challenging and boring for you, Scholfield says to hire someone else to do them.

“It’s better to concentrate in the areas you are strong in. When people try to do things they’re not very good at, they don’t do them very well the whole thing gets in a mess and the things they are good at also get neglected.”

Do your research “Typically, New Zealand businesses do not do adequate research,” Scholfield says.

“Where are their customers coming from, where are they spending, what are the opportunities? Where is your competition?

Some people wouldn’t have a clue. You really do need to think about it. There’s some good tools out there.” These tools don’t involve spending a lot of money on expensive surveys and research. Often it’s free.

● Your research — use Statistics NZ

● Stick to your strengths — hire people to do jobs you do not like or are bad at

Don’t… ● Work in your business. Instead, work on it ● Be afraid to ask for help or advice ● Try to do everything yourself “If you were a panel beater and you were thinking about buying a panel beating business in Matamata — you can use Statistics NZ and determine how many cars there are in the Matamata area, how many accidents there were in a given time, how many panel beating competitors you’ve got.

That can help you plan if you’re going to expand your business or buy one down the road and merge the two.”

BMNZ has access to the University of Waikato’s benchmarking information for free, which is also commercially available.

With that information, the panel beating business could see the analysis of panel beating in New Zealand. It gives the lower, median and upper quartiles and it gives every single cost centre associated with that type of business and that sector.

“You can benchmark your business against industry average,” Schofield enthuses.

“So if your rent is typically ten percent end of turnover and the median is seven, you’ve got a problem!”

News Special | Investment/Finance

Show me the money Once you’ve decided where you want to grow your business, the matter of where to get the money from arises.

Generally SMEs have four options available to them; personal equity, a bank loan, angel investors and venture capitalists. Westpac’s Martin Brennan says it comes down to personal choice.

Personal equity

Firstly, you can reach into your own pockets to finance your growth, such as taking out a loan against your house or from personal savings and investments.

Brennan says there are good and bad sides to this option. “Ultimately, personal equity gives you control. You’re accountable to no person. Personal equity also leads to less expectations of return. But the more personal equity you’ve got in a business means that

money isn’t available to do other things you want to do.”

Bank loan

Banks give businesses loans if they believe in it. While you must pay it back (with interest), you still keep 100 percent ownership of the business. “My view and I have a bias, is that with bank debt there is a guaranteed exit price. In other words, you borrow $100,000 and you know exactly how much it costs to, in effect, pay out that partner. Equally, a bank doesn’t want to have a stake in your business. Debt I’d say to people is the opportunity to keep control of your business.”

Angel investors

Angel investors are people prepared to invest in a promising business. They usually are already familiar with the industry.

“Angel investors are only for the bigger end of medium-sized businesses,” Brennan points out. “Unless they saw potential like a new invention, it would be problematic to get them onboard. I would only go to them if you felt you had substantial growth opportunity.”

www.nzvca.co.nz

According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), angel investors’ expectations are usually at least a 30 percent return on their money and often want some equity (ownership) in your business to offset their risk. The advantages of having angel investors are that you get the cash right away and can start growing. On the other hand, you must be completely comfortable with only owning a part of your business.

www.nzte.govt.nz

Venture capitalists

Useful websites www.business.govt.nz www.angelassociation.co.nz

www.bmnz.co.nz www.frst.govt.nz www.thesmallbusinessgame.co.nz www.businessresourcecentre.co.nz

NZTE says venture capitalists are investment companies or fund managers that give cash in return for part-ownership of your business.

They provide more money than an angel and will also provide expertise, support, contacts and management help.

In return for risking their funds, they tend to favour only high-growth companies that are

likely to provide them with high returns.

They plan to realise their gains on exit from the investment.

NZTE says some investment firms are only going to want to give you money, provided you follow all the rules to the letter. This can be a little bit difficult, especially for a business that is just starting out and needs a little leniency so that they can grow to their full potential. Although the money that you get from one of these firms can certainly help your business, if they are too restrictive, it can also tie you down considerably.

“Venture capitalists tend to look for an exit strategy in one form or another of that business, so if you were looking to work with a venture capitalist you would have to buy into that strategy of an exit over a 3-5 years timeline. It might not be suited if your aspirations were longer term,” Brennan says.

He usually asks his clients if they have seen the popular reality TV show Dragon’s Den. “That’s a good snapshot of what angel investors and venture capitalists will put you through. You need to decide how much of your ‘baby’ you want to give up.”

Brennan says businesses need to see an investment, whether it’s a bank loan or money from an angel investor or venture capitalist, as a partnership. “Do it for the right reasons, not just for need of money. Build good, sustainable, long-term relationships.

Generally I’m a great believer that it’s about partnership and you must get that balance right. For most low-end SMEs it’s (financing growth) really an equity and debt solution. In my experience, it’s how much do you want to partner with people for what that mix is.”

Other words of wisdom Brennan has learned from a long career of working with SMEs are that good things take time. “Don’t grow too quickly and without a sound foundation. The analogy I use is it’s like trying to put a third story on a house that’s designed for one floor.” www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 13

News | Events Diary

News | AgriBusiness

Courses, events, business happenings… august

18

What is your induction programme? — Waikato Chamber of Commerce

Once you have recruited the right staff you need to ensure that new employees feel they are now part of the organisation as well as giving them the right skills and knowledge to perform in their new position. This session will introduce you to sound practices to design or redevelop your current induction programme. To register, visit www.waikatochamber.co.nz.

Thursday

The Internet is Your Friend — The National Bank’s Business Resource Centre in New Plymouth ay sd ne ed W

7

Business owners who want a clearer understanding of the opportunities the internet may give their business as well as find ways to use modern web based tools to market their business. Those that have acted early are reaping the benefits. A barrier to entry is not having a plan and/or a lack of knowledge on the subject. You may be surprised at the statistics of who is using the web. To register, visit www.businessresourcecentre.co.nz

How to Create the Best Workplace — New Zealand Institute of Chartered Wednesday Accountants

24

Public Speaking and Giving Presentations — Waikato Chamber of Commerce

Some people love it and some don’t.

Whether you do or not, we can all improve in our preparation and presentation to make sure we give the best message. Make sure your message is remembered well after the event.

For more information, visit www.waikatochamber.co.nz august

30 Tuesday

august

31

Sept

20

Introduction to Business Tax Seminar — IRD New Plymouth

An introduction to business tax obligations including structures income tax provisional tax keeping a cashbook income and expenses and record keeping. To register, visit www.ird.govt.nz

Tuesday

sept

Maximising the Value of Your Business — The National Bank’s Business Resource Thursday Centre in Palmerston North

22

Don’t wait until you want to, or have to, sell the business — start planning today. The longer you have to plan and make any changes, the better shape your business will be in when its time to move on. The benefit of this strategy is that, in the short-term, you can end up with a more profitable business and, in the longer-term, a business that’s more appealing to those looking to buy a business. To register, visit www.businessresourcecentre.co.nz

o ct

4

Global Expansion: Are You Ready? — Export NZ Rotorua

The first question to ask before considering a rush into business expansion through export is to decide if you have the capacity to fulfil a sudden demand while still delivering on expectation to local demand. Using a step by step process with accompanying checklists, this workshop will allow you to calculate if you have the ability to supply a global market. To register, visit www.exportnz.org.nz

Tuesday

Releasing Discretionary Effort — Waikato Chamber of Commerce

What makes some people give more at work than others? This session will explore the motivation behind why people come to work and how managers can release discretionary effort to build high performing individuals and teams. For more information, visit www.waikatochamber.co.nz

Making inroads into a city of seven to 10 million could be a huge market for any Hawke’s Bay winery, Walker says. Different areas of the country have vastly different taste preferences and accordingly, there is something for everyone among the “wonderful diversity” Hawke’s Bay wines have to offer.

Join the September function in New Plymouth to hear guest speaker, Peter White-Robinson, chairman of Fitzroy Yachts. To register, visit www.iod.org.nz

Efficient Spreadsheeting: Improving Performance — New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants

Learn how to produce cleaner, more efficient spreadsheets which will add value and learn how to produce them faster. Suitable for all levels except basic beginners. To register, visit www.nzica.com

Fongyee Walker, a founder of Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting, China’s most successful Wine & Spirit Education Trust that assists global wine companies establish Chinese markets, says China is essentially a “blank page” with an ever increasing number of consumers keen to be educated about wine.

Cocktail Function — New Zealand Institute Of Directors in New Plymouth

This webinar will cover the four essentials of a great workplace, with best practice real life examples in NZ. Participants will learn how to measure how good their workplace is. To register, visit www.nzica.com

Deb Bell is a New Zealand-based inspirational speaker committed to helping businesses and organisations achieve better results. Renowned as an accomplished networker and business adviser, Deb brings these skills to the speaking platform. To register, visit www.rotchamber.co.nz.

China is a market ready and waiting for Hawke’s Bay wines, due to the diversity of local wines and the Chinese market.

sept

august

Clinching the Deal, presented

by Deb Bell — Rotorua Chamber of Commerce

■ ‘Blank page’ for wine exporters

Wednesday

o ct

11

Marketing to the Global Market — Export NZ Tauranga

Tuesday

Employer Workshop — IRD in Opotiki

This workshop is a hands-on interactive session where you will learn how to complete a mock monthly wage summary for two employees, calculate PAYE and other deductions, and file your employer monthly returns online. It is ideal for sole traders, partnerships and other small businesses. To register, visit www.ird.govt.nz

Effective global marketing techniques do exist. The key is overcoming time differences, language barriers, and cultural ignorance which hinder the company’s competitiveness in the foreign market. This interactive workshop will allow participants to understand how cultural differences can affect the success of an export programme. You will be given tools to understand what your offshore clientele expect from their products and services.

To register, visit www.exportnz.org.nz

If you would like to feature a business related event in this diary, email newsroom@academy.net.nz at least two months before the date of the event.

14 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

■ $1million in start-up fund MIG Angels, an early stage angel investment group associated with the Bio Commerce Centre, has opened applications for funding from seed and startup companies after raising $1 million for its new angel investment fund, MIG Angels Fund 1.

MIG Angels spokesman Dean Tilyard says the MIG Fund 1 will target potential investments at the seed and startup phase of emerging businesses. “Early stage ventures generally have high risk profiles, but can also offer high growth prospects and the potential to make

significant contributions to the country’s economic future”.

MIG Fund 1 will look to invest in around 10 companies during the next 12 to 24 months.

“Potential investments could be in any sector and from across New Zealand, although MIG Angels is particularly interested in potential investments from the wider Manawatu region,” investment co-ordinator Claire Cilliers says.

Companies interested in MIG Fund 1 are advised to contact MIG Angels.

■ Dryer represents dairy opportunity Waikato Innovation Park is now constructing New Zealand’s first and only independent product development spray dryer — due to open in May 2012.

Waikato Innovation Park chair, Michael Spaans says the dryer can help the dairy industry move further up the product value chain.

“Our spray dryer will give dairy companies an opportunity to research and develop highvalue products, which is very difficult to do in large, commercial factories.”

