NZ Manufacturer November 2019 by Media Hawkes Bay Limited

November 2019

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COMMENT The facts about vocational education reform

COMPANY PROFILE Real Steel, Wellington

Ideas can come from everywhere -Gemma Stanbridge, ViAGO International Limited

Are the managers in your company empowering employees to pursue their broader passions, skills, and experience? Or are they pigeon-holing employees into a box defined by their current job title, taking them at face value of their job title, and restricting further development? These latter rigid typecasting behaviours serve only to limit employees from reaching their full potential and they discourage initiative and innovation within a company.

Typically, operational and strategic decisions are handled by the appropriate higher managerial function and so many employees are left without a very clear view of the bigger picture.

An artificial limit is imposed on the value an employee can provide because the additional strengths or skills the employee has which are not required for the specific position are overlooked.

Further, managers adopt a mindset of, “Why would a low-level employee be able to help solve a business problem or provide input into a decision unrelated to their job title?”

Jack Stack, author of The Great Game of Business, shares in his introduction to the new edition, a story of a company he worked for where a drill press operator was actually a self-made millionaire who had built his wealth through real estate investments.

When this mindset is present, the job titles act as barriers to advancement for employees and a barrier to growth for the company.

“Here was this incredible entrepreneur working under our noses and all I had this guy doing was drilling holes. What a wasted opportunity.” Stack and the company failed to use the drill press operator’s full range of talents, asking the operator to only think about drilling the perfect hole, not about how they could build a better company. Why did this happen, and why does this still happen today, over 20 years later? Managers or recruiters look for and hire people to do a specific job or position that needs to be filled. Upon employment, the employee is labelled with their specific job title and job description. Managers (and even other employees) are often blinded by job titles, only giving each employee as much information as they feel is needed for their respective job title.

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This approach also ignores the fact that ideas can come from everywhere, and that sometimes a fresh view or take on things can really pay off when delivering the best result for the company or clients. When it comes to problems and decision-making, asking the people ‘on the floor’ is a no-brainer. But how often does it actually happen? In most companies, like the example Stack uses in the book, employees are told to ‘just do their jobs’ and leave others to worry about the operations of the business. The result? Silos of information and conflicts between departments as employees focus on local efficiencies. The employees focus on what impacts their local area as they cannot see the bigger picture of the company; they cannot see the impact of their actions on others. The Deloitte September 2012 Talent 2020 employee report, Surveying the Talent Paradox From the

continued on Page 13

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Ngāi Tahu Property industrial developments in the pipeline Ngāi Tahu Property has new industrial developments in the pipeline having bought two blocks of land adjacent to a key section of State Highway 1 on the south-west of Ōtautahi-Christchurch. The sites – totalling about 70 hectares – are in prime locations in Rolleston and Hornby. They have excellent access to the country’s road and rail backbone, and east-west transit links into the Ōtautahi-Christchurch urban area, Lyttleton Port, Christchurch International Airport and Te Tai Poutini-West Coast.

direct to end-consumers.” “Delivering successful solutions for the industrial sector is in our DNA. This is a return to a sector in which Ngāi Tahu Property has a depth of experience and knowledge,” Kennedy says. The first site is in the popular Rolleston industrial area and registration of interest is available now. The other block, adjacent to Hornby, should have titles by mid-2021. Ngāi Tahu Property has been fielding enquiries since acquiring the land. Development Manager Blair Brown is expecting a surge of interest now that the first stage planning has been finalised.

Ngāi Tahu Property Chief Executive David Kennedy says Te Waipounamu – the South Island boasts a growing and valuable range of industries from manufacturing to agricultural services and logistics. Whether those firms target lucrative export markets or operate in the fast-turn-around world of ‘last-mile’ logistics, physical connectivity is key.

David Kennedy

“Online and omni-channel retailing is one growth area we are watching,” Kennedy says. “Firms increasingly need the ability to receive and rapidly distribute products to diverse customers, from retailers or

Potential owners and tenants are responding well to Ngāi Tahu Property’s willingness to provide customisable development opportunities and flexible tenure options. “Currently there is an unmet demand for freehold land in this market and Ngāi Tahu Property is happy to provide vacant lots or turn-key options as required. Or, as an iwi-owned, intergenerational investor, we can also offer secure designbuild-lease options if tenancy is preferable.” “We will have a solution for your business, whether that is freight and logistics, warehousing, food processing, agricultural services, construction or manufacturing.”

“We encourage people to come to us early with their needs to secure the right space for their business.”

Ngāi Tahu Property South Island Development General Manager Scott McCulloch says market analysis indicated demand for high-quality industrial developments with easy access to State Highway 1.

As with all its developments, Ngāi Tahu Property will also bring the values of its owners, the people of Ngāi Tahu, to both sites, McCulloch says. “As an iwi-owned firm, we have an intergenerational and sustainability focus at the core of all our projects. “We look forward to bringing Ngāi Tahu values – especially tohungatanga (expertise), whanaungatanga (looking after generations) and kaitiakitanga (stewardship) - to these upcoming projects.”

Scott McCulloch

ROLLESTON INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT Address: 151 Hoskyns Road, Rolleston, Selwyn District • Easy access to the South Island’s major transportation and freight links/networks State Highway network • Southern Motorway (completing mid-2020) • Two inland ports • KiwiRail network

Total area: 32 hectares

Customisable options available: • Freehold land for sale • Design, build, lease options • Turn-key building options

Contact Blair Brown, Development Manager to register your interest blair.brown@ngaitahu.iwi.nz / 021 755 783

ngaitahuproperty.co.nz/industrial

CONTENTS 1 5 6

DEPARTMENTS LEAD BUSINESS NEWS Invert Robotics partners for better aircraft inspection.

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Manufacturing in 2020. Airwork Group working with Ideagen software.

COMPANY PROFILE

COMMENT

PRODUCTIVITY

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

What if we measured the thing that matters most: “carbon productivity”.

Is Chief Executive of BusinessNZ, New Zealand’s largest business advocacy body. He has held a range of senior positions at Westpac and is a barrister and solicitor.

Dr. Dieter Adam

Innovation and entrepreneurship can cut waste. Think outside the loop: Beyond the circular economy.

SMART MANUFACTURING

Real Steel motivated staff drive success.

EVENTS

DEVELOPMENTS

Lewis Woodward

16 Dr Troy Coyle

MaDE2020: Synergies in New Zealand Manufacturing, Design and Entrepreneurship. Composite solutions for the wind energy industry. Competenz launches prefabrication qualification. Abbie Reynolds award for business and sustainability.

BUSINESS NEWS

Is HERA Director, she has extensive experience in innovation, research management and product development, most recently as Head of Innovation and Product Development & Pacific Islands Export Manager at New Zealand Steel.

Boosting your business -The capital raise process.

REAR VIEW How global exporters are keeping up with demand.

Is the Chief Executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber).and is a strong voice for Canterbury business.

Is Managing Director of Connection Technologies Ltd, Wellington and is passionate about industry supporting NZ based companies, which in turn builds local expertise and knowledge, and provides education and employment for future generations.

NEW PRODUCTS Wire rope and cable cutters reduce hazards. New adhesives range launched.

Is the executive director of The Manufacturers’ Network. He has a Ph.D. in plant biotechnology, consulting and senior management roles in R&D, innovation and international business development.

Leeann Watson

Battery technology could slash cost of electric vehicles. Lessons in mass production. Aerial software to accelerate 5G on GPUs. X-frame gets commercialisation boost. 2019 TIN report shows overall growth.

The facts about vocational education reform.

COMPANY PROFILE

Kirk Hope

Just the right chemistry.

ADVISORS

Ideas can come from everywhere.

Brett O’Riley

EMA chief executive Brett O’Riley has a background in technology and economic development. Brett actually grew up with manufacturing, in the family business, Biggins & Co. He currently holds board roles with Wine Grenade and Dotterel Technologies and is also on the NZ Film Commission board.

With the environment in mind… PUBLISHER Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd,1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.

MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz

In 2020 NZ Manufacturer will increase the focus on the issues of climate change, the environment and the circular economy and provide readers with articles for environmental behaviour and care in business.

Holly Green, Fiona Kingsford David Peetz, Barbara Nebel Darcy Simonis, Simeon Burnett

In this issue our company profiles are Lower Hutt manufacturing company Red Steel and East Tamaki based ChemFreight, both family owned.

ADVERTISING Doug Green T: + 64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz

Red Steel (page 16) has seen thirty percent growth year on year and tripled its head count last year.

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kim Alves, KA Design T: + 64 6 870 8133 E: kim.alves@xtra.co.nz

The company imports steel out of Sweden to make steel parts for road transport, forestry and recycling industries.

WEB MASTER Julian Goodbehere E: julian@isystems.co.nz

“If you don’t have the people to make it all happen, you are never going to make it happen.”

Managing director, Luke Mathieson, believes it is the company’s people who determine whether they succeed or fail in business.

PUBLISHING SERVICES On-Line Publisher Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd

“It comes down to the quality of our team. It doesn’t matter how good our machinery is, how good our product is, if you don’t have the people to make it all happen, you are never going to make it happen.”

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS E: publisher@xtra.co.nz Free of Charge.

Chemfreight (page 10) is a specialised 3PL distributor offering the complete solution of hazardous, non-hazardous and separate dedicated food storage and chemical toll blending backed by a national transport network.

MEDIA HAWKES BAY LTD T: +64 6 870 4506 F: +64 6 878 8150 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz 1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings PO Box 1109, Hastings, NZ NZ Manufacturer ISSN 1179-4992

Vol.10 No. 10 NOVEMBER 2019

Copyright: NZ Manufacturer is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed, nor facts stated in the advertisements, are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of NZ Manufacturer and, whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information, or for any consequences of reliance on this information. NZ Manufacturer welcomes your contributions which may not necessarily be used because of the philosophy of the publication.

NZ Manufacturer November 2019 /

We do not live in times where time is on our side and our effects on the environment in which we live is starkly seen everyday and consequences around the world are proof of that. So, we will continue to reduce waste in our manufacturing plants and observe care and consideration with climate change and the circular economy in mind.

CONTRIBUTORS

Mind your own business (said in a friendly way) is what we are all about, isn’t it?

They process approximately 3000 inbound containers per year and store in excess of 20,000 pallets across nine warehouses. Next year construction is planned to commence on a specialised concrete walled and roofed store for flammable substances with a capacity of 5,000 pallet spaces.

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Doug Green

Success Through Innovation

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS NEWS Invert Robotics partners for better aircraft inspection NDT Solutions, a long-established USA aerospace non-destructive Testing (NDT) service group, has teamed with innovative Invert Robotics company from Christchurch in a joint venture certain to change the process of aircraft inspection at the In-Service, OEM and Maintenance levels. Invert’s remotely controlled robot employs a patented suction mechanism that adheres and traverses a range of aircraft surfaces made of aluminium, carbon or glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP and GFRP). This unique process allows the technician to scan both the upper as well as the lower fuselage/wing surfaces from the remote location in both wet and dry environments. Currently the robot is equipped with a high-resolution camera to visualize and document surface conditions by transmitting video images to a ground-based screen for analysis by the technician. This process facilitates efficient inspections that can be shared immediately with an offsite engineering team. NDT Solutions will extend the capabilities of the robot by adding NDT functionality such as Ultrasound, Eddy Current, Thermography and will continue research on other inspection modalities. These enhancements will reduce the labour, improve safety and minimise tedious inspection processes allowing the skilled aircraft technicians to focus on more complex tasks. NDT Solution’s COO Larry Culbertson comments; “Our team is constantly looking for ways to improve

inspection services and reduce the costs to our customers in this highly competitive industry. The unique technology that Invert brings is the ideal automated delivery platform for many of the NDT technologies already in use manually. “Time savings mean cost savings and our aerospace customers will have their aircraft returned to service sooner utilizing this cost-effective inspection approach in a safer environment. Recording the state of an aircraft proves the quality of our work and allows more accurate scheduling of required maintenance. We are excited to be part of this partnership that we believe will have a significant effect in our industry.”

technologies used across many industries creates an extraordinary opportunity to scale our presence in the aviation and petrochemical markets. The NDT capabilities of NDT Solutions are highly regarded beyond aviation and deliver to Invert a clear advantage as we expand our operation across new industry sectors. We are delighted to be working with a world class company like NDT Solutions to develop the benefits the robot will bring to both our businesses”, said Neil Fletcher, Managing Director of Invert Robotics.

Invert Robotics originally established itself in the dairy industry in New Zealand, Europe and Australia carrying out inspections of large-scale dairy plants, dramatically reducing the time and improving the quality of inspections while avoiding the need for inspectors to work in confined spaces. With current operations mainly in Europe, Invert has recently extended to the Petroleum and Energy Industries with a new base in Houston. “The partnership with NDT Solutions and the

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Manufacturing in 2020 How does your company see the year ahead? We’re using our crystal ball here and invite you to do the same. Tell us how you see things and developments you are looking forward to. – ed. Manufacturing in 2020 will be exciting, dynamic, and competitive.

smaller and smaller, intelligent systems will lead to advances that will be crucial for meeting several of the grand challenges for manufacturing in 2020. MEMS use sensors, actuators, and other electromechanical structures with dimensions on the order of microns.

With the emergence of billions of new consumers into the “developed” world, the emphasis on education, the pressure to raise or maintain living standards while consuming fewer resources, and the global availability of knowledge, manufacturers will have unprecedented market opportunities.

