BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–International submarine cable consulting firm Pioneer Consulting has been selected to oversee the procurement support for the construction of a new submarine fiber optic cable system by Southern Cross Cables Limited (SCCL). The Southern Cross NEXT cable system will be constructed and operated by SCCL to connect Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Pioneer Consulting has already provided detailed market analysis as well as consulting on the network’s overall design and technical specifications. Pioneer is now assisting in the system specification, procurement, permitting, survey and contracting activities.
This new system will provide connectivity between Sydney, Australia, Auckland, New Zealand and Los Angeles, California USA, and will supplement SCCL’s existing Southern Cross Cable network. The new system will also allow SCCL’s customers to leverage the company’s extensive point-of-presence and access infrastructure and resiliently spread capacity among Southern Cross’s three independent routes between Oceania and North America.
With a total cable length of over 13,700 km, this major project will add a high capacity route to meet the anticipated growing capacity demand of the next decades. Pioneer will help to ensure that the direct optical transmission over 12,000km or more between Australia, New Zealand and the data centers of North America will feature the most advanced optical transmission technology available.
Mr. Anthony Briscoe, President and CEO of SCCL stated: “Southern Cross NEXT will further increase the capacity and resilience of the existing Southern Cross eco-system, and is the first step in the longer term two-part replacement planning strategy for Southern Cross, ensuring our customers capacity requirements well beyond 2030. To ensure this project’s success, we have integrated world-class engineering managers with our experienced teams within Southern Cross. We are pleased to have Pioneer Consulting as part of this team.”
Leading the Pioneer team, Pioneer Consulting’s Managing Partner Keith Schofield added, “it’s our privilege to be working with SCCL on their new endeavor. SCCL has demonstrated to the marketplace 17 years of highly reliable service and consistent technological advance. We are pleased to help SCCL advance this excellent record of service into the future.”
About Pioneer Consulting: Pioneer offers a comprehensive set of services for the submarine fiber optic telecommunication system industry including: turnkey project management, financial and technical due diligence, engineering and implementation, and market and technical studies. For further information about Pioneer Consulting visit http://www.pioneerconsulting.com or send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
| A SAT PR press release | January 18, 2017 |
MRRSE has announced the addition of the “Building Information Modelling Market - Australia, New Zealand and India Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024” report to their offering.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/18/2017 -- The vast rise in infrastructure development activities across India, Australia, and New Zealand in the past few years has been complemented with an increased focus on the usage of digital tools for the proper estimation of cost and time required for project completion. As the overall focus on cost and time values continues to rise in the highly competitive construction industry, traditional 3D visualization tools such as AutoCAD, 3DMax, and CATIA are being increasingly replaced by building information modelling (BIM) solutions.
Building information modelling (BIM) is a 3D visual presentation of a technical drawing that includes the plan, elevation, and section of a building. It is a kind of digital fabrication system in which the actual model of the building is digitally constructed with accurate values. Apart from 3D visualization, BIM also covers 4D and 5D, which comprise the time and cost plans of a construction project.
Request a Sample Copy of the Report @ http://www.mrrse.com/sample/2376
According to Transparency Market Research, the Australia, New Zealand, and India building information modelling (BIM) market was worth US$214.0 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1,335.3 mn by 2024, expanding at a remarkable CAGR of 22.3% from 2016 to 2024.
Architects Continue to Remain Dominant Consumers of BIM Solutions
Architects, contractors and engineers are some of the prominent end users of BIM solution in India, New Zealand, and Australia. Across all three, the segment of architects is the key consumer of these solutions, accounting for over 40% of these markets in 2015. Over the forecast period as well, the segment is projected to continue to have a strong influence on the overall development of the BIM market and exhibit growth at a remarkable pace across these countries.
However, the usage of BIM solutions across the contractor segment is expected to exhibit growth at a faster pace than the architects segment across these countries over the forecast period. In India, the segment is expected to expand at a 26.6% CAGR, in Australia it will exhibit a 25% CAGR and in New Zealand, it will exhibit a slightly lesser 21% CAGR as compared to the architect sector.
Inquiry on this report @ http://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/2376
Thanks to Vast Rise in Infrastructure Development Activities, India to Account for Bulk of Sales
In terms of revenue, India is presently the leading market building information modeling solutions, accounting for nearly 43% share in the overall revenue of the Australia, New Zealand, and India building information modelling (BIM) market in 2015. Moreover, the country is expected to remain the leading consumer of building information modeling solutions throughout the forecast period. India's building information modeling market is primarily driven by the rapid rate of development of the healthcare infrastructure of the country.
