With a continued focus on providing clients with superior security integration, Integrated Control Technology have announced the opening of new premises in Amersham, UK. This move is just one step of a strategic plan to develop ICT into a premier global supplier of access control solutions and to meet increased demand for the industry leading ProtegeGX and WX platforms across the EMEA region.
ICT is a world leading manufacturer of unified and intelligent electronic access control and security solutions that enable organizations to protect their people, operations and information. With the primary vision of providing innovative and superior electronic access control and security solutions that are easy to use, integrate with existing systems to leverage investments already made, and that are manufactured to the highest of standards, ICT products and systems are used every day by tens of thousands of companies worldwide.
Headed by Ian Henderson and Nicholas Gouloussis, both who bring many years’ experience in the security industry, the new office will provide system design, applications engineering, the full range of ICT products, as well as product training and technical support to serve the EMEA region.
"We are excited to be opening a new office in the UK that is dedicated to servicing the EMEA Region," said ICT CEO Hayden Burr. "Ian and Nicholas have an extensive background in the security and access control industry, which ensures our new and existing partners will experience the highest level of sales and support that ICT have become renowned for."
An ICT Release
Efforts by primary stakeholders, helped by the rising prevalence of technology in the horticultural sector, appear to be paying off as more and more young people enter the industry.
Initiatives such as the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2016 Competition – to be contested on Thursday 10 November – andT&G Pipfruit’s annual Young Fruit Growers recent competition, which attracted spectators from Hastings Girls High School, are helping to change perceptions and generate excitement about careers in one of New Zealand's more profitable primary industries.
T&G is a major partner of the national Young Hort competition, but also runs the company's internal competition for young orchard workers as a pathway to the pipfruit sector contest (whose winner goes on to the national contest for New Zealand's best young horticulturist).
T&G corporate communications manager, Jo Jalfon, said that this year was the first time the public and high school students were invited to observe and learn about New Zealand’s $700 million dollar pipfruit industry, of which T&G is a major player, and the opportunities the company and industry offers.
“Young people are unsure of what to do when they leave school and many don’t realise the amazing opportunities the horticulture sector offers them. The competition and open day helps our young people hone and test their knowledge while showing others the awesome and varied roles available to them," Ms Jalfon said.
The national manager of Fruitfed Supplies, Max Spence, said his observation was that the pervasiveness of technology and the rise of corporate growers were facilitating the entry of more young people into the business.
"I think that competitions like the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2016 Competition are particularly valuable in helping young people to see how they can develop a career in horticulture beyond just having a job.
"We're beginning to see a lot of bright young people in the corporate businesses of grape, apple and Kiwifruit growers – either employed by the growers or their suppliers – who are working to develop new technology. There's a lot of research going on that will be commercialised, and that alone is a positive upside for our industry."
Mr Spence said that meeting customer demands for greater sustainability and traceability – in which New Zealand is a global leader – required greater emphasis on technology and science.
"We do need more scientists in the industry, and a greater emphasis on science in schools and tertiary education," he said.
AGMARDT general manager, Malcolm Nitschke, agreed that there is a lift in the quality and calibre of young people entering the horticulture industry, saying that the quality of the contestants in this year's Young Horticulturist of the Year 2016 Competition reflects that shift.
"In general we're very encouraged by the fact that horticulture is starting to be viewed as a good career choice for many young people. For the sector to continue to grow and thrive, requires capable and passionate people throughout the whole value chain, providing great ideas that lead to fantastic innovations."
Mr Nitschke said the huge focus on technology – in particular apps and sensors to manage and monitor both crops and product – fits the interests of young people.
"Traceability is huge. Customers demand transparency across the whole supply chain and technology is enabling us to pick the right fruit, at the right time, and at the right quality for the right market.
"When it comes to sustainability, technology is helping us monitor and manage what's going on, enabling targeted responses to pests and diseases. Technology in horticulture is about prevention rather than cure, and I think the possibilities inherent in this are leading young people to recognise that their interests and values can align with the scale and depth of opportunities in horticulture," he said.
The five finalists in the Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture Education Trust’s ‘Young Horticulturist of the Year 2016 Competition’ – to be contested this week on Wednesday and Thursday – come from Pukekohe, Auckland (2), Hawke's Bay and the Manawatu.
The finalists – all winners of their respective horticulture sectors – will compete in the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2016 Competition’ grand final, held over the two days of November 9 and 10, at the Auckland Botanic Gardens in Manurewa.