Like integrated circuits, MEMS are produced using the batch-processing capabilities of semiconductor processing. In fact, MEMS can be part of integrated circuits that combine machine intelligence with electromechanical action.

The development of adaptive, reconfigurable equipment, processes, and systems will enable the rapid reconfiguration of enterprises to meet competitive pressures but will also improve the integration of human and technology resources, enterprise-wide concurrency, and the development of revolutionary processes.

interfaces that enable individuals to interact with the models for learning, planning, and manufacturing control.

The ultimate in submicron manufacturing is nanofabrication, specifically molecular nanotechnology (MNT), in which individual atoms and molecules are manipulated to form materials and structures.

The semantics of manufacturing that encompasses all enterprise operations and functions within a globally distributed real (or virtual) manufacturing enterprise must be consistent across all levels, operations, and functions of the enterprise.

The consensus among MNT researchers is that, in principle, a wide range of molecular structures can be produced cost effectively.

Ideally, the semantics would support global multi-objective optimisation of the enterprise and its operations; that is, it would be robust enough to be the basis for a theory of manufacturing and adaptable enough to support change.

Second, research on modelling and simulation will help meet the challenges for enterprise-wide concurrency, the utilisation of human and technological resources, the conversion of information to knowledge, and the rapid reconfiguration of manufacturing enterprises. Finally, research on information technology will help to meet all the grand challenges. Information technology is the primary technology for converting information to knowledge and will be a key technology for concurrency, the integration of human and technical resources, and the rapid reconfiguration of enterprises. Recommendation. Establish priorities for long-term research with an emphasis on crosscutting technologies, i.e., technologies that address more than one grand challenge. Adaptable and reconfigurable manufacturing systems, information and communication technologies, and modelling and simulation are three research areas that address several grand challenges.

Breakthrough Research Technological breakthroughs in two areas— innovative submicron manufacturing processes and enterprise modelling and simulation—would have a profound impact on manufacturing of the future.

Submicron Manufacturing Submicron manufacturing promises to provide economic solutions to meeting increasingly demanding customer needs and, at the same time, decreasing time to market, energy consumption, and environmental costs. Manufacturing at the submicron level has four important aspects—evolutionary advances in (1) miniaturisation and (2) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), as well as revolutionary advances in (3) nanofabrication and (4) biotechnology. There has been a steady trend toward miniaturising manufactured components. A good example is the progression from vacuum tubes and discrete transistors to the very dense integrated circuits manufactured today. Integrated circuits contain structures, produced in layers using photolithographic processes, with features on the order of a micron or less in size. For compelling economic reasons, the semiconductor industry continues to reduce the dimensions of integrated circuits. The proliferation of more and more powerful, but

NZ Manufacturer November 2019 /

MNT could enable the production of new materials with specific properties tailored for given applications, properties that could be varied as structures are built up to produce functionally gradient materials. In addition, materials and structures with dramatically improved properties could be produced with no waste. Costs for self-replicating materials manufactured by MNT could be reduced to competitive levels by 2020. If costs are competitive, MNT will have far-reaching implications for waste-free manufacturing of very light weight, strong microstructures and macrostructures. One important form of self-replication at the molecular level that occurs naturally is controlled by DNA and cellular processes. Biotechnology has already progressed to the point that genes can be manipulated. By 2020, a substantial technology will have been developed to produce biological materials, the replication of biological materials, and the formation of structures from biological materials. The interrelationship between bioprocessing and MNT could lead to the production of hybrid structures that combine DNA and machine intelligence with biological and nonbiological materials.

Modelling and Simulation of Manufacturing Systems Meeting the grand challenges of concurrency in all operations (grand challenge 1) and rapid reconfiguration of manufacturing enterprises (grand challenge 5)—which include enterprise strategy, planning, and operations at one extreme and manufacturing cell operations at the other—will depend on accurate predictions and timely decisions based on modelling and simulation to develop virtual prototypes. Manufacturing systems in 2020 will be complicated, dynamic amalgams of human and machine intelligence, knowledge, materials, equipment, and processes. Operational decisions made at relatively low levels in the enterprise may have enterprise-wide consequences. Two crucial elements are necessary for successful manufacturing systems models and simulations—a comprehensive set of models and human-machine

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Individuals will be critical components of any manufacturing system. Models and simulations must account for individuals from two points of view. First, the behaviour and actions of individuals, as part of a manufacturing system, must be included in the models. This implies an understanding of how individuals relate to each other within the system, as well as an understanding of how individuals relate to equipment and processes (which may or may not be automated). Second, models and simulations must be described and delivered in a usable form to facilitate the decision or action that must be taken. Including human behaviour, with all its vagaries of learning and communication styles and overtones of culture and language, will make modelling and simulation difficult. However, unless the human factor is included, the representation will be unrealistic. Recommendation. Establish basic research focused on breakthrough technologies, including innovative submicron manufacturing processes and enterprise modelling and simulation. Focus basic research on the development of a scientific base for production processes and systems that support new generations of innovative products.

Taking Advantage of “Driver” Technologies Some of the technology areas for meeting the grand challenges are being developed for other purposes. For example, information is a core technology that is applicable to grand challenges for concurrency in all operations (grand challenge 1), integration of human and technical resources (grand challenge 2), transformation of information into knowledge (grand challenge 3), and rapid reconfiguration of manufacturing enterprises (grand challenge 5). Information technologies that enable seamless, collaborative systems may not be useful for manufacturing without a further determination of how people, machines, and information technology can work together beneficially in manufacturing systems.

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Ideagen secures software contract with aviation provider The project will provide operational improvements across the organisation, particularly in risk and safety reporting The Airwork Group, New Zealand’s largest general aviation organisation, is working with software firm, Ideagen, in a project that will enhance safety management – particularly safety reporting. Ideagen’s Coruson is being rolled out to help modernise overall safety and risk management processes to replace a number of Airwork’s current systems. Coruson will be used by around 500 members of staff across New Zealand, Australia and around the world as a modern software solution for safety management, specifically to record safety issues and simplify operational performance reports for management. The software will also be adopted as a central system for the continuous monitoring of operational risk. Introducing Coruson was a logical decision for Airwork following the requirement by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand for all aviation businesses to have an approved safety management system (SMS).

Following on from the successful implementation of their NZ industry-leading SMS system, Airwork identified the need for improved SMS monitoring and risk elevation became essential. Scott McGregor, Helicopter Commercial Manager at Airwork Group, said: “This is an exciting project that will help us take safety management to the next level and significantly improve our risk awareness and mitigation processes.” The Airwork Group focuses on fixed-wing and helicopter maintenance, aircraft leasing, flight operations and works with both private and public entities. Airwork currently has a fleet of approximately fifty helicopters and thirty 737/757 freighters. Coruson will be rolled out across Airwork’s entire rotor and fixed wing businesses with an emphasis on reporting, audit and the safety investigation functionalities of the system, including risk.

“We are all about making safety easy, as it’s easy to make safety hard,” said Mr. McGregor The software-as-a-service (SaaS) framework is a benefit to Airwork which fits with their IT strategy. Ideagen’s software is used by more than 300 aviation organisations globally, and counts the likes of Emirates, KLM and British Airways amongst its client base. In the helicopter industry, the company works with Bristow, Babcock and PHI Inc.

Mastercam 2020 Lathe delivers powerful toolpaths and techniques

From accepting and programming any CAD file to Dynamic Motion roughing and precision finishing, Mastercam 2020 Lathe gives you a variety of options to turn all your parts exactly as you need them. Mastercam 2020 Lathe features new 3D tooling, filters for inserts and holders, improved chuck jaw definitions, and much more.

3D Tooling

Improved Chuck Jaw Definitions

3D Tooling has many usability improvements, such as the new 3D tool icons in the tool lists to help distinguish between 3D and non-3D tools in the Lathe Tool Manager, and the new stop-on-contact functionality when mating insert to holder. Mastercam 2020 allows you to build inserts using the new Insert Designer function panel, as well as holders using the new Holder Designer panel.

Parametric jaw definitions are now more powerful and flexible with Mastercam 2020 Lathe. A few enhancements include support for pie-shaped jaws in additional to rectangular-shaped jaws, ability to change the mounting orientation with easily reversible steps, as well as a live preview showing the overall shape of the jaws and total dimensions. In previous versions, you were limited to a fixed set of seven possible reference positions to identify the location of where the jaws clamp the part. Now, you can select any point on the profile.

Filters for Inserts and Holders Mastercam 2020 Lathe lets users filter inserts and holders by attributes by selecting the attributes they are looking for. Only items that match that criteria will display in the Tool Manager.

• New tabs to display library inserts and holders in the Lathe Tool Manager. • Chuck jaw improvements such the ability to define as many steps as required, set the dimensions of each jaw individually, and add a radius to the step.

Also available in the Mastercam 2020 Lathe is: • Auto-populating compensation defining 3D tools.

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

COMPANY PROFILE Just the right chemistry New Zealand family-owned and operated, Chemfreight is a specialised 3PL distributor

offering the complete solution of hazardous,

non-hazardous and separate dedicated food storage and chemical toll blending backed by a national transport network.

Started in 1989, it was the brainchild of Harry Price who, having worked in the chemical industry for many years, saw an opportunity and industry need for the specialist third party storage and distribution of hazardous goods. Three years ago, his son Joseph Price, took the helm as General Manager bringing his well-rounded business experience following years in insolvency and accounting. The business has undergone substantial changes and almost doubled in size from a staff of 40 to 80, and 100 clients to 200. Chemfreight does not have a sales or marketing function and has used their reputation for operating class leading facilities and delivering an excellent 3PL supply chain service to attract new business and also retain their existing valued clients. With their Head Office in East Tamaki, Chemfreight operates three Major Hazardous Facilities with two state-of-the-art storage facilities in Auckland and a large storage facility servicing the South Island located in Christchurch. They process approximately 3000 inbound containers per year and store in excess of 20,000 pallets across nine warehouses. Next year construction is planned to commence on a specialised concrete walled and roofed store for flammable substances with a capacity of 5,000 pallet spaces.

Low staff turnover Many of the staff have worked at Chemfreight for years, and it is very much a family focussed business. “There are some families where as many as three family members are employed here as part of our team,” says Joseph. In an industry that sees a high staff turnover, Chemfreight has very low turnover. “Finding high calibre skilled staff is a challenge,” says Joseph, “and we have worked really hard to attract and retain our team. This means investing in the best safety and handling equipment and listening to what our team needs, giving them as much choice as possible when selecting their work equipment from safety glasses, wet weather and hot weather gear, to work boots.” Joseph worked at Chemfreight in his high school and University years. “I have a good understanding of what is involved from the ground up and know the physical and operational challenges of the work,” which is why he wants to ensure his staff are comfortable and have the most appropriate safety gear. “We put employee welfare ahead of anything

NZ Manufacturer November 2019 /

else and our team appreciate this approach,” he says. Chemfreight has a diverse group of staff which, Joseph explains, “reflects our approach to employing on merit.” Joseph describes the company as a meritocracy, saying, “Everyone wears the same brand and are treated the same. Our people are respected for what they do here and their contribution to the business.” He believes that this environment is crucial to the success of the company. Joseph explains that the staff appreciate, “There is a clear progression for staff. Our team like to see there are opportunities for development within the business and consequently this is reflected in our low staff turnover.”

Team training and wellbeing The team’s safety is paramount and in the last twelve months, Chemfreight delivered in excess of 2000 hours of training. “We also consider staff wellbeing outside of the workplace. We look after our people because we understand people have lives and challenges outside of work.” He explains that it is not safe to have distracted workers in their high hazard facilities, “There are some products here that if not handled correctly can be very harmful and possibly fatal.”

Safety and compliance a priority Chemfreight take pride in having a great compliance structure with six people devoted to compliance who are highly qualified in science fields such as organic chemistry and biochemistry. Joseph explains, “Not only do we understand what we store and handle, we understand what it can do to you, how to treat it, what to store it with and what not to store it with.” In addition to keeping the staff well trained, Chemfreight continuously undertakes risk assessments and review their safety procedures. They strive to exceed all legal and quality requirements. This has had the advantage of attracting new business. The Chemfreight health and safety philosophy goes beyond their own facilities, with the company choosing to only work with transport partners who really understand the risk of what they do. With family connections sewn into the business, a workplace injury or death would have extra consequences. Joseph says, “We have a culture here where people think about safety first. If someone

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has a different approach, they won’t continue to be employed by us.” Another example of putting employee wellbeing first is the introduction of a policy to reduce loose load inbound containers. Chemfreight aligned itself with WorkSafe best practice and made the decision to scale back these activities in order to avoid injuries and improve outcomes for workers. “After informing clients and ensuring everything was palletised for health and safety, we have seen a fall in injuries arising from this activity as staff are no longer lifting heavy loads from above the head, back and shoulder regions.”

Impact of traffic congestion Chemfreight own and operate a fleet of 11 specialised trucks in its Metro Fleet with Dangerous Goods capabilities and certification. They are equipped with GPS monitoring and tracking and carry chemical pump over capabilities for hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals. For the 3PL industry, transport margins are tight and congestion on the roads leads to rising costs. Delivery windows can be set by customers who then require inward goods at certain times and this creates additional time pressures. Chemfreight currently distributes close to 2,000 tonnes of freight a week and provides DIFOT reporting to its customers. Fortunately, Chemfreight have the versatility and flexibility to diversify into other services. They have a ‘Toll Blending’ service in which they manufacture chemicals, then store and distribute them through the Chemfreight network. With the ability to blend up to 5,000 litre batches and with four blending tanks they can manage the whole supply chain from start to finish. They can also provide a service similar to fuel transfer in which they deliver the chemicals, pump them into the customers vessels, clean up and leave, taking away with them the drums and making it very easy for the end customer. Joseph credits the success of Chemfreight to his team of 80 staff having a clear objective to ensure the team works together to achieve it.