The spray dryer will initially be set up to allow companies to research, develop and manufacture new milk powders. However, the medium-term strategy is to expand the plant’s capability to manufacture infant formula.

Coriolis Limited director Tim Morris, has researched the opportunities for New Zealand dairy companies to move into infant formula production and says the sector is missing out on a huge opportunity.

“The baby food/infant nutrition market worldwide is achieving strong growth driven by increasing demand, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. In this region alone, sales of infant formula have grown 15 percent per year for the last five years.

“What might be surprising to some is that most infant formulas sold in the Asia Pacific region contain New Zealand milk powder. But, sadly, it’s the formula manufacturers who are capturing most of the value of our milk.

Infant formula delivered to the back door of a

supermarket is worth ten times as much as our milk powder exports at the border.

“We blither on incessantly about the need to add value to our exports. Infant formula is a clear, no-brainer opportunity to add value.

Waikato Innovation Park’s new facility is a step on the path to realising this opportunity.”

Waikato Innovation Park has received interest from dairy companies within New Zealand and overseas who are interested in using the pilot plant mainly for development purposes.

News | Lifestyles

lifestyles

enjoying the journey…

king of cognacs

picture perfect

sweet dreams

Black Pearl Louis XIII

Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR

The Beautyrest Black bed

So dark it’s almost black, Black Pearl is a limited edition cognac from Rémy Martin’s stock of 100 year old Louis XIII. Just one type of oak barrel has been used, meaning only 786 bottles were ever available for purchase. Its value is amplified by the Baccarat crystal bottles, each individually numbered and hand-blown from black crystal. Because of its unavailability, this limited-edition bauble sells for wildly varying prices, but a single shot of this deliciously sinful treat runs for about $2,900 at New York’s finest hotels.

Packed with features and loaded with some of the latest technological innovations, Fujifilm’s FinePix F550 EXR is the traveller’s best friend.

Nothing beats a great night’s sleep, but why not catch some quality snooze time in style? If this sounds like you, then the Beautyrest Black bed is the cat’s pyjamas, offering ultimate comfort and opulence. It features triple woven springs, advanced memory foam, progressive latex with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and alpaca fibres, all offset by sparkling, hand rivetted crystals.

RRP: $40,624 for a 1.5 litre magnum Available: Not readily available try www.distinctwhiskeycompany.com

island life Bora Bora Marara Beach and Private Island

Yes, it’s ideal for point-and-shoot photographers or SLR users who want to travel light, without compromising picture-taking versatility. It has 15x optical zoom, anti-blur, HD movie capture and 360° panorama mode, but the masterstroke is its GPS capability. Regardless of where you are in the world, the FinePix F550 EXR will recognize your location and display it either as longitude and latitude or by place name.

A tag is also placed on the image which, when using place names, can easily be searched for, enabling you to quickly find shots of a specific location or point of interest. Or if you took a shot at a restaurant you want to return to, find the picture and the F550 will provide the distance and direction you need to travel from your existing location to get back there. Now that’s a pretty cool camera!

Available: From leading photo specialists

apple of my eye

Bora Bora is one of the South Pacific’s most spectacular retreats, often called the most beautiful island in the world, encircled by a protective necklace of coral and boasting 360 degree panoramic views. Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach & Private Island features its own private island or ‘motu’, just 150 metres long and 70 metres wide and available for three night private bookings from November 1 to May 31 until 2013.

This is one processor that refuses to act its size and in fact, the Mac Mini is pretty incredible, no matter how you look at it. This latest incarnation is sleeker and stronger, powered by a 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with a superfast 1066MHz frontside bus and 3MB of L2 cache for a nice little performance boost.

ultimate desk toy Buckyballs Brace yourself, because a whole new level of time wasting entertainment is here — Buckyballs. Each Buckyball cube contains 216 magnetic balls that can be shaped, molded, torn apart and snapped together in any shape you choose.

You can mash them for stress-relief, mold them for fun, make sculptures and shapes, stick stuff to the fridge or learn Buckyballs tricks. But be warned, these things are seriously addictive.

RRP: $16,500 for a king Available: From selected retailers, visit www.beautyrestblack.co.nz

RRP: $699

Having your own private island is perhaps the ultimate indulgence. However for corporate incentive and conference groups, or those simply planning a group escape, it’s not beyond reach.

RRP: From $258 per person per night (accommodation only) Available: Book at www.sofitel-frenchpolynesia.com

The foam is pre-crushed three times and eliminates the body impressions that form in the bed over years of use.

It comes with a 15-year warranty, in four sizes and with three different bases. It all adds up to the ultimate sleep solution in a timeless fashion statement.

Mac Mini

Add the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market today, Nvidia’s GeForce 320M, plus speedy DDR3 memory and this thing just cooks, delivering up to twice the performance of its predecessor. What all this means is you get serious pixel-pushing power for games and graphics-intensive applications.

A raft of ports means you can also plug this baby into HDTV screens and entertainment systems and removable bottom allows for easy hardware upgrades.

RRP: From $1,199 Available: From selected retailers, www.apple.com.nz

RRP: $42.90 Available: At www.giftbob.co.nz.

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 15

Export | SCA Hygiene Australasia

The use of geothermal steam in the papermaking process has reduced the Kawerau site’s carbon dioxide emissions by 39 percent.

Hercules Chemicals Australia is proud to be associated with SCA Hygiene Australasia.

Pioneering use for geothermal steam Some of New Zealand’s best-known hygiene products are being made more efficiently with the help of easily accessible and renewable geothermal energy.

SCA Hygiene Australasia’s tissue production plant in Kawerau is pioneering the use of geothermal steam in its papermaking processes, resulting in substantial reductions in its carbon emissions.

Within Australasia 1400 people are employed with SCA HA across New Zealand, Fiji and Australia.

mill. If you’ve ever been to this region you’ll be familiar with the strange sight of steam rising from the ground.

The company has a number of facilities in New Zealand including factories in Te Rapa (Hamilton) and Kawerau. It is at the Kawerau tissue production plant that brands like Purex, Deeko, Handee and Tork are manufactured, with the site producing some 60,000 tonnes of tissue product annually.

Legend has it that the local thermal heat was sent by the sisters of Ngatoro-i-rangi the priest (Tohunga), who was freezing to death while climbing Mount Tongariro to claim the land.

Kawerau initiatives

In recent years, SCA has also done much to protect and nurture the natural environment around the Tarawera River. It’s all part of a commitment to sustainability which has delivered real benefits and seen the company recognised for its leadership in this area.

SCA HA’s tissue production plant is located on the banks of the Tarawera River in Kawerau, approximately 55 kilometres from Rotorua. As such, the team at SCA HA is very aware of the significance of the local area and the need to protect and nurture the natural environment.

SCA Hygiene Australasia (SCA HA) is a leading hygiene products company, manufacturing and marketing a number of well-known brands including Purex toilet tissue, Handee kitchen towel, Deeko napkins, Treasures nappies and Tork commercial washroom and wiping hygiene products.

In recent years SCA Kawerau has initiated a number of sustainability initiatives which have not only enhanced the natural environment, but also helped reduce the environmental impact of its tissue manufacturing.

The company is part of the global SCA Group which has headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.

Harnessing nature’s energy New Zealand’s North Island volcanic zone contains several areas of thermal activity, one of which is located near SCA HA’s Kawerau

The “fire” erupted first at White Island, then at Rotorua and Taupo and finally at the volcano of Tongariro to save the Tohunga’s life. Tuwharetoa was Ngatoro-i-rangi’s descendant, and the local tribe of today descends from Tuwharetoa.

For many years, SCA HA Kawerau operations manager Murray Lucas was interested in the prospect of using geothermal steam in SCA HA’s papermaking process.

To make it a reality, SCA HA formed a commercial arrangement with Ngati Tuwharetoa Geothermal Assets limited (NTGA) which is an iwi company managing the local Kawerau geothermal field on behalf of the Ngati Tuwharetoa (BOP) Settlement Trust.

The team at SCA HA worked closely with iwi to ensure that the company’s use of geothermal steam was acceptable to them and managed in a respectful and sustainable way.

The partnership has been very successful and in 2009 an agreement was finalised, enabling SCA to start using steam directly from the geothermal field from August 2010.

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SCA HA’s Kawerau plant has three paper machines which have previously relied on natural gas (a non-renewable fossil fuel) as energy to run gas-fired boilers.

Since August 2010, all three of the machines have been running entirely on natural heat from the earth, a clean and renewable form of energy.

Export | SCA Hygiene Australasia

It’s a win-win situation… a renewable source of earth energy and significantly cutting carbon emissions is in line with SCA’s sustainability philosophy and government objectives.

The geothermal steam field is accessed by a number of deep bores which are linked to the underground natural heat resource. Once the ‘raw’ geothermal fluid is extracted from the bore, clean steam for the papermaking process is separated within a processing plant at the well head.

The clean steam then travels through a custom built pipeline, directly to SCA HA’s Kawerau site where it feeds into the papermaking process.

It is used in the heart of the papermaking machine in a large cylinder called a ‘Yankee’.

The Yankee dryer evaporates moisture from the paper in the tissue making process.

area for the good of the local community and the interests of Tuwharetoa.

In all, it’s a win-win situation. Using a renewable source of earth energy and significantly cutting carbon emissions is totally in line with SCA’s sustainability philosophy and the New Zealand Government’s objectives with the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

This supply agreement for geothermal steam is a first for SCA globally. Most of New Zealand’s geothermal energy is used to produce electricity, but this initiative to use the heat directly is an excellent use of this natural resource. Kiwi consumers and customers can Positive impact feel comfortable that they are making a good The geothermal project is arguably SCA HA’s environmental choice when they purchase SCA most significant sustainability achievement brands like Purex, Handee, Deeko and Tork in the Australasian region. The impact on the Kawerau site’s carbon footprint was instant and which are manufactured at the Kawerau plant. will be ongoing.

site with more than 22,500 native plants.

It has also operated a pest eradication programme to enable the establishment and growth of native plants and birds; carried out riverbank protection work to stop erosion; built stormwater collection ponds to trap site materials from inadvertently entering the river and ensured there is no direct discharge of untreated wastewater into the river.

The result is a flourishing natural environment that can be enjoyed by locals and visitors to the region alike.

Awards and recognition SCA Kawerau has a clear commitment to sustainability. In addition to the above achievements, in 2010 the site achieved FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) chain of custody certification.

This demonstrates to consumers that SCA can verify the source of all wood-based fibre used in the manufacture of tissue paper products at the site.

The Tork and Purex products manufactured at the site now carry the FSC label. This accreditation is a guarantee to customers that they are making a responsible choice.

The three grants received to date by SCA HA Kawerau support the local team with In October 2010, SCA HA’s Kawerau site restorative planting work on the Tarawera River received a Sustainable Business Network bank adjacent to the paper mill.

Regional Award, recognising the company as a leader in sustainable business practices in the SCA HA’s work, which involves employees, Bay of Plenty and North Island areas. iwi and members of the local community, is all about restoring the natural ecosystems of the river bank. This includes the removal of weeds and replanting native species which contribute to the restoration of the river’s natural bush setting.