The building information modeling market in Australia is also expected to exhibit adequate growth over the forecast period. Rising use in the construction of bridges, roads and highways is key to the high demand for building information modeling solutions in the country. The Australia building information modelling market will also be driven due to high demand across the rail, transit, and aviation sectors in the next few years.
Read Complete Report with TOC @ http://www.mrrse.com/australia-new-zealand-india-building-information-modelling-market
The encouraging pace of infrastructure development activities across New Zealand is also expected to lead to favorable growth opportunities for the building information modeling market. Over the period between 2016 and 2024, the New Zealand building information modeling market is expected to exhibit a 20.3% CAGR.
Some of the most remarkable companies operating in the Australia, New Zealand, and India building information modelling market are Dassault Systèmes SA, GRAITEC, Nemetschek AG, AECOM Technology Corporation, Pentagon Solutions Ltd., Synchro Software Ltd., Autodesk Inc., Beck Technology Ltd., Bentley Systems, and Tekla Corporation.
About MRRSEMRRSE stands for Market Research Reports Search Engine, the largest online catalog of latest market research reports based on industries, companies, and countries. MRRSE sources thousands of industry reports, market statistics, and company profiles from trusted entities and makes them available at a click. Besides well-known private publishers, the reports featured on MRRSE typically come from national statistics agencies, investment agencies, leading media houses, trade unions, governments, and embassies.
| A ReleaseWire press release | January 18, 2017 |
∩ Theresa May: Commonwealth provides unique and proud global relationships
∩ Management friction, unpaid bills sink promising pre-fab housing builder ABT in Auckland
∩ NZ manufacturing activity ends 2016 with above-average reading
∩ Heartland names Air NZ's deputy finance chief David Mackrell as new CFO
∩ Skellerup Industries appoint new chairperson
∩ Hawkes Bay kiwifruit farm sells for $40.2mn
∩ While you were sleeping: Yellen to speak
∩ Claim Aurora facing $1b bill
∩ Blue Sky takeover bid meeting
∩ Building Information Modeling (BIM) Market expectations in New Zealand, Australia, India Building
∩ Procurement Support for Southern Cross NEXT Cable System
∩ Liddell not the only Kiwi to get top US job
The Automobile Association is calling on petrol companies to display all their petrol prices and says the government should force them to if they don't.
Under the law petrol companies are required to display the price of all fuel products at the pump - and they are meeting that obligation.BP petrol station in Kaikōura
The AA says petrol companies should put the price of premium petrol as well as 91 octane on their roadside boards. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
But AA petrolwatch spokesperson Mark Stockdale said there were many complaints about service stations not putting the price of premium petrol on their roadside price boards.
In a survey of AA members, 77 percent said they kept an eye on roadside boards and 81 percent felt all fuel prices should be on them.
The boards are required to show the price of 91 and diesel, but not 95 or 98 octane. It's estimated 20 percent of cars in New Zealand use premium petrol.
| Continue to the full article | January 19, 2017 |
Slack, the popular work chat app, has launched one of the features that users have been clamoring for over its entire lifetime: threaded messages.
On Wednesday, the company began the process of rolling out the update to all of its users, which will allow them to keep conversations about a particular topic corralled into a single thread. The feature is designed to keep conversations on a particular topic out of the main flow of a chat channel, the company said in a blog post.
Starting a thread just requires users to hover over a message, click the “Start a Thread” button, and type their response. Replies will be grouped into a sidebar thread, and a small link will appear below the original message showing who has replied to a thread and how many replies it has garnered.
Users have been requesting threaded replies for years as a way to help deal with crowded chat channels where multiple conversations are going on at once. Slack allows users in a channel to talk with one another in a single, uninterrupted flow, which means it can be difficult when folks are discussing two or more different topics. This feature should help with that, along with assisting in reducing clutter from ancillary discussions.
Launching threaded replies will also help Slack compete with other messaging services like Microsoft Teams, which has pushed its support for threading replies as a key feature. Microsoft is slated to make Teams generally available next month, and a recent survey of IT professionals showed them optimistic about the tech giant’s chances of competing with Slack.
| Continue to full article here | January 18, 2017 |
MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) has reached an agreement to sell most of its grocery business in Australia and New Zealand to Bega Cheese Limited (ASX:BGA) for $460 million AUD. The transaction adds the iconic VEGEMITE brand and other well-established grocery brands to Bega’s portfolio. The move enables Mondelēz International to further focus its portfolio and drive profitable growth by investing in its core snacks categories and Power Brands, including Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and Oreo biscuits.
