An expanding county company, with an office in Pukekohe, is celebrating hiring its 100th employee.
Muddy Boots Software is predominantly based in Phocle Green, near Ross-on-Wye in the UKbut their workforce extends to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Kenya and Egypt.
Over the past four years it has grown both financially and in headcount and is not only one of the county’s leading technology businesses, but also one of the world’s primary developers of food supply chain software solutions.
Jack Evans, head of commercial at Muddy Boots, said: "Our mission is to produce food industry software and apps that deliver visibility, efficiency and trust.
"Five of the top seven retailers in the UK now rely on our systems to deliver safe and fresh food to the consumer. We also help several major brand holders, including Unilever with their global sustainability agendas."
The business' main hive of activity is very much still in Ross.
It started as a small group of technicians developing early farm recording software 20 years ago.
Mr Evans said: "We are still very attached to our roots. We began as a development house for farm recording software, and even now, that still makes up 18 percent of our business.
"The Wye Valley is one of the most fertile regions of the UK and as a result many of our customers are within walking distance of the office.
"In fact, we consider these growers more partners than customers because many of them have been with us since our inception 20 years ago."
He said it wasn’t long before Muddy Boots saturated the farm market but this coincided with a time when the food industry was really starting to embrace the ideas of quality control along the whole supply chain.
Mr Evans said: "We really just saw an opportunity to capitalise on this, and so we used our expertise to develop solutions that would cater for organisations up the chain, and we were fortunate in being able to secure some big names early on in the form of Unilever and M&S."
He said the growth is only set to continue as they begin to take advantage of huge opportunities in the USA.
But as their global reach extends, Mr Evans said the company is still very proud to be part of the local community, adding: "We’re now one of the biggest employers locally, certainly in the field of software development, and as we grow and mature, we look forward to welcoming an ever increasing workforce."
Source: Hereford Times
General Manager Manufacturing and Bioproducts at Scion Elspeth MacRae, with Dr Will Barker, CEO of NZBIO (left) and Jared Scarlett of Baldwins.
Scientists at Scion have solved a growing environmental problem for wood panel manufacturers.
Warren Grigsby and his team have developed the world's first wood panel resins (glue) using biobased ingredients.
That solution has earned the team the "Biotechnology of the Year" award at NZBIO's annual conference in Auckland.
When Scion, the Crown Research Institute that specialises in science around forestry, wood products and bio materials, learned the level of formaldehyde emissions from wood panels were being regulated lower in countries like Japan, the United States and in the European Union, with New Zealand following suit, it looked to biotechnology to find ways of reducing the emissions.
Wood panel resins (glues) are traditionally made with formaldehyde and urea or phenol from petroleum based precursors. The Scion team developed a biobased resin replacement that gives off less formaldehyde emissions than natural wood.
NORTHWICH, UNITED KINGDOM–(Marketwired – Sep 16, 2016) – Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC (LSE: DPH) is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms to acquire the business and assets of Apex Laboratories Pty Ltd (‘Apex’), a privately owned veterinary pharmaceutical company which manufactures, markets and sells branded non-proprietary prescription and other related companion animal products in Australia and New Zealand (the ‘Acquisition’). The Acquisition includes the purchase of Apex’s manufacturing site. Apex is ultimately controlled by Mr Anthony McGloin who is a descendant of the founder of Apex.
The Acquisition will provide Dechra with direct access to the established and growing Australian companion animal product market which has c.4.2 million dogs and c.3.3 million cats*, a market in which Dechra currently operates through partners. It will also offer a base from which to support and build Dechra’s expansion in the Australasian and Asian regions.
Apex, which was established in 1962, is based in Somersby near Sydney, Australia, and employs 39 staff. For the year ended 30 June 2016, its reported revenues were AUS$14.8 million (£8.4 million) and operating profit was AUS$5.2 million (£3.0 million). Dechra is acquiring gross assets with a carrying value of AUS$14.8 (£8.4 million) million at 30 June 2016.
Apex is currently managed by an experienced and technically skilled management team, who will be staying post completion to continue to run and manage the business.
The total consideration for the Acquisition, which is expected is to complete on 14 October 2016, is AUS$55.0 million (£31.3 million). This will be funded from the Group’s own cash and debt resources. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first 12 months.
Commenting on the acquisition, Dechra’s Chief Executive Officer, Ian Page said:
“We are delighted to expand our presence in the Australasian market through the acquisition of Apex which has a technically skilled and experienced team. Its portfolio offers a range of veterinary licensed products that are complementary to Dechra’s offering, making the business a natural fit within Dechra’s therapeutic portfolio. The facility produces a wide range of dosage forms and has capacity for growth. We believe that the combination of Dechra and Apex are well placed for continued growth in the Australasian and Asian veterinary pharmaceutical markets.”
The Tasman Global Access (TGA) undersea cable is now in the final stages of construction, with the specialised undersea cable ship ‘Ile de Re’ heading towards New Zealand shores.
On both sides of the Tasman, Spark, Vodafone and Telstra are investing approximately $US70 million to build the TGA cable, designed to “significantly improve” New Zealand’s international broadband connectivity.
The benefits of the TGA cable will include strengthened links into fast-growing Asian markets, important redundancy and resiliency, and better connection with the five main international cable systems currently serving Australia.