Since 2003, SCA HA’s Kawerau team has replaced plant pest species around the mill

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Tarawera River restoration

Using geothermal steam in the papermaking process has reduced the site’s carbon dioxide emissions by 39 percent.

SCA HA’s machine operators have been impressed with the reliability of the geothermal supply and its suitability for the papermaking process. And not only has the move to geothermal had a clear environmental benefit, it has also been a positive move for the local community. By partnering with local iwi, SCA has ensured that the revenue generated by the project stays within the local

The geothermal project reflects SCA HA’s commitment to sustainability — a commitment that can also been seen through other initiatives at the Kawerau site.

Since 2003, SCA HA has been a proud recipient of a series of grants awarded by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The council set up the Environment Enhancement Fund to provide seed-funding for community-based projects that improve the environment, raise environmental awareness and use the enthusiasm and skills of the community.

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Focus | Pride In Print 2011/GEON Print & Communication Solutions

Communication solutions

Andrew Durrans, executive general manager for Geon’s New Zealand operations (above), accepting the Supreme Award at the Pride in Print Awards 2011.

It’s the biggest of its kind in New Zealand, but GEON Print & Communication Solutions is going one step further, proving it is also the best of its kind in the country.

New Zealand’s largest sheet fed printer, GEON scooped the top prize in this year’s Pride In Print Awards after stunning judges with a complex multi-fold cover that “raised the bar in New Zealand printing”.

“There are things about this book which are really cool. The front cover folds out to make eight pages and the folds have to be exact to make it work.

“It is a pretty outrageous thing to attempt and get right. The attention to detail on the cover

Geon. “It has some inserts and crossovers involved with that overlay individual pages, so it is critical that you get the alignment right. It is a work of art from the front end pre-press to the final binding process,” he says.

The Urbis magazine caught the attention of everyone who looked at it, he says. “This has raised the bar in magazine print standards.”

The magazine sector is a competitive one, but Geon competes well. “Our customers are demanding more from us. Particularly on front covers they are looking for special colours and the eye candy,” he says.

But the level of excellence is to be expected from Geon, who won the most awards of any one company nominated across all categories with all four of the company’s New Zealand regions, Auckland, Central, Wellington and South Island, contributing to the haul.

The production of the glossy Urbis magazine earned the company the supreme award for the best printed job of the prestigious award ceremony. A company-wide strategy to maintain excellence has ensured the supreme award was not the only accolade it achieved, with Geon amassing a staggering 44 awards on the night; the supreme award, two category finalists out of nine categories, one process winner out of six processes, 24 gold medals and 16 highly commended awards.

Pride In Print judge Damian Fleming describes the Urbis cover as a striking example of a magazine cover and attributes its combination of an innovative cover design and a superbquality insert as the qualities which tipped the scales in favour of the publication.

some simple glossy advert, but a perforated and complete image match up. Then there was the binding which has been difficult in its own right, and that has succeeded.”

Executive general manager for Geon’s New Zealand operations Andrew Durrans says the awards were well earned. “The results were a real thrill and a very strong recognition of our commitment to quality.”

It’s an apt summation; the awards are evaluated on “technical excellence in all facets of the production process”.

includes a matched image where the cover finishes just short of the fore-edge. The result is seamless.

“Inside, there is a tip-in insert which has been printed to match the colour and position of the image on the page beneath. It was printed on different stock, on a different day from the magazine, yet it matches perfectly. This wasn’t

Accepting the award, Durrans described the moment as a “huge recognition” of the expertise of his staff. “What the judges said is the bar is getting lifted and the quality is getting better each year and I knew our team had lifted the bar.”

One of a number of magazines Geon prints on a monthly basis, with tight timelines, the Urbis publication is just one example of the quality printing customers have come to expect from

Atraction principle “Urbis is a magazine that also sells over the counter so it is very important that you attract the people they’re targeting, which is the people who are looking for high-end fashion and quality; they need to see that in the product. The advertisers in that magazine are the higher-end brands. It is important that they are aligned to a high-end product.

“As a leading print and communications business, we clearly have a responsibility to the industry and we see our commitment to these awards as part of that. The awards allow us to be judged against our competitors. You get recognition from the wider industry and our customers and staff get a huge buzz from the jobs that win awards.

“I would like to thank our staff throughout the country for the huge part they played in Geon’s success,” Durrans concludes.

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Focus | Brent Stewart Construction

Building better homes

No matter what the industry or arena, talented individuals are known as great buckers of trends.

The building sector is no different and neither is Brent Stewart.

Working as an employee, Brent basically got tired of working for someone else’s profit margin and decided it was time that his sweat and toil contributed towards creating his own business concern.

In 1992 he created Brent Stewart Construction and the rest, as they say, is history. Today the company employs 30 staff, all with the attitude that the key to good business is building relationships and delivering value.

This value is split into three areas; 40 percent on residential work, 30 percent rural work (the

majority in the dairy sector) and 30 percent on light commercial work, which includes the like of apartment work, fire station refits, education sector work and general jobbing.

When it comes to creating people’s homes, Brent is unwavering in his commitment to delivering quality work that is good value for money. However, before this can occur, communicating with clients is key and it’s here where he says the entire company goes to great lengths to ensure they understand what people want.

And since everyone is different, the host of pre-packaged home building companies cluttering the market isn’t really Brent Stewart Construction’s game. Brent says the company’s focus has narrowed on better buildings. “The people who work with us are the ones who want to build a good home,” he says.

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www.metalcraftroofing.co.nz www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 19

Focus | Breadcraft Wairarapa

Baked to perfection There’s nothing more mouthwatering than the smell of freshly baked bread. No matter how full you might be, it’s a smell that guarantees your stomach will start pestering you for a taste.

For 70 years Breadcraft Wairarapa has been creating and selling a delicious range of bread and cake products to satisfied locals.

In recent years, its customers have become people across the country and around the world as the company grows. But far from resting on it laurels, Breadcraft Wairarapa is constantly looking for new innovations and opportunities.

Building a business Breadcraft was founded in 1942 as a bakery and confectionery business by the late Harold Cockburn, specialising in bread, cakes and pastry goods from its original site in Queen Street, Masterton.

The company grew to become the town’s largest bakery and in 1962 moved to new premises in Lincoln Road, which housed its first ‘modern’ plant bakery, producing some 800 loaves per hour.

The following 10 to 15 years saw major changes in the New Zealand baking industry and Breadcraft embraced the new innovations leading to an increased range of quality breads with daily deliveries from their automated plant. The company was the first in the region to introduce sliced packaged bread and this development saw Breadcraft become the Wairarapa’s only fully automated plant bread bakery and market leader.

Breadcraft Wairarapa owners-operators John Cockburn and Peter Rewi.

Breadcraft Wairarapa has stayed in business for 70 years by keeping up with trends. “We’ve always recognised potential and we’ve never been scared to do new things.”

Peter Rewi, Breadcraft Wairarapa CEO and co-owner

In 1968, Breadcraft was one of five regional bakeries that formed Quality Bakers (NZ) Ltd. The main aim of the group was to share ideas, seek bulk purchasing agreements and form a common ‘brand’ and marketing strategy on a national basis.

By 1972, now under the management of Harold’s son Bob Cockburn, Breadcraft had outgrown the Lincoln Road premises and commissioned the building of a new facility in its present Judds Road site.

The new bakery housed a totally automated bread plant capable of 1800 loaves per hour to supply weekly tally of 55,000 bread units, 10,000 buns and 12,000 pies. Staff numbers

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grew to 12 bakers, three administration staff and four main delivery drivers.

Throughout the 70s and 80s the company continued to consolidate and grow. During this time Peter Rewi joined the company as CEO of the Breadcraft operation and John Cockburn (Bob’s son) entered as director of new products and development.

“I joined in 1988,” Rewi remembers. “Bob Cockburn was one of the directors of the company I was working for at the time in Auckland. He was an entrepreneurial adventurous guy and I respected him for being an excellent manager — he really looked after his staff, they were the most important thing to him.” Bob Cockburn offered Rewi a management role which he took and has never looked back.

In 1991, Breadcraft was again at the cutting-edge of innovation, having the country’s most advanced baking plant capable of producing 3000 loaves per hour, all under a brand new baking hall which doubled the original factory size.

Throughout the 90s, Breadcraft focused on adding new bread products, resulting in the company becoming one of the most innovative and diversified bakeries in the country.

The bread market has changed dramatically and Breadcraft has played a major part in meeting these changes with the introduction of specialty products, which include the following: Pita and Lebanese breads, flour tortilla, pikelets, cake muffins, panini bread and Turkish bread. The products are available nationwide in retail outlets, commercial institutions and fast food franchises.

During 2003, Bob’s son John Cockburn and long standing CEO Peter Rewi purchased Breadcraft and Bob stayed on as chairman of the board.

Today Seventy years on, Breadcraft employs over 100 staff, produces around 150,000 units a week and is set for further growth in the specialty bread market with new and innovative products continually under development.

As part of the Quality Bakers group since 1968, Breadcraft reaches the difficult Goodman Fielder assessed Good Manufacturing Standards code of practice.

These are standards are one of nine Breadcraft meets, meaning the company is separately audited nine times a year.

Focus | Breadcraft Wairarapa

“We meet rigorous food safety and health and safety standards. We have a very strong record and we work very hard to maintain the highest standards. Our staff plays a major role in our success in this area.”

The company has also returned to its roots and now produces high quality cakes and puddings marketed under the Cockburn’s brand. Products are popular throughout the country and have been exported to Australia, Japan and the UK. “This range involves things like delicious rich fruit cakes aimed at the Christmas market.

They are a very high end side of business, being traditionally handcrafted products.

Although we make a lot of them, they get a lot of personal care and attention.”

Innovation Breadcraft Wairarapa has stayed in business for 70 years by keeping up with trends.

“Bob was the first person in the Wairarpa to put in a bread slicer in 60s,” Rewi says, pointing out that trendsetting has long been a company principle.

or longer. We’ve got children of staff members whose kids will probably be here too!

“He was a very innovative businessman.

Today, we keep an eye on overseas markets.

We’ve always recognised potential and we’ve never been scared to do new things. Even now, we’re developing products for distribution by ourselves and with others. We have several new projects on the go which will involve new employment opportunities in the future.”

“John (Cockburn) and I work in same office but we’re often out in the bakery or the factory.

We physically spend a lot of time in the plant running it. The attitude is that our door is never shut — people can wander in and ask for a chat. We know a lot about most of our employee’s families and value their loyalty and friendship.”

Part of keeping up with trends is meeting the market’s changing dietary requirements. The company is halal-certified and in 2002 won the 4 Ever Free award for gluten-free products.

One of the ways Breadcraft celebrates success is by having an employee of the month. The winner gets a dinner for two, or a double movie ticket for them and their partner, the best parking space and $150 to give to their charity of choice.

