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Cadpro's Matthew Weake spends a fair bit of time on the factory floor so this gives him a pretty good idea of how smoothly or otherwise an operation is running.
Here are a couple of examples of what he has come away with from recent visits:
Hi MaxIn the past few weeks 2 company visits really stood out for me – Metro Glass and Sistema. Metro process raw glass sheets into finished panels with laminating, printing, double glazing units, tempering etc. They use a range of automation equipment from robots to waterjet cutters. What really impressed me was the way they have worked out to track complex jobs through production in a timely manner.Sistema has been in the new of late with the change in ownership and they deserve the credit they have been given. It appears that they use as much local expertise as they can before heading off-shore in their automation processes and suppliers.I’m always interested in the design side of things but invariably the conversations lead to data management and workflows through factories.
It is really refreshing to see local companies doing significant manufacturing here and doing it well with a focus on continuous business improvement.
Cheers for now
Matthew
Matthew Weake BE(Mech)(Hons)Mechanical & Manufacturing Sales
CADPRO Systems LtdPhone: +64 9 302 4028Mobile: +64 274 820 845Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Auckland Airport welcomes the announcement that Sichuan Airlines will start flying between Auckland and Chengdu in China from June this year.
The service will operate three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday using an A330-200 aircraft with direct flights taking 13 hours.
Acting Aeronautical Commercial General Manager Scott Tasker, says Sichuan Airlines is expected to add 81,000 seats a year to and from China and deliver an estimated $102 million annual boast to the New Zealand economy.
“Sichuan Airlines will provide the first direct flight from Chengdu to New Zealand and will cater for the growing numbers of Chinese visiting our country. On average each Chinese visitor spends approximately $4,300* while here and they are increasingly travelling more widely around the country.”
“For New Zealand travellers, Sichuan Airlines offers the opportunity to fly direct to Chengdu, the thriving capital of the Sichuan Province which is home to the World renowned Giant Panda Research Base, home of the panda.”
Mr Tasker says Sichuan Airlines decision to fly to Auckland comes at a time when Auckland Airport is investing more than $1 million every working day on its core aeronautical infrastructure.
“The major upgrade of our international departure area is well underway, as is the expansion of Pier B of the international terminal which will add two more gates that can each accommodate an A380 or two smaller aircraft.
We are also progressing the design of the new domestic section of our combined domestic and international terminal, and undertaking further improvements to our roads and public transport infrastructure. This level of infrastructure investment will likely continue into the near future,” says Mr Tasker.*Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment International Visitor Survey 2016
| An Auckland Airport release | February 22, 2017 ||
Trade barriers cost New Zealand billions of dollars annually, according to an NZIER report for the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ).
The report, titled Dairy trade’s economic contribution to New Zealand, highlights the strong contribution the dairy sector has continued to make to New Zealand’s national and regional economic development, even while it has been at the bottom of a price cycle, and despite global dairy markets remaining highly distorted.
“Trade barriers are a significant cost to New Zealand. Tariffs alone are suppressing the value of our dairy products by around 1.3 billion dollars annually,” says DCANZ Chairman Malcolm Bailey.
“On top of this, non-tariff measures add over $3 billion in costs to New Zealand dairy exports in the APEC region alone,” he adds.
The report found dairy exports generate more than one in every four dollars earnt by New Zealand and the sector provides incomes for 40,000 New Zealanders, including 2,100 jobs in Auckland.
“These are good jobs with the highest average salary levels for a food manufacturing sector, and the second highest for a farming sector,” says Mr Bailey.
“Federated Farmers and DairyNZ have a workplace action plan underway to make sure the working environment for jobs in our sector is a good one that goes beyond compliance levels.”
At a district level in New Zealand, the dairy sector is responsible for:
“Over the past 15 years, the dairy employment has grown by an average of 3.7% per year, over twice as fast as the 1.7% recorded for total employment” says Mr Bailey.