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Across Asia, the Pacific and around the world Asia”Manufacturing”News keeps you in touch with the latest in manufacturing trends and developments. Our team ensures that the best of technology information is available to you, the reader through case studies and product and business news as soon as it is released. You can read it on our website www.asiamanufacturingnewstoday. com and of course, in the magazine. We talk to and interview industry leaders, monitor the trends and share the information with you to benefit your company in the future.

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

COMMENT The facts about vocational education reform by Fiona Kingsford, Competenz CEO

Some of you will be fully up to date with the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE), others may not be. This is a very brief update on what RoVE is all about, what stage it is at and some myths that need to be addressed. What is RoVE? On 01 August the Government announced seven key changes to create a unified vocational education system. As part of breaking down the barriers between on-the-job and off-the-job training, it will disestablish the eleven industry training organisations (ITOs), of which Competenz is one, and replace them with two new entities:

starting from scratch today, you would not design it how it is currently structured. While Competenz acknowledged changes were needed to improve on-the-job training, it did not support the disestablishment of ITOs. However, this decision has now been made, so our focus is currently on getting the best outcome for our learners, employers and industries in the new world.

1. A new national delivery agency referred to as the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST), to deliver all classroom, digital, and on-the-job learning. This includes a merger of the sixteen Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics and the arranging training functions of the ITOs.

When the noise around the reforms is stripped back the Government is essentially undertaking a regulatory/provider split. WDCs will be accountable to industry for the qualifications/standards it wants, and in turn WDCs will oversee the quality of that delivery by the NZIST and other providers.

2. Workforce Development Councils (WDCs) with a powerful oversight role, responsible for leading the development of qualifications, standard setting, skills leadership, brokerage and industry advocacy. They won’t be directly involved in running on-the-job training themselves.

This seems simple enough, and the foundations on which the new system is based have the potential to address all of the concerns we have raised, and then some. The things that will get in the way of a successful transition are people and culture.

The WDC functions and the arranging of on-job training are currently ITO activities.

Where is RoVE at? The Government is currently consulting on the establishment and coverage of each WDC. The industry training organisations (ITOs) have proposed a seven-WDC model with slightly different vocational pathways to the six currently adopted. During extensive consultation with its industry associations and key employers, Competenz received feedback that their sectors mostly align with a skills aligned Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics (MEL) Workforce Development Council. They also support Competenz in taking a leadership role in establishing this proposed WDC. Competenz has submitted a summary of this industry consultation and feedback to the Government for its consideration when finalising WDC coverage, available on competenz.org.nz/reform-of-vocational-education/ Once Minister Hipkins determines what industry coverage a WDC will have (expected to be announced early December 2019) the industry will need to determine how it will be governed. The transition from the current regime to the new one under RoVE is anticipated to take until December 2022. By that time, all WDCs will be in place and all work-based training will have transferred from Competenz to the new national institute.

Myths At the moment the vocational education system is not as efficient as it could be and, if you were

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Everything happens over the next three years, and there are already a bunch of mixed messages that, if not checked, have the potential to undermine employer confidence, at a time when skilled, qualified workers are so desperately needed in our 36 industries…and we certainly don’t want that. Myth 1 – Government is creating a mega-poly to get out of a financial hole One of the myths floating around is that all that is happening is the Government is creating a “mega poly” and it is only doing this to get them out of a massive financial hole. I can’t tell you if that is true or not, but I can tell you the system was creaking, and something had to change. Myth 2 – The “mega-poly” will replace on-the-job learning with classroom learning Another myth is that because there will be a “mega poly” established, on-the-job learning will be replaced by classroom learning. While that may be a natural assumption (as polytechs predominantly undertake classroom learning), it is not correct. The NZIST is not a “mega poly”, but a new national entity with an extensive network of campuses, responsible for all vocational learning be it on-the-job, off-the-job or distance learning. Through WDCs, industry will still decide where learning takes place and what the best delivery mechanism is (on-campus, online, on-the-job, or a combination). In fact, given how rapidly the nature of work is changing, work-integrated learning is going to be an increasingly important part of making sure students are ready for the future of work. Myth 3 – There’s no point in signing up an

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apprentice now, as they won’t be able to finish their qualification Another myth is that there “is no point in signing up an apprentice as they won’t be able to finish their qualification”. I don’t know where it came from, but it is absolutely false. All qualifications remain, and everyone entering one will be able to complete it. Qualifications are controlled by the industry and are updated regularly – no change there. Myth 4 – Competenz isn’t going to exist, so no point signing up with them We are also hearing stories of employers being told that “Competenz isn’t going to exist so there is no point in signing up with them”. This too implies that an apprentice or trainee won’t be able to complete if they sign with Competenz. This is simply not true and all things being equal the only thing you may experience is the training advisor working with you may be wearing a different shirt one day. So ignore any rhetoric that says otherwise.

Key takeaways 1. Reform was needed 2. The NZIST is not a “mega-poly” but a new national entity responsible for all training. 3. WDCs are industry-governed statutory entities, which will give industry greater control over all aspects of vocational education – they’ll get to decide whether programmes are fit for purpose and what the best way of delivering them is. 4. There is no reason to stop training for fear apprentices and trainees won’t be able to complete. 5. There is no reason to not sign up your apprentice or trainee with Competenz. If you have any questions about the reforms at all, please don’t hesitate to discuss them with your local Competenz training advisor or email VET@ competenz.org.nz

PRODUCTIVITY What if we measured the thing that matters most: “carbon productivity” David Peetz, Professor of Employment Relations, Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith University Ask any economist a question, and you will usually get the answer: “productivity”. The winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman, set the standard in 1994: Productivity isn’t everything, but, in the long run, it is almost everything. A country’s ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker. The new head of Australia’s treasury, Steven Kennedy, said much the same thing this week: The most important long-term contribution to wage growth is labour productivity. For my money, they could say the same about “carbon productivity”, an idea that is going to matter to us more. Labour productivity is notoriously hard to measure; measuring changes in it is harder still. It’s relatively easy to measure in the jobs we are doing less of these days, such as making washing machines; harder to measure in the jobs we are doing more of, such as caring for people. And it’s less important than you might think. People aren’t a particularly finite resource. Allowable carbon emissions are.

That means we’ve a carbon budget, a limited amount of greenhouse gas we can emit from here on. It would make sense to use it wisely. What I am proposing is a target for “carbon productivity”, the amount of production we achieve from each remaining unit of emissions – as a means of helping us cut overall carbon emissions. It’s easy to calculate: gross domestic product divided by net emissions. We already measure GDP, and we already measure emissions in tonnes, albeit unevenly. We are going to need huge increases in carbon productivity, much more so as a result of cutting emissions than increasing production. Things that are good for labour productivity might well be bad for carbon productivity. For example, replacing a sweeper with an air blower is good on the first count, bad on the second.

Measuring carbon productivity… If introduced at a national level, a target, or at least a widely published measure, could start to focus government minds on what’s important and what’s not, and assist in allocating resources. Solar farms would become more likely to gain support than coal-fired power plants.

Economist Paul Krugman. ‘In the long run productivity is almost everything.’

Regulatory resources might be redirected in surprising ways. While a small number of large emitters constitutes an easy target for policymakers, if those large emitters are efficient, the government might find it has to move its focus to the larger number of small inefficient emitters.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says net carbon emissions will have to be reduced to zero.

It could also help us think about how we resolve the conflict between the perceived need for economic growth and the need to substantially cut emissions. Both would be important, the measures that

Carbon is the input that matters

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achieved both would be the most important. Accounting debates about whether to carry forward international credits would be rendered meaningless. Giving national attention to measuring carbon productivity would put more pressure on more firms to measure all of their emissions. Many already measure their “scope 1” direct emissions. A smaller number measure “scope 2” emissions (from things such as electricity used by the firm). A much smaller number measure “scope 3” emissions (from sources they do not own, such as air travel, waste and water). They’re the hardest to measure.

…might just produce results For some, sustainable economic growth is a contradiction in terms. They argue that economic growth is incompatible with ecological survival. But the population appears to want both, and the political and social consequences of failing to achieve both could be devastating for democratic society and the planet. It has already been established that rising unemployment reduces support for action on climate change. Targeting or measuring carbon productivity by itself won’t achieve those goals. For that, we would need some form of carbon pricing and a government committed to the uptake of low-emission technologies. But if we are to have a shot at achieving both, we’ll need to know where we are going.

ideas can come from everywhere

Employee Perspective, found that employees who believe their employers make effective use of their talent and abilities appear to be overwhelmingly committed to staying on the job. On the other hand, respondents who said their job does not make good use of their skills were looking to leave.

The Talent 2020 report highlights another side effect of failing to uncover and use employees’ skills and

abilities outside of those required for their current role – an increased risk of employee turnover. Deloitte suggests company leaders looking to retain the best team should focus on utilising, engaging, and developing employee skills. “The most satisfied employees are those who believe their talent and skills are being well utilized by their employers.” Employees are more than the skills and knowledge required for their current job title. Not only that, employees have passions and dreams that, if supported and encouraged, can increase their value and contribution to the company.

When employees are not pigeon-holed to specific job titles and descriptions, functional silos can be broken down to allow employees to work more cross-functionally and transparently – leading to more innovation and growth. Companies that allow employees to use their full range of talents, and make a difference in the company they work for, gain a performance advantage in terms of quality and results of projects, and these companies create a happier and more engaged workforce. So, how can we reduce the amount of pigeon-holing occurring knowingly, or unknowingly, on the factory floor? By giving staff access to more information and empowering them to use their strengths and skills to help build a better company. Start small. Is there a problem that’s been around for a while in a department? Ask the operators in that area if they have any ideas how best to solve it. They can’t help to solve a problem they aren’t aware of.

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

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FEATURES

Innovation and entrepreneurship can cut waste and deliver the circular economy

December 2019 Issue

My five-year-old daughter asked me recently if could take a bag and her gardening gloves to school. I said yes, of course – but why? She replied that at recess, she had started collecting the garbage in her school yard and there was too much to carry in her hands – hence the need for a bag.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW COMPANY PROFILE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

Initially, I was filled with pride that this little person who I can barely get out of the door on time in the morning had not only absorbed my constant nagging about the importance of protecting our environment – but that she had truly understood and taken matters into her own hands. An activist at five years old.

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However, after hearing Greta Thunberg’s powerful words during the UN Climate Summit, I suddenly felt conflicted. Should I feel proud, or rather ashamed at the world we’ve created, in which a five-year-old child is spending time she should be playing with friends, picking up garbage?

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Editorial material to be sent to : Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz Tel: 06 870 9029 The projected increase in plastics production

At NZ MANUFACTURER our aim is to keep our readers up to date with the latest industry news and manufacturing advances in a tasty morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world. As I See It

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It’s time for a system reboot The trends are clear. We have moved towards an economy of disposability where the valuable resources we extract are going to waste and causing harm to people and planet. The challenges presented by single-use plastics are now well known, with an estimated truckload being dumped into the ocean every minute; about 25% of food made for human consumption goes to waste; and over the past 15 years, clothing production has doubled, yet consumers wear their clothes for half as long, to highlight just a few examples.

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Entrepreneurs and innovators are stepping up to the challenge The good news is that a wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are starting to take notice. The Bitz and Prezel innovation festival – convened by founders for founders – opened with a powerful and compelling focus on the need for “impact” driven innovation to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The combination of entrepreneurial passion and energy with emerging technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, are starting to generate incredible outcomes. Entrepreneurs like Karma are finding creative ways to connect food excess from shops and restaurants with willing buyers.

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Opinion

e-waste in the form of gold, platinum and other valuable materials – that’s three times more than the annual output of the world’s silver mines and more than the GDP of most countries.

The extraction and processing of the natural resources that flow quickly through our economies contributes to half of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the embedded value of these resources is immense. An estimated $62.5 billion annually is locked up in

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Captured in our report focused on Fourth Industrial Revolution technology for the circular economy, other examples include companies like Circularise, which is developing a blockchain based communication protocol that provides value chain transparency; Plataforma Verde in Brazil, which is working with Sao Paolo’s municipal government to create a digitally-powered waste collection system that traces materials and ensures proper disposal; or AmpRobotics, which is transforming the economics of recycling through artificial intelligence and robotics.

Surfacing, supporting and connecting circular entrepreneurs around the world These are just a few examples of how technology is being applied to positively disrupt our linear economy. The visible tip of the iceberg. Similar examples can be found from South Africa to Chile, Colombia, the UAE, India and beyond, with local innovators devising impressive ground-up solutions and innovations. The question now is how we can collectively help support and connect innovators around the world to fast-track the circular economy transition. This is why, during this year’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit, the World Economic Forum in collaboration with partners of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy kick-started SCALE 360 – a global partnership which seeks to do just this.

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY Think outside the loop: Beyond the circular economy Barbara Nebel, CEO, thinkstep ANZ We are hearing more and more about the circular economy as a way to reduce our impact on the environment by getting the most use out of materials. Steel is often cited as a great example of a circular product, due to its recyclability and the option to reuse elements when “design for deconstruction” principles are applied. The circular economy also has economic benefits – to reduce the need to produce new materials, and the associated cost, we can reuse what has already been produced. However, to truly reduce our impact on the environment, we need data to inform our decisions and must look beyond a purely circular approach and take other environmental impacts into account too.