“We were probably a bit before our time — the GF-free market is developing at quite a rate now. At the time we launched it was a new innovation in the industry.”

For those watching their weight, Breadcraft has a range of breads which are low in carbs, sodium and high in fibre. “We work closely with our customers to meet their requirements. We do some specific products for customers which are unique.”

Family feel Despite the fact that the company has more than 100 employees, it retains its familybusiness feel. “I still think we’re smaller than we are because of the family atmosphere,” Rewi says. “We have some long-standing staff members. Most staff members have been here for relatively long periods — some for 25 years

The future Despite its enormous success over its 70-year history, the Breadcraft team still has high aspirations. “We want to become a worldleading baking company. We will continue to strive for that,” Rewi says. “More than that, while we want to be successful commercially we want to ensure our staff and customers

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Peter Rewi, Breadcraft Wairarapa CEO and co-owner

Breadcraft also has Christmas parties and functions, but Rewi says the best way he and Cockburn keep staff morale up is good communication via an open-door policy and regular meetings.

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This commitment is already demonstrated by Breadcrafts’ ongoing sponsorship of numerous sports clubs around the town. They are also heavily involved with sponsoring the kiwi breeding programme at Pukaha/Mt Bruce.

“We have a large responsibility for the Wairarapa community — we intend to support it. We want to be an employer of choice, to be an iconic operation. We aim high.”

Breadcraft Wairarapa has high aspirations.

“We want to become a world-leading baking company. We will continue to strive for that.”

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Focus | Breadcraft Wairarapa

Artisan authenticity Breadcraft Wairarapa is excited about its new high-quality range of authentic artisan par-baked breads marketed under the brand name Cottage Lane.

These breads represent some of New Zealand’s finest baking and are utilised by top chefs, caterers, restaurants and cafes.

Cottage Lane is also available at selected delis, and participating New World, Pak’n Save and Four Square supermarkets nationwide.

Traditional appeal Cottage Lane uses traditional baking methods with no additives and natural ingredients. Even though the bread is produced in high volumes, it retains a unique, hands-on quality — literally as each loaf is handshaped in the bakery.

Right: Wellington chef Laurent Loudeac was recently filmed using Cottage Lane products for the entrée section of a screening of NZ on a Plate, which goes to air later this year.

Because the bread is partially baked to 90 percent completion in the factory and then snap frozen, it can be transported long distances without losing any of its freshness.

Just before serving, the bread is baked for 20 minutes to finish off the baking process, meaning the customer receives the bread as though it had just been baked from scratch.

Screening soon…

Cottage Lane products were recently filmed for the entrée section with Wellington Chef Laurent Loudeac for a screening of ‘NZ on a Plate’ going to air later this year.

The products will also be used for the annual Wellington on a Plate festival, which celebrates quality local cuisine.

The Wairarapa is a heartland for agriculture, and Cottage Lane celebrated that by sponsoring an event in the recent National Young Farmer of the Year competition.

Contestants in the Cottage Lane Wairarapa Sandwich Competition had to construct a tasty, well presented sandwich using a combination of local ingredients. Breadcraft directors Peter Rewi and John Cockburn were special guest judges for the section.

Special promotion From August 5-21, 2011, Cottage Lane is providing free bread to 12 top Wellington and Wairarapa restaurants to help promote the use of local cuisine and the convenience and quality of Cottage Lane.

The Hop Garden’s head chef Gavin Grant whipped up a Wild Wairarpa duck, chorizo and white bean cassoulet, accompanied with chargrilled Cottage Lane sour dough batard.

The Tasting Room’s head chef Janet Gray used toasted Cottage Lane Wairarapa sour dough rolls to accompany creamy locally grown leek, potato and truffle oil soup.

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Focus | Breadcraft Wairarapa

Lucy Cruickshank markets Cottage Lane products at the International Bakery Show in Taipei earlier this year.

Cottage Lane celebrated the Wairarapa’s close ties with agriculture by sponsoring an event in the recent National Young Farmer of the Year competition.

Contestants in the Cottage Lane Wairarapa Sandwich Competition had to construct a tasty, well presented sandwich using a combination of local ingredients. Breadcraft’s Peter Rewi and John Cockburn keep a close eye on proceedings.

International possibilities It’s not just New Zealanders who are becoming enthusiastic about Cottage Lane products. At the International Bakery Show in Taipei earlier this year, Cottage Lane was one of five New Zealand companies to exhibit. It is currently following up leads in Taiwan and Dubai at present after the success of the show.

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 23

Focus | New Zealand Rugby Museum

Contemporary The story of New Zealand rugby is a love affair that is pursued in every corner of the country. Even if you haven’t churned the mud of a country rugby ground or shivered on the sideline, you have to admit we’re a little rugby mad.

In fact, we have the oldest and arguably the first museum in the world devoted to our love of the oval ball. Today, the New Zealand Rugby Museum (NZRM) is recognised globally as one of the most important resources for rugby historians and the media.

Located within easy walking distance of the Palmerston North city centre, the museum is getting prepared for the unveiling of its relocation and renovation in time for the huge influx of rugby fans expected for the city’s two Rugby World Cup 2011 games.

The New Zealand Rugby Museum is re-housed in a refurbished gallery within Te Manawa — the city’s main museum gallery and kicked off on August 11. The NZRM houses more than 40,000 items including memorabilia and artefacts dating back to when the game was first played in New Zealand in 1870.

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Yet there is so much more than just trophy cabinets and treasures — a step through

the doors is a journey through time, one where you can explore the rich history and folklore of our national game; its varied fortunes and the changing

face of New Zealand.

It is a place that unmasks rugby’s heroes and legends and tells their stories — some familiar, some forgotten, some unknown.

But the story of New Zealand rugby is now being seen like it’s never been seen before.

Months of preparation and complex challenges have led up to the opening of the new NZRM, but it has allowed the museum to move away from the traditional sports museum to a more modern and contemporary position.

Previously where visitors viewed old rugby jerseys and caps, photographs and memorabilia, the new and improved exhibition has taken on a multimedia twist, blending sound, vision, technology and interaction into a memorable experience designed to enlighten, educate and entertain.

Focus | New Zealand Rugby Museum

The aptly titled Have a Go section in the centre of the gallery is designed to attract younger and more adventurous enthusiasts…

spin on history NZRM director Stephen Berg says the renovation was aimed at reinvigorating interest and excitement for the sport, engaging the broad range of local, domestic and international visitors with the vast and varied links connecting the sport with Kiwi culture.

“It’s also designed to provide a ‘minds, hands, feet and body-on’ taste of many aspects of the game,” he says. “We are aiming to be more inviting and accessible to the public through the use of innovative and engaging exhibition displays, attractive open storage and effective presentation of research archives.”

Located on the first floor of the revamped Te Manawa complex, the gallery will encapsulate four sections; Rugby Relics, Have a Go, Rugby Tribe and Discovery Library. A short historical display of nearly everything pertaining to the sport, Rugby Relics will be displayed in 15 purpose built cabinets full with memorabilia.

The aptly titled Have a Go section in the centre of the gallery is designed to attract the younger and more adventurous enthusiasts keen to pit their rugby skills against five interactive features. As the name suggests ‘have a go’ encourages participants to vigorously kick, tackle, sprint, jump and push themselves, with protective netting protecting less-active viewers in the gallery at the time.

Rugby Tribe and the Discovery Library are designed to further illustrate how rugby has been woven into New Zealand culture for nearly 150 years.

“New Zealand’s rugby story begins on distant shores and in ancient times,” Berg says. “It is the story of a travelling game that migrated to New Zealand tucked in the hearts and minds of Reason to celebrate colonial settlers and packed in shipping trunks.” “In a land of few festivals, it’s said rugby became New Zealand’s seasonal reason to Ancient Beginnings, English Roots and Early Settlement are the subjects of display cabinets celebrate,” Berg says. which will precede the historical displays and following the large gallery from start to finish allows visitors space and time to follow the story of how rugby and New Zealand helped shape each other.

“Whether cheering from the sideline, watching from the comfort of the couch or right there among it in the stands, rugby has embedded itself into the hearts and minds of New Zealanders at home and afar.”

For a closer look at the colour and diversity of the sport which makes up the wider rugby landscape, Rugby Tribe features a range of different exhibitions on a rotating basis every three to six months.

The initial Having a Ball cartoon history of New Zealand rugby exhibition, is having its inaugural launch in conjunction with the museums opening.

Featuring the work of 32 of New Zealand’s While the past few months have flashed by in cartoonists, it steps through time, touching on the rugby moments in a way words can’t seem a “blur” as the NZRM makes its move, it has to express. been well worth it with the new and improved museum representing a whole new ball game.

The Discovery Library, which can be accessed by arrangement only, features a vast array New Zealand Rugby Museum of rugby books, old and rare through to well thumbed and common, club histories and sets 326 Main Street of rugby magazines.

Palmerston North T (06) 358 6947 “It’s been designed as a space for researching E Stephen@rugbymuseum.co.nz the game, and examining items from within www.rugbymuseum.co.nz the collection,” Berg adds.

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www.pncc.govt.nz www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 25

Business Development | McMillan & Lockwood

Summerset Shopping Mall (above), UCOL Wanganui (left) and The Plaza (below).

Building on solid foundations Delivering quality buildings on time and on budget is hard work but those ingredients are the secret to McMillan & Lockwood’s success.

The roots of the Manawatu-based company go back to the 1800s, when J L McMillan migrated as an established builder from Dunedin to Wellington in the early 1900s to build the Evans Bay Gas Works for Wellington City and the Wellington Tramway Terminus, both high profile contracts in their day.

His two sons, Jim and Lloyd, operated as McMillan Bros in the middle 1900s, building freezing works in the North Island and a number of buildings in and around Palmerston North. During World War II, they were co-opted by the government to build the big concrete hangar at Ohakea, a mammoth feat for the technology of the day.

Solid foundation

“We have established trusted relationships with clients and developers. A lot of our business or our ability to win tenders combines subcontractor selection and in-house talent.”

Marcus Poor, McMillan & Lockwood construction manager

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All this means McMilland & Lockwood’s reputation for integrity and competence has been built on a solid foundation and steadfast principles. The company’s key philosophy is that “Construction should be a co-operative exercise between all the parties”.

a new food court and refurbishment of the existing plaza. All the while, adjacent retail outlets continued to trade.

McMillan & Lockwood’s construction manager Marcus Poor says the main challenge with that project was working within an existing building which was still being occupied. Also challenging was the Ashley Street link. Ashley Street has a lot of traffic with the IRD Building and Countdown which had to remain open and accessible. This meant a lot of co-ordination on McMillan & Lockwood’s part with a lot of time spent making sure all the business owners knew what was going on through meetings, keeping everyone fully informed.

Quality finish The construction consisted of bored piles under heavy foundation beams and precast concrete column, beams and flooring units. The quality of the finishing work was extremely high, fit for a retail shopping complex in line with international standards.

The construction period took more than two years. McMillan & Lockwood were pleased that all stages were handed over either on time or ahead of programme.

