An innovative carpet embedded with LED lighting by a Massey University textiles professor will be shown during the 15th Venice Art and Architecture Biennale.
Associate Professor Sandy Heffernan from Massey’s School of Design in Wellington undertakes innovative textile and technology collaborations that have included new yarn developments and sustainable dyeing innovations.
She came across raw wool contaminated with a high level of vegetable matter and wanted to show that it could be turned into something beautiful. Once off the sheep’s back, wool is checked for vegetable matter, which is then eliminated through processes such as carding.
“I used yarn which would have been sold for $2/kg and chopped up for insulation - it’s good to show that it can be used. We will need to use more wool in the future as there is more restraint on the production of petro-chemical fibres,” she says.
Dr Heffernan’s Sunwinelimeberry carpet (8m x 1.2m) is on its way to Venice where it will be shown in the Future Landscapes Exhibition at Palazzo Ca’ Zanardi from October 6 to November 27 during the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale.
The raw wool used for Sunwinelimeberry was sourced from one location, then commercially dyed by WoolYarns Ltd in Wellington and tufted by John Wyma at Carpets and Rugs of New Zealand. Dr Heffernan devised a system to embed LED motion sensitive lighting which lights a pathway as people walk on the carpet.
“In Sunwinelimeberry I explored territory and the language of rivers in the context of better living in the future,” she says.
During a busy period of travel in Europe that recently included a six-week residency at Contextile 2016 in Portugal, Dr Heffernan will return to Italy at the end of November as a guest of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). “They have invited me to their next round table in Biella, Northern Italy and we will be looking at the delivery of post-graduate on-line courses focusing on wool,” she says.
Some of Dr Heffernan’s former School of Design postgraduate students worked with the industry in ‘blue sky’ research to find new applications for strong and merino wools.
New Zealand has helped make history today by ratifying the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett says.
“By ratifying today, we are helping to get the Paris Agreement officially over the line, and demonstrated our commitment to global action on climate change.
“Although New Zealand contributes only a small proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions, the early timing of our ratification enables us to join the group of countries that make up 55 per cent of global emissions - the minimum needed to get this agreement across the line. Our contribution counts.
“A significant benefit of the Government ratifying early is that it guarantees New Zealand a seat at the decision-making table on matters that affect the Paris Agreement at the next United Nations climate change meeting in Marrakech in November, which I look forward to attending,” Mrs Bennett says.
Mrs Bennett says the Paris Agreement is a comprehensive and durable international agreement, and New Zealand is committed to playing its part in keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C.
“I’d like to thank the select committee and my parliamentary colleagues for the cross-party support of New Zealand’s involvement in this significant agreement.
“New Zealand’s big challenge now is to develop an effective plan for meeting our target of reducing our emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, Mrs Bennett says.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to Brussels this week for the signing of a new partnership agreement with the European Union and to attend a conference on the future of Afghanistan.
“The Partnership Agreement on Relations and Cooperation (PARC) commits the EU and NZ to co-operation and dialogue across a broad range of issues,” Mr McCully says.
“The PARC represents a significant step forward in New Zealand’s relationship with the EU and it is the precursor to a free trade agreement.”
Minister McCully will also attend the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan which brings together representatives from up to 70 countries to discuss the Government of Afghanistan’s plans for peace-building, development, and reform.
“The Brussels Conference is expected to focus on increasing the effectiveness of international support to Afghanistan and regional efforts to support peace and cross-border economic cooperation,” Mr McCully says.
Wellington property developer Ian Cassels has unveiled plans to build six relocatable apartments on council-owned land in Porirua. The modular 72m2 two-bedroomed units will be prefabricated in a local factory, trucked to the site and bolted together in blocks three units high.
Cassels, director of The Wellington Company, says the venture will be the first step in his innovative $75 million CitiBlox housing concept, which aims to help solve the country’s chronic shortage of social and affordable homes. The unique units can be disconnected and removed from their location, allowing temporary use of vacant land that is unavailable for permanent structures, such as Crown-owned land set aside for future rail or road corridors. “There is a shortage of well-priced land for building houses in New Zealand’s cities, so this is about using land in a different way,” he says.