Comparing tomatoes with tomatoes Stepping away from the hard structure of steel for a moment to something much more fragile: the example I most often use, tomatoes, are often packaged in single-use plastic. A circular economy approach would first look at reducing packaging, or producing it using recycled materials.

also means that fewer tomatoes have to be produced to meet demands, reducing the resources such as water, energy and fertiliser required to grow them. If we calculate the overall environmental impact of producing packaging against the reduced food waste, we quickly see that removing packaging altogether would actually increase the overall environmental impact of tomatoes. If we then decide to produce the packaging using recycled materials, will we need to use more energy to manufacture the packaging, or more water to clean the plastic before it is recycled? Circular economy thinking will not tell us the whole story. We may run the risk of shifting environmental impacts from one part of the life cycle to another, increasing the overall footprint of the product. This is where Life Cycle Assessments come in – they help us crunch the numbers that we need in order to inform circular economy decisions. LCAs look at the entire life cycle of a product, from production, through to use and disposal. This also includes the upstream and downstream processes associated with the production (e.g. production of raw, auxiliary and operating materials) and with the disposal (e.g. waste treatment).

However, the purpose of the packaging is to reduce food waste. Companies like Tesco’s have introduced strips containing ethylene remover to reduce how fast the tomatoes ripen, extending their shelf-life further.

To come back to steel, InfraBuild in Australia produced Environmental Product Declarations on five of their products groups, which look at the full lifecycle of essential building blocks like Hot Rolled Structural Products and Reinforcing Rods, Bars and Wire.

While this introduces another packaging element, it

When thinkstep prepared the Environmental Product

Declaration for Infrabuild’s rebar product, we considered circularity using the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, as an additional indicator to be part of the overall Environmental Product Declaration, next to the traditional environmental indicators for global warming or energy use. MCIs look at what proportion of a product is, or can be, reused. This gave Infrabuild a benchmark for their product circularity as well as identifying areas where they could improve their operations. We identified that the greatest opportunity for improvement would be to increase the amount of recycled steel used in the rebar product. Circular economy thinking has the advantage of being easy to grasp by suppliers and consumers. However, Life Cycle Assessments can make your circular economy approach more robust and credible by providing the data needed to make good decisions.

Visionary manufacturers needed Too often the concept of a circular economy is muddled up with some kind of advanced recycling process that would mean keeping our industrial system as it is and preserving a growing consumption model. This idea is based on a belief that recycling will take care of everything.

a waste-based model – should be our sole objective.

One of the most startling examples of this is the part of the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan which aims to increase recycling rates: up to 70% of all packaging waste by 2030 and 65% of all municipal waste by 2035.

Recycling is linear

In a properly built circular economy, one should rather focus on avoiding the recycling stage at all costs. It may sound straightforward but preventing waste from being created in the first place is the only realistic strategy. While we obviously need to continue recycling for quite some time, putting the emphasis on genuine circular innovations – that is, moving us away from

In a linear economy, we do not account for the side-effects generated by a product once sold to an end customer. The aim is to sell a maximum number of products at minimal cost. Continuous pressure to reduce costs leads to the creation of many of these side-effects – called externalities by economists.

were easily available and raw material prices kept decreasing. Waste, as an economic externality, was not the producers’ responsibility. Managing waste cycles, dumping it out of sight or, at best, recycling it – but only when it was cost-effective – were under the control of our national institutions.

The higher a company’s rate of production and the higher its efficiency, the more successful it will be at selling its goods in a fiercely competitive environment.

Visionary manufacturers, who understand the upcoming challenges of increasing their economic resilience, know better: a product that is returned for repair will cost less to fix and sell again, than manufacturing it from scratch.

This worked well in the 20th century when resources

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

COMPANY PROFILE Real Steel motivated staff drive success A Lower Hutt manufacturing business, Real Steel, is a finalist in the Humankind 2019 Workplace Awards. What is interesting about Real Steel is that the business has maintained high employee satisfaction through a period of rapid growth, while also introducing automation.

Growing up in Upper Hutt The company, a family run business, has seen thirty per cent growth year on year and tripled its head count to 70, hiring 30 new staff last year alone. The manufacturing business imports steel out of Sweden to make steel parts for road transport, forestry, and recycling industries. With clients nationwide, the company produces a lot of its work for the Waikato area such as steel for building truck trailers, wear parts, and materials for processing machines. Real Steel staff mostly live in Lower and Upper Hutt, with the 17-year-old company based out of Railway Ave for the last 10 years where it expanded its factory last year due to growth. It is owned by Managing Director Luke Mathieson. “It’s a great place to run a business, there is a lot of manufacturing history out here and a good work force,” says Mathieson.

A Great Place to Work Mathieson believes the company’s people determine ultimately whether they succeed or fail in business. “It comes down to the quality of our team, it doesn’t matter how good our machinery is, how good our product is, if you don’t have the people to make it

all happen, you are never going to make it happen.” Real Steel offers a flat structure and makes sure its managers are living and breathing company values. They also have a number of staff benefits that saw them named finalists in the award. These staff benefits include health insurance, free gym memberships and support with time off if staff want to coach family sports teams. The company also provides access to counselling services to help staff through personal issues. “We have a very good team at Real Steel and we try to look after them the best we can.” Mathieson says the company also tries to be clear about expectations of its values. “We have an employee handbook and it sets out very clearly what our values are and expectations of what we expect from them and what they expect from us.

Managing Director Luke Mathieson.

“Automation doesn’t mean less jobs. Our headcount has always increased even with automation that we have put in - what actually happens is you become more productive.”

“Our culture is pretty strong, almost self-policing in some ways.”

Mathieson says the team purely took part in the Humankind Employee Experience survey to get some feedback from Humankind.

Automation

“You get a lot of anecdotal stuff but now we are getting the real juice, something to focus on.”

With an eye to the future, Mathieson says the company is already partially automated and will be hiring new staff as they put in a new ERP system and computer systems, to become more efficient and reduce risk. “We have these switched on guys doing pretty mind-numbing stuff so we are trying to automate that, so we become more efficient and productive. We spend a fair bit of money investing in this.”

Mathieson says being named a finalist is some acknowledgement that they are on the right track. “It doesn’t matter what kind of level of automation we need in reality we are more dependent on key people. We have a million-dollar automated machine and if it breaks down, you need someone to get that working quite quickly or you are losing a lot of money - if there is high staff turnover it costs the business significantly”

Continuous Improvement As Real Steel looks to continue its employee track record amidst rapid growth, new products and new machinery, Mathieson says the company will be focussing on improving its onboarding process through a Career Pathways programme as well as cross-team communication. “It makes business sense to try and hold onto your people, invest in them, and it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy - if you’ve got good people, you’ve typically got good and happy customers and you are profitable which means you can look after your people more.

About the Awards The Workplace Awards, which are the only employee experience awards in New Zealand were decided against four criteria; purpose, relationship, enabling and performance experiences. All employees of participating organisations were invited to respond to a 30-question survey across the four criteria and then hour-long interviews were conducted with a random selection of employees. The combined ratings from the surveys and interviews resulted in an overall score for each business.

NZ Manufacturer November 2019 /

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ADVISORS Mike Shatford

is an expert in the field of technology development and commercialisation. His company Design Energy Limited has completed over 100 significant projects in this vein by consulting for and partnering with some of New Zealand’s leading producers. Among Mike and his team’s strengths are industrial robotics and automated production where the company puts much of its focus.

Matt Minio

Managing Director, Objective3D Matt has extensive hands on experience as a user and supplier of 3D Printing technology. He comes from a mechanical design and engineering background with 25 years’ experience in multiple high end 3D cad applications across a range of industries, including aerospace and automotive. He has been heavily involved in the 3D printing evolution - from initial early prototyping to todays advanced 3d printing technologies producing production parts straight off the printer. As Managing Director of Objective 3D, he provides Stratasys, Desktop Metal and Concept Laser 3D printing solutions to a host of industries across Australia and New Zealand.

Sandra Lukey

Sandra Lukey is the founder of Shine Group, a consultancy that helps science and technology companies accelerate growth. She is a keen observer of the tech sector and how new developments create opportunity for future business. She has over 20 years’ experience working with companies to boost profile and build influential connections.

Greg Morehouse

Greg founded Motovated Design & Analysis in 1999 with a vision to “cost effectively engineer our client’s vision”; through the use of advanced techniques, superior tools, and boundless enthusiasm. Working for VW & Audi as a mechanic, and then with Boeing & Hercules Aerospace as an Engineering Analyst, provided Greg with 40+ years of real world design and analysis experience. Greg is a world-class analyst and provides training and advanced technical support to manufacturers and some of the FEA resellers throughout New Zealand.

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

New battery technology could slash cost of electric vehicles A new battery technology that could significantly reduce the price of electric cars and home battery systems has taken a major step towards commercialisation.

electrolytic Zn–Mn battery to be less than US$ 10 per kWh compared with US$ 300 per kWh for current Li-ion batteries, US$ 72 per kWh for Ni–Fe batteries and US$ 48 per kWh for Lead–acid batteries.

South Australian researchers from the University of Adelaide have secured an A$1 million research contract with a Chinese battery manufacturer to develop the new technology and bring it to market within 12 months.

The battery is designed by Dr Dongliang Chao and Professor Shi-Zhang Qiao from the University of Adelaide’s School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials.

The patented design uses non-toxic zinc and manganese, two metals that are abundant in Australia, and incombustible aqueous electrolyte to produce a battery with a high-energy density. The researchers estimate the cost of this new

The high-energy, safe battery opens up markets where the battery weight, size and safety are essential factors, including automotive and aerospace, and domestic and commercial buildings, and grid-scale energy storage. Dr Chao said although there were other Zn-Mn batteries on the market such as the dry cell, they were not rechargeable or recyclable and did not present high-energy density due to a different chemical reaction mechanism. “I can imagine this battery being used on all vehicle types from small scooters to even diesel electric trains. Also in homes that need batteries to store solar power, or even large solar/wind farms,” he said.

“With more sustainable energy being produced – such as through Electric vehicles such as the ZED70 - the first electric ute engineered in Australia - could wind and solar farms – storing

this energy in batteries in a safe, non-expensive and environmentally sound way is becoming more urgent but current battery materials – including lithium, lead and cadmium – are expensive, hazardous and toxic. “Our new electrolytic battery technology uses the non-toxic zinc and manganese and incombustible aqueous electrolyte to produce a battery with a high energy density.” Dr Chao and Professor Qiao began working on the project in South Australia about 12 months ago and patented the technology at the beginning of this year. Chinese battery manufacturer Zhuoyue Power New Energy Ltd, whose current batteries are lead-based, has committed $1 million to develop the new technology. The ongoing research work and initial product development will be conducted in Adelaide with manufacturing expected to take place in Australia and China. Dr Chao said the project would combine the new electrolytic battery technology and the company’s battery assembling technology. “In addition, the battery uses basic materials and simple manufacturing processes so will be much cheaper to produce and easier to recycle than existing batteries of comparable energy density,” Dr Chao said.

benefit from the cheaper zinc manganese batteries. Picture: David Karaduman.

Manufacturing success since 1987. Whatever you need, we’re onto it. Be it signage for your vehicles or business, stand-out strategy, branding and design (logos, brochures and web), flawless digital printing (large and small format), prop building for specialty events or a promotion with real cut-through - our mighty team, with its expertise, resources and technology, will deliver every time.

NZ Manufacturer November 2019

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Lessons in mass production Socrates and his student, Plato, are a perfect example of how good leaders are shaped by observant students. Here, Darcy Simonis, industry network

leader for food and beverage at ABB, explains what can be learned from global manufacturing leaders such as China. China, a leader in mass production, has firm plans to build upon its proud history by invest-ing in the robotics and automation industry. However, because labor is plentiful, mass production is not always automated in China at present. Because China’s

History Mass

production

became

possible

because

technology and processes evolved to the point that it was not necessary for the majority of workers to be

working-age population is falling significantly, labor

skilled. Three decades of economic growth towards

costs are increasing by 15-20 per cent year on year,

the end of the last millennium was powered by the

compared to only 1.6 per cent in the US. This opens

flow of labor from countryside to city in China. This

opportunities for automation across all economies.

was a direct result of automation allowing workers

In 2014, the International Federation of Robotics announced that China was buying more robots

to move into manufacturing without retraining from their agricultural background.

than any other country each year, partly due to

Chinese entrepreneurship led to rural inhabitants

government funds as part of China’s five-year plan

starting their own manufacturing businesses in the

to develop intelligent manufacturing.

1980s. To take full advantage of economies of scale,

This trend has continued, in 2015 China bought

similar entrepreneurs eventually pooled together in

more robots than every European country combined.

production areas and development zones. One good

Generally speaking, Chinese manufacturers are

example of this is the city of Datang, where eight

choosing to buy robots from the same global

million socks are produced each year, one third of

suppliers as other countries, including ABB, despite

the world’s total.

there being a number of small Chinese robot

human error and increased safety are all benefits cited by Chinese plant managers. However, in

manufacturers.