This fits well with the company goal: “To successfully deliver to the client quality building projects completed within the programmed time frame and providing fair value to all parties.” These values underpin every approach to every project.

The Plaza project won several awards at the Manawatu Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards. These were a RMB 2010 Category Winner and a RMB 2010 Gold Award in the Kevin Bartlett Concrete Retail and Business Project section, as well as the prestigious RMB 2010 Commercial Project of the Year award.

Take one of the company’s most recent jobs, The Plaza project. This involved a staged construction that included two separate car park buildings, a strip mall, a retail sky bridge,

The highly acclaimed Adidas Institute of Rugby valued at $5.5 million and lead by project manager Paul Booth became a finalist for the NZIOB Building Professional of the Year.

Business Development | McMillan & Lockwood

Crean (Bivest) Palmerston North (above) and the Palmerston North Clock Tower (below).

“We want to continue to be at the forefront of construction in our area.”

Hospital building

Marcus Poor, McMillan & Lockwood construction manager

Another recently completed project was Clinical Services building for the Palmerston North Hospital. This two-storey building was created between the hospital wards and the bloodbank, meaning there was traffic and patients the team had to be careful of.

McMillan & Lockwood had to ensure building came in on time and to budget, as well as being as quiet as possible during the construction time. The feedback from hospital staff has been positive.

Just five months into the financial year, by May the company had already notched up a $20 million turnover. “We want to continue to be at the forefront of construction in our area. To this end we will deliver sustainable outcomes, improving the built environment and create a better future for New Zealand,” Poor says.

McMillan & Lockwood won the tender because of its previous work with other hospital buildings which illustrates its commitment to delivering to an expected timeframe and budget, and its understanding of the hospital environment.

The ability of McMillan & Lockwood to consistently work within specified time frames and budgets has seen the group develop a trusted reputation in the tender and negotiated market for a wide range of civil and commercial construction projects.

Pride in reputation “At McMillan & Lockwood, we pride ourselves on our reputation,” Poor says.

“Bob Lockwood OBE cultivated McMillan & Lockwood’s reputation for integrity and ability to work within numerous construction criterion and it’s my job to uphold Bob’s philosophy and goal, taking McMillan & Lockwood into the future,” Poor says.

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“With offices in Palmerston North and Tauranga, we have the ability to service the majority of the North Island.”

Repeat business is essential to the company.

“We have established trusted relationships with clients and developers. A lot of our business or our ability to win tenders combines subcontractor selection and in-house talent.

“I’ve worked out that in the 58 years McMillan & Lockwood (in current dollars) we’ve had a $1.4 billion plus turnover,” Poor says.

Increasingly, it is in the areas of negotiated design/build and managed contracts that the qualities of the group come to the fore and its years of construction experience and specialist skill can be best appreciated. But another

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Business Development | The Lawrenson Group

Serving up success Aiming high but learning to crawl before you can walk. That’s the dual philosophy John Lawrenson, head of Hamilton’s leading hospitality group The Lawrenson Group, lives by.

He got into a career in the hospitality industry by accident. While studying law and commerce in Dunedin in 1998 he began as a casual worker at the Fat Ladies’ Arms. By 2000 he had worked his way up to bar manager, responsible for running the bar on nights where up to 900 customers were served.

During his final year of study in 2001, Lawrenson worked in other upmarket bars and left the hospitality industry for a career as a lawyer, knowing he would happily return if he could make a successful career out of it. In 2005, after stints at two South Island tax firms and time living in Europe, he returned to his first love — Dunedin and hospitality.

“I spent the following 12 months having the time of my life in a Dunedin student bar and buying student flats with a couple of Hamilton mates.” The Hamilton friends were the connection to his now flourishing businesses,

Bar 101 in Hamilton, the second in the Lawrenson Group portfolio, opened in 2008.

Right: James Lawrenson, a leader in the Hamilton hospitality scene.

together called the Lawrenson Group, in the Waikato. On a trip to the central North Island to visit his friends he was “alerted to the huge opportunity that existed in the Hamilton hospitality scene”, he says.

“During this time my employers sold their student bar to New Zealand’s largest hospitality group and while these new owners were a couple of absolute cowboys, it opened my eyes to how much could be achieved in the bar and restaurant industry. I made the decision to move north just over five years ago and by the end of this year The Lawrenson Group will be one of the five largest hospitality groups in New Zealand and a group that is more than twice the size of its closest Waikato-based competitor.”

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“This enabled me to buy the Outback for a very good price and command the lion’s share of the student market. It was also significant because it was my seventh bar, which made me the largest bar group in the Waikato after being in business for only three years. I was very proud of this achievement.

“When I had opened Furnace, my first bar, in June 2007, I had been given no show of success by other Hamilton operators — to the point where my competitors warned suppliers not to provide me with credit,” he says.

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operators thought had an impenetrable hold on the Hamilton nightclub scene, yet with my own brand, Bar101, we had managed to make significant inroads into their market share.

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Business Development | The Lawrenson Group last 12 months, taking over or creating new premises every two months.”

The two attributes Lawrenson believes got him to the position he’s in today are his attention to detail and work ethic. In 2010 he worked for 361 days, with many late nights.

“I believe that customers pick up on a lot more than we give them credit for. I think the other thing that has created an advantage for me is my ability to figure out what works about different styles of hospitality offerings and then replicate and develop that.

“The Lawrenson Group owns two student nightclubs, a cocktail bar, a live music based Irish pub, a steak house, a fine dining restaurant, a craft beer bar, a Belgian Beer Café, a mainstream restaurant and a suburban tavern and all of them are very successful.

Understanding what makes each work and delivering that, as well as ensuring they interact effectively, without canibalising each other has been a huge part of my success.”

Future goals Lawrenson has a number of future goals, principally to become the largest bar group in New Zealand and to expand into other cities.

However, while he loves hospitality, he’d like to expand into some related industries.

Shenanigans, an Irish-themed bar, was a finalist in the Hospitality Association of New Zealand ‘Best New Bar in New Zealand’.

“So this purchase represented a pretty big message to the local industry that they had got it wrong. I remember walking in after picking up the keys and thinking, ‘I can’t believe I own the Outback’. It was a surreal feeling.”

Lawrenson says there have been numerous awards his bars have been given which are also meaningful to him. These include Bar101 winning the Waikato Times’ ‘Reader’s Choice Best Bar’ while it was still in its first year of business, and Furnace winning ‘Best Restaurant’ in its second full year of business. Shenanigans making the finals of the Hospitality Association of New Zealand’s ‘Best New Bar in New Zealand’ after a three week refit and a completely in-house design was also a proud moment.

tenants, banks lend at lower interest rates, suppliers are more aggressive at securing your business and employees value their jobs. These are all positives for an ambitious business person. People need to put the recession into perspective and think about the fact that most people still had jobs and money to spend, while the economy itself was really only shrinking by a fraction of a percent.

“If you are good at what you do, work hard and make the most of the opportunities that present themselves then you will do well regardless. In the Waikato the Lawrenson Group is a very dynamic business and I have the conviction to follow my gut instincts and make my vision reality.”

Not only has the Lawrenson Group flourished, it has flourished in a tough economic climate.

That’s because instead of sitting around and complaining about the recession, Lawrenson saw it as an opportunity.

Lawrenson says he couldn’t have been successful without his talented team. “I have a number of people working with me who share my passion and work ethic and it’s been a real highlight from my point of view to see so many of them develop into excellent hospitality operators.

“It is worth remembering that during recessions landlords are more eager to assist

“A big thank you really needs to go to my bank managers at the BNZ, Peter Blake,

Recessionary success

Paul Stuthridge and Peter Goodin. Prior to purchasing the Outback, I was scraping together finance out of multiple shareholders, a few small bank loans and earnings from the other Lawrenson Group businesses.

“I saw an opportunity to take the Outback and the Bank Bar and Brasserie (another Hamilton icon) and to also build a Monteith’s Craft Bar, Keystone, but knew I would need serious funding.

“I got the funding that I needed and have consequently been able to grow rapidly in the

“Preferably into something that is going to involve exporting and bringing wealth into New Zealand, such as wine production or tourism for example. I am in the process of building a great management team around me and with their backing I think I’ll be able to achieve a lot.”

The Lawrenson Group 150 Victoria Street PO Box 913 Hamilton T (07) 838 1050 F (07) 838 1057 E info@lawrensongroup.co.nz

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Business Development | Fitzroy Engineering Far left: Fitzroy Engineering built these super duplex stainless steel salt dissolver vessels for the Gorgon gas project in Western Australia.

Left: The Pohokura Gas Production Station under construction by Fitzroy Engineering in 2006.

The energy engineers Fitzroy Engineering Group Limited in New Plymouth is a leader in the demanding oil and gas, geothermal, petrochemical and energy industries, offering a comprehensive engineering solution to clients.

Fitzroy Engineering has a long tradition as a preferred partner for high-specification, time-sensitive engineering fabrication and maintenance requirements.

The company’s expertise further encompasses the defence, forestry, pharmaceutical and marine sectors, with its reputation founded on the outstanding quality of its heavy fabrication work, and maintenance contracting.

ASME VIII, AS1210, PD(BS)5500 and API 650 codes. This department has extensive fabrication experience in specialist oil, gas and geothermal industries, for products such as LPG bullets, surge drums, boilers, shell and tube heat-exchangers and steam separator vessels. Fitzroy Engineering is an expert in the fabrication of large and heavy walled stainless steel, clad and 2205 duplex stainless steel pressure vessels.

Fitzroy’s primary engineering facilities in New Plymouth occupy more than five hectares and over 9000 sqm of covered workshops. An additional outdoor construction pad designed to take loads of up to 2000 tonnes and 70 metres long is augmented by a mobile allweather protection workshop on rails.

The maintenance division specialises in contract maintenance on all types of mechanical, chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and energy sites, both locally and nationally. This includes a large number of suitably qualified personnel working fulltime on offshore oil and gas production facilities maintenance.

Fitzroy Engineering is able to offer turn-key engineering, procurement and construction solutions and is recognised as a respected fabrication competitor in New Zealand and Australian markets.

The company employs 400 staff within New Zealand, with the majority at its head office and primary workshops in Taranaki. There is also a project design office in Auckland, a workshop in Taupo, a marketing office in Melbourne and a recently established permanent fabrication and maintenance services operation in Brisbane.

The company, established in the late 1950s, was purchased by Peter White-Robinson in 1992. He grew the company considerably and last December sold his shares to Dialog Group Berhard in Malaysia, with 10 percent still owned by managing director Richard Ellis.

The contracting division provides onsite engineering services where it is more efficient to employ contract labour than deploy engineering staff from the New Plymouth base. Specialising in shutdowns, installations, site construction, piping, commissioning and de-commissioning, Fitzroy Engineering is able to provide multi-disciplined crews from a pool of suitably qualified contractors.

The industrial coatings division has complete solutions for all industrial and commercial coatings, including on-site maintenance to all types of industry.

