Ξ Machinery Market 16 February 2017
Report shows MBIE intends to flout Supreme Court ruling on earthquake prone buildings
Cadbury to close doors on Dunedin factory after 80 years, eliminating 350 jobs
Tax Management NZ (TMNZ) has launched its IRD-approved Flexi Account
Xeikon establishes Australasian support operation
Outright asset purchases may reduce opportunity to grow
Here's where manufacturing jobs have been lost
Tony Alexander's Weekly Overview February 16 2017
Broadband bargain-hunting forces Spark to change tack
An EBSS report ‘Don’t mention the law’, on MBIE’s proposed regulations and methodology for identifying earthquake prone buildings, shows that the Chief Executive, David Smol, intends to flout a landmark Supreme Court decision.
The law provides that the earthquake prone building test is against performance in a defined moderate earthquake. The Supreme Court, in a 2014 decision, ruled that the test earthquake must be a moderate earthquake, and not any more severe event. This ruling has been ignored in the methodology, where the effective test is some undefined severe earthquake.
“This ‘severe earthquake’ test and other manipulations means that buildings can be designated as earthquake prone when they clearly are not”, said Ian Harrison Chair of EBSS. “Engineers were told in their briefing document that assessed seismic ratings should never match the actual capacity of the building”.
The report recommends that engineers be required to sign an attestation that an earthquake prone building meets the specific performance test required by law.
“MBIE’s regime is grossly over engineered,” said Harrison. “There is an issue with unreinforced masonry buildings in more seismically active areas, but the real risks can be addressed quickly and relatively cheaply. We don’t have to do tens of thousands of potentially rigged assessments and then spend billions strengthening reinforced concrete and wooden buildings that are known to perform well in earthquakes”.
MBIE does not know how the regime will work and whether it will deliver consistent results, because it has not been tested. The methodology development process fells well short of minimum testing and validation standards, let alone best practice.
The report shows that the public has been systematically mislead about the real risk of so-called ‘earthquake prone’ buildings.
The New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering risk grading system, which is being promoted by MBIE, describes buildings as high risk, and very high risk, when they can be thousands of times safer than everyday activities such as driving or flying.Older reinforced concrete buildings performed as well as modern buildings in the Christchurch earthquake.The Wellington City Council’s website states that earthquake prone buildings can be expected to collapse in a moderate earthquake. Wellington was hit by a moderate earthquake in November 2016, but only two of nearly 700 ‘earthquake prone’ buildings had structural damage, and none collapsed. It was the modern buildings that were the big problem.
EBSS believes that engineers have breached the Fair Trading Act by making misleading statements about the need for services, and making unsubstantiated statements about risk. EBSS will be making a complaint to the Commerce Commission under the Act.
| An EBSS release | February 16, 2017 ||
Xiekon has officially opened its doors for its own sales, service and support operation in Australia and New Zealand.
The Xeikon solutions have been available in Australian for many years, latterly through Absolute Electronics, however when Xeikon was bought by Flint last year the ink giant instigated a strategy of direct operations within the region.
Trevor Crowley, general manager, Xeikon says, “For the market it means they have a direct line to the factory and the technology developers, and it means they have a supplier whose sole focus is Xeikon.”
Xeikon ANZ will be using its own service engineers to support the presses, with parts and consumables located in Sydney and the regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, which will also host the regional technology center with both simplex and duplex technology installed. Crowley says, “The service will be at the level that Xeikon users would expect, we recognise the importance of quick response in today’s world. We are investing heavily in factory trained engineers to cover both Australia and New Zealand”
Xeikon is gearing up for a massive six months, first with the launch of the direct operation here, then the Xeikon Café in Belgium next month, which will see more than 20 different applications produced from Xeikon printers and a variety of integrated finishing lines, third is PacPrint in May at which Xeikon has booked a stand for the first time to show what Crowley says is ‘a first first for Australia’, and then LabelExpo which takes place in Brussels in September.
Crowley says, “Xeikon is a proven and real solid alternative in labels, packaging, folding carton and document printing. The systems print at the highest quality, are the only digital printers that are FDA approved for direct dry food contact, hold some of the best light fastness in our industry, and are cost effective.”
The Xeikon presses are aimed at existing digital print business and printers who want to transition from analogue to digital, however, Crowley also sees digital label greenfield installations coming into play. He says, “Xeikon has an extensive portfolio, its printers are flexible and allow user to work in a variety of applications from labels to folding carton to documents to marketing collateral. They have an unmatched flexibility, and are available as either reel to reel or reel to sheet configurations, and can print on almost any media without the need for pre-coat or post-coat.”
The sales operation begins under Xeikon’s auspices today, while the service operation will transition between Absolute and Xeikon from now until March 31.
Tetra Pak building $25m Thai packaging plant forseeing a 30% jump in Asia-Pacific demand for beverage caps, lids
SINGAPORE -- European food-processing and packaging company Tetra Pak announced it will invest 24 million euros ($25 million) to build a plant to produce caps and lids for beverage products in Thailand. The company said it aims to tap growing demand for such packaging in the Asia-Pacific region.
The facility will produce caps and lids for dairy, juice and other beverage products, mainly for customers in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Production capacity will be more than 3 billion units per year.