Finalists (30 years and under) compete for a prize pool of over $40,000 that includes a $7,500 T&G travel and accommodation package and a $5,500 Massey University study scholarship, as well as an AGMARDT Market Innovation Project first prize of $5,000.
The Young Horticulturist of the Year competition is made possible through the generous support of Young Horticulturist of the Year 2016 competition partners, AGMARDT, T&G and Fruitfed Supplies.
Supporters of the competition are Bayer CropScience, Massey University, Primary ITO, Countdown, NZ Gardener Magazine and Trillian Trust. Plus, affiliated supporters, friends, volunteers and industry specialist who give their time.
For more information about how to enter, visit www.younghort.co.nz.
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Halo, provider of self-service supply chain intelligence geared to the mid-market and with a focus primarily on manufacturing, distribution and retail, today announced its development centre in Auckland, New Zealand has been awarded Research and Development funding under the New Zealand Government's Callaghan Innovation Scheme, a scheme committed to accelerating business growth through government investment.
Key criteria of the Halo submission included providing a sound history of sales growth and a positive cash flow, along with a convincing R&D program and business plan. The Callaghan Growth Grant will provide a 20% rebate for all audited R&D expenses for three years, with an optional two-year extension. Keith Peterson, President and CEO of Halo, commented, "The significance of this award demonstrates not only government recognition of Halo's growth potential, but also Halo's commitment to New Zealand, and the opportunity to leverage new innovation from New Zealand in Halo's global markets through Asia-Pacific, the US, Latin America and Europe."
Under the direction of Joseph Tan, Halo's Vice President of Product and Engineering, the Halo development team will conduct R&D in the areas of predictive analysis and data visualisation. Mr Tan stated, "The Callaghan Growth Fund will enable Halo to accelerate research and development in the area of predictive analytics which has practical applications in supply chain optimization. Being able to increase the forecast accuracy of sales by even 1% can translate into significant cost savings for inventory."
About HaloHalo delivers self-service supply chain intelligence solutions to hundreds of enterprise customers and service provider partners in North and South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Our solutions provide enterprise grade products without the drag and cost of major platforms. Halo replaces the complexity of siloed data sources and disparate applications with a single purpose platform that lets firms analyze, decide and plan faster than ever before. Halo is headquartered in San Diego, California, and can be reached via the web (www.halobi.com), Twitter (@Halo_BI) or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Weighing and packing line equipment specialist, Ishida Europe, has introduced a unique remote customer care software solution, that combines machine performance monitoring, with comprehensive data capture and in-depth analysis.
This enables food manufacturers and packers to operate their lines to maximum performance and efficiency, and avoid unnecessary and unwanted downtime.
The new Ishida Sentinel™ software connects compatible Ishida machines, anywhere in the world, to a central system manned by Ishida engineers. This provides complete monitoring of machines, however widely distributed, with Ishida experts on hand to identify and rectify any faults or poor performance.
With a number of different Sentinel™ pack options available, customers can mix and match the different services to their needs. In addition to the monitoring and reporting pack, a variety of intervention options are also available. Customers can for example select live performance monitoring, with Ishida engineers keeping a continual check on their line’s performance and informing them when this drops or a fault occurs.
In this way, uptime is maximised and potential and recurring problems can be identified early and dealt with before they become critical.
Equally important, Ishida Sentinel™ is able to produce clear, easy-to-read daily or weekly reports from production line data that can be easily accessed by designated personnel. These reports (available in multiple languages) enable quick and preventative actions to be taken, often without the need for an engineer call-out.
Nearly all the equipment, that contributes valuable information to the packing line management process, can be linked into Ishida Sentinel™, including multihead weighers, checkweighers, tray sealers, graders and bag-makers. Contact with Ishida engineers can be made by email, phone or directly, using a video conferencing VOIP access feature via a webcam that is fitted to individual machines’ Remote Control Units.
In addition, the Ishida Sentinel™ Web Client facility provides instant access from any Smart phone, tablet, laptop or PC worldwide so that machine operation can be monitored and assessed at any time or place.
Ishida has incorporated a high level of security into the software design to create a fully secure, virus-immune network, that ensures remote access can only be performed by authorised personnel.
Ian Atkinson, Multihead Weigher Business Manager at Ishida Europe:“Performance monitoring and reporting is not part of most companies’ core business, nor is the gathering of such information generally an area of expertise, yet they can play a huge role in helping to create a more profitable and efficient operation.”