Importing

“This trend is driven by the Chinese Government´s

2025 initiative to support automation. The country

entrepreneurship, China is also the largest food

aims to become a leader in automation globally,”

and beverage market in the world, relying highly

“What you’re seeing is a really high level of

explained Joe Gemma, President of the International

on imported goods. In an effort to produce more

investment in Chinese manufacturing, but most of

Federation of Robotics, in February 2017.

in the country, China’s 35,000 food processing and

this is not going to expanding capacity. It’s making

Given the clear manufacturing focus in several

manufacturing plants are finding success by using

the workers more efficient,” explained Andy

governments’ foreign policies, including UK and US

automation in innovative ways. For example, by

Rothman, an economist in Hong Kong.

policy, it’s clear that the progress China is making in

using automation controlled LED lighting and an

It would be possible to argue that China is the

automating mass production is something that many

innovative growth liquid, Jinpeng Plant Factory

observant student, learning about automation from

countries aspire to.

outside of Beijing grows up to 15 million seedlings a

the rest of the world. Nevertheless, just as Plato was

year in a 14,000-square foot area.

inspired by Socrates, global manufacturing would be

just as there is with Plato and Socrates, which is

Even in the mass markets of China, automation is

wise to pay close attention to China’s progress over

allowing countries around the globe to benefit from

being used to great benefit. Reduction in production

the next decade, perhaps the student will quickly

technological advances.

times, increases in accuracy and repeatability, less

become the master.

But there is also a clear reciprocal relationship,

well

keeping with Chinese tradition, automation is being being

thriving

hotbed

used successfully in innovative, unusual ways to remarkable success.

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

Satellite-based remote lake health monitoring solution a winner Seequent is developing a satellite-based remote sensing solution that could virtually monitor the water quality of every lake globally. Seequent’s Lake Indicator Modelling System (SLIMS) can capture water quality data across many hundreds of lakes at once and model and visualise it through time, to help freshwater scientists identify lake health changes as they occur. Seequent was awarded the grand prize at the New Zealand Aerospace Challenge 2019 after demonstrating how its globally scalable SLIMS solution could effectively and economically monitor the health of all New Zealand’s 3,820 lakes. With currently only 2% of lakes currently monitored via established methods of lake water sampling and analysis, SLIMS enables organisations to monitor changes in lake conditions with the ability to use historical satellite data to identify seasonal trends. This allows users to identify lakes exhibiting any unexpected change for closer monitoring and management. The Challenge, powered by global aerospace giant Airbus, and delivered by ChristchurchNZ and SpaceBase, sought solutions to identify, monitor or measure water or soil pollution using satellite data and unmanned aircraft technology. Daniel Wallace, Seequent General Manager for Civil and Environmental, said the company jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Challenge to apply their innovative technology above ground in an exciting new space with huge potential to positively impact sustainability. “Water quality and the health of our lakes sustains our way of life. It’s not economical to visit all lakes to monitor adverse environmental impacts, but with

satellite remote sensing every lake can be monitored virtually. “Algal blooms, sediment events and other adverse changes in lake health, which could otherwise be unseen and unknown suddenly emerge with our new monitoring solution. Subsequently these lakes could be visited to further investigate the health degradation.” Seequent’s multi-disciplinary team, which included collaborators from Lincoln Agritech and the Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management, also received support from Environment Canterbury and the University of Waikato. The team received a cash prize of $30,000, over $15,000 of Airbus data vouchers, $2,500 of legal support and an offer of commercialisation support from Xstart, a tech focused incubator based at the University of Canterbury’s Centre for Entrepreneurship. To encourage future aerospace breakthroughs in New Zealand, Seequent donated their cash prize back to the Challenge organisers to be used for future challenges, or as seed funding for small businesses in the aerospace industry. Andrew Mathewson, Managing Director Airbus Australia Pacific, said the Challenge demonstrated that space technology and sustainability are converging in new and exciting ways. Entries were judged by Valentin Merino Villeneuve, Head of Airbus Defence & Space Australasia, alongside New Zealand’s top space and agritech industry leaders. Merino Villeneuve announced the winners with Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister of Research, Science and Innovation.

“Seequent’s winning solution demonstrated the potential of commercialising existing satellite data to monitor environmental challenges on the ground. It is these tangible solutions that will drive innovation and change in how we research and respond to our changing world,” said Merino Villeneuve. How does Lake Indicator Modelling System (SLIMS) work? In New Zealand an overall picture of the health of lakes is based on the Trophic Level Index (TLI) which is calculated using four separate water quality measurements – total nitrogen, total phosphorous, water clarity, and chlorophyll-a. The water quality in each lake is assigned a number between 1 and 7, the lower the number representing the better the water quality. Seequent’s SLIMS solution remotely senses ‘Indicative TLI’, based on Chlorophyll-A (visible algal biomass) and Secchi depth (visual clarity of water), captured via spectral analysis from space and models the two components to provide base-level water quality information for many thousands of water bodies with each satellite flyover. Results can be packaged and deployed alongside lake monitoring data collected by traditional lake sampling. Seequent will continue to develop SLIMS for the global market.

Aerial software to accelerate 5G on GPUs Telcos can use the NVIDIA Aerial software developer kit and off-the-shelf servers with GPUs to create the most programmable and scalable software-defined 5G networks to deliver AI services at the edge.

With Aerial, the same computing infrastructure required for 5G networking can be used to provide AI services such as smart cities, smart factories, AR/VR and cloud gaming.

infrastructure.

Speeding the mass adoption of AI at the 5G edge, NVIDIA has introduced Aerial, a software developer kit enabling GPU-accelerated, software-defined wireless radio access networks.

In the next five to ten years, the market for AI at the edge, the number of connected devices, even revenues and investments are projected to grow exponentially.

5G offers plenty of speed, of course, delivering 10x lower latency, 1,000x the bandwidth and millions of connected devices per square kilometer. 5G also introduces the critical concept of “network slicing. This allows telcos to dynamically — on a session-bysession basis — offer unique services to customers.

Aerial provides two critical SDKs — CUDA Virtual Network Function (cuVNF) and CUDA Baseband (cuBB) — to simplify building highly scalable and programmable, software-defined 5G RAN networks using off-the-shelf servers with NVIDIA GPUs.

To simplify the management of GPU-enabled servers, telcos can install all required software as containers that run on Kubernetes — open-source software widely used to speed the deployment and management of sophisticated software of all kinds.

Traditional solutions cannot be reconfigured quickly, therefore telco operators need a new network architecture. One that’s high performance and reconfigurable by the second, Huang explained. Such virtualised radio access networks run in the wireless infrastructure closest to customers, making it well suited to offer AI services at the edge. They’re critical to building a modern 5G infrastructure capable of running a range of applications that are dynamically provisioned on a common platform.

NZ Manufacturer November 2019

The NVIDIA cuVNF SDK provides optimised input/ output and packet processing, sending 5G packets directly to GPU memory from GPUDirect-capable network interface cards. The cuBB SDK provides a GPU-accelerated 5G signal processing pipeline, including cuPHY for L1 5G Phy, delivering unprecedented throughput and efficiency by keeping all physical layer processing within the GPU’s high-performance memory. Aerial SDK runs on the EGX stack, bringing GPU acceleration to carrier-grade Kubernetes

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EGX stack includes a driver, Kubernetes plug-in, Container runtime plug-in and GPU monitoring software.

In short, Aerial enables the highest return on investment by providing elasticity as network traffic changes throughout the day, as well as the flexibility to offer services based on changing customer needs.

X-Frame for waste free buildings gets commercialisation boost Clip-together modular building design can be rapidly assembled, disassembled and reused, eliminating waste during a building’s lifecycle Victoria University of Wellington PhD candidate Ged Finch is fast tracking the commercialisation of his X-Frame structural frame solution for waste free buildings with support from the KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Programme. The game-changing framing system can be disassembled and re-used at the end of a building’s useful life. Finch’s design, a self-braced interlocking wood design which clips together eliminating the need for single-use fixings, has the potential to eliminate waste and reduce the amount of raw materials being used by the building industry. Approximately half of all New Zealand’s waste— about 1.6 million tonnes every year—is generated by the construction sector. “The current widespread use of adhesive-based fixings and single-life materials means that building a single new home will create about four tonnes of waste during construction, and even more when it’s eventually demolished and taken to the landfill,” says Finch.

Dr Antony Pelosi and Dr Morten Gjerde). Viclink has been an amazing support,” says Finch. “During my Masters, Liam Sutton—one of Viclink’s Commercialisation Managers—brought in an IP specialist to talk to me about how to protect my intellectual property and also connected me to a circular economy start-up funder.” Finch says Viclink introducing him to KiwiNet has had one of the biggest impacts to date as it has given him access to a great network of expertise and experience, his own business mentor and funding to further develop his product. “I’m using the funding to carry out specialised work required to finalise engineering designs for the earthquake resistant hold down fixings for the walls and interior,” says Finch. “KiwiNet’s support is also helping me to test the structural integrity and weather-tightness of the X-frame product, both critical features for any future commercialised product.

Finch, who has been working with Viclink, Victoria University of Wellington’s commercialisation office, also secured a place on KiwiNet’s Emerging Innovator programme to help commercialise the green architectural solution.

“They’ve also arranged for me to meet with scientists from Scion who are developing natural adhesives from forest waste products and Auckland based company Fastmount which manufactures reusable clips that connect interior wall linings with the structure. These materials perfectly complement the X-Frame technology—the networking is the magic!”

Every single component of Finch’s X-Frame design, cut by a computer-controlled router, can be disassembled and reused, so no waste is produced at any stage of a building’s lifecycle. The clip-together design allows any type of structure—floors, walls, ceilings—to be rapidly assembled and disassembled many times over, using unskilled labour and a bare minimum of tools, akin to flat-pack furniture.

He says that even though X-Frame is innately earthquake stable because of its design geometry, independent structural testing is crucial in getting his product to market. His PhD scholarship funded by the Building Research Levy (BRANZ) is also assisting with the project, with additional funding also provided for structural testing of the prototype product.

Adding doors or windows at a later stage is simple, and when kids leave home: “they could literally take their rooms with them, as our modular design also clips onto standard framing.”

Finch is currently building a small (10m2) prefabricated prototype dwelling in Auckland to demonstrate his ideas at scale and to inform market viability. He believes the completed prototype will be New Zealand’s most sophisticated ‘circular’ building.

Dr James Hutchinson, CEO of KiwiNet, says: “Ged’s vision is to transition the building sector from a linear (take, make, dispose) economy to a circular economy—where materials are reused in endless cycles. His approach could set a new benchmark for sustainable design, and it makes great commercial sense.

Ged Finch

Finch says, “This prototype build is a major step as it is the first time we will have built the entire wall system with cladding, cavity battens, insulation and an internal lining. Unitec Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture have helped out by providing robotic fabrication facilities to create the frame – which means we’ll be able to have the entire building water-tight in less than one week on-site. “We’re cladding the assembled X-Frame in an entirely reusable, chemical free external cladding system centered around a naturally preserved timber product being developed by Abodo Wood Ltd.” Finch was recently invited to present his concept at the Advanced Building Skins (ABS) conference in Bern, Switzerland. He says this was recognition from the international building industry that major changes are needed to curb waste production. Finch says X-Frame could totally transform the way we think about buildings. “My ‘blue-sky’ objective is to build a housing development with a complete circular economy design—where all building materials can be quickly recovered at the end of a structure’s life and either efficiently recycled or directly reused without any negative environmental impacts.” The KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Programme is open to early career researchers based at universities, Crown Research Institutes and other publicly funded research organisations across New Zealand. Programme recipients receive expert legal advice from KiwiNet corporate partner MinterEllisonRuddWatts and IP advice from Baldwins, as well as funding from the Norman Barry Foundation, owner of the Quality Hotel Parnell Limited, K1W1 and PreSeed Accelerator Funding, from MBIE.

“KiwiNet’s Investment Committee saw an opportunity to support Ged with expertise, networks and funding to do specialised work required to demonstrate his ideas at scale, and to assist with the commercialisation pathway from concept to new architectural solution.” Finch came up with his idea during his Masters year and, under the guidance of Guy Marriage—Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture—has taken it into his PhD (with additional supervision from

X-Frame Prototype Structural Frame.

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

2109 TIN report shows overall growth For the first time in TIN Report history, New Zealand’s two hundred largest tech exporting companies by revenue – the TIN200 – have broken through the $12B mark in total revenue, and $8B in export earnings. This equates to double-digit growth and total growth over a billion dollars for the second consecutive year, and the third time in the past four years, according to the 15th annual Technology Investment Network (TIN) Report. In other firsts, the Report shows that investment in R&D has surpassed $1B for the first time, and employment numbers in the tech export sector have exceeded 50,000 staff. “We’re delighted to present these record-breaking findings on the performance of the New Zealand tech companies that are exporting Kiwi innovation to the world,” said Greg Shanahan, founder and managing director of TIN. “Through an overwhelming number of key metrics, our tech export sector is sending a strong message that it has the potential to become our country’s leading source of offshore income. We’re very excited to see the potential that this long-term sustainable growth presents.” Mr Shanahan also notes that the TIN Next100 list has outpaced the TIN100 in terms of growth rate, a clear sign that the New Zealand tech sector is not only made up of a stable group of large companies driving the sector forward, but is also developing a strong pipeline of emerging new companies beneath them. The TIN Report monitors the performance of New Zealand’s top 200 (TIN100 and Next100) largest technology exporters in the areas of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), High-tech Manufacturing and Biotechnology, approaching almost 1,000 companies for its survey this year. The Key Highlights from this year’s Report are: • TIN200 companies continue their strong upward trajectory, achieving a consecutive year of $1.1B growth in revenue for the first time. Total TIN200 revenue rose to a record $12.1B in 2019, growing by 10.2% or $1.1B. This is the first time that the TIN200 has achieved two consecutive years of over $1B revenue growth.

