Auckland – The Kiwi Connection Tech Hub is working with NZ businesses, industry and government across multiple initiatives to support 100 Kiwi entrepreneurs, managers and executives to visit major South East Asia markets this year to increase exports, access investment capital and tap into the talent pool that New Zealand lacks.
Hub director Mitchell Pham is working with organisers of the significant landmark business trip to Vietnam, Thailand and possibly Myanmar in a giant leap forward to boost New Zealand exports.In partnership with Augen
The tech hub is a partnership between Augen Software Group and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT). It works in collaboration with businesses and industry associations in both countries.
Pham says the New Zealand mission to South East Asia will focus on businesses in various tech, food and beverages and retail sectors.
“The trail-blazing visit in August will be led by ASEAN-New Zealand Business Council in collaboration with ExportNZ, KEA and the Kiwi Connection Tech Hub and with support from NZTE, MFAT and the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
“In addition to that trip, at the same time, the University of Auckland Business School has 65 management and executive participants in this year’s MBA programme helping 11 Kiwi businesses develop market entry strategies, execution plans and local connections for the Vietnam market. This group will also be working in-market in August.Trade mission to Singapore and Vietnam
“Thirdly FinTechNZ will lead a trade mission to Singapore and Vietnam later this year involving Kiwi FinTech business leaders who will attend the regional FinTech conference in Singapore and connect with the rapidly growing Vietnam market in November. This FinTechNZ trip is in collaboration with the Kiwi Connection Tech Hub and with support from NZTech and NZTE.
“While Augen and the tech hub focus on assisting tech businesses, technology is not a silo sector but rather a part of the bigger picture that is NZ Inc and the NZ story.
“This is further affirmed by the government’s inclusion of tech sector and digital exports in the recently released NZ Trade Agenda 2030, as ways to both grow and diversify export. It is why our Kiwi tech hub is working with a wide range of collaborating partners and engage in many initiatives.
“We are providing a vital bridge for Kiwi tech businesses to speed-up entry and business growth in South East Asia, where there is a huge and rapidly growing pool of talent, capital, customers as well as massive digital economy and consumption appetite,” Pham says.
The hub was opened by minister Steven Joyce in June last year to ensure the Kiwi tech sector could engage with Vietnam and provide a base to support business activities across the ASEAN region.
| A Make Lemonade release || April 3, 2017 |||
The New Zealand distributor of Solar Gard windowfilm is pleased to announce that Solar Gard is now a member of the New Zealand Green Building Council
Globally Solar Gard Window Film and its parent company Saint-Gobain manufacture products that are friendly to the environment and have a high level of sustainability.
In 2014, Solar Gard achieved an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certification from UL Environment, encompassing 41 architectural window film products. The EPD is based on a life cycle analysis of the cradle-to-grave impacts of Solar Gard’s products and fulfils the requirements of an ISO-compliant product category rule.
“The decision to become a member of the NZGBC builds on these global strategies and is a logical move in regard to the NZ market. It gives us the opportunity to put the various products and benefits in front of decision makers in a way that gives them confidence that Solar Gard window film can be a solution to a problem for them while also making them aware of the environmental benefits that the product brings” says Mr Ross Eathorne Director of Specialty Window Films, the New Zealand distributor of Solar Gard window films.
Further information can be obtained from the links below and by contacting Eathorne.
http://www.solargard.com/au/energy-efficiency-and-sustainability/
| A Solar Gard release || March 31, 2017 |||
Ground floor opening for the state to back IT manufacturing lost. Progeni’s Perce Harpham explains what went wrong...
During the 1980s Australasia’s version of Silicon Valley was New Zealand’s Hutt Valley. Here, a coalition of public and private enterprises had anticipated the screen graphic presentation techniques that would later become standard fixtures. At the forefront of these developers was Progeni led by Perce Harpham (above). Progeni had developed its desk top computer for the global marketplace. It needed just one thing which was a local user base in education. But Apple, whose Steve Wozniak was a constant presence in the Hutt Valley of that era, was also knocking on the class-room door...........Five questions now for Perce Harpham....