“With Ishida Sentinel’s™ full data capture and analysis capabilities, our new software relieves operators of a whole area of ‘information gathering’ tasks, and they can instead concentrate on using clear-cut, tailored information to make rapid, informed decisions.” Heat and Control are agents in New Zealand for the Ishida range
Statement by Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler:
The Reserve Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent.
Significant surplus capacity exists across the global economy despite improved economic indicators in some countries. Global inflation remains weak even though commodity prices have come off their lows. Political uncertainty remains heightened and market volatility is elevated.
Weak global conditions and low interest rates relative to New Zealand are keeping upward pressure on the New Zealand dollar exchange rate. The exchange rate remains higher than is sustainable for balanced economic growth and, together with low global inflation, continues to generate negative inflation in the tradables sector. A decline in the exchange rate is needed.
Domestic growth is being supported by strong population growth, construction activity, tourism, and accommodative monetary policy. Recent dairy auctions have been positive, but uncertainty remains around future outcomes. High net immigration is supporting growth in labour supply and limiting wage pressure.
House price inflation remains excessive and is posing concerns for financial stability. Although house price inflation has moderated in Auckland, it is uncertain whether this will be sustained given the continuing imbalance between supply and demand.
Headline inflation continues to be held below the target range by ongoing negative tradables inflation. Annual CPI inflation was weak in the September quarter, in part due to lower fuel prices and cuts in ACC levies. Annual inflation is expected to rise from the December quarter, reflecting the policy stimulus to date, the strength of the domestic economy, and reduced drag from tradables inflation.
Monetary policy will continue to be accommodative. Our current projections and assumptions indicate that policy settings, including today’s easing, will see growth strong enough to have inflation settle near the middle of the target range. Numerous uncertainties remain, particularly in respect of the international outlook, and policy may need to adjust accordingly.
View the Monetary Policy Statement: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/monetary-policy-statementWatch the Monetary Policy Statement press conference live-stream at NZDT10am: http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research-and-publications/webcasts
Odds Favour Melania Trump as next United States First Lady
Will bring much needed internationalism to White House we reported back in February
MSCNewsWire, 26 February 2016 - The permutations in the Republican Party selection process in which some delegates carry more value than others indicate that Donald Trump will be the party’s presidential nominee. The polls indicate too that he has at least a 50-50 chance against a Democratic ticket.These favourable odds are not reflected by the international media and hardly surprisingly. The Republican front-runner routinely describes his media entourage as being comprised of the “worst people in the world.”Also by passed is that there is a 50 percent chance now of the next United States First Lady having been born behind the Iron Curtain, and indeed, only the second to be born abroad after Louisa Adams, the English wife of John Quincy Adams.A former architectural student in Yugoslavia Mrs Trump, 45, (pictured) is expected to bring a much-needed internationalism to the White House and especially so in a mastery of the main European languages.A failure in the United States’ much-vaunted Arabism capability has meant that its Middle East policy has now spilled over into Europe. This emergency in turn has collided with the United States continuing policies to contain Russia. The two US thrusts have blended into an unmanageable human and economic blend of what is increasingly being viewed in Europe as being insoluble.With her background of life on both sides of the Iron Curtain who better to explain the US-created imbroglio than Mrs Trump?
From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley have today announced two new Auckland jobs and skills hubs as part of the latest update of the Skilled and Safe Workplaces chapter of the Business Growth Agenda.
“I am pleased to announce new jobs and skills hubs at both the Wynyard Quarter and Tamaki, which will give young people a pathway to employment in the construction sector, as well as on-site numeracy, literacy and practical skills training,” Mr Joyce says.
“The New Zealand economy is growing strongly, unemployment is down and we have the opportunity now to bring more people who have been long-term unemployed into work. These hubs are a key way to provide intensive support and encouragement to those who aren’t yet in work to get them into a meaningful career as the economy grows.”
The Auckland CBD Jobs and Skills Hub, based at Wynyard Quarter will revolve around the extensive commercial development and construction activity in the area, with the Tamaki Hub supporting the housing developments at the Tamaki Regeneration Programme.
“These new hubs are part of the Government’s plan to improve outcomes for our young job seekers, and have a focus on achieving both economic and social outcomes,” says Mrs Tolley.
“The redevelopment of 7,500 new houses in Tamaki will generate sizeable job opportunities. The Tamaki Hub will support residents to gain the skills, knowledge and opportunities to progress their lives, as well as strengthen the local economy and unlock the potential of the Tamaki area.”
