Entries for this year's New Zealand Food Awards are up 62 per cent on last year.
Entries for this year’s New Zealand Food Awards have now closed, with a record number of entries for new products vying to be the best of the best in New Zealand’s food and beverage industry.
Massey University Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says the response from the food and beverage industry has been incredibly positive. “Product entries are up by 62 per cent compared to last year, reflecting the growing gravitas of the awards and the value the recognition brings to award winners.”
A broad range of entrants, including niche operators, large-scale food and beverage manufacturers, primary food producers, food service providers and ingredient supply companies, will compete to take out the top spot in a number of award categories. The categories for this year’s competition have been refreshed and include the new Food Safety Culture Award, which has proven popular with entrants, the Artisan Award and the Export Innovation Award, as well as the ultimate accolade of the Massey University Supreme Award.
Mr Maharey is thrilled with the response and says it reflects the growth and excellence of New Zealand’s food and beverage industry.
“It’s fantastic to see so many New Zealand businesses getting involved in this year’s New Zealand Food Awards,” Mr Maharey says. “This competition is all about providing a forum for helping local food and beverage producers to showcase the success and innovation of their products and businesses.”.
“The awards enable companies to boost their profile and achieve recognition for their brands and businesses. We look forward to seeing the results and wish the entrants all the best as judging commences,” Mr Maharey says.
Owned and organised by Massey University, the New Zealand Food Awards recognise innovation and excellence by our largest export sector. The annual programme, which has been running since 1987, celebrates new initiatives in New Zealand food and beverage production, showcasing the best of New Zealand’s food industry.Judging about to get underway
Judging begins on August 9 whereby entrants put forward their products to an expert judging panel consisting of Jo Elwin, Ray McVinnie, Jeff Scott and Nici Wickes, receive feedback, and benchmark themselves against industry peers, which provides valuable insights for future development and approaches.
The finalists will be announced on September 1 and will then go on to compete for award titles. Winners will be announced at a gala dinner at the Auckland Museum, MC’d by broadcaster and food critic Jesse Mulligan, on October 13.
Winning products are eligible to use the New Zealand Food Awards “Quality Mark”, which highlights the superiority of their products to both consumers and industry, and can help boost sales and distribution domestically and internationally.
The New Zealand Food Awards is made possible thanks to Massey University and the family of strategic and supporting partners - Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development, Countdown, FoodHQ, The Foodbowl, The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, NZME, Review Publishing, XPO Exhibitions and Villa Maria.
For key dates and more information, please visit www.foodawards.co.nz.
Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key today announced applications are open for further funding to maintain and enhance the quality of the New Zealand Cycle Trail.
This is the fifth round of funding through the Maintaining the Quality of Great Rides Fund.
“This funding is part of the Government’s $8 million investment over four years to ensure the Great Rides are maintained to their current world-class standards,” Mr Key says.
“Already $3.2 million has been approved for 37 projects across 18 Great Rides. The projects include surface enhancements, safety barriers, an underpass installation, track re-routing and storm damage repairs.
“The New Zealand Cycle Trail showcased our diverse landscapes to an estimated one million people last year and that number is expected to be even higher this year,” Mr Key says.
“The trails have become a significant asset to our growing tourism industry. It’s vital that each trail is maintained to the highest possible standard so that riders continue to have a safe and enjoyable experience.”
Budget 2016 included additional funding of $25 million over four years, bringing the total invested in the New Zealand Cycle Trail to $75 million.
Applications for this round of funding will close on 31 August 2016.
More information can be found at: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/nga-hae
A release from the Beehive July 27, 2016
National Road Carriers chairperson Chris Carr has praised local stakeholders for the ease with which the new verified gross mass (VGM) regulations for packed international containers have been adopted.
Stating that New Zealand is in fact “leading the world” in this regard, Mr Carr notes the country even moved to the new regulations on a voluntary basis two weeks prior to the July 1 international deadline.
“A significant amount of work with industry groups went into planning the introduction, with exporters, forwarders, road and rail operators, ports, shipping lines and Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) all involved in working out the best approach, while recognising that the changes to procedures were significant,” he says.
“Discussions with Ports of Auckland, Port of Tauranga and CentrePort show that there have been few issues, and none of the ports had turned cargo away.”
Mr Carr also highlights the role MNZ played in successfully lobbying the International Maritime Organization for dispensation to allow containers shipped prior to July 1 to be handled internationally for a period of three months.
The international regulations were formulated after investigations into the foundering of a containership off the English coast in 2007 revealed that incorrectly-declared container weights had contributed to the failure.
The impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union on the country’s $30bn machinery production market will depend largely on whether it makes a “soft” or a “contentious” exit from the EU, according to a new analysis from IHS Markit.
This year, more than 37% of the UK’s machinery exports will go to the EU. Thus almost any EU response to Brexit will affect machinery production and the UK’s machinery exports adversely.
Even before Brexit, IHS Markit was predicting that the UK’s machinery production sector would contract by 1.6% during 2016, before reviving to deliver an average growth of 3% in the period to 2020. The sector had been in decline, falling 11.2% year-on-year, mainly as a result of its exposure to commodity exporters in South America and elsewhere.
The analyst forecasts that Brexit will reduce global GDP growth in 2017, with the UK being the hardest hit, followed by Europe (including Spain, Germany, France and Poland) – and even economies as far away as Singapore and Brazil.
In a “contentious” exit, the EU would seek to make trade rules and regulations that would result in fewer machinery imports from the UK. It could even re-route entire supply chains out of the UK. In this scenario, the EU would strictly enforce the Common Customs Tariff that applies to goods crossing its external borders.
Currently, says IHS Markit, EU importers are committed to existing manufacturing sites in the UK, and many have said there no immediate changes are needed. However, others have stated that supply conditions will have to be renegotiated.
A “soft” exit would require renegotiating of terms of trade, which could result in some trade friction, but would be on amicable terms. A tariff-free trade pact with the EU could, in fact, benefit some manufacturers in the UK and provide long-term potential benefits, suggests IHS Markit senior data analyst, Rolando Campos.
Read the full article here from Drive & Control
The NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards, which have been running for 14 years, are the pre-eminent and longest-standing sustainability awards in New Zealand.
They celebrate the contribution businesses, government agencies, social enterprises and individuals are making to transforming New Zealand to a model sustainable nation.
The Awards, which are free to enter and open to anyone in New Zealand, are a great way to celebrate your sustainability progress.
Entries are now open to the 2016 Awards, closing on 1st August.
Turkish shipyard group Sanmar has delivered azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs to owners in the United Arab Emirates and in New Zealand. These are Yenicay series of ASDs based on Vancouver based Robert Allan’s Rascal 1800 design. Safeen was delivered to Abu Dhabi Ports and Arihi to Port Otago Limited in New Zealand.
Both 18.7m tugs have a bollard pull over the stern of 32 tonnes, delivered by two Caterpillar C32 main engines, each producing 970kW at 1,800 rpm. They drive Veth type VZ900 Z-drives for agile omni-directional performance. They also have heavy duty deck machinery including a DMT towing winch. Sanmar said it had to include extras on each of these tugs to adapt them for the operating and regulatory requirements.
Safeen was constructed with an upgraded ventilation package for the intense heat of the Middle East climate. The HVAC system was modified with a split system serving all accommodation spaces. The insulation thicknesses were also increased and fan capacities were enhanced. Sanmar also installed a fire-fighting system.
For Arihi, Sanmar included additional equipment to meet New Zealand rules and regulations regarding the electrical systems. “The Port of Otago was quite specific about the level of protection – insisting upon tyre fenders along the sides, special fendering aft and bulwark top plates in stainless steel both fore and aft as towline protection,” Sanmar said. Duplex seachest strainers were also fitted as weed protection.
Source: Tug Technology & Business July 28, 2016
The latest companies that meet eligibility criteria for R&D (research and development) Growth Grants have been announced by Callaghan Innovation.
23 new companies will be able to increase their investment in R&D through Growth Grants worth up to $18.5 million over three years.
The latest companies to qualify are:
8i LimitedAccord Precision LimitedAutex Industries LimitedA-Ward LimitedEcostore Company LtdFuture Products Group LtdGoodnature LtdGourmet Blueberries LimitedJavelin LimitedLeapThought NZ Ltd (TR)Maxtel Sotware LimitedOasis Engineering (2003) LtdOutpost Central LimitedProlife Foods LimitedRayglass Sales & Marketing LimitedReal Time Genomics LimitedS.L.I. Systems IncSolutions Plus LimitedStabicraft Marine LimitedTask Management LtdTotara Learning Solutions LtdWaratah NZ LimitedWinScribe Inc Ltd
A Callaghan Innovation release July 28, 2016
Oracle -- whose CEO Larry Ellison was NetSuite's first and biggest investor -- sees midsize customers in its future.
