Boeing has whipped the (very long) covers off the latest addition to the Dreamliner family. The 787-10 was launched during President Trump's visit to the Boeing factory in South Carolina, and blends the outstanding fuel efficiency of the existing 787-8 and 787-9 with room for even more passengers.
Compared to the existing 787-9, the 787-10 has gone through a fairly serious growth spurt. The new plane is 18 feet (5.5 meters) longer, which helps free space for 330 passengers in a two-class cabin, a 14 percent improvement over the 290-passenger 787-9. Boeing also says there's also room for 15 percent more cargo than before, giving airlines even more space to overcharge for baggage they'll inevitably break.ADVERTISINGinRead invented by Teads
Maximum range is now pegged at 6,430 nautical miles (7,400 mi/11,910 km) which is a not-insignificant 1,205 nautical miles (1,387 mi/2,232 km) less than the 787-9 can manage. You can blame that on the extra capacity and size, both of which are the enemies of efficiency.
Although it can't match the smaller members of the Dreamliner family, the 787-10 is still much more efficient than planes of a similar size. Boeing says its new model uses up to 10 percent less fuel than its nearest competitor, and 25 percent less than the planes it's likely to replace. Not only does that represent a significant cost saving for airlines, it also should help cut emissions across the whole industry, something that benefits everyone.The 787-10 Dreamliner will seat 330 people
"This airplane, the most efficient in its class, is the result of years of hard work and dedication from our Boeing teammates, suppliers and community partners in South Carolina and across the globe," says Kevin McAllister, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO. "We know our customers, including launch customer Singapore Airlines, are going to love what the 787-10 will do for their fleets, and we can't wait to see them fly it."
The new Dreamliner will be arriving with airlines in 2018 and, given that Boeing has already received 149 orders, they shouldn't be hard to spot at the world's airports. The plane will make its maiden flight in the coming weeks.
| Source: Boeing | February 19, 2017 ||
Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to the Cook Islands this week to undertake a range of meetings, including with Prime Minister Henry Puna and his Cabinet.
“My discussions with Prime Minister Puna and his Cabinet will cover a range of matters including New Zealand’s support to the Cook Island’s tourism sector, which accounts for over 60% of national GDP,” Mr McCully says.
“Ensuring the ongoing health of the tourism sector is a top priority in our partnership. For this reason, New Zealand has committed to projects designed to improve sanitation and water quality infrastructure, specifically in Rarotonga and Aitutaki.”
This visit will also provide an opportunity to hear from Cook Island representatives about economic development opportunities in the outer islands.
While in the Cook Islands, Minister McCully will also meet with members of the Opposition and attend engagements with the Cook Islands Tourism Board and key business leaders.
| A Beehive release | February 20, 2017 ||
New Zealand manufacturer XLam has developed a locally produced cross-laminated timber (CLT), which could cut construction cost that will be available by the end of 2017, according to the AFR.
The new CLT material and the way it is made, promises time, labour and wastage savings. Construction occurs offsite in the buildings with CLT. The timber is designed and shaped into panels, which can then be brought onsite and assembled.
The CLT will be produced at XLam plant in Albury Wodonga. It will be produced from local pine, which will be a boon for the local forestry industry.
The plant is expected to create 60,000 cubic metres of CLT annually and be built by April when manufacturing material is installed. It is anticipated to create 54 local jobs.
XLam chief executive Gary Caufield said that the new plant would have a direct jobs impact and also an economic multiplier for the Albury-Wodonga region.
| A Manufacturers'Monthly release | February 21, 2017 ||
See Also: NZ company XLAM to open manufacturing plant in Australia
Getting the first three steel girders for the new Kawarau Falls Bridge to Queenstown, from Napier, wasn’t an easy task, says NZ Transport Agency Senior Project Manager Phil Dowsett.
The girders, weighing in at more than 22 tonnes, were fabricated in Napier by Eastbridge , a firm which specialise in bridge steel fabrication.
“The original plan was to transport the girders by rail but the 14 November, 2016 earthquake left the main rail trunk line impassable between Kaikoura and Blenheim,” says Phil Dowsett.
“The McConnell Dowell team needed to find another way to get the steel girders to Queenstown efficiently, to ensure the project stayed on track. They looked at sea freighting for part of the journey, but the length of the girders and bracing made this uneconomical. Trucking became the preferred option.”
To minimise the risk of delays, McConnell Dowell constructed a new laydown area not far from site. This enables the project to receive the girders in plenty of time.