• The strength of ICT firms continues to drive the New Zealand tech sector forward. The 95 ICT firms in the TIN200 delivered another impressive year, increasing turnover by $643m or 15.9%. This accounts for well over half of the TIN200 growth, and this compares favourably to the 7.0% and 6.0% growth rates of the High-tech Manufacturing and Biotech primary sectors respectively. Fintech remains a key growth sector, after another strong year of 26.9% growth. • Over 50,000 staff are now employed globally by the TIN200. The group now employs nearly 52,000 staff around the world, of which over half are employed in New Zealand. These employees are paid over $4B in wages – another historic milestone never before reached by the TIN200. The average wage for a TIN200 employee is more than $82,000. • Traditionally strong export markets continue to drive TIN200 export growth of 11.3%. Offshore revenue for the TIN200 reached a record $8.7B on the back of 11.3% export growth. Australia and North America maintain their position as the two largest export markets, both growing by 9.7% to contribute nearly 50% of total TIN revenue. Europe, however, topped in growth rate after an 18.5% revenue rise. • Significant change is seen in the ownership landscape following considerable foreign interest. A total of seven TIN200 companies received offshore investment with $326m invested between them. With eight TIN200 companies also acquired by offshore interests, there is a clear shifting dynamic in the TIN200 ownership environment. • The Wellington region demonstrates the strongest growth in both dollar and percentage terms. While growth was seen in all regions across NZ, Wellington stands out as the fastest growing, increasing sales by $386m or 17.5%. This puts Wellington alongside North Auckland and Otago as the only three regions with double digit 5-year CAGRs, proving they are consistent drivers of overall TIN200 growth.

• Innovation remains critical for the NZ tech sector. R&D continues to be a key focus for TIN200 companies and has reached over $1B for the first time in TIN Report history. This has pushed it above the 10% of revenue mark, with TIN companies allocating 11.1% of revenue toward R&D activities. • Number of TIN Rising Star companies reaches record heights. TIN’s category for consistent high growth companies, the TIN Rising Stars, has reached a record 29 companies. Dominated by the ICT primary sector, this expanding group highlights the increasing depth of impressive tech firms in New Zealand. TIN celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and Mr Shanahan says the organisation is looking to make an enhanced commitment in 2020 and beyond towards making tech companies an increasing force for good in New Zealand, utilising their talents and robust networks to help address economic disparity and bring about genuine societal change. “In 20 years’ time, when we are looking back on another two decades of evolution of the New Zealand tech sector, I’m confident that we’ll be able to trace the threads back to the TIN Report of 2019 and see how the successes of today translated into the strong foundations of a tomorrow that brought benefit and prosperity to all,” said Mr Shanahan. *TIN Rising Stars: A TIN200 company qualifies as a TIN Rising Star if it has demonstrated sustained high growth over the past three years (Minimum 20%, 3-year CAGR). The Rising Stars come from a diverse range of New Zealand’s highest growth secondary sectors Top Ten Companies (measured by revenue) 1 Datacom Group $1,294,933 2 F&P Appliances $1,172,000 3 F&P Healthcare $1,070,000 4 Xero $552,800 5 Gallagher Group $271,000 6 Livestock Improvement Corporation $246,561 7 Douglas Pharmaceuticals $236,800 8 Temperzone Group $200,000 9 Scott Technology $182,000 10 Weta Digital $175,450* *Estimated Revenue EY Ten Companies to Watch 2019: TIN100 companies with the largest revenue growth in 2019 1 Datacom Group $188,153** $1,294,933 2 Xero $146,200 $552,800 3 F&P Healthcare $89,600 $1,070,000 4 Scott Technology $49,000 $182,000 5 Pushpay $46,200 $144,400 6 Gentrack Group $29,296 $104,477 7 Transaction Services Group $29,000 $155,000 8 Grinding Gear Games $26,852 $99,246 9 Vista Group International Ltd $24,100 $130,700 10 Gallagher Group $21,000 $271,000 The EY Ten Companies to Watch list recognises the TIN companies with the highest dollar value increase in revenue in the past year. Included are companies that have provided revenue figures and achieved a minimum growth of 5%. The size of the tech industry has grown significantly since 2005 and in recognition of this, TIN has collated information on around 1,000 companies in 2019.

NZ Manufacturer November 2019 //

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NEW PRODUCTS EWCE wire rope and cable cutters reduce hazards Powerful, portable and efficient new electrically powered EWCE wire rope and cable cutters have been introduced by Enerpac to reduce hazards and increase efficiency when cutting heavy duty material. The 25kg guillotine-style cutters offer 380kN (42.7 tons) force to speedily slice through rope up to 42mm diameter and cable up to 55mm, instead of the material having to be held in place and cut amidst a shower of sparks or broken blades as operators attempt to employ methods such as angle grinders or gas saws. Safety, durability and speed are huge benefits of the EWCE cutters, which can handle materials up to HR 48 hardness while maintaining effectiveness throughout rigorous use on sites such as mining, electrical, construction and infrastructure. The new 230V tools complement Enerpac’s broad range of complementary hydraulic cutter heads, including WHC, WMC, WHR and STC types in capacities from 3-20 tons and cutting capacities of 13-101mm. Backed throughout Australia, New Zealand and

Papua New Guinea by Enerpac’s comprehensive service and technical support network, optimising their uptime and safety in service even in aggressive conditions and remote locations, the new EWC cutters offer advantages such as:

lifting cylinders, pumps, pullers, presses, control technologies and professional bolting technologies widely used throughout Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

• Increased safety, with high portability, plus easy positioning facilitated by the tool’s opening head. • Easy and secure setup and operation, with wire rope or cable held in place by the blades during the cutting process, offering greater safety than cut-off wheels and fewer sparks • Increased productivity, with a swift, controlled cutting process offering quick set up, with double-acting cylinder and directional control improving handling and reducing jamming • High durability, with the highly durable blades outlasting grinder or saw blades and avoiding hazards from disintegrating high-speed rotating equipment EWCE electric wire rope and cable cutters complement the global high-pressure hydraulics market leader’s comprehensive ranges of

Cable trimming, and wire rope cutting, Power transmission, networking and communication cables, often supplied on spools, can be cut on-site. The EWCE can also cut through wire rope within seconds (first ensuring that it is securely taped or bound to prevent unravelling during the cutting process).

New adhesives range launched CRC Industries Australia has introduced seven ADOS adhesives to its product portfolio. ADOS is an iconic brand which was founded in New Zealand 60 years ago and purchased by CRC in 1996.

CRC F2 Multi-Purpose Contact Adhesive CRC F2 Multi-Purpose Contact Adhesive is a high performance general-purpose contact adhesive which is water resistant and flexible with a high bond strength which makes it ideal for a wide range of uses. CRC F2 is easily applied, highly versatile, durable and bonds instantly to most materials and substrates. It is easy to use with no clamping required and can be applied using a brush or roller. It is available in 75ml tubes or 125ml, 250ml and 1L tins. CRC F3 Non-Drip Contact Adhesive CRC F3 Non-Drip Contact Adhesive is a thixotropic, high-strength contact adhesive formulated to be non-spill and non-drip, providing greater control of application and better coverage. Its gel form makes it ideal for vertical and ceiling applications and for bonding onto porous surfaces. CRC F3 is a resilient product with good resistance to heat, water, acids and alkalis and will not soak in as other liquid adhesives do, giving excellent results on porous surfaces such as the end grain of particle board. It can be applied using a trowel or scraper and is available in a 500ml tin.

CRC PVC Pipe Cement CRC PVC Pipe Cement is a general purpose, clear PVC adhesive which has been specially formulated for sealing and bonding joints in PVC guttering, conduit, waste bowls, standard low pressure pipe systems and more. It is a blend of three aggressive solvents with

sufficient resin to provide a brushing consistency. It is used widely for installing SIC and PVC pressure pipes, guttering, waste and vent pipe fittings as well as conduit systems and is specially formulated to ‘weld’ bond PVC and PVC rigid pipes, fittings, sheeting and components.

remover which has been designed to soften or dissolve most adhesives and paints as well as uncured laminating resins and uncured sealants. It also removes paint spills, graffiti, inks and grease and is ideal for use on metal, wood, fabric, carpet, stone, brick and steel surfaces.

It can also bond PVC spouting to itself. It is available in 250ml and 500ml tins. Please note this product should not be used for gap-filling.

The gel formula clings to the surface making it also ideal for vertical applications. It is available as a 550ml aerosol.

CRC Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive

CRC MS High Performance Adhesive Sealant

CRC Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive bonds most materials quickly and easily, giving a long-lasting bond. It is formulated to give a fast tack off, low soak spray and dries clear. It is a pressure sensitive one-way adhesive that remains repositionable for one to two minutes, eliminating costly errors with expensive materials. Once positioned, the adhesive will bond within 10 to 20 minutes, with ‘full cure’ taking 24 hours. CRC Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive is reliable, offers high strength, is non-staining and is a low mist aerosol. It has a low odour and so is safe for indoor use. It is available as a 210ml or 575ml aerosol.

CRC Ultra High Strength Aerosol Adhesive CRC Ultra High Strength Aerosol Adhesive gives an immediate and permanent bond on a wide variety of surfaces. It is formulated to give low soak, cure fast, dry clear and be non-staining. It is plasticiser safe, easy to use with no clamping provided and boasts a high heat resistance of up to 75°C. CRC UHS is available as a 550ml aerosol and comes with a variable nozzle which allows controlled, accurate spraying with a variable spray width.

CRC MS Sealant is a high performance, one-component neutral curing adhesive sealant based on MS Polymers. It has excellent primer-less adhesion to all materials commonly used in the demanding building, construction and engineering industries. It waterproofs, bonds and seals for a wide variety of applications and the cured product can be painted with most solvent and water-based paints and varnishes. It boasts a neutral cure with no acids as well as extreme flexibility thanks to its excellent mechanical properties over a wide temperate range and will not crack. It is available in 400g cartridges for white, black and grey and a 300g cartridge for clear.

CRC Stuff Off Adhesive Remover CRC Stuff Off Adhesive Remover is a powerful

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NZ Manufacturer November 2019

NEW PRODUCTS Smallest airomatic polyactuators tested to five million cycles Tiny but robust Firestone Airomatic pneumatic actuators from Air Springs Supply respond to high-speed automation, conveying and transfer challenges that demand ultra-compact and ultra-hygienic performance when handling food, beverage and delicate manufactured products. The smallest-ever, metal-free and maintenance-free 50-P-10 Airomatic Polyactuators achieve a stroke of 10mm (.39in) at maximum pressure of 3.5 bar (50psi) and a diameter of 50mm inflated, yet can exert forces of up to 38kg (.379 kN/85 pounds force) at just 3.5 bar (50psi). Constructed from layers of polyurethane welded together to form a tight, tough seal, they have been laboratory tested to last for five million cycles without

product failure or performance degradation, says Air Springs Supply Technical Product Manager, Mr James Maslin. Originally designed for the conveyor industry – where their compact design permits increased design flexibility – Airomatic applications include transfer sections and roller brakes, but they can be used in almost any industrial actuation application requiring very small pressure and stroke. The three-barb fitting design allows for easy installation of standard industrial tubing. The Firestone Airomatic Polyactuator range – the most compact pneumatic actuator range Air Springs Supply has ever introduced to Australia – is one of the latest and smallest members of a Firestone actuator

Airomatic actuators, above, including the latest and smallest 5—P-10 version, right, with inlet and outlet feeds

and isolator family that includes Airstroke®actuators and Airmount isolators in individual stroke capacities up to 40,000 kg and measuring up to a metre across. The tiny Airomatics are proportionately just as tough as their larger counterparts and are easily customizable to meet specific sizes and shapes for a wide variety of materials handling and processing applications. Firestone engineered these actuators to be as robust and reliable as their larger air springs. They will last for literally millions of cycles without product failure or performance degradation. Firestone Industrial Products (for which Air Springs is Australian national distributor) manufactures the world’s best-selling air spring range. Its Airstroke actuators and Airmount isolators are used in materials handling applications worldwide. Air Springs Supply has a long-established national distribution network offering strong product availability and technical advice on the best choices for particular applications.

Versatile long-grooving options expanded Dormer Pramet has expanded its parting-off and grooving assortment with several significant additions. This includes a complete offer for a variety of machining conditions and materials comprising a new insert, two new geometries, a grade, blades and tool holder.

with shank dimensions from 16 – 25mm. Their advanced design supports stable cutting and resists vibration, promoting high-quality surface finish. The holders provide an overhang up to 32mm. Designed for small part machining, the tools feature a 30-degree angled screw position for easier indexing and a brace to increase toughness.

The new 25mm GL double-edged insert is available in a variety of widths from 2 – 6mm. Targeting long-grooving applications, GL supports 60 per cent deeper capacity, over Dormer Pramet’s LCMF16 insert.

In addition, a line of universal tool blades, offering heights between 26 – 32mm, are now available. It features a double-sided clamping key and a new design which enables inserts to be replaced with one hand.

A PVD grade, G8330, has been introduced for the GL insert to provide a versatile and stable option when machining steel, stainless steel and cast iron.

Meanwhile, Dormer Pramet has launched a new grooving system, including an insert (X61) and toolholder (P61) for light machining, specifically the external and internal turning of lock rings and sealing rings.