The Wellington Company hopes to build its first CitiBlox units on a former car park near Porirua’s train station. Cassels aims to have six units on site and ready to rent by mid-next year. Each unit will rent for about $300 to $400 a week. He has started talks with the Government about a partnership to temporarily place 2000 CitiBlox apartments on vacant Crown land in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. “The Government and local authorities are sitting on massive amounts of land,” he says. Much of it is stockpiled for future use, which may be decades away. “If you can use that land in a temporary way, it becomes feasible to put housing on it. While you have to accept that you may have to move them one day, that shouldn’t stop you if the units are easy to move. “It’s a quick fix that will lower the cost of living in cities.”
The Wellington Company has been working on the CitiBlox concept for about five years. A prototype unit was built several years ago, but construction has started on an improved version, due for completion in the next three months. Cassels says they will be high-quality, double-glazed apartments and perfectly appropriate for permanent locations. They will be equipped with two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, bathroom and deck. The design has a Multiproof nationwide building approval from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which speeds up planned developments because it means only land-use consents are needed.
WELLESLEY, MA--(Marketwired - October 03, 2016) - Increasing use of international food processing technology, rising demand for quality products, and fulfilling consumer expectations are keying growth in the global market for food processing and packaging equipment. BCC Research reveals in its new report that these drivers and innovative technologies are transforming the food processing and packaging market into a high-volume industry.
The food processing equipment industry comprises two groups: processing machinery and equipment, and packaging machinery and equipment. The food and beverage industries use processing machinery and equipment to transform raw plant and animal materials such as raw grains, fish, meat and dairy into products for human consumption. These industries use packaging machinery and equipment to pack processed food. This equipment is located at the end of the production line.
The global market for equipment used in food processing and packaging should reach about $25.7 billion and $31.5 billion in 2015 and 2020, respectively, reflecting a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2%. The food packaging market is expected to grow from $14.4 billion in 2015 to nearly $17.3 billion in 2020, demonstrating a five-year CAGR of 3.6%. The food processing market should reach $11.2 billion and $14.2 billion in 2015 and 2020, respectively, on a five-year CAGR of 4.8%.
Innovation is the foremost driver for the growth of the food processing and packaging equipment industry. Manufacturers' attempts to gain a strong foothold in the industry are yielding better designs that offer increase productivity and cost reduction. Innovative and flexibly designed processing and packaging systems are the prerequisites for manufacturers to keep pace with trends in the food industry that may arise from economic factors of utilization and consumer spending.
Growing consumer preference for individual product packaging is driving the development of innovative packaging options and product inspection systems. In response, manufacturers are providing more efficient food packaging solutions with different materials such as environmentally friendly paper boxes, polyethylene-terephthalate laminated containers, super lightweight plastic film, and sterilized cans.Robotics and state-of-art automated equipment both have increased product efficiency and consistency in the food processing and packaging segment. Advanced automated food processing equipment enables high-volume production of better quality products with a longer shelf life.
"The food processing sector is rapidly being transformed into a high-volume industry. Recent food technologies are used to meet the standard requirements of food safety and consumer demand," says BCC Research analyst Shalini S. Dewan. "The food industry is emerging as a high-growth, high-profit industry, with huge potential, especially in the food processing segment. New food processing and packaging technology is now focusing on retaining maximum nutrients and sensory properties and increasing the shelf life of food without any adverse effect on the quality of food."
Global Markets for Food Processing and Food Packaging Equipment (FOD066B) provides an updated review of the market, including basic design and its applications in various segments of food processing and packing such as meat, fish and poultry, milk, fruits and vegetables, beverages, industrial bakery products and grains. The report analyzes analyzes each market and its application, regulatory environment, new products and advancements, market projections and market shares. Global market drivers and trends, with data from 2014, estimates for 2015, and projections of CAGRs through 2020 also are provided.
About BCC ResearchBCC Research is a publisher of market research reports that provide organizations with intelligence to drive smart business decisions. By partnering with industry experts worldwide, BCC Research provides unbiased measurements and assessments of global markets covering major industrial and technology sectors, including emerging markets. Founded in 1971, BCC Research is a unit of Eli Global, LLC.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 1:34 PM: The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) closely-watched Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion showed that New Zealand's business confidence perked up in September quarter to a two-year high.