Trucking proved to be the best way to get the steel on site quickly. In all, 40 truckloads of steel girders will make the four-day trip between Napier and Queenstown.
A total of 880 tonnes of steel, in lengths of 16 and six metres, will be used in the bridge construction. The longest beam is 16 metres long - ie one-and-a-half times longer than a telephone pole, or eight king size beds laid end on end.
| An NZTransportAgency release | February 20, 2017 ||
Bruce Springsteen has provided the vital bit of inspiration for the revolutionary, new ROADOG motorcycling top and the inventors are keen to show their gratitude when The Boss is in New Zealand.
The Christchurch-based company has been in touch with Springsteen’s management team to present him with their ultra-light, super warm jersey.
“After all, Bruce is a fellow motorbike enthusiast, and our target mark, so we’d love to know what he thinks of our ROADOG jersey,” says director Glenn Rodgers, who has also offered to loan Springsteen Harley Davidson to take him on a ride around the beautiful South Island roads.
The ROADOG their experienced their a ‘voila moment’ riding back from the last Bruce Springsteen concert in 2014 on an icy cold night.
“We had been working on a special, light, new design to protect motorcyclists from the cold winds on long road trip, and had come up with a concept that combined New Zealand merinowith a Hydrotex layer to keep the wind out,” explains Rodgers.
“But that night, riding back from the concert in Auckland, we were still suffering and realised we needed something extra.
“Eventually discovered an amazing American material called Thinsulate that proved to be the crucial ingredient,” says Rodgers.
Springsteen will be in New Zealand for two concerts on February 21 in Christchurch and February 25.
The ROADOG jerseys have received rave reviews from riders throughout New Zealand. “And they all want to get their hands on one of them, so we are already looking at increasing our production.”
| A Roadog article | February 19, 2017 ||
Ξ My Chocolate Box launches as Cadbury closes NZ operation
NZ Steel returns to profit in first half, export competitiveness still unclear
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World Week Ahead: Fed minutes, Trump rally
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New Zealand's manufacturing activity slips in January
'I've got a bad taste in my mouth'
Five questions for Washington insider Scot Faulkner
The newly installed Trump Administration continues to catch New Zealand officialdom by surprise. So MSC Newswire asked Washington insider Scot Faulkner (above) what Wellington’s response should in fact be? Mr Faulkner was elected the first Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. His reforms became a model for the operation of national parliaments around the world.
The New Zealand Foreign Ministry has set up a special focus group solely for the purpose of identifying early warning of new policies promulgated by President Trump, the ones which will have an impact on this country. Can you short circuit this by helpfully forecasting any of these pending surprise policies?
The New Zealand Foreign Ministry’s Trump Task Force will only be of value if it discards long held assumptions and embrace a totally new way of thinking and acting. Trying to predict Trump through traditional means, such as monitoring after-the-fact media, is like using ouija boards, tarot cards, and horoscopes.
The Ministry’s primary objective should be to move at “Trump speed” and navigate in Trump’s world. Non traditional sources, non traditional methods will be keys to success. Thinking like a visionary risk-taking entrepreneur instead of a politician is the first step into this new reality.
Trump is unique. No one like him has ever been the President of the United States. While a few Presidents had business experience, their main credentials were either the military or government. America usually faced political or military crises. The 2007-2008 economic collapse convinced most Americans that something radical was necessary. So they rallied around a businessman who was known to most as a reality television star. As Trump stated, “everyone else has failed you – what do you have to lose? Try me.”
Trump’s unique background means unique thought patterns and processes. President Trump gets his ideas, news, and validation from places never before involved in governing. He is fearless, non linear. He embraces chaos, acts on intuition, moves quickly, and uses surprise as a strategic weapon. Sometimes only he knows the ultimate objective. He is a student of military history, especially Sun Tzu. That is what gave him the winning edge in business, the Republican primaries, and the 2016 general election.
Trump’s new Administration is already being tested by China, Russia, and a variety of other nations. President Trump’s responses will indicate many things: how fast he responds, how he responds, how he views the challenge and the challenger, how he frames the challenge within his existing world view, how willing is he to vary from stated positions to address a unique situation, how willing is he to escalate, whose advice does he value, who he collaborates with, and who, how, and what does he communicate regarding the challenge to Congress, the American public, and other nations.
New Zealand needs to understand that the next four to eight years has a very different global player. Trump’s approach will be very personal, intimate, intuitive, immediate, chaotic, and against all conventional wisdom, very successful.