“We’re extremely proud of our history as the custodian of the VEGEMITE brand for over 90 years, transforming it from its local roots into a global icon that’s synonymous with Australia,” said Amanda Banfield, Vice President Australia, New Zealand and Japan for Mondelēz International. “It’s been a privilege stewarding this brand, which is found in almost every Australian household and is part of the fabric of the nation. As we continue to execute our strategic growth plan, with a keen focus on core snacks categories and global Power Brands, we’re excited to see VEGEMITE and these much-loved brands continue to grow and thrive under Bega’s ownership.”
Bega Cheese’s Executive Chairman Barry Irvin said he was ecstatic to be bringing together two companies with an Australian heritage spanning over 200 years. "We believe these iconic brands alongside the Bega Cheese brand are strong building blocks to enable Bega Cheese to become a great FMCG business.
“We feel privileged to be taking on the responsibility and guardianship of one of Australia’s most loved brands, VEGEMITE, and look forward to working with the people at 1 Vegemite Way in Port Melbourne to continue the legacy of this great company.”
Included in the sale are Mondelēz International owned brands – VEGEMITE, ZoOsh, Bonox – and other products that use the Kraft brand under license, such as peanut butter, nut spreads, processed cheese slices, ambient cheese spread, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, Kraft Easy Mac and Kraft Mac & Cheese. Bega will receive a license to the Dairylea brand for use in Australia and New Zealand. The Philadelphia business is not included in the deal as it is a Mondelēz International Power Brand.
The Port Melbourne manufacturing site will transfer to Bega as part of this agreement and approximately 200 colleagues who spend most of their time working on this part of the business will be offered roles on comparable terms with Bega. The transaction is expected to close in the coming months.
The Reserve Bank has released a Bulletin article examining the core macro-economic model it uses to support the monetary policy decision making process.
The New Zealand Structural Inflation Model (NZSIM) provides the central organising framework for the Reserve Bank’s forecasting and economic analysis. It is a structural model that provides a platform for evaluating the growth and inflation effects of various economic scenarios, including potential policy responses.
The Bulletin article provides a brief review of the Bank’s recent forecasting models, the philosophy underpinning the design of NZSIM and explains how the model is used in the Reserve Bank’s forecasting process.
More information
| A RBNZ press release | January 19, 2017 |
Airbus is planning to test self-piloted personal aircraft by the end of the year as a way of reducing traffic on inner-city roads.
The announcement was made by the aerospace group's CEO, Tom Enders, on Monday at the DLD digital tech conference in Munich.
During his keynote speech, Enders said Airbus is investing in driverless technologies and artificial intelligence, which could lead to them developing a fleet of flying cars.
"One hundred years ago, urban transport went underground. Now we have the technological wherewithal to go above ground," he said, adding that he believed the company would be testing flying single-person transport by the end of the year.
"We are in an experimentation phase. We take this development very seriously," he said. "If we ignore these developments, we will be pushed out of important segments of the business."
Enders also noted how the development could affect city planning and infrastructure, saying that flying means you don't need to "pour billions" into concrete bridges and roads.
The personal aircraft is being explored in Airbus' Project Vahana. The project grew out of the company's Urban Air Mobility initiative, dedicated to less-conventional vehicle concepts, like vehicles to transport individuals or helicopter-style vehicle that carry multiple riders.
The aim would be for people to book the personal aircraft using an app, similar to car-sharing schemes such as Uber.
Airbus has also been working on "vertical take-off and landing" (VTOL) technology that would allow vehicles to pick up passengers in busy urban areas, and has said it expects to be putting them into production by 2021.
"We seek to help enable truly vertical cities by opening up urban airways in a predictable and controlled manner," said the company in a blog post.
"We believe that full automation will allow us to achieve higher safety by minimising human error. Our aircraft will follow predetermined flight paths, with only minor deviations if obstacle avoidance is needed."
Airbus' announcement appears to support transport designer Paul Priestman's prediction last year that passenger-carrying drones would be the future.
"We've got these electric drones flying around everywhere," he said. "[Electric planes are] just a scaled up version really. I think that's going to get really interesting – it could be the beginning of personalised transportation."
"It's like going back to the idea of jetpacks, but with lots of little drones," he added.