In seasonally adjusted terms, a net 26 percent of firms were optimistic about the general outlook, up from 19 percent in June. Net confidence about businesses' own activity over the next quarter improved to 32 percent from 22 percent in the June quarter (the highest since mid-2014).
Construction and retail business confidence improved, while manufacturing sector confidence was steady. Services sector confidence also improved. A net 27 percent of businesses expected to hire more workers over the next quarter, up from 13 percent in the last quarter and its highest level since 1973. However, a net 41 percent said it was difficult finding skilled labour and 14 percent said it was difficult finding unskilled labour.
NZIER's capacity utilization measure -- one measure of inflationary pressures -- fell to 92.5% from 92.9%. The survey's other measures of inflationary pressures also showed relatively weak inflationary pressures, despite indicators of strong economic growth. Data suggests inflation is likely to remain subdued over the remainder of 2016. - EconoTimes
The new design of the Green Fibre Bottle was unveiled at the Sustainable Brands 2016 Copenhagen conference. Carlsberg green fiber500 business leaders joined the Sustainable Brands community at the conference, aimed at inspiring business success through innovation and ‘Activating Purpose’ towards a sustainable future.
As part of the work of the Carlsberg Circular Community, Carlsberg kicked off the development project in 2015with Danish packaging company EcoXpac to develop a beer bottle made from sustainably sourced wood fibre. The first prototype of a fibre-based bottle was revealed in January 2015 by Professor Flemming Besenbacher, Chairman of the Carlsberg Foundation, at the World Economic Forum in Davos.The new design of the beer bottle was developed with Carlsberg’s partners in the Carlsberg Circular Community as well as CP+B Copenhagen and Kilo, a Danish industrial design studio. The prototype, which has been prepared based on the distinctive Carlsberg design, shows how the bottle might look like when it hits the market.
Manufacturing the UK’s new nuclear submarine fleet will generate a supply chain spend of between £8bn and £9bn. efence secretary Michael Fallon said construction on the four Successor Class submarines would begin this week, as he announced nearly £1.3bn of new investment for BAE Systems.
The defence company will build the new submarines at its shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
1. You predicted pre-BREXIT the end of the EU. But did you envisage at this time anything like the Deutsche Bank crisis?
Yes, Deutsche Bank has been in crisis for many years. I did write about it late last year in November in the Australian Financial Review. I put my thoughts down this way:-
“Bankers are overpaid, bonus payments are useless and there is an inflation of fancy job titles in banking
“That was the essence of a speech recently delivered at Frankfurt’s Goethe University.
“Had the speaker been a sociology professor in a graduate seminar, that would not be worth reporting. But when the new chief executive of Deutsche Bank turns on his own industry in such harsh words, that is a different story.”
I first wrote about the sorry state of German banking in 2010:
So I always thought that sooner or later the problems in Germany’s banking system would come to the surface, and they now have for all the world to see.
2. In general how would you rank the problems facing the EU now in terms of immigration, terrorism, finance for example? The EU faces so many problems simultaneously, it’s hard to even rank them. I think banking, finance and monetary policy remain the most important problems. Security and immigration are a massive headache, too – not least the EU’s stance on Russia and Turkey. And then there is the minor complication of Brexit.
3. How much water will any NZ/EU free trade agreement hold? I am relatively confident we will see EU/NZ FTA. Having said that, any free trade initiatives are highly contentious in Europe, just think of CETA (Canada) and TTIP (US). Finding an agreement with NZ is not at the top of the EU’s priority list.
4. Your forecast on the US presidential election? It will be a bad outcome. Regardless who wins. Neither of the candidates has any idea on how to deal with America’s long-term fiscal problems. Neither of them is pro trade. Neither will touch the US welfare state. The Americans only have the choice what kind of mess they prefer.
5. How do you see the TPPA emerging from this? The best we can hope for is for a lame-duck President Obama to sign it before his successor has a chance to kill the deal.
From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk - Tuesday 4 October 2016
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242