The CBD Jobs and Skills Hub will centre on significant development in the area, including the Madden and Packenham Street upgrades, the Halsey and Gaunt Street upgrades, construction of the Park Hyatt Hotel, the expansion of Grid Auckland, construction of apartment complexes and a bus depot.”
The hubs are a partnership between central and local government, businesses, tertiary providers, ATEED, and ITOs. They’re modelled on the successful Ara Skills Exchange at Auckland Airport. The Hubs set up training facilities and wrap-around services at the centre of areas where there are sizeable projects which create jobs and opportunities.
“Building these job and skills hubs are just one of many projects in the Skilled and Safe Workplaces report where government and industry are collaborating to grow the skilled workforce in industries critical to New Zealand. By focusing on getting more people into skilled employment, we will equip New Zealand to succeed in the modern economy,” says Mr Joyce.
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce yesterday announced $183 million in funding for work-based training in 2017, as the Government announces a new target to have 50,000 people to be training in apprenticeships by 2020.
“This funding is an additional $10 million on 2016 and more funding for industry training than in any of the previous five years. At the moment we have 42,000 people in apprenticeships and apprenticeship type training, this funding will add around 1,400 places next year and get us well on our way to our goal of 50,000.’’
The target has been set as part of the release of the Skilled and Safe Workplace Chapter today.
“In a strong economy more employers have the confidence to hire and train apprentices to meet their future skill needs. This 50,000 target signals that we will back employers and industry training organisations as they grow their apprenticeship and trainee numbers.”
We have the capacity to add further places again during the year next year if required. The Tertiary Education Commission’s new flexible funding mechanisms allows it to direct funding to the areas of training with greatest industry demand.
“The increasing demand for apprentices reflects strengthening economic conditions, business confidence and a push to meet skill shortages in a range of industries such as construction, engineering and aged care,” says Mr Joyce.
“We’re in the middle of our biggest ever building boom and we have an unemployment rate which is the lowest since December 2008. We have more people moving into employment and on the job training, which is a great way to get people into a life-long career.
“This funding is part of our ongoing commitment to lowering the rate of those not in employment, education or training (NEET). There are currently 22,000 15-19-year-old NEETs and we’ve never had fewer than 21,000. However with the growth in apprenticeships along with lead-in schemes like Maori and Pasifika Trades Training, Trades Academies, Skills Hubs, Youth Services and Youth Guarantee, we’re committed to getting the numbers even lower.
“Funding for industry training was boosted in this year’s budget by $14.4 million over four years, along with a further $9.6 million for Māori and Pasifika Trades Training. I am confident businesses will be well supported by their Industry Training Organisations in recruiting and upskilling their staff.”
Mercer Group plans to buy Hastings-based Haden & Custance for $2.25 million as the unprofitable stainless steel fabricator transitions to a food processing and packaging business.
The Christchurch-based company entered into a conditional deal to buy H&C's shares, which will add a robotics system used to prepare bulk products such as cheese and butter for processing, and offices in Melbourne and Wisconsin, US, it said in a statement. The deal would be funded through a placement of new shares or debt.
Mercer is currently raising $7 million through an underwritten rights issue, though chief executive Richard Rookes says the acquisition would need new funding.
The company wants to reposition the steel business's focus to food processing and packaging technology, giving it exposure to higher-value export business.
"H&C fits very very well into that stated strategy," Rookes told BusinessDesk. Continue to full article
It is very unfortunate to hear of the proposed closure of manufacturer General Cable in Christchurch, with the loss of up to 170 quality jobs and affecting other local manufacturers supplying them. While conditions for many manufacturers have improved in recent years, this shows that pressure and uncertainty remains, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA).
NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam says, “General Cable has been a solid part of the Christchurch manufacturing industry since the 1950’s, and it is sad to hear they may be closing. We hope their staff can be employed by other manufacturers in the area.
“Manufacturers do not operate in isolation, due to the complex supply chains that mean many other New Zealand manufacturers supply parts to companies like General Cable. A loss in one area can have wider effects than just the immediate loss of jobs and income. We need to keep a broad base of manufacturing in New Zealand and find ways to improve the manufacturing eco-system.
“It is a reminder that we cannot be complacent, there is more that can be done to help manufacturing businesses thrive in New Zealand, keeping capability here, along with jobs and vital export income. We hope to see quality discussion on how to make to most of our manufacturing base to grow exports and jobs going into the next election.” Says Dieter.
An NZMEA release
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