The insert is also supported by two new geometries. PR is the first choice for medium to high feeds in a variety of machining conditions. Its cutting-edge strength resists cracking when grooving interrupted cuts and is ideal for the parting-off of bars. The PM geometry is an option for low to medium feeds on soft materials, such as austenitic stainless steel, as it offers greater resistance to built-up edge and reduces the bur left when parting-off tubes. A new range of external tool holders are available

NZ Manufacturer November 2019 /

Widely used in the bearings and automotive industry, lock rings – also known as circlips – and sealing rings require highly durable and accurate tools due to the small dimensions involved. The new insert offers deeper grooves with widths up to 1.85mm and is available in both single and doubled-edge designs. Its positive geometry reduces cutting forces and temperature generated, meaning less power and stress on the workpiece, tool and

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machine. Available in the new G8330 grade, the X61 includes a negative T-land to improve cutting edge strength and reliability, making it suitable for smooth machining of steel, stainless steel and cast-iron. New toolholders are included as part of the launch to support internal and external grooving. Designated P61, the range offers a productive solution for finishing operations on small workpieces.

NEW PRODUCTS Flaw detector redefines the standard for phased array The new OmniScan X3 flaw detector has innovations that improve the entire inspection workflow. Setting up for a job is faster and more efficient while total focusing method (TFM) images collected through full matrix capture (FMC) give users more confidence in their decision making. When an inspection is complete, leading-edge software tools make analysis and reporting easier. The flaw detector combines the essential tools needed for PAUT inspections, such as TOFD, two UT channels, eight groups and 16:64PR, 16:128PR and 32:128PR configurations*, with powerful innovations, including: • TFM/FMC with 64-element aperture support • Improved phased array imaging, including an innovative live TFM envelope feature

Creating a setup is also faster with improved calibration tools and support for simultaneous probe and beam set configuration, onboard dual linear, matrix and dual matrix array creation and automatic wedge verification.

With the total focusing method, users can produce geometrically correct images to confirm the characterisation of flaws identified through conventional phased array techniques and obtain better images throughout the volume of a part.

Certified IP65 dust proof and water resistant, the instrument has the reliability and ease of use that OmniScan flaw detectors are known for combined with high-quality images that help make interpreting flaws more obvious.

Additional features that enable outstanding images include a 16-bit A-scan, interpolation and smoothing and a vivid 10.6-inch WXGA display that provides clarity and visibility in any light.

• Acoustic influence map (AIM) simulator for TFM mode • 25 GB file size

The OmniScan X3 flaw detector makes analysis and reporting faster, both onboard the instrument and on a PC. The instrument also comes with a variety of helpful data interpretation tools: • Circumferential outside diameter (COD) TFM image reconstruction to facilitate interpretation and sizing of long seam weld indications

• Up to 1,024 × 1,024-pixel TFM reconstruction and four simultaneous, live TFM propagation modes • Simplified user interface with onboard scan plan

• Merged B-scan to facilitate the screening of phased array weld indications while keeping the workflow simple

• Wireless connectivity to the Olympus Scientific Cloud™ (OSC) makes it simple to keep the instrument’s software up to date

Whether inspecting pipes, welds, pressure vessels or composites, the flaw detector enables users to complete their work efficiently and interpret flaws with confidence.

The comprehensive onboard scan plan tool enables users to visualise the inspection, helping reduce the risk of errors. The entire scan plan, including the TFM zone, can be created in one simple workflow.

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THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY continued from Page 15

Visionary manufacturers needed In our current model, we extract resources, transform them into products, and consume or use them, prior to disposing of them. Recycling only starts at the throwing-away stage: this is a process that is notmade to preserve or increase value nor to enhance materials. We need to understand that recycling is not an effective strategy for dealing with unused resource volumes in a growth model. We will find ourselves in a never-ending pursuit of continuously generated waste, rather than seeing the avoidance of waste as a path to beneficial innovations on many levels. Of course, it is easier to think about recycling. This avoids changing the whole of our volume-based production model. But in a world where we have to shift our consumption patterns and use less energy, recycling no longer has all the answers.

Recycling is ‘business-as-usual’ Since we cannot stop the volume of waste overnight, investments in the recycling industry are needed. But truly meaningful investment in developing a circular economy takes place outside of the recycling space. Indeed, the more we recycle and the more we finance recycling factories, the more we stay ‘linear’. We mistakenly believe this is the best route to solve our problems - but by staying in a recycling-based economy, we will delay the transition to an advanced circular economy.

their needs and help them with additional services.

to units designed to fulfil local needs.

Long-term because you will lower your exposure to future financial risks. Any of the feedback loops that exist prior to the recycling loop are an opportunity to take back control over your stock of resources – taking control away from the raw material markets, which may become highly volatile.

In developed markets, a possible plan could be to develop strategic partnerships with local service providers, who can provide the infrastructure. In emerging markets, where there is often an urgent need for jobs, leapfrogging straight into a national re-manufacturing strategy is the way forward.

Increased interactions with your customers, both commercial and financial, and an in-depth understanding of their needs, would increase customer loyalty and a business’ overall resilience.

Becoming the next ‘world factory’ hub is an obsolete vision today.

Re-using, re-distributing and/or remanufacturing strategies are the preferred approaches in a circular economy, as they are based on parts durability. Caring for and preserving the value of product components increases corporate economic resilience, while diminishing external market risks. Whether you are acting in a highly advanced or a developing economy, these strategies make crystal-clear sense: they are less costly in the long run because repairing a product made to last is always less expensive than producing it from scratch.

Leapfrogging chains

into

valued

supply

We live in a world in dire need of disruptive innovations. Closing loops next to where customers live while avoiding waste is a short and longer-term win-win for any leading re-manufacturer.

Following this approach, we must move away from activities that devalue the material, such as recycling, and instead invest in those activities that preserve it: reuse and remanufacture. These two are especially important since they create many more secure jobs. Walter R. Stahel, the godfather of the modern circular economy, introduced the metric of labour input-per-weight ratio (man-hour-per-kg, or mh/ kg) to measure job creation in relation to resource consumption. He found that the ratio of mh/kg when building a remanufactured engine from used resources compared to making the same engine from virgin materials is 270:1. The impact on employment is huge.

Short-term because you are in direct contact with your customers, and taking back a product that needs maintenance is an opportunity to better understand

The re-localisation and the re-sizing of activities closer to customers become critical. Production sites should migrate from a highly centralized global hub

In a circular economy, resources do not end up as recyclables since products are made to last several lifecycles. Products’ lifespans are extended via maintain, repair, redistribute, refurbishment and/or re-manufacture loops, thus they never end up in the low-value, high-need-for-energy loop: recycling.

One way to start thinking like a leader in the next economy while creating jobs could be in order of priority: – Reuse by repairing (goods) through re-hiring (people), while sharing the radical benefits (awareness) of such a model – Redistribute by promoting access (goods) through collaboration (people), while sharing information (awareness) about this model – Remanufacture via the ease of disassembly (goods) by training (people), while sharing the acquired knowledge (awareness) through this model – Migration of recycling activities by diverting (goods) to service models, transferring skills (people) to remanufacturing processes (awareness). All the above make sense in a world where planetary limits have already hit most economies. Adopting a circular strategy by avoiding reliance on recycling is the way forward. This is about genuine innovation derived from genuine leadership.

Investments in the recycling industry are needed

THE HYDRAULINK DIFFERENCE

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EVENTS MaDE2020:

Synergies in New Zealand Manufacturing, Design and Entrepreneurship The Fourth National Conference for Innovation in Manufacturing, Design and Entrepreneurship is brought to you by the University of Auckland’s Innovative Manufacturing and Materials Programme. Dates: Monday 25 – Tuesday 26 May 2020 Venue: Cordis Auckland Abstract submissions are now open to local and international industry representatives and researchers, including post graduate students, who work in the manufacturing, design and entrepreneurship sector. The abstract portal closes on 14 February 2020. Registration will be open by 20 January 2020. Delegate prices are available online. Sponsorship and support: A range of standard and specific sponsorship opportunities are available, and these are designed to provide maximum leverage during the event. The MaDE2020 Sponsorship Prospectus and Application Form is available online. Join us in Auckland for MaDE2020 to learn about exciting, new manufacturing, design and entrepreneurship research and to be inspired

through examples of positive between industry and researchers.

collaborations

Engaging, short TED-Talk-Type presentations from researchers, industry and government representatives will enable productive communication between delegates from different backgrounds. In addition, MaDE2020 will showcase industry/research work by way of Poster presentations, to be displayed in the exhibition and networking area; local and international Keynote Speakers will set the tone; Panel Discussions and Breakout Sessions will provide topic specific engagement opportunity; and our ticketed MaDE2020 Conference Dinner will be our gala event on Monday 25 May 2020. The MaDE Network is a cross-disciplinary community of New Zealand researchers in manufacturing, design and entrepreneurship that works in close collaboration with industry to envision and shape New Zealand’s future manufacturing economy.

The MaDE mission is to develop expertise and capability in translational research, to grow New Zealand’s high-tech manufacturing economy. The MaDE vision is for New Zealand to be recognised as a leading, technology empowered economy driven by innovative, high-value, niche manufacturing, design and entrepreneurship.0 The previous conferences in 2017, 2018 and 2019 were very successful in building a national network of researchers and industry stakeholders and initiating valuable new connections and projects. The team is now actively developing an application for a national Centre of Research Excellence focused on the intersection of Manufacturing, Design and Entrepreneurial Research. Visit www.madenz.org for more information, including the conference history.

New agile MBA targets leaders of the 4th Industrial Revolution The University of Canterbury’s (UC) new Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programme delivers a course that is more relevant to organisations and focuses on emerging technologies, innovations and business needs beyond economic drivers. Eight new courses in the 2020 programme, which offers more flexible online study options and weekend block courses make the programme more attractive to the 98% of executive learners who work full-time while completing their MBA. UC MBA Director, Associate Professor Chris Vas says traditional business models will fail in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and UC’s radically different MBA will develop agile and innovative leaders with a focus on purpose, impact and growth.

Similar efforts are under way with ChristchurchNZ, technology collaborators and industry associations in New Zealand. The MBA introduces a Creative Challenge course where executive learners will focus on themselves as a creative project. The course has been crafted as a safe-to-fail space, so participants can really challenge themselves to be reflective, he says.

The UC MBA Programme was launched with a panel discussion event; Leadership in the Digital World. Presenters included Seequent Chief of Operations, Graham Grant; UC Vice-Chancellor Professor Cheryl de la Rey; ChristchurchNZ CEO Joanna Norris; Brannigans Human Capital Partner, Nick Carter; and UC MBA Programme Director, Associate Professor Chris Vas.

“The impact of ‘digital’ on organisations has contributed to a fast-paced environment and the rapid emergence of innovative service offerings. The new connected MBA programme will hone in on attributes that support innovative and agile thinking in the new, fast-paced business environment,” Associate Professor Vas says. “To keep up with the rapidity of emerging technologies leaders must be prepared to challenge the status quo, be adaptable and embrace risk. We will deliver courses that emphasise the importance of place-based knowledge and intertwine indigenous cultures into learning, as well as how organisations can and should strategise and connect their purpose to deliver impact through the lens of smart cities.” The Programme is seeing early success with the signing of a three year MoU with Malaysian Government public sector agency JPA Sabah to train public sector officers in these areas. A virtual Sabah Co-Action Design Lab will be set up under the MBA Programme to progress key initiatives that emerge.

Paul Dolan has been the principal at Ilam School for 7 years. He chose the UC MBA for a personal and professional challenge, and to help his move into leadership theory.

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DEVELOPMENTS Composite solutions for the wind energy industry As the world tries to limit the use of fossil fuel energy, the demand for renewable energy is increasing, with wind becoming a heavily relied on resource. In 2018, Europe’s wind energy investments accounted for 63 per cent of renewable energy, compared to just 52 per cent in 2017. To meet the growing demand for wind energy, manufacturers are increasing turbine output and, as a result, adapting their blade designs. The demand for wind energy and composite materials may be the answer to producing powerful and efficient turbines.

Wind in demand The demand for wind energy is increasing. It’s clean, cost effective and sustainable. As environmental and climate change concerns are influencing a greater need for renewable and sustainable energy, wind turbines are a substantial part of the solution –with over 340,000 wind turbines in the world already used to produce energy.

To achieve this, manufacturers are creating turbines with longer blades that capture more wind, in turn generating more energy. However, a longer blade means increased weight, which works against efficient power production. In order to maintain a powerful and efficient turbine with longer blades, manufacturers require materials that are lightweight and stronger than traditionally used materials.

The company uses their experience of design, combined with manufacturing technology to allow tthem help turbine manufacturers produce more efficient turbines by reviewing design specifications and proposing an appropriate solution.

A large part of a turbine blade’s strength comes from a support beam, or spar cap, which runs the length of the blade.

To keep up with the growing demand for wind energy, manufacturers need to invest in long-lasting, high-performance composites, that contribute efficiencies to help ensure the maximum amount of energy is produced.

Traditionally, spar caps have been made out of fibreglass, which provides the needed strength and stiffness, with less weight than other materials like metals.

Using a composite manufacturer like Exel means that design specifications will be thoroughly reviewed and met in order to achieve a powerful and efficient turbine.

A composite solution

Industry experts believe that if the demand for wind energy continues, one third of the world’s electricity needs will be fulfilled by wind power by 2050.