As you look now at the immense scattering of public funds in the general direction of encouraging technological innovation, you must feel increasingly disappointed at the failure of the government to encourage your educational application desk top computer, leaving the field open to Apple among others?
The development of the Poly computer system was disappointing on many fronts. The idea for a special purpose computer was conceived by two gifted lecturers in Wellington Polytech. It was accepted by the Education Department. The Government's Development Finance Corporation was charged with doing the sort of job that NASA does with space travel - namely bringing together New Zealand resources to make it happen. Just for once it appeared that NZ was going to do something right in the technology field by taking a problem which we had here and developing a solution for the world market.
The Development Finance Corporation invited us to form a joint venture with them to do the job. The idea was that the Joint Venture would develop the systems software and the hardware, the Education Department would develop the courses and use them in NZ while the JV would make the computers and market them with the courses overseas. DFC said they had cast iron arrangements with Government to buy 1000 machines per year for five years if they met the practical requirements of the Department.
My company, Progeni, then provided highly capable professionals to develop the system including all sorts of innovations, some 30 companies supplied parts and manufactured circuit boards, and the specially designed the moulded cases and the like. Some 60 teachers gave up their Christmas holidays to develop demonstration courses for mathematics, music and all sorts of things where there was a need. We made some 70 machines which were trialled in class rooms. Massey University evaluated the results. They were highly successful and more than met the conditions set down by the Department. The Government then welshed on the deal.
Warren Cooper later told me that he and his colleagues in the cabinet had decided that, and here I quote, " there was no point in spending Government money so that teachers could do even less work".
We bought out DFCs interest in the Joint Venture and tried to carry on. A number of schools then raised money and bought machines. I have been told that another cabinet minister had an investment in the Apple agency in NZ. Apple then was allowed to dump, and I use the word in its formal legal sense, its computers in NZ at about one quarter of their retail price. They targeted precisely our market and destroyed it for us.
We went to China and sold a few machines then built a new model handling Chinese characters. We were on the verge of some major sales when the Tiananmen Square incidents occurred and all the bankers suddenly thought anything to do with China was valueless. Our bank, the Bank of New Zealand, then twice had to be rescued from bankruptcy by the Government. We were the collateral damage. Almost a year after the receivers were appointed we had a major order from the Agricultural Bank of China. It had been delayed by Tiananmen and the company had been destroyed. But I managed to deliver part of the order from stocks that had been stored in China and purchased back from the universities we had given them to. But we were already dead.
Had the Government honoured its commitments New Zealand would have been a world leader in computer-based learning.
To what extent did the death of your chief technology officer Jean Claude de Verrier in the same Chicago DC10 disaster that took the life of Roger Estridge, point man for IBM’s pc development, harm the future of the Progeni desk top development?
Jean Claude de Verrier's (pictured below) death was a huge blow. It did not affect the development of the Poly computers. But it set back our US venture dramatically. Nonetheless it was going well before the receivers sold it to the management for a pittance. It has gone on to prosper as Progeni Inc with headquarters in Dallas. All of the people we transferred to the US who have not retired are still with it. See its website.
After your bid to persuade the Department of Education here to buy the Progeni desk-top, you turned to China. Were you worried at the time and subsequently about (a) copying, and (b) getting paid?
I can only add that one is always vulnerable to copying and you rely on staying ahead of the game so that your new innovations make the copies obsolete. There was never a problem about getting paid. When we went into receivership it was claimed in the press that it was because we had not been paid from China. This was completely untrue.
You pioneered in New Zealand the independent software development house, handling major governmental contracts along the way. How do you view nowadays public systems development and implementation?
I view Government handling of their computer developments as an unmitigated disaster. We formed a Joint venture with a US company to deliver the software for the Wanganui Computer System. We delivered it on time at the quoted fixed price, exceeded the specification, made a profit and paid tax on it. It lasted for 30 years.
In the meantime the Government let a contract to replace our law enforcement system. No NZ owned company made it onto the short list. It was let to IBM. The delivery was supposed to take about two years. After five years and $100,000,000 it was abandoned.
