DEVELOPMENTS
If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. - Olin Miller
New appointment at ATNZ Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Susanne Martin to the role of General Manager. ATNZ is New Zealand’s largest employer of apprentices in mechanical engineering and related industries, including automotive, manufacturing, print and packaging. Ms Martin joins ATNZ in Auckland after senior executive roles at Crossmark and Philips in both New Zealand and Australia. An
astute
leader
with
extensive
experience in developing people, managing high-performance teams and B2B relationships, Ms Martin will be responsible for the management and development of the apprentice programmes.
has another 50 vacancies to fill.
ATNZ – a not-for-profit charity – currently employs more than 380 apprentices who are seconded to businesses throughout New Zealand. Employers pay ATNZ to host an apprentice on a contract basis to work and learn. The organisation has recruited 105 apprentices this year and
“Infometrics data shows us that this country needs more than 5,500 new workers in the mechanical engineering sector between now and 2022 to fill new jobs and replace workers who retire or leave. So our work is incredibly important.
“ATNZ is focused on adding innovation and value to New Zealand businesses and it’s exciting to lead an organisation embedded in the same values as my own,” Ms Martin says.
“I’m hoping to take another step
up with the customer driven team, refining our service while remaining committed to being the premium apprentice training resource for New Zealand businesses.”
Ratification of CPTPP excellent news EMA says confirmation of Australia’s ratification of CPTPP is excellent news for the exporting community, and New Zealand in general. The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) now has the quorum required to move it
forward. “Free trade agreements such as the CPTPP are vital for our exporting community and economy,” says Kim Campbell, CEO, EMA. “I congratulate the New Zealand representatives and negotiators
involved who have progressed CPTPP to this stage. “As an economy of 4.7 million people we need reliable access to other markets accompanied by favourable terms of trade, and this is what the CPTPP will deliver.
“It gives our exporters access to significant markets such as Japan, Canada and Mexico, which previously we did not have. “Trade is one of the key building blocks for a connected, vibrant economy,” says Mr Campbell.
Xigo TSA merger to shake up trans-Tasman project management sector A merger of two of Australasia’s leading project management organisations, Xigo and TSA Management, will shake up the sector on both sides of the Tasman as the two companies embark on an ambitious growth programme backed by one of the UK’s top private equity firms, Livingbridge. The merger – which involves TSA buying Xigo and Xigo shareholders reinvesting in the Group entity – sees both companies retaining their brand and governance structures. TSA chief executive Andrew Wilson will serve on the Xigo Board and Xigo director David Wilkie on the TSA Group Board.
says the transaction creates “a massive network of expertise and talent for us to better serve our existing clients and leverage new opportunities in New Zealand, Australia and internationally”.
directors have met Livingbridge’s owners and are impressed with their sophisticated no-nonsense investment approach and culture, while its global reach complements both companies’ international ambitions.
Wilson says that “both businesses are very successful in terms of project and financial performance, staff attraction and retention and this is about extending our collective capability, our reach and improving market access for both TSA and Xigo”.
Wilson says the transaction delivers significant value to both companies: “This is about building on our collective strengths across the project management sector. They wanted to invest and expand into Australia; we wanted to invest and expand in New Zealand. Both Boards have global ambition and we’re excited about our extended capability and what we can achieve as a Group.”
“Both businesses are on a growth trajectory,” Wilkie adds, “and this transaction fires up the afterburners.”
David Wilkie.
TSA is getting access to the biggest infrastructure build in New Zealand’s history.
Wilkie says the merger represents a significant New Zealand investment in the bigger Australian project management sector – “Kiwis are still owners and managers of a much larger trans-Tasman business” – while
“Our strategy has been to grow 500% by 2023, organically and through merger or acquisition and this transaction puts on track to achieve our goal,” Wilkie says. “TSA have invested in our business and we’ve invested in the combined business and we’re bound together to improve both
from geological data, and ultimately make better decisions about the earth, environment and energy challenges.
grow a global business from New Zealand and have a positive impact on some of the world’s biggest problems.
and represented an array of sectors, demonstrating the nation’s business diversity and innovation.
The judges were impressed with how well Seequent portrayed the emerging story of New Zealand on the global stage – advanced technology, focussed on making the world better, operating in a high-value niche and executed with precision, tenacity and ambition.
Earlier, Seequent won the ANZ Best Medium Business Award before winning the overall title.
For the first time at these awards, recognition was given to Inspiring Women Leaders. Seven outstanding businesswomen were nominated for this award, and the judges could not separate two of the nominees.
Seequent demonstrates how you can
They came from around New Zealand
Xigo-TSA will now collectively boast over 250 project managers across five east coast Australia offices and three in New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga).
Livingbridge is a UK-based mid-market private equity firm with a presence in the UK, US and Australia. It invested in TSA in 2017, its first Australian investment, and Xigo is its first New Zealand holding.
Commenting on the merger, Wilkie
Wilkie says he and fellow Xigo
2018 NZIBA Winners An innovative software company that shows the world how to understand what lies beneath the land and the oceans has won the Supreme Award at the 2018 New Zealand International Business Awards. Seequent, based in Christchurch, is a global leader in the development of visual data science software. They have advanced 3D graphic solutions which enable people to create rich stories and uncover valuable insights
More than 500 people at a black-tie event in Auckland celebrated the 31 leading export companies that made it through to the finals of the awards.
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The joint winners were Sarah Kennedy and Aliesha Staples.
NZ Manufacturer November 2018
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