The factory is expected to open in early 2018 and will be located in the same compound as Tetra Pak's existing Straws and Strips plant in the eastern province of Rayong.
Michael Zacka, Tetra Pak's regional vice president for South Asia, East Asia and Oceania, said in a statement that customers are "increasingly looking for packaging that is functional and convenient." He added that the company's growth outlook for the region is "extremely positive" and that the plant will help "open many new opportunities."
Tetra Pak expects demand for packaging with caps or lids in the region to grow by more than 30% between 2015 and 2018. In November, it announced a 100 million euro investment in a new Vietnamese packaging plant to expand its manufacturing footprint in the region. The same month, it also signed a deal with Dubai-based Binghatti Holding to receive approximately $6.8 million in financing to develop packaging and filling lines at an Abu Dhabi factory.
| A Tetra Pak release | February 16, 2017 ||
Outright asset purchases may reduce opportunity to grow
More than half of New Zealand businesses are planning to increase their asset base in the first quarter of 2017, with the vast majority purchasing equipment to increase their asset base rather than replacing existing equipment. The bullish intentions resonate with other indices for business and consumer sentiment in New Zealand, reflecting strong economic growth as the economy tracks at 3.6 per cent, one of the highest rates in the developed world.
However, the latest round of the Alleasing Equipment Demand Index (the Index) has revealed that the way businesses are choosing to fund their assets, could hinder their growth prospects, with almost one in two intending to use equity or internal cash flow to fund their acquisitions.
The Index found that 51.2 per cent of businesses intend increase their asset base this quarter. This is the first time since the Index began in August 2015 that the quarterly increase has moved above 50.0 per cent. In comparison, only 3.0 per cent of businesses reported their intent to decrease their asset base.
Of those businesses looking to increase their asset base, the average increase is 8.9 per cent, another new high. In addition, more than 70.0 per cent of the assets earmarked for acquisition this quarter are part of new investment capital expenditure.
The sample group was divided into three segments, based on annual turnover, and for the first time included ‘upper corporate’ businesses with turnover in the $100 million to $250 million band.
This segment proved to be the most bullish, with 56.9 per cent planning an asset base increase, closely followed by 55.2 per cent of SME’s ($5-20m annual turnover). This leaves lower corporates ($20-100 million) at a significantly lower 41.5 per cent planning an increase.
While businesses are planning acquisitions, the biggest source of funds is internal, with 46.8 per cent saying they will use equity or internal cash flow to fund the purchases.
Commenting on these results, Alleasing Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Blizzard, said: “While this shows that New Zealand businesses are self-reliant, it also reveals significant potential for further growth if these businesses opt to fund their assets another way.
“Our research has found that one in five businesses are suffering from capital constraints, which are inhibiting their ability to expand. Nearly half of these businesses would like to achieve growth through M&A, but a lack of access to capital is frustrating their plans.
“The Index shows that while confidence is strong, major opportunities are being missed because businesses aren’t able to access sufficient capital. This could be a result of banks becoming cautious of how many loans they grant prior to the upcoming implementation of Basel III. If businesses want to grow and remain profitable, they will need to find alternative capital sources instead of relying on outright purchases.”
Leveraging an alternative capital source has the potential to release significant funds for cash flow or business investment. Index data reveals that 16.0 per cent of the asset base of New Zealand businesses is leased or financed. Based on recent data from Statistics New Zealand, this equates to businesses owning assets worth more than two times the value of the nation’s GDP. That is nearly $1.8 trillion of assets, of which, $992 billion are financial assets owned by the finance and insurance sector (i.e. rented or leased). This suggests that businesses across the country hold just over $800 billion in non-financial assets*.
Applying the result from the Alleasing Index, 16.0 per cent of this is leased or financed, leaving a balance of $672 billion in owned assets, compared with national GDP of $255 billion.
“Not all of these assets could be leased or re-financed, but it is clear that adjusting even a small percentage could have a significant impact. By releasing these funds back into a business the capital constraints that are inhibiting growth may be overcome,” says Alleasing’s Daniel Blizzard.
*Non-financial assets are classified as machinery, equipment, transport vehicles, non-residential buildings, marketing assets etc. as stated by Statistics New Zealand.
Download your copy of the New Zealand Equipment Demand Index.
| An Alleasing release | february 16, 2017 ||
Australia’s leading commercial tapware supplier Galvin Engineering has been appointed as the exclusive distributor for UK brand Wallgate in the Australasian region. This distributorship will enable Galvin to sell and service an innovative range of Wallgate products to customers throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the South Pacific Islands.
Headquartered in the UK with distributors across Europe, Northern America, Asia and South Africa, Wallgate specialises in the design and manufacture of robust, innovative and efficient washroom systems and sanitaryware solutions. Their product range includes highly durable sanitaryware designed to normalise the washroom environment, and intelligent water management systems offering significant water and energy savings, and ensuring comprehensive water control.
Wallgate is an established market leader in the secure sectors of mental health and custodial facilities. The addition of Wallgate products to the Galvin Specialised range aligns perfectly with Galvin’s vision of providing products that will ensure better health and safer communities.
A third generation family business established in 1947, Galvin Engineering is highly regarded as a reliable manufacturer, designer and distributor of commercial tapware and related products for the hospital, aged care, correctional, education and food service markets.
| A Wallgate release | February 16, 2017 ||
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