All the indications are that the New Zealand diplomatic apparatus in New York and Washington was wrong footed by the Trump ascendancy. This led to falling in line with the Obama era last moment positioning of New Zealand as co-endorser of the UN anti-Israel resolution. Does New Zealand need to backtrack here?
New Zealand should always be wary of being pulled into American politics. Obama’s last minute swipe at Israel during his waning days as President should have been avoided at all costs. Obama’s behind the scenes orchestration of the resolution, which was being delayed until the new Administration, was ill-advised and dilatory. It undermined decades of America being a positive force in the region.
President Trump is a great friend of Israel. He and his team believe that, historically, enemies of America have funded the radical elements of the Palestinian cause.
Trump is committed, heart & soul, to destroying radical Islam and reining-in Iran. His priority is working with those nations that share his view. He sees Israel, and the moderate Arab governments, like Egypt and Jordan, as allies in eradicating ISIS, Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their regional and tribal affiliates throughout the Arab world, Asia, and Africa.Trump and his foreign policy team fundamentally differ from the Neo-conservatives who surrounded President George W. Bush. They adhere more to the Reagan-Thatcher/John-Paul II approach of destroying tyranny, but not trying to second guess centuries of local custom through nation building. America’s role is to inspire, not intervene, in a nation’s journey toward a freer society.Israeli settlements are far more complex than the media portrays. Palestinian contractors and workers build Israeli settlements. West Bank unemployment soars whenever Israel slows or suspends new settlements. The chasm between peaceful, free, and democratic Israel and violent, oppressive, Islamic failed states in the region is stark. Land for Peace has been a chimera for Israel. De-radicalizing Palestinian leaders and their movement would go further in creating lasting peace than continuing to place the onus on Israel.
The Anti-Israel Resolution validated Trump’s view that the United Nations is currently there to promote radical anti-Western policies while wasting vast sums of money. It further proves his wisdom of pursuing America’s interests through bilateral, not multilateral, arrangements.
New Zealand has supported in spirit the US-EU trade embargo against Russia called up by President Obama. Is there a defined timetable to conclude this embargo?
There is no defined timetable for ending or modifying the trade embargo against Russia.
President Trump and his inner circle have a non-ideological practical “America first” world view. It harkens back to the 17th/18th Centuries. During that era, Western nations united to stop the expansion of the Ottoman Empire then competed, sometimes violently, to dominate world trade.
President Trump wants to build relationships with Russia and China for ridding the world of rogue players – radical Islam, Iran, and North Korea. This is why he picked Rex Tillerson, who has strong relationships with Russia as his Secretary of State, and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who is friends with President Xi Jinping, as Ambassador to China. This is also why Trump picked a skilled fighter, James Mattis, as his Secretary of Defense.
Trump’s trade and business team is equally ready to help America win in world commerce. Wilbur Ross, Steve Mnuckin, and Robert Lighthizer will aggressively negotiate favorable trade agreements and rebuild U.S. competitiveness.
Russia remains problematic as its adventurism in Ukraine and intimidation of the Baltic States complicates Trump’s desire to be “frenemies”. Tillerson will be challenged to craft the right mix of incentives and punishments to refocus Russo-American relations. The current US-EU trade embargo will be assessed within this context.
The Transpacific Partnership Agreement signed in Auckland last year was No 1 on President Trump’s hit list. Looking at the longer term where do you see the advantages/disadvantages in this?
President Trump is all about building one-on-one personal relationships with world leaders. Bi-lateral relationships were his strong suit in business and will serve him well as President. They allow him more flexibility and agility. He has little interest in multi-lateral agreements or entities.
This is why TPP was in his cross hairs as a candidate and now as President. New Zealand and other TPP nations need to offer their best “value proposition” for trade relationships that will benefit the U.S. as much as themselves. These are the kinds of agreements that will get Trump’s attention and become his priority.
Trump prides himself on the foreign investments in America he has facilitated or promoted. He wants American companies to “come home” to America, and foreign companies to settle in America. Trump’s goal is to bring the best of the world to America to rebuild infrastructure and generate lasting employment opportunities. There is a new world of opportunity for New Zealand investment and partnering in America.
Given the available evidence it is hard not to conclude that officials here have only a threadbare understanding of what is going on in the relevant circles of United States policymaking. Where should they be looking? Who should they be talking to now?
Trump’s tweets remain the best original source. Trump won the nomination and the general election by going directly to the public. Over 50 million Americans follow Trump on Twitter and Facebook. The Washington-New York media have become completely irrelevant to the Trump Administration and to Trump’s America.