The integration with Dialog has been seamless and successful, Ellis says, with Dialog offering The precision machining division has extensive considerable support while allowing to Fitzroy CNC experience and has developed machining Engineering to continue with its usual business. techniques to provide unique services to a variety of industries, including the geothermal One-stop engineering shop and hydrocarbons well-drilling industries.

Fitzroy Engineering’s total engineering package encompasses specialist services in project Fitzroy Project Services is a flexible standmanagement, mechanical design, heavy alone unit uniquely structured to provide fabrication, site construction, mechanical cost-effective process design and total turn-key contracting, maintenance services, shutdown project management, with experience in Asia, management and support, scaffolding Australia and New Zealand. FPS engineers are fully committed to meeting clients’ needs, and rigging, blasting and painting, and whether involved in small plant items or precision machining. The heavy plate large projects, and are focused on providing shop specialises in the plate-rolling and outstanding service. fabrication of large diameter sections to

Sustainability whole of life value >>

Haden have been pleased to have provided the mechanical services for the Yolla Project

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P.

06 769 6831

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F. 06 76906832

Business Development | Fitzroy Engineering

Super duplex stainless steel vessels in the Fitzroy Engineering workshop.

Ellis says the company’s ability to offer a turn-key solution on any sized project makes it unique within New Zealand. “We offer a start-to-finish solution where everything can be provided from the one location.”

Fitzroy Engineering’s contribution to the local economy is substantial, as one of the region’s major employers. In addition there are often up to 30 private contractors augmenting the permanent staff on specific projects.

Fitzroy Engineering is proud of the abilities of the Taranaki region and spends more than $10m per annum with other Taranaki-based companies, further driving the local economy.

Strait, Australia, for field operator Origin Energy.

Crucial to the project development is enabling the Yolla platform to accommodate personnel for maintenance and drilling activities.

Managing director Richard Ellis says Fitzroy Engineering was awarded the project in September 2009. It is responsible for the full design, fabrication and delivery of the accommodation modules for the platform.

“We began design and fabrication of the original nine individual modules in December Fitzroy Engineering is in the process of ‘09 and continued until the project went completing what is believed to be one of the on hold in mid-2010,” he says. At that point single largest fabricated items ever produced in the client decided it would be better to ship New Zealand. The company is undertaking the a much larger single module, rather than multi-million dollar engineering procurement receiving eight or nine individual deliveries. and construction (EPC) project associated with Fitzroy Engineering began researching how a mid-life enhancement (MLE) programme for a single module could best be made and the offshore Yolla gas field platform in Bass

Yolla MLE

delivered, with fabrication continuing. The completed module is due to be delivered in one piece by November 14.

to structural fabrication and fireproofing, internal design and fabrication, installation, commissioning and delivery.

When complete, this megamodule will be made up of nine units of various sizes, with a total transport weight of about 650 tonnes.

The entire unit will be transported from Fitzroy Engineering’s New Plymouth fabrication yards to Port Taranaki and loaded on board a specialist transport vessel to the Bass Strait.

Large offshore project

“They’re individual modules that will be shipped in one piece,” Ellis says. “They will be all welded together, and otherwise fully connected; will have all their electrical cables, HVAC and will be fully tested and comissioned in our yard before they’re shipped as one unit.”

Fitzroy Engineering has been involved in every aspect of the project, from design through

Ellis says the size of the project makes it unique. “To our knowledge, it’s the first large offshore accommodation module built in New Zealand. It is the largest single load that has ever been transported through New Plymouth, and I think it is one of the biggest fabricated items produced in New Zealand in one piece.”

Fitzroy Engineering was able to modify some of the initial modules that were produced once it was decided to build them as a single assembly. The megamodule will include bedrooms, a mess, kitchen and dining areas, utilities and a motor control centre.

Feature continues on next page >>

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 31

Business Development | Fitzroy Engineering “The clients changed their minds about the functionality of some modules and added extra modules as additional living space and a gymnasium,” says Ellis. “It’s been a fantastic customer-client relationship. Origin Energy has been great and we’ll end up with a project that’s complementary to both companies.”

Fitzroy Engineering has also had great support from local subcontractors. “We provide a large fully integrated engineering solution, where we can build these things. We can do all our own blasting, scaffolding and rigging. We have access to good craneage and all aspects of fabrication. We can bring in contractors locally from Taranaki to provide additional expertise.”

The Yolla MLE project was led by project manager Raj Kallath, who Ellis says has done a fantastic job. “At the moment it’s on time and on budget and will be a quality delivery.”

Workshop supervisor Ross Cullen has also done a great job heading up the extensive fabrication and assembly team required.

Australia operation and growth Fitzroy Engineering has recently expanded its operations in Brisbane in an effort to better service its Australian customers. The growth in its Australian business follows the recent purchase of two existing Brisbanebased project management and construction companies during the past year.

With 60 staff now working in Brisbane, Fitzroy Engineering can offer processing equipment and facilities for the petrochemical, oil and gas and minerals industries, including: multi-discipline EPC project delivery, project management, procurement, fabrication, design and maintenance.

Above: The 650-tonne megamodule being assembled at Fitzroy Engineering in New Plymouth.

Right: Inside the accommodation module built by Fitzroy Engineering for the offshore Yolla gas field platform in Bass Strait.

Far right: Preparation is undertaken to lift a module for the Yolla platform.

With a lot of heavy fabrication carried out in New Zealand, the Brisbane team are well situated to install and assemble on site, plus offer support and maintenance to clients.

Managing director Richard Ellis says Fitzroy’s growth in Australia provides a great hub for the Fitzroy Engineering Australia has recently company to support the Australian market. been awarded an integrated services contract

for Shell in Brisbane, which it hopes will be expanded to incorporate other Shell sites throughout Australia. Staff in New Zealand also have the opportunity to work within the Australian company.

The growth in Fitzroy Engineering’s Australian business reflects its continued development within New Zealand. “The company is growing.

We’ve had a very busy 2010 year and first half of 2011, and we believe that’s going to continue into 2012,” says Ellis.

Fitzroy Engineering has recently been awarded a joint venture contract with Transfield Worley Ltd for the Pohokura Gas reinjection project for Shell Todd Oil Services. “This is a fantastic opportunity to provide an outstanding solution for our client. It must be delivered on time and to budget, has already started and will be completed by September-October 2012.”

Fabrication in exotic materials In line with its growing capabilities, Fitzroy Engineering is currently building a number of vessels that are not only unique to the company, but also to the industry.

“We’re currently fabricating in super duplex stainless steel, which is relatively new in the

32 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

industry. We’ve just completed some of our first vessels in the material, which are going to the giant Gorgon gas project in Western Australia,” Ellis says.

“Super duplex is new and quite revolutionary.

It’s a different grade of material which offers great corrosion resistance properties, and more and more of our customers are moving towards this type of material.

“We were one of the first in New Zealand to start working with duplex and we’re now moving into super duplex.”

Fitzroy Engineering continually develops new procedures and methodologies and the ability to fabricate in super duplex stainless steel material, puts it further ahead of its New Zealand competitors.

Fitzroy Engineering Limited Private Bag 2053 New Plymouth 4342 T (06) 759 5252 F (06) 759 5253 E contact@fitzroy.co.nz www.fitzroy.co.nz — Advertising Feature

Business Development | McBeth Plumbing and Gas Left: McBeth Plumbing and Gas owner Ralph McBeth stands beside two of his company’s distinctive service vehicles.

Not just pipe dreams…

Water; it’s been described as the new gold as reserves of the invaluable liquid dwindle. Various factors — from climate change to swelling global populations and industrialised agriculture — have increased its global demand.

McBeth Plumbing and Gas managing director Ralph McBeth is well aware of water’s significance. “The plumbing industry is not seen as glamorous and because of that, it is very undervalued. Plumbing and heating play a major health role in our nation, just as important as the medical profession. Our work is prevention of disease.

“Without proper sanitation, water, sewerage and heating, communities have trouble surviving the illnesses which come as a result.”

It’s a trade which is primarily responsible for the health, comfort and wellbeing of the families in our communities, he says.

“If you keep that in mind, it makes you proud of your industry.” And proud he is. It’s widely assumed the trade is limited to fixing sinks or working outside in the muck laying pipes. But Ralph explains, there’s far more to plumbing than simply playing with pipes and although McBeth Plumbing and Gas do that very well, the company is made up of a team of certified plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers and heating system installers, aiding a diverse workload.

“To most people plumbing is about cleaning blocked toilets and waste pipes — that’s one of the smallest parts of our industry,” he laughs.

McBeth Plumbing and Gas has been providing solar, plumbing, drainage, heating and gas

fitting services to the Taupo region for almost 30 years. The business began in Taupo but has its roots in Dannevirke, where Ralph and his brother ran a plumbing business started by their father.

“From an early age I enjoyed going to work with him,” Ralph says of his dad. In fact, so enamoured with the trade, he left school at 14, before the minimum legal age of 15, where he completed his six year apprenticeship.

“I was fully qualified at 19, before my apprenticeship was up. I had to wait till I was 20 to get my licence,” he laughs. “I enjoy it; it’s a very rewarding and creative problem solving industry.”

Award-winning son Now his son has joined his side and he’s the country’s top plumbing and gas fitting apprentice. Scott McBeth completed his apprenticeship in February after working in the family business.

But he learnt the hard way that having a paternal boss didn’t allow him any favours. “I had to give him the sack twice before he woke up and got serious about the industry,” Ralph McBeth quips.

Eventually he gave in and after some serious discussion, he decided to give Scott one last chance. “He woke up, made a commitment, started conforming and really taking the job seriously and he’s been the model employee ever since.”

It was his apprenticeship tutors and others in the industry who chose to nominate him for the James Douglas Medallion Award. It was issued by the Master Plumbers Association, which McBeth Plumbing and Gas is a member of.

An overseeing body designed to ensure industry standards, the Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers organisation represents more than 60 percent of the

industry. It reviews members to ensure their workmanship and business practices meet the high standards required by the organisation and supports members to help them achieve standards of excellence in every area. “Being a member is something we’re very, very proud of,” McBeth says.

“The association has a huge part to play in holding the industry together. Being a Master Plumber gives credibility. It gives us first hand information and a say on what’s going on in the industry and that allows us to be proactive instead of reactive. I’m passionate about being involved with the Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Association.”

While Ralph has more than 45 years of experience in the plumbing industry, he still required outside expertise. “I was a plumber not a business person. The best decision I made was to put up my hand and say I need guidance. We got help from an Action International Business coach and that proved to be the best thing I could have done.”

Another great help on the road to success was Holloway Marketing Consultants. This Tauranga based marketing company steps out of the box, McBeth says. “It’s not just about ads in the papers; they teach and help get us closer to our customers without the huge cost. They really know their business.”

So does McBeth Plumbing and Gas. So why has the business been a success? “We have always run the business on family values along with integrity and trust. We treat clients as our friends and we genuinely care about their wellbeing.”