Last month, the Ile de Re completed the shore landing at Sydney’s Narrabeen Beach, before commencing the cable lay across the Tasman Sea.
The Ile de Re started on its journey towards New Zealand on August 30 and currently is working 500 nautical miles off the coast of Sydney.
The government has given the green light for China's Shanghai Maling Aquarius to acquire half of Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's biggest meat company, with ministers satisfied it will deliver "substantial and identifiable benefit"
Tweets are holding steady at 140 characters, but a variety of additions to your tweets will no longer count against that limit. As The Verge reported last week, Twitter said today it was rolling out expanded tweets around the world. Media attachments including images, GIFs, videos, and polls will no longer count against the 140-character limit. Neither will quote tweets, though if include a link to another tweet in your own that will count as normal.
The company is also testing out new replies that will omit usernames of the people you are replying to from the character limit. If you reply to multiple people at once, Twitter omits all of them from your tweet, according to a GIF the company shared.
These are welcome changes from Twitter, which has dragged its feet in rolling out expanded tweets after developing them for more than a year. The company designed tweets that could contain up to 10,000 characters but abandoned the design amid concerns that it ran counter to Twitter's identity as a place for brief updates. The plan was later scaled back to the changes that are rolling out today.
By Casey Newton @CaseyNewton Sep 19, 2016, 1:19p
Container shipping line Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has unveiled its new Australia and New Zealand headquarters located in a recently renovated heritage building in Fremantle.
MSC has been operating its Australasian business from Western Australia for the past 16 years. The company says the time zone of WA enables effective communication between its international headquarters in Switzerland and its Australasian business.
MSC Australasia MD Kevin Clarke says the Fremantle headquarters offer a strategic gateway to MSC’s global network. "MSC moves more than 700,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) through Australian and New Zealand ports every year," Clarke says. "We offer unparalleled local expertise and access to a truly global transport network, connecting local businesses to the world. "MSC is investing in the Australian and New Zealand market and we are here for the long haul."
New Zealand is a small island nation in the middle of nowhere, and that makes it the perfect location for launching rockets. A new deal between space company Rocket Lab and the state-owned Airways—which takes care of air traffic control services—means New Zealand could soon be leading the world in space launches. Rocket Lab plans to soon launch up to 100 rockets a year from its remote site on Mahia Peninsula, on the East Coast.
The potential economic impact of Rocket Lab has been valued at $1.5 billion over the next 20 years. Airways chief operating officer Pauline Lamb says there could be more to come. Lamb told Sunday Star Times that other companies needed to take a "deeper look" at what New Zealand has to offer. NASA and Google have both previously used the country for balloon launches.
Maria Pozza, a specialist space industry lawyer, said the deal sets New Zealand up to be a space-faring nation. "It is realistic that New Zealand will become a space hub, especially for small satellite launches and operations as a result of its geographical location, excellent governance structures, and reputation for technological ingenuity," said Pozza.
Are you an experienced multi-site Manufacturing Manager looking for your next position?Are you looking to join a leading global food company that is experiencing significant growth by developing new products and acquiring the licences for established household brands?
We are looking for a Manufacturing Director to oversee 10 sites throughout Australia, New Zealand and The Pacific Islands. This is a global company with a regional headquarters in Australia and the majority of their manufacturing in New Zealand. The company is enjoying significant growth and to ensure that this continues, we are seeking a highly experienced and strategic leader for their manufacturing operations to be based in New Zealand.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND and HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - September 19, 2016) - CBX Software, the leader in Total Sourcing Management announced today that The Warehouse Group, the largest retail group operating in New Zealand, has selected CBX Cloud to streamline its product development and global sourcing operational processes.
The Warehouse Group is made up of some of New Zealand's most iconic retail brands, including flagship, The Warehouse brand, along with Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming and Torpedo7. Together, the Group brands provide New Zealanders with products and services that stretch from the basic to the premium.
The Warehouse Group is expanding its private-label merchandise assortments and growing its international direct sourcing operations. Such growth has highlighted challenges relating to today's manual and spreadsheet based processes.
The CBX Total Sourcing Management platform will enable The Warehouse Group to streamline its product lifecycle from product ideation, sourcing, production, quality assurance. Domestic and international Warehouse Group teams will utilize CBX Cloud applications over the web to manage everything from technical specifications, samples, orders and deliveries. Furthermore, CBX Cloud, as a central information and workflow platform, offers a powerful Critical Path Management feature that provides the Group's leadership with near real-time visibility across its supply chain, in turn empowering better decision making.
"We selected CBX based on an extensive review and we were impressed with the company's previous successes in implementing retail sourcing and supply chain optimization solutions," said Nick Tuck, Executive General Manager, Group Sourcing and Initiatives. "We are confident that by streamlining our global supply chain using CBX Cloud, we will see a number of benefits including better inventory and supply chain management and a reduction in time spent on manual spreadsheets."
"When we first met with The Warehouse leadership, we were encouraged by the Group's determination to optimize its sourcing operations." said Michael Hung, CEO at CBX Software, "We are excited that The Warehouse group has selected CBX Software to help them to achieve their goals, and we look forward to our long term, strategic partnership moving forward."
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3075066#ixzz4Kka7hMtg
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