Yet, with the push for longer blades, carbon fibre is used as its lighter weight compared to fibreglass, allowing longer blades to capture more wind energy. Typically, each blade manufacturer will determine in their design the point at which carbon becomes the optimal solution, and the spar cap is designed accordingly.

Today, manufacturers are facing continued pressure to produce higher returns on turbines, with improved cost efficiency and increased power output that can generate more energy.

Exel Composites works closely with turbine and blade manufacturers to engineer, manufacture and deliver

For example, China is responsible for over a third of the world’s wind energy capacity and in 2015, installed more wind turbines than the EU, whereas Scotland generated enough electricity from wind in 2018 to power the equivalent of five million homes.

composite solutions for blades, including fiberglass and carbon fibre spar caps, as well as many other composite solutions used in wind turbines.

Hydraulink Academy training facility in safety and best practice Hydraulic hose, fittings and service specialist Hydraulink is setting up a new ‘Hydraulink Academy’ training school aimed at equipping its hose centre staff, hydraulic field technicians and customers with top training, skills and standards of safety and environmental practice. The Hydraulink Academy offers a range of hydraulics-focused training programmes, including several nationally recognised units. The training – which can be tailored to suit requirements – is run by qualified trainers either on-site at a customer facility, or at a dedicated Hydraulink Academy venue in Australia or New Zealand. The initiative – which applies to customers and staff of Hydraulink’s 400 service points Australia and New Zealand, as well as customers, distributors, OEMs and end-users – extends the company’s priority on investment in its staff to ensure they have an

opportunity to grow with the business, while also delivering innovative solutions and consistent standards of safety and service excellence to the advantage of customers. “The new Hydraulink Academy training courses are a great way to ensure our staff and our customers are up to date with best practices in safety and environmental and practice processes,” said Mr Jim Thompson, Group HR Manager, Hydraulink Australia and New Zealand. “Hydraulic technicians are often working with high pressures – in many cases 5,000 PSI or more – so keeping up to date with the latest safety practices is essential not only for their own safety, but for those who will end up using the machine being worked on,” said Mr Thompson. Nationally recognised skills The Hydraulink Academy training courses involve a combination of technical, safety, environmental, communication and service skills, which have all been developed in consultation with external third party safety consultants to ensure Hydraulink staff, franchisees, distributors, OEMs and end-users are appropriately trained and competent to work in such a highly specialised field. “The courses involve nationally recognised units of competency, which can be used by the graduate towards a later higher qualification such as a Cert II, III, IV or Diploma within the Manufacturing and Engineering Training Package,” explains Mr

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Julian Tullier, Group Technical Trainer – Hydraulink Australia and New Zealand. Core outcomes for graduates of the Hydraulink Academy include the ability to safely and competently identify, select, assemble, install and remove high pressure hydraulic fluid conductor components and assemblies. Additionally, attendees are instructed on the safe shutdown of equipment, identification of hazardous energy sources and how to conduct thorough pre-work risk assessments to identify hazards to individuals and the environment and implement appropriate controls for the identified hazards. “The potential adverse outcomes of a fluid conductor product prematurely failing in service are very serious, and can include serious injuries, permanent disability or death, loss of productivity for the equipment the fluid conductor is fitted to, additional downtime and repair costs to repair the equipment,” said Mr Tullier. “Hydraulink’s training staff have more than 90 years’ combined industry experience, and we have invested in capital equipment for course attendees to practice on, within a controlled environment. An online training portal is provided for easy and intuitive access to relevant information,” he said. Hydraulink is planning to run courses approximately every four weeks in Australia and New Zealand and can add additional courses as demand rises.

DEVELOPMENTS Competenz launches general manufacturing qualification to prefabrication industry Competenz, the industry training organisation (ITO) for manufacturing, has partnered with PrefabNZ, BCITO and other key industry stakeholders to launch formalised qualifications and training pathways for the New Zealand prefabricated construction sector. The New Zealand Certificate in Manufacturing - Level 2 is the entry-level qualification now available for people employed in prefabricated manufacturing. This NZQA-recognised national certification is the starting point on the pathway to building skills and knowledge workers need to perform at their best. Competenz CEO Fiona Kingsford says the organisation is delighted to make this qualification available to the prefabrication sector. “We are excited to be working alongside this emerging industry at such a critical time for New Zealand building and construction. This certification gives the prefabrication manufacturing workforce the opportunity to gain recognition under the New Zealand qualifications’ framework and provides them with valuable transferable skills,” says Kingsford.

Who is this qualification for? Level 2 manufacturing is aimed at entry-level workers to meet the standards required to perform the function of their role. The full level 2 certificate takes between six and twelve months to complete.

Business benefits Learners will train in the specifics of a role so that businesses get consistent and high quality outputs from their team. Workplace-based manufacturing qualifications deliver increased quality and productivity while complementing and maintaining the team’s core skills at every level of an organisation.

What does the qualification provide? The qualification provides clear and consistent learning, giving people in operational roles a clear understanding of expectations and ensuring quality production throughout the business.

How does learning happen with Competenz? There are three different learning delivery models available through Competenz, each of which can be tailored to best suit the specific manufacturer’s needs.

2. In-house training and assessment Where the organisation has the appropriate technical skills and knowledge to deliver workplace training, Competenz trains and appoints an expert staff member to an assessor role with full support from the Competenz team. 3. In-house training with outsourced assessment

1. Training provider

In instances where an organisation has the appropriate technical skills and knowledge to deliver training but not the desire or capability to assess, Competenz sources a contract assessor.

In this option, Competenz assists businesses in securing an appropriate external training provider to deliver a tailored on-the-job learning programme.

To find out more about how to sign up: contact Lyndall Clarke at Competenz Workforce Development, 0800 526 1800.

Abbie Reynolds award for business and sustainability The Board and Management Award in this year’s Women of Influence Awards is significant because of the many achievements of winner Abbie Reynolds and because her work is all about sustainability, says BusinessNZ. Sustainability champion Abbie Reynolds has won the Board and Management Award in the 2019 Women of Influence Awards. As Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Council, Abbie works with some of New Zealand’s

largest companies on business solutions for key sustainability issues such as climate change, future of work, changing consumer expectations and governance. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said the work of the Sustainable Business Council was enormously important in generating business support for sustainability, and Abbie Reynolds’ highly valued work at Board and management level was the critical element in this success.

Only 14% of all our engineers are women. We want to change that. Join us and scores of other Kiwi organisations that have galvanised around one common goal: 20% more women engineers by 2021. www.diversityagenda.org

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BUSINESS NEWS Boosting your business – The capital raise process - Simeon Burnett, co-founder and CEO, Snowball Effect

Raising capital is a complex and time consuming process - requiring patience, planning and countless conversations with people such as advisors, lawyers and investors to name a few. Correctly understanding the regulatory environment, who you can legally approach for investment, and how much they can invest will help streamline the process for manufacturing companies seeking a capital injection. When your company is prepared to take the leap and scale, it’s important to have a clear idea of the road ahead.

Understanding investor types The first distinction to be made when considering an equity offering is the type of investor the offer will be open to, which can be broadly separated into two categories; wholesale and retail investors. The general public are classified as retail investors in relation to an offer of financial products, as they can typically assume less risk. Wholesale investors on the other hand must meet the criteria set out in the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. A wholesale investor can be loosely defined as having a good understanding of different investment vehicles, instruments and products, or alternatively by having a substantial net worth.

Choosing the type of offer The second distinction to consider is whether to make your offer public or private. New Zealand regulatory rules provide companies with varied disclosure requirements and cost options for raising capital in circumstances where: 1. Public offers are made to retail investors through a licensed crowdfunding provider; 2. Private offers are made to retail investors through a licensed crowdfunding provider; and, 3.

Offers are made only to wholesale investors.

Public offers to retail investors are attractive as they come with substantial market exposure – meaning

more eyes on your raise. During a public offering process, it’s common for companies to attend networking events, pitch to potential investors and run marketing campaigns to gain extra exposure. As an added bonus, companies can tap into their existing network of customers for investment, and they act as great advocates for the company. It’s important to keep in mind that anyone who engages with your business is a potential investor. Private offers to retail investors allow companies to focus investment on a defined audience that suits its requirements, such as family, friends, institutions, staff or key suppliers. While a company may retain more control of the process with a private offer, it can limit brand exposure and ultimately the potential investment pool. It is however a good option for companies wanting to raise capital more discretely. A company can raise up to NZ$2million in any 12-month period from retail investors through a registered crowdfunding provider, although this can be exceeded in combination with wholesale investors. Offers made to wholesale investors are not limited to the same NZ$2million cap as offers made to retail investors, and can take the form of any type of instrument (debt or equity). Typically, these offers afford lower levels of investor protection because wholesale investors are deemed to have a solid understanding of financial products and the risks associated with investing. Restricting your offer to wholesale investors can be advantageous for companies seeking large investments, a limited number of investors, or if the deal is highly complex. An equity crowdfunding provider can facilitate the capital raising process for any of these above options. Refining your proposition and locking in lead investors

Before launching a capital raise, you should refine your company’s value proposition and gauge market interest by obtaining feedback from key market participants. This will enable you to validate your value assumptions and create a strategy that will ensure the best outcome. Through this stage, your company will ideally lock in one or more lead investors or interested parties to underpin the round. A lead investor is someone that has taken an interest in the business, has the ability to contribute substantial capital, and may wish to assume a board position and play an active role in its growth. Lead investors are valuable as they give other investors confidence and often bring industry experience, strategic relationships and further investment to the table.

Widening investor groups You can now look to launch your offer by presenting it to a wider audience. Following most likely a series of investor presentations, Q&A sessions and the disclosure of important information, you will hopefully begin to receive commitment from new investors. The offer documents will need to provide disclosures of key information such as director remuneration, dividend policies and other aspects required by the Financial Markets Authority.

Closing the offer When receiving new investment, it’s important to be aware of all legal and compliance obligations. Financial service providers are also required to undergo anti-money laundering checks on all investors before any investment is accepted, that will vary in complexity according to the type of entity that invests (individual/company/trust). Once all compliance obligations have been satisfied and payments have been fully processed, the company can issue shares to its new investors. It is worth highlighting that all companies are required to maintain a share register that provides a record of its shareholders (existing and new) and all share transaction history. Companies can use an online share register service, such as Snowball Effect’s proprietary, online platform. This can help streamline the process, and keep investors engaged following the raise through quarterly reports and regular progress updates. So, if you’re considering taking the plunge and raising capital for your manufacturing business, ensure you take the time to lay the ground work. Understand the process you’re embarking on and build the foundation for your companies offer. Map out which type of investors you want to engage, and the type of offer your company will be making. And remember, your offer is an opportunity for someone – sell the advantages of investing in your business and most importantly, keep your investors engaged after your round is complete.

Electric Utility Vehicle company UBCO raised NZD $2.48 million via Snowball Effect in 2019.

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REAR VIEW

How global exporters are keeping up with demand Regardless of whether Venetian explorer Marco Polo really was the first to introduce pasta to Italy in the thir-teenth century, food has been exported for thousands of years. For example, the UK has become heavily reliant on imported goods. In the first half of 2018, it imported £23 billion worth of food, with a proportion of five billion pounds of imported meat. In most towns, there is a corner shop that sells imported foods and supermarkets now have ‘world’ food aisles. With a rise in demand for globally imported foods, how do food manufacturers keep up with the demand for exported produce? Here, Darcy Simonis, industry network leader for ABB’s food and beverage segment, explains. Attitudes to cultures and foods has changed. More

Automating your plant

medium voltage automation.

than fifteen years ago, global foods were not as

With these factors influencing the desire for foods from around the world, companies need to increase production and enable efficient processing to meet the demand. For instance, Hungarian company, Tisza-TK Projekt has used automation to increase production, decrease operation costs and sustain minimum waste and emissions of its corn grain processing factory.

Automation provides many benefits that allow manufacturers to be able to supply to demand. In particular, System 800xA Version 6.0 allows organizations such as Tisza-TK Projekt to automate processes including packaging, labelling and mixing, enabling it to increase productivity, improve energy efficiency, while reducing waste and emissions.

widely accessible as they are now. From Asia and eastern Europe, to Africa and the Caribbean, it is now as easy to buy foods from these parts of the world as it is to buy domestic products from the country you live in.

Merging travel with cultures Travel has developed significantly, opening more opportunities to experience different cultures and food, and as a result, cultures are merging. The convenience and appeal of being able to explore more places around the world quicker than ever, means that we are subject to a variety of different cuisines that we want to be able to enjoy at home. As we have become more accepting and adventurous to try foods from different countries, it’s become fashionable to embrace other cultures and experience their food, increasing the demand for exported food.

The new Tisza-TK Projekt factory produces 530 thousand tons of GMO-free corn a year and exports 70 per cent of its high fructose products. As the Hungarian government plans to extend the output of local agriculture and increase the value added by processing more crops locally, the new factory is considered a huge contribution to the growth of the Hungarian food industry. In order to process this amount of corn and operate an energy efficient plant, Tisza-TK Projekt has implemented ABB’s System 800xA Version 6.0. The system integrates plant utility processes and the process control system, ener-gy monitoring and

Whether or not Marco Polo was the first to export pasta, this historic myth has certainly made an impact on the way the food and beverage industry operates. Although, certain types of food manufacturers have no choice but to export their produce, all manufacturers should consider exporting as wider markets can be reached, increasing productivity and sales. However, without automa-tion, manufacturers risk losing their place in the market to growing competition. As travel and popularity of global foods develops, manufacturers will heavily rely on automation to help meet the demand.

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