McBeth Plumbing and Gas 187 Spa Road Taupo T (07) 378 2547 E wrimac@xtra.co.nz www.mcbethplumbers.co.nz

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0800 502 102 www.masterplumbers.org.nz Team players… Operations manager Gary Whitehouse and plumber/technician Paul Edwards are part of the McBeth Plumbing and Gas team servicing the Taupo area. www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 33

Property and Construction | SKL8

“Our strength in project management and providing engineering solutions has given us a strong base to work from.”

Steven Koekemoer, SKL8 founder

SKL8 project director Mark Hillman (left) and SKL8 owner Steven Koekemoer discuss plans for one of the projects the company is involved in.

✹ Project Management ✹ Process Design ✹ Engineering ✹ Operational Improvement

In just over a year, SKL8 has gone from being a small start-up to a rapidly growing company, taking on large projects and challenging traditional thinking.

The business was started in April 2010

by Steven Koekemoer and has grown from a single employee to having 13 dedicated and highly skilled staff.

SKL8 is focussed on the dairy, packaging and print industries.

While it is only 18 months old, SKL8 is built around highly skilled individuals, each with more than 20 years experience in these industries. These people have the ability to keep ahead of competitors by challenging traditional methods and maximising the use of new technology.

“The business continues to grow and access other opportunities where our strength in project management and providing

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engineering solutions has given us a strong base to work from,” Steven Koekemoer says of the year and half’s success.

The large projects SKL8 is tackling speak for themselves. Currently, SKL8 is the main project manager for the Miraka Powder Plant in Taupo, which started production on August 1, 2011.

“We have used our expertise to provide the client with the most cost effective solution without compromising quality or performance.

“This has been done by an innovative design to ensure the client is competitive in the market and ensuring capital costs and operational costs are taken into account to provide long term sustainability,” Koekemoer says.

“We have a clear focus to assist New Zealand businesses to be as competitive as they can be by applying the most up to date processes and engineering solutions…” Steven Koekemoer, SKL8 founder

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Property and Construction | SKL8

Dairy

Print

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SKL8 sources ideas and equipment globally and has a reputable supply base with the vision to deliver cost effective solutions to industry and world class performance.

SKL8 can provide the complete solution from plant design stage to ensure workflow is optimised. It also provides full engineering support to the industry and maintenance solutions for plant reliability which includes the implementation of a computerised maintenance system and setting up world class maintenance practices.

With more than 40 years combined experience in the packaging industry, SKL8’s staff has been actively involved in the supply and installation of all plant equipment including corrugators, converting machines, load formers, pre-feeders, automated conveyor systems, waste handling systems, starch kitchens, boilers and all ancillary equipment.

Dairy Services

✹ Turn-key project management — from

conception to completion including all design work, fabrication and installation.

The company can tailor a solution to fit customer requirements

✹ Automation solutions ✹ Electrical design, reticulation and installation

✹ Mechanical installations ✹ Operational support and training ✹ ERP system implementation ✹ Technical recruitment ✹ Implementation of computerised maintenance system

✹ Plant maintenance solutions ✹ Creation of high performance teams

Print Services

✹ Turn-key project management ✹ Automation solutions ✹ Electrical design, reticulation and installation

✹ Mechanical installations ✹ Operational support and training ✹ Technical recruitment ✹ Implementation of computerised maintenance system

✹ Plant maintenance solutions ✹ Creation of high performance teams.

Another key area of focus for the SKL8 team is driving operational performance to get maximum productivity from the equipment that its customers have on site. The staff’s extensive knowledge ranges across all OEM equipment including Fosber, Marquip, Ward, Martin, Emba and Langston. SKL8 is committed to driving the industry to continually evolve and improve.

Packaging Services

✹ Turn-key project management ✹ Automation solutions ✹ Electrical design, reticulation

Steven Koekemoer, SKL8 founder

and installation

✹ Mechanical installations ✹ Operational support and training ✹ Technical recruitment ✹ Implementation of computerised

Dairy Products

✹ Reverse osmosis ✹ Boiler supply and installation ✹ Effluent treatment plants ✹ Water supply solutions ✹ Vitamin dosing systems ✹ Mobile milk testing units for tankers.

“We believe we can add significant value in reducing costs and ensuring quality projects are delivered, as we have demonstrated.”

maintenance system

✹ Plant maintenance solutions ✹ Creation of high performance teams.

Meat industry involvement SKL8 has been involved with a number of projects in the meat industry, challenging conventional methods and improving productivity through automation and process improvement.

While the SKL8 office is based in Auckland, most of the staff work remotely due to customer demand being in various locations across the country. Already, SKL8 has been awarded another milk powder plant contract that has commenced the design phase.

Reverse osmosis provision is an SKL8 speciality.

The Miraka Milk Powder Plant in Taupo.

On top of this, SKL8 has been involved with a number of projects in the meat industry, challenging conventional methods and improving productivity through automation and process improvement.

are cost effective and deliver results. We utilise knowledge from various industries based on our combined experience and ensure we engage with our clients as if the business was ours and form long term relationships.

Knowledge and experience

Looking to the future, Steven Koekemoer says the company’s goal is to continue its current growth curve by further offering its services to New Zealand industry. “We’d like to be more involved in other large capital projects where we believe we can add significant value in reducing costs and ensuring quality projects are delivered, as we have demonstrated.

“We are there for the long haul and have a clear focus to assist New Zealand businesses to be as competitive as they can be by applying the most up to date processes and engineering “Over the next few years we aim to look solutions available globally. offshore and take our approach to a wider customer base. We have already received “We also have some strategic agencies to enquiries to assist in other countries as well as supply equipment to our customers from growing our process design capability.” competitive global sources.”

SKL8 has three divisions: Projects, Engineering and Operational Improvement. These work together, ensuring the company covers all client needs and offers support where required.

“We do not provide an engineering function alone, but use our strong operational experience to ensure the solutions provided

SKL8 Limited 37 Fencible Drive Howick Auckland 2014 New Zealand T (09) 532 9824 E steve@skl8.co.nz www.skl8.co.nz

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 35

Property and Construction | Richard Hull Builders

Success built on commitment, attention to detail Richard Hull Builders in Hamilton is an award-winning construction company operating within a framework of commitment and values.

It was formed 10 years ago and undertakes a wide range of building work, including new homes, home alterations, new commercial premises, commercial fit outs and alterations, maintenance, and new kitchens and bathrooms.

The company is a member of the Master Builders’ Association and employs 22 staff.

Owner Richard Hull is passionate about his business and the attention to detail for which it is known.

Richard Hull Builders Ltd is based in Pukete, North Hamilton and has a proven track record in building and in business, offering a 10-year Master Builders guarantee.

The professional team works hard to ensure all projects are completed on time and to budget.

Richard Hull says the majority of the company’s work involves residential and commercial alterations. “Ten years ago we started doing residential alterations and over the years we’ve started doing slightly bigger projects.

“We do a wide range of work now and can still do the smaller projects very

effectively, because of how we’re structured.

With the large projects we can have 10 guys or more on a site, but can move them around as we need.”

Richard Hull Builders Ltd has won several local Master Builders’ Awards, including two for new homes and another for a home alteration.

“Winning these awards is a good way of rewarding everyone involved in the projects,” says Hull. “They all get recognition for the efforts they put in and it shows the public what we can do collectively, as a company.”

Building relationships Richard Hull Builders Ltd is associated with many business groups that enable mutual benefit from each other’s networks, such as Business Network International and St Paul’s

Collegiate Old Collegians which gives the company the opportunity to

build professional contacts to the benefit of everyone concerned.

Richard Hull Builders Ltd is a proud foundation member of SOS NOW, meaning its qualified and highly skilled trades people are available for building emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Enhancing quality Building strong relationships with subcontractors to enhance the quality of his company’s services and support others is also very important to Richard Hull. When asked about why he loves the building industry so much, Hull says, “I love the challenge of doing a job really well, creating something from nothing, and solving people’s problems”.

Hull’s vision is for Richard Hull Builders to lift the standards for the industry, both in building and service for the customer. With that in mind, the priority of servicing all types of work will continue, while enjoying the challenge and demand of larger commercial work and new home builds.

“Our commitment to every project is big.

Part of our values is that we take pride in getting it right. We take ownership of the job at hand, alongside the commitment of the team and taking on the responsibility of communication are all important. We use the facts to make the right decision — these are some of our core values.”

“Winning awards is a good way of rewarding everyone involved in the projects.”

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Property and Construction | Richard Hull Builders

New construction and alterations Richard Hull Builders Limited has the ability to offer a wide range of services for projects of any size. Clients building a new home need a builder they can trust, and Richard Hull Builders Ltd has a proven track record of offering the highest standard of workmanship and service to its customers.

Richard Hull Builders has extensive experience and resources to build any new property, from a small modest house to a large high-end luxury home. The company can project manage the entire process, from the time the client buys their section through to completion, with qualified and experienced project managers.

Alternatively, the team at Richard Hull Builders Ltd is happy to work closely with the client’s own management team if required. One of the recent projects completed is a luxury bach in Raglan.

Residential renovations The company undertakes a large amount of residential renovation work, which can involve anything from moving or removing internal walls to create larger rooms, to adding a decking space outside to enjoy the New Zealand summer or adding an extension to create more rooms.

“When we plan an alteration, we take into account the existing property structure and

materials. The alteration is always undertaken in the same style as the property and quality so that the property looks as smart as you would expect,” Hull says.

“We also have some of our own small excavation machinery for small and confined site works.”

The company also specialises in kitchen installations and bathroom alterations and can take care of the entire project, including the demolition work, removal of the old units, preparation of the surfaces and installation of units, appliances, bathroom suites, flooring and tiling.

“We pride ourselves on leaving all properties in a clean and tidy state when the work is complete,” he says.

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Property and Construction | Richard Hull Builders

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“I love the challenge of creating and solving people’s problems.”

Challenging commercial projects Richard Hull Builders has undertaken a number of significant projects in recent years and is currently finishing a large commercial development on the Coromandel Peninsula.

for over a year and was completed in February,” Hull says. The three contracts were completed successfully and required a great deal of organisation and co-ordination with other trades.

“Although it’s residential work it falls within the commercial range because it’s three different buildings on one site, plus some infrastructure, which involves asphalting, fencing and landscaping.”

Other recent commercial work includes the refurbishment of a number of bars and restaurants on Victoria Street in Hamilton, the fitout of a new hotel, as well as a fit-out for a retail outlet at Te Awa Mall.

The company has also recently completed three contracts for extension work at the Westfield Chartwell Mall. These contracts involved the erection and dismantling of hoardings, to keep the public out of the construction zone, building the ceilings and partitions, and carpentry. “Westfield has its own construction company and we subcontracted to them. The work went

Residential projects

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38 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

In the second half of 2006 Richard Hull Builders undertook a major renovation to a rural character house near Hamilton. The original part of the house was 100 years old and there had been two significant additions in its history, with only four owners in that time.

The project scope was to expand and modernise the kitchen, integrate the outside rumpus room into the house through a new entrance matching the original front entrance character, and create an indoor-outdoor plan with a private courtyard, entertainment area and large deck.