Already one of the most acquisitive companies in the tech industry, Oracle said Thursday it's buying cloud-app pioneer NetSuite for about $9.3 billion in cash. That will give Oracle an inroad to smaller customers wanting a single system to handle finance, HR, e-commerce and other business management tasks.
Oracle has been an aggressive buyer since 2005, when it bought PeopleSoft for $10.4 billion in a hostile takeover. Since then, it's acquired at least 100 companies, including Sun Microsystem. NetSuite is one of its largest purchases.
The two companies have been connected indirectly since 1998, when Oracle CEO Larry Ellison funded what would become the first web-based application for business, then called NetLedger. Ellison and his family are now NetSuite's largest shareholders, with almost 40 percent of NetSuite stock, according to NetSuite's most recent proxy statement.
Oracle was late to cloud computing as the database giant tried to protect its profitable software licensing business. Unfortunately for Oracle, it stuck to the software licensing model long after cloud computing had become standard. With NetSuite, Oracle can fill in a few gaps in the application side of its business. Oracle also sells products to store information and operate systems in the cloud.
The deal is expected to close this year, but only if it gets the approval of the majority shares that Ellison doesn't own, Oracle said.
Source: EINPresswire July 28, 2016
A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has found a way to use graphene oxide sheets to transform dirty water into drinking water, a discovery it says could be a global game-changer.
Srikanth Singamaneni, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the School of Engineering & Applied Science, said: “We hope that for countries where there is ample sunlight, such as India, you'll be able to take dirty water, evaporate it using our material, and collect fresh water.”
The new approach combines bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam.
“The process is extremely simple,” Singamaneni said. “The nanoscale cellulose fibre network produced by bacteria has the ability to move the water from the bulk to the evaporative surface while minimising the heat coming down.
“The design of the material is novel here,” Singamaneni said. “You have a bi-layered structure with light-absorbing graphene oxide filled nanocellulose at the top and pristine nanocellulose at the bottom. When you suspend this entire thing on water, the water is actually able to reach the top surface where evaporation happens.
“Light radiates on top of it, and it converts into heat because of the graphene oxide - but the heat dissipation to the bulk water underneath is minimised by the pristine nanocellulose layer. You don't want to waste the heat; you want to confine the heat to the top layer where the evaporation is actually happening.”
The cellulose at the bottom of the bi-layered biofoam acts as a sponge, drawing water up to the graphene oxide where rapid evaporation occurs. The resulting fresh water can easily be collected from the top of the sheet.
In the same way an oyster makes a pearl, the bacteria forms layers of nanocellulose fibres in which the graphene oxide flakes get embedded.
“While we are culturing the bacteria for the cellulose, we added the graphene oxide flakes into the medium itself,” said Qisheng Jiang, graduate student in the Singamaneni lab. “The graphene oxide becomes embedded as the bacteria produces the cellulose. At a certain point along the process, we stop, remove the medium with the graphene oxide and reintroduce fresh medium. That produces the next layer of our foam.”
The new biofoam is said to be strong, light, mechanically robust and inexpensive to make, making it a viable tool for water purification and desalination.
“Cellulose can be produced on a massive scale,” Singamaneni said. “And graphene oxide is extremely cheap. Both materials going into this are highly scalable. So one can imagine making huge sheets of the biofoam.”
The team says it will be exploring other applications for these novel structures in future.
From Engineering Materials July 27, 2016
John Key is obvious candidate
The continuing shadow of the Tapie scandal overhanging Christine Lagarde has reappeared and threatens to create at the head of the International Monetary Fund a vacancy that could by filled by New Zealand Premier John Key.
South Seas prime ministers past and present are currently in vogue to fill exactly this kind of top-line international forum role, a trend that was begun by former New Zealand premier Mike Moore taking the helm of the World Trade Organisation.
Another former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark is in full campaign for the top slot at the United Nations, as is now the former prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd.
Miss Lagarde continues to be haunted by the Affaire Tapie in which French businessman, politician, and showman Bernard Tapie is accused of using connections to extract from a governmentcontrolled bank a huge discretionary sum of money to which he was not in fact entitled.
Now Miss Lagarde has been formally been called to book by France's supreme court over what has become one of France's saga-like politico-legal scandals of which the Dreyfus Affair remains still the best known.
She faces a penalty of up to a year in prison and/or a fine of $15,000 for her part as a former politician in the Affaire Tapie.
If as now seems certain the proceedings will in fact proceed, then she will find it increasingly more difficult to remain in the IMF role even though the fund, actually a bank, has formally reposed its confidence in her.
From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk Thursday 28 July 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