The report outlines how the economic contribution goes beyond the farm gate. It found dairy processors are spending $5.4 billion on non-milk inputs like equipment hire, management services and packaging each year.
Additionally, dairy farmers are spending $12.2 billion dollars on goods and services within their communities. This flow through economic effect means the dairy sector accounts for more than ten per cent of regional GDP in the Waikato, the West Coast and in Southland.
Mr Bailey emphasises that it is not all an economic story for dairying.
“The dairy industry has been working hard to also invest in and deliver on sustainability. There is a commitment to stock exclusion from streams, to riparian planting, better effluent management and better nutrient budgeting. The sector is proud that these efforts are beginning to translate into noticeable improvements.”
“Over the past four years dairy processors have also invested more than $2 billion in processing capital to improve processing efficiency and diversity New Zealand’s dairy production mix.”
“These investments will support the sector to continuing delivering high-quality, safe dairy products with increasing value for consumers”.
“Removing trade barriers will allow New Zealand’s dairy sector, ultimately, to maintain and build both sustainability and value-adding momentum,” says Bailey.
To read NZIER’s Dairy trade’s economic contribution to New Zealand report, visit www.dcanz.com/news/
| An NZDA release | February 21, 2017 ||
African carrier also plans to upscale and retool its technical department.
Etihad Airways Engineering, the maintenance division of the Abu-Dhabi based airline group, has signed a contract with Kenya Airways to carry out mandatory checks on its Boeing 787-8 fleet.
The first of six scheduled Boeing 787 C-checks will begin this month at its facility in the UAE, with the final check scheduled for October 2017.
During the heavy maintenance checks, Kenya is also planning a number of product and reliability improvement modifications to systems and components.
Martyn Haines, technical director at Kenya Airways, said: "We will use this opportunity to upscale and retool some of our technical department, who will be onsite to provide oversight of all work being done.
Haines also said that the agreement also opens up some other collaborative opportunities including training programs.
“We have an ongoing maintenance programme of small and large checks across our other fleets, with all of these scheduled for completion within our maintenance facility,” he added.
| An MRO Network release | February 22, 2017 ||
Trade Minister Todd McClay says he is extremely confident New Zealand has a strong case following Indonesia's decision to appeal a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in favour of New Zealand beef and horticulture exports and says he expects Indonesia to meet their WTO obligations following the appeal.
New Zealand and the United States brought a case against Indonesia disputing 18 agricultural non-tariff barriers. The WTO ruled in favour of NZ and the US on all 18 disputed point in December last year.
“It is very common for WTO rulings of this nature to be appealed and we had expected this action,” Mr McClay says.
“New Zealand is a trading nation, trade liberalisation and fair access are essential for the continued growth and stability of our economy.”
“The Government remains committed to opposing any unfair impediments to trade and will continue to fight for the rights of our exporters to fairly access markets in all parts of the world.”
The Indonesian trade barriers are estimated to have cost the New Zealand beef sector up to a billion dollars of lost trade. As recently as 2010, Indonesia was New Zealand's second-largest beef export market by volume, worth $180 million a year. Certain horticulture exports have also been held back by the restrictions.
The barriers imposed by Indonesia include import prohibitions, use and sale restrictions, restrictive licence terms and a domestic purchase requirement.
“We enjoy close cooperation in a range of areas of mutual interest with Indonesia, but even close friends have occasional disagreements. The WTO helps insulate trade policy differences from wider bilateral relations,” Mr McClay says.
| A Beehive release | February 22, 2017 ||
SCHAUMBURG, IL (February 2017) - HEIDENHAIN's popular TNC 640 mill-turn control is now available with an exciting new option, a 3D Probing cycle, called Cycle 444. Already equipped with both manual and automatic probing cycles for datum setting, workpiece alignment and inspection, the TNC 640 offers this additional 3D probing cycle to meet manufacturers' increased requirements for automation and advanced probing routines that inspect free form surfaces where measurement positions are often difficult to capture.