A testimony to the quality of the job was the success of Richard Hull Builders Ltd in winning the Waikato Master Builders Award for a renovation project up to $250,000.

While Richard Hull Builders undertakes most of its work within Hamilton, the company is prepared to travel anywhere for a job, and has worked throughout the Waikato, Coromandel and also in Auckland.

“We’re happy with our structure and the way we work. We have the catch phrase that we have the right people in the right places and the right machinery to back them up,” Hull says.

Richard Hull Builders Limited 281 Sandwich Road Hamilton T (07) 850 8182 F (07) 850 8180 E info@rhbuilders.co.nz www.rhbuilders.co.nz — Advertising Feature

Property and Construction | Tasman Design and Civil

Infrastructure specialist These service ducts range from light-duty nonTasman Design and Civil in trafficable options to the heavy duty ducts that Cambridge has grown to become are designed to Transit NZ standard. a leader in the construction of and success specialist infrastructure and facilities Growth Foxall attributes the growth of Tasman Design for New Zealand’s power industry. and Civil to a number of factors, including the Tasman Design and Civil is a highly respected civil engineering business servicing clients throughout New Zealand. Its track record is impressive and covers a wide variety of projects, including infrastructure, commercial, industrial and rural.

The company offers a design-and-build service to clients requiring support in specialised works such as foundations, support slabs, structural steelwork, tilt panels, buildings and switchyards.

It was formed in 2001 and is today owned by Derek and Fiona Glass, who head a team of 12 from new premises in Matos Segedin Drive.

Necessary move General manager Lester Foxall says while the company was previously located in Te Awamutu, its relocation to Cambridge was necessary to accommodate the need for more operating space to facilitate its precast operation.

broad skill base of its management, exemplary safety record, consistent good quality of work and the ability to complete fast track projects within limited timeframes.

“Derek Glass has considerable experience managing civil works within Australia’s mining industry, while my experience is allied to building. We have a good team of project supervisors driving these projects,” he says.

“Our success is a combination of us being in an acquired market and having a reputation for being good value-for-money contractors.”

Foxall would like Tasman Design and Civil to continue its current growth pattern within the power, commercial and infrastructure sectors but says the company is also looking at ways to diversify into new markets.

“We’re looking in other directions, whether it’s here or offshore.”

Tasman Design and Civil Limited 22 Matos Segedin Drive Cambridge 3450 Tasman Design and Civil is a specialist in the T (07) 871 6454 construction of precast service ducts, which F (07) 871 6455 accommodate a variety of utility services including electrical, LV and HV cabling, data and admin@tasmandesignandcivil.com www.tasmandesignandcivil.com control cabling, water and plumbing services.

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Property and Construction | ID Loader

Moving right along…

When Ian Loader began doing earthworks around Wanganui with his bulldozer in 1954, he probably never dreamed his company, ID Loader Limited, would still be around 57 years later, employing 60 people.

Ian originally worked from the backyard of his home on Great North Road, starting with a new Allis Chalmers HD5 bulldozer and doing work for the local county council, as well as general contracting.

Ian’s grandson Hayden Loader is now the company’s general manager. While his grandfather mainly did bulldozer work, as technology improved the company moved more into excavator work. Hayden’s father Ian Junior and his brothers Allan and Perry are directors and shareholders today. Allan still works in the business, while Perry also owns and operates another business in Wellington.

In addition, Hayden’s brother Matthew Loader and their cousin Justin Loader also work within ID Loader.

Civil construction services ID Loader Ltd now specialises in a broad range of civil construction services throughout the greater Wanganui region, including roading, drainage and land development work.

“The company has diversified over the years.

We’re now a roading, drainage and building site works company, and we have our own shellrock quarry,” Hayden Loader says. “We’re heavily involved in forestry roading, which is different to building a road that cars drive on.”

The company is based at 172 Ridgway Street, where it has been since the early years. The

site includes a yard for storing the company’s big fleet of machinery.

ID Loader undertakes a large amount of roading work for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), as well as the Wanganui District Council, with most work tendered for.

“We’ve got a number of employees who have been here for 30-plus years,” Loader says.

“We’ve gained massive loyalty and in that time they have created a lot of experience within the company.”

For the past 12 years ID Loaders has been involved in the Wanganui separation project, which involves separating the stormwater and sewer systems.

“That work is nearly complete and they’ve almost separated the entire town. We were one of three companies laying the pipes and there will be ongoing maintenance work, as the council still has to maintain those assets,” Loader says. “We also had quite a big project on the Whanganui River in town, which is the Putiki Drive riverbank restoration. The riverbank had slumped. The NZTA designed the project and we went and built a new riverbank. We also do a lot of subdivision work and siteworks for builders.”

Quarry and landscaping services ID Loader’s shellrock quarry is located in Maxwell, about 30km from Wanganui.

It has its own crusher, with the shellrock base course product primarily used for roading metal in the district.

“We produce a lot of roading metal, which we use in our own roading contracts, as well as selling it to other contractors,” Loader says.

For 15 years the company has also operated a retail landscaping division, named Loaders Landscape Supplies, which is located in Hatrick Street East, Wanganui. This was established to provide a professional service to the home gardener and landscaper and sells topsoil and compost, bark, stone, shellrock, sand and other products such as fertilisers, grass seed, pre-mix concrete, sleepers and pavers.

Long-reach digger ID Loader has recently purchased some new high-tech machinery in order to offer a better service to its forestry and roading customers.

The Wanganui-based company undertakes a large amount of forest roading work and has become a specialist in the forestry market.

ID Loader has recently purchased a long-reach digger with an extended arm (top), while the new grader with a self-levelling 3D GPS system (above) cuts time and cost for users with improved accuracy.

General manager Hayden Loader says the company has purchased a long-reach digger with an extended arm. “It allows you to reach further and we’re utilising that in the forest quite heavily. I don’t think there’s another one like it in the district,” he says. “It means if you have a bank or cliff, a normal digger can only get so far. This one can reach even further, which gives you another option. You would usually have to find another way to do the job if you haven’t got one.”

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Property and Construction | ID Loader

ID Loader has previously hired a long-reach digger for certain jobs. “Now in the forest we’ve hit on a niche part of work that’s going to tie the digger up for quite some time.”

ID Loader works in all of Wanganui’s forests for a range of forestry clients. The company took over another forest contracting business, with its owner Dave Eliason now working for ID Loader. “Dave runs the forestry arm of the business now. He has been heavily involved in that work for a long time and has all the contacts and relationships,” Loader says.

“I think we’re one of the only ones in our area doing what we do with the forestry roading.

It’s been very busy through the recession and has been keeping us going.”

ID Loader places a huge emphasis on keeping its fleet of machinery up to date and has

recently purchased a new grader with a selflevelling 3D GPS system.

“Hopefully there will be more tenders soon.

We’re always thinking of new things to do and ways to diversify, but the fact that we’ve invested quite a bit of money in this new grader means we want to stick with roading.”

“It’s state-of-the-art technology and there’s not anyone else in the district that has one,” Hayden Loader says. “It’s quite a revolution in that it cuts time, it cuts costs and you end up Loader says another major facet of with a better product. It’s cheaper and quicker.” contracting today is the huge amount of compliance required.

ID Loader has already completed a couple of roading jobs with the 3D grader, despite the New Zealand Transport Agency and Wanganui District Council’s recent lack of spending on roading in the region. ID Loader is working hard to promote the grader among other local roading contractors.

Focus on growth and compliance Hayden Loader says while business has been busy during the recent recession, things have quietened down a bit this year.

“What makes us stand out is we’ve got really good administration systems. We’re ISO accredited and tertiary ACC accredited. Our administration with compliance and health and safety is second to none.”

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We proudly support and supply ID Loaders Ltd in their drainage and watermain requirements. www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2011 | 41

Transport and Motoring | Prestige Collision Repairs

Straightening out & exceeding expectations Very high standards had to be met

by Prestige Collision Repairs to earn approval as the authorised dealer for some of the world’s biggest car brands. But then high standards are nothing new for what was once just a spray shop.

Prestige Collision Repairs has gone from strength to strength during the past nine years under the tutelage of Ian McNally and later Steve Butler.

Today the only approved repairer for BMW, Audi, VW and Skoda in the Waikato, Prestige Collision Repairs has developed a reputation as strong as the vehicles it builds. “We’ve built that reputation on quality and through word of mouth,” Butler says.

It’s been a nine year journey. An auto-finisher by trade, McNally purchased the business in 2002, at the time, just a paint shop. “With the influx of work and increasing demand, Ian started the panel shop from scratch inside two years of the purchase,” Butler says.

Five years later, Butler came onboard. A qualified panel beater, the pair made a good team. “We both have a keen interest in cars; it’s not just a job. We’re into motor vehicles and motor sport; we’re the classic car enthusiasts,” Butler continues.

“Once we were both in the trade, we had aspirations to work on the cars that were worth the most money,” he laughs.

It’s not far wrong, with the approved repairer agreement allowing Prestige Collision Repairs

to work with some of the highest class motor vehicles on the road today.

But they still get some diversity in vehicle brands. “We work on any make or model,” Butler says.

“We have a strong relationship with both Coombes Johnston BMW and Ebbett Prestige which covers the European makes and we are the approved repairer for Winger Hamilton, which covers Subaru, Suzuki, Chrysler and Dodge. We are also an approved repairers

for all major insurance companies.”

This in itself was a coup to earn. The insurance companies don’t just pick anyone; AA for example only has five approved repairers in the

area. So to be approved for all major insurance companies shows a high degree of quality.

“Our repairer technicians are European trained,” Butler explains.

“There is a certain level of training we have to maintain as approved repairers; learning about new models coming out, new repair techniques. All our staff are trained to European standards.”

Getting vehicles repaired by an approved repairer ensures warranties will remain valid.

Generally when these vehicles are purchased New Zealand new, they carry a long body warranty, Butler says.

“This generally covers corrosion, paint defects and much more for up to 12 years. This is a substantial length of time. If repairs are taken out by another repairer and then there is a warranty issue, that warranty may be deemed invalid.”

The new status also required equipment upgrades and allowed Prestige Collision Repairs to improve efficiencies within the business.

“We had to have particular equipment; certain chassis machines, certain welders. We had to change a lot of our processes, how we go about doing things, streamline our systems.

“As approved repairers, we need to be confident that if someone has been working on a vehicle and then for whatever reason, they are not able to be here, that the next person on the floor can take over. It’s about better record keeping.”

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42 | August/September 2011 www.centraltoday.co.nz

And while he says the business has improved, it wouldn’t have got where it is today if it wasn’t great to begin with. “Quality is what has got us where we are today. A quality job is what ensures you get the repeat business.

“We keep people happy and do a quality job. We make sure they want to return, even though most of our customers say they hope they never have to return,” he laughs about the very nature of collision repairs.

Prestige Collision Repairs 11 Bandon Street Frankton Hamilton City T (07) 847 5730 F (07) 847 5750 E steve@prestigecr.co.nz E ian@prestigecr.co.nz — Advertising Feature

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