President Trump has revolutionized the way policy is created, promoted, and implemented. The establishments within the Federal Government, Congress, media, academia, and policy forums, still do not have a clue about what is happening before their eyes.
America’s post-Cold War drift through four failed Presidents has come to an end.
Reagan won the Cold War by using skills he developed in movies and television to command the world stage. Those skills destroyed the Soviet Empire, relaunched the U.S. economy, and redefined the role of government. Trump is using his business and reality television skills to command the world stage for himself and the United States. Like Reagan, Trump is seeking to defeat tyranny, in this case radical Islam, relaunch the U.S. economy, and not just redefine, but completely reinvent government. The establishment dismissed Reagan until he succeeded. The establishment is dismissing Trump, and will be just as embarrassed should he succeed.
Conservative talk radio speaks for Trump and puts his actions and tweets into context. They aggressively expose the liberal media and the Democrats when they promote fake news and conspiracies about Trump. Trump watches Fox news, listens & calls into conservative talk radio, and avidly follows their social media posts. Each validates the other. The most articulate and insightful conservative commentators are Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levine, and Chris Plante. Washington-based WMAL radio hosts all three.
Anglo-Australian mining titan Rio Tinto announced the award of a US$45 million to the New Zealand civil construction firm Fulton Hogan. The contract, which is for the construction of a dam at the Amrun bauxite project in Cape York, Queensland, was announced last Wednesday.
The project will have Fulton Hogan’s Queensland division constructing a 10.9-gigaliter (2.9 billion gallon) dam as well as an impoundment area, embankment, intake infrastructure, spillway, fishway, and access corridor.
A name for the dam has already been selected as well – “Arraw,” chosen by the area’s Traditional Owners, which is the native population’s name for the emu, Australian flightless and largest native bird.
“As an industry leader Fulton Hogan will bring great expertise to the construction of Arraw dam and create 120 jobs for local workers,” said Rio Tinto Growth & Innovation group executive Stephen McIntosh.
“Fulton Hogan is a renowned leader in building water storage for dams and reservoirs in challenging terrains. We look forward to our successful collaboration on this project.”
“We are delighted to bring our dam building technology and innovation to the Amrun project,” explained Fulton Hogan chief executive officer for construction Peter Kessler. “Our construction teams are experienced in the challenges of working in a bulk water environment and strictly share Rio Tinto’s commitment to a safe work environment.”
According to the press release, the contract is expected to begin by the current quarter’s end on March 31.
The Amrun project, which was announced by Rio in late 2015, is a US$2.6 billion bauxite project on the Cape York Peninsula. It will feature a bauxite mine, processing facilities, and port facilities when production begins in early 2019. The project is expected to employ 1,100 workers, a certain percentage of whom will likely be drawn from other of the company’s bauxite projects that are expected to soon wind down.
| An AluminiumInsider release | February 19, 2017 ||
Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith has welcomed the signing of a ground breaking bilateral international science agreement between New Zealand and Australia at the Leaders’ meetings in Queenstown today.
The Australia – New Zealand Science, Research and Innovation Cooperation Agreement is a commitment to valuable collaboration across the innovation and science systems, and between researchers and innovative companies, on both sides of the Tasman.
“International agreements bring new knowledge, ideas, people, technology and investment into New Zealand’s science and innovation system. These partnerships also contribute to the export of the unique research and innovation generated in New Zealand,” says Mr Goldsmith.
“Our collaboration with Australia in science and innovation is already extensive and constructive. This Agreement sets out a clear work programme that will provide a focus-point for our cooperation into the future.
“New Zealand’s role as foundation investors in the Australian Synchrotron is a prime example of that collaboration, and means we now have access to a facility which can assist in the development of everything from forensics, to surgical tools, to understanding environmental issues.”
Synchrotron users vary from universities and Crown Research Institutes, through to the private sector and high-tech start-ups.
“With this new agreement, we can further enhance our scientific links for the benefit of both Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Goldsmith says.
Key initial proposals in the work programme include mapping collaborative research opportunities, research infrastructure planning and investment, standards and measurement research and the exchange of experts, knowledge and expertise.
The Agreement also provides for a wide array of future initiatives such as common science priorities, working together in other international endeavours and the promotion of a trans-Tasman innovation ecosystem for talent and investment attraction.
More information on the Agreement and associated new initiatives can be found on the MBIE website, HERE.
| A Beehive release | February 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