Cycle 444 checks one specific point on the surface of each workpiece. The contact point is determined by a vector that is normal to the 3D surface. The measurement cycle enables the measurement of 3D shapes such as free form surfaces of a mold part, and based on a defined tolerance range along the vector, checks the determined measured values. It is advisable to determine the normal vector with the help of a CAD/CAM system.
As with all HEIDENHAIN control cycles for automatic probing, a parameter is given for classifying a part as Good/Rework/Scrap. Additionally, the TNC outputs a log file with documented positions and deviations.
If option 92 "3D-ToolComp" is active on the TNC 640, a touch probe can be recalibrated using a calibration ball, and the system accuracy for measurements can be improved in this way. The key here is that the touch probe is re-calibrated for various contact points along the ball-tip of the touch probe styli. In that way, repeatability is increased for the vectors formed by the contacts points and the spheres' centers.
HEIDENHAIN also offers touch probes. The TS 460 is a universal touch probe with optical trigger mechanism for higher repeatability and also features a collision-adapter.
The TNC 640 is HEIDENHAIN versatile mill-turn control with conversational programming, the perfect solution for demanding machining tasks in regard to speed, accuracy and high surface definition.For more information, contact HEIDENHAIN's Product Specialist for Machine Tools, Julian Renz at (847) 884-4761 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or write to us at HEIDENHAIN CORPORATION, 333 E. State Parkway, Schaumburg, IL 60173. HEIDENHAIN can also be accessed directly via our web site at www.heidenhain.us.
HEIDENHAIN CORPORATION is the North American subsidiary of DR. JOHANNES HEIDENHAIN GmbH, a leading international manufacturer of precision measurement and control equipment. Our product line includes linear scales, rotary and angular encoders, digital readouts, digital length gauges, CNC controls, and machine inspection equipment.
| A Heidenhain release | February 21, 2017 ||
Air travel for pets can be a complex and difficult process, which is why one of the world’s top airports has rolled out a USD 65 million animal terminal and quarantine facility with round-the-clock service.
The airport is New York City’s John F. Kennedy International, which last week launched the first phase of its round-the-clock pet catering services.
Located in a 16,500-square-metre warehouse, the ARK Pet Oasis aims to streamline air travel for pets and livestock. It also provides concierge-like services, ensures pets have their documents in order and looks after their health – even clips their toenails if that’s what they need.
Staff stand ready to help at ARK Pet Oasis
ARK Pet Oasis says on its website: “Throughout North and South America, pets transported as live animal cargo and excess baggage spend hours pre- and post-flight confined in their transport crates, sitting in a cargo warehouse without food, water or relief.
“ARK Pet Oasis seeks to mitigate both the pet parent’s and the animal’s concern and anxiety. While we cannot change your traveling pet’s experience while in flight aboard the aircraft, studies have shown that the superlative care provided pre- and post flight greatly reduces the stress of travel.”
| A Peter Needham article on e-GlobalTravel | February 21, 2017 ||
Sichuan Airlines (3U) will begin three direct flights per week between Auckland and Chengdu from 13 June 2017.
The new 3U schedule will feature an A330-200 aircraft, with Business and Economy Class configuration and operate initially on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The flight will take 13 hours direct from New Zealand to the Southwest part of China.
The flights – coded 3U8910/8909 – will depart Auckland at 20:30 to reach Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport around 06:00, with a 01:55 overnight return leg arriving into Auckland at 18:45.
Sichuan Airlines Company was founded on 19 September 1986. Currently it has more than 215 routes, a well-operating network integrating main, secondary, international, regional and branch routes, contributing to the transportation system of the regional comprehensive transportation hub.
The new services mean there will be up to 75 flights a week between New Zealand and China, including Hong Kong and depending on the season.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
| A TravelInc release | February 21, 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