Airbus has filed a number of unusual patents over the years. In 2014 the company applied for a patent on bicycle-style seats that would replace seat cushions with saddles, and in 2015 filed one for two-storey passenger seating that would make the most of unused cabin space by stacking travellers one on top of another.
Most recently, the company patented removable aeroplane cabins for faster boarding.
| Originally published on Dezeen | January 17, 2017 |
The experience of a New Zealander who served in three White House Administrations suggests Chris Liddell will have a front row seat to history while working as an assistant to Donald Trump.
Peter S Watson grew up in Mt Eden and attended Auckland Grammar, but a career in law later spanned top US law firms and saw him become involved in politics.
Watson worked for George Bush Snr's Administration as a director of Asian Affairs for the United States National Security Council, and later held top posts in the George W. Bush Administration.
A Republican, he was appointed chairman of the high-powered US International Trade Commission by the Clinton Administration.Chris Liddell. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Doug Sherring. Chris Liddell. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Doug Sherring.
Back in New Zealand in 2007, Watson - now president of the Dwight Group, a Washington, D.C.-based investment bank - told the Herald of the experience and pressures of working in the White House, at times directly reporting to the President.
As Asian director of the National Security Council - the advisory group to the President - Watson's role covered South East Asia, Indochina and the South West Pacific.
He played a part in efforts to end the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and had to respond to coup attempts against the then Philippine president Corazon Aquino.
Watson, a dual citizen of New Zealand and the US, recounted being in the situation room when rebel forces were strafing Aquino's presidential palace.
"When these crises are evolving, you always have to keep in the back of your mind a sort of DNA reference of what you stand for long term," he said of the experience.
Associate Professor Stephen Hoadley, international relations scholar at the University of Auckland, said a New Zealander being appointed to the sort of positions held by Watson and now Liddell was unusual.
That was despite a large number of foreigners working in Government in the US, which was an "amazing open system", Hoadley said.
As well as his business experience, Liddell was previously chairman of Project Crimson, a charitable trust that aims to protect New Zealand's endangered pohutukawa and rata trees.
"He does have a green inclination - like all New Zealanders do - and that may in fact put him at odds with Trump's 'drill baby, drill' and 'climate change is a hoax' approach," Hoadley said.
"He will be his own man - he has been chairman of Xero and he is pretty strong minded individual. He won't be bulldozed by Trump's somewhat misdirected urges."
Hoadley said Liddell had the chance to make a difference.
"The good thing about Trump - if there is any good thing about him - is he does want governmental reform, he wants change, he wants efficiency like a well-run business.
"If Liddell can contribute to tidying up the apparatus of US Government that must be good for everyone."
| MyInforms.com | January 18, 2017 |
The British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities provided by the Commonwealth during a landmark speech on the British Government’s plans for Brexit.
Speaking at Lancaster House, London, Mrs May said, “I want us to be a truly Global Britain... A country that goes out into the world to build relationships with old friends and new allies alike.
“Even now as we prepare to leave the EU, we are planning for the next biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2018 – a reminder of our unique and proud global relationships.”
The next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting is to be held in the UK with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in attendance. Heads of state and senior officials from all of the 52 counties which make up the Commonwealth will be invited.
Throughout the much anticipated speech, the prime minister announced intentions to lead Britain to a single market with significantly increased trade between Britain and both the remaining EU members and countries outside Europe. She expressed her focus to build free trade agreements between Britain and emerging global superpowers, including some Commonwealth nations.
We want to get out into the wider world, to trade and do business all around the globe. We have started discussions on future trade ties with countries like Australia, New Zealand and India.She said, “We want to get out into the wider world, to trade and do business all around the globe. We have started discussions on future trade ties with countries like Australia, New Zealand and India.”
At the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting taking place in March, trade opportunities post-Brexit will be high on the agenda. Ministers for economy, trade and industry from across the Commonwealth are expected to attend.
The Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, welcomed Mrs May’s recognition of trade opportunities with Commonwealth nations. She said, “Countries like India, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Jamaica and Sri Lanka have already asked the Secretariat to undertake a detailed analysis of the trade opportunities which may arise post-Brexit and the ways in which they can deepen their trading engagement with the UK.
The meeting of trade ministers in March will explore the existing opportunities within the Commonwealth and ways in which we can strengthen intra-Commonwealth networks, improve the way we trade and provide mutual support to boost competitiveness of our nations. Our research shows that when both partners are Commonwealth members, trade costs between them are 19 percentage points lower than other country pairs.”
| A PressReleasePoint release | january 17, 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