Many millions were spent having an American company develop a health system with no NZ input and it was then abandoned. I remember talking to the project manager nine months after they started. He had only just found out that we did not have the equivalent of the US Sprint telephone system in NZ and was having to redesign the communication system.
More recently Customs went to tender with a contract which essentially specifically excluded NZ companies. Companies like Orion have had to make major sales overseas before gaining any sales in NZ for their hospital systems. The payroll system let to an Australian company was a disaster. The IRD system, over $1,000,000, is being developed by an overseas company.
We are supposedly going to develop a high technology economy. Yeah right!
It is said within the IT industry that pioneers end up with arrows in their back. Is there anything you might have done differently, especially in regard to your international development which many, even at the time, regarded as audacious?
I would not chase Government work unless I was satisfied that we had a level playing field uncontaminated by a cringing belief that our New Zealand capabilities are necessarily inferior.
I would first work on local and overseas companies as well as overseas governments and state governments. The latter, like the NZ Government, want to know if you have delivered similar systems elsewhere but will look at your proposal in an unbiased fashion and the experience of your proposed project team. If this includes people (possibly one or two consultants) who have had the experience you lack as a company but are satisfied that your management is competent then you are in with a chance.
| From the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Monday 3 April 2017 |||
UK soft drinks firm Britvic has said it has reached a major milestone in efforts to develop a wood fibre bottle.
The firm revealed the advance in its 2016 sustainability report and said it could revolutionise packaging across multiple sectors.
Britvic has been working on the packaging over the last three years in partnership with Innovate UK and UK-based SME Natural Resources (2000).
It said that this year it had managed to produce bottles on a prototype manufacturing line using the technology and had also begun to develop a bottle closure system using similar wood fibre-based material.
“This new technology has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of packaging as the materials are sustainably sourced, renewable and fully recyclable,” said Britvic.
It added that the new process requires less energy to produce a bottle than its contemporary equivalents.
In the report CEO Simon Litherland said the company had made significant investment in manufacturing sites to improve productivity and resource efficiency.
Investments made in the firm’s Leeds plant last year have led to water and energy consumption falling by 22% and 45% respectively, relative to production.
“These upgrades have also allowed us to access the latest in packaging technology, resulting in lighter bottles and less packaging materials being used,” he added.
The company reported 84% of its manufacturing waste was recycled in 2016.
Some 90% of direct suppliers are linked on the company’s responsible sourcing platform, Sedex.
And while the company’s road mileage has increased this year, resulting in a 5% increase in emissions to 25,177 tonnes of CO2, part of the reason for this increase was temporary changes to production locations.
The company said it had optimised pallet movements to maximise efficiency, which had helped to save the equivalent of 265 tonnes of CO2.
And during 2016 the company identified which of its sourcing regions are at risk from water scarcity and discussed with suppliers how they were managing these threats.
“Next year will see us continue our engagement activity, aiming to educate our suppliers on responsible water practices,” said Britvic.
| A SupplyManagement release | March 30, 2017 |||
Design standards and building laws will be reviewed in response to an investigation into structural damage to Wellington’s Statistics House in the Kaikōura earthquake, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith says.
Dr Smith today released an independent panel’s findings into the performance of the building during the 14 November 2016 quake, focussing on its design and construction, and the land influences on it.
“The performance of Statistics House in the Kaikōura earthquake was unacceptable and could have caused fatalities. This quake was large and unusually long but a modern building like Statistics House should not have had life-threatening structural damage. The building was designed to the industry practice of the time but this did not fully account for the effects of beam elongation during an earthquake, an issue that was deficient in the Concrete Structures Standard at the time of the design.
“The design flaw is quite specific to highly ductile framed concrete buildings with pre-cast floor slabs and particularly those with multi bay frames. We need to follow up on similarly designed buildings through councils and engineering companies so that where it is a problem, it can be rectified. This has already been done in respect of Wellington as a consequence of the preliminary findings in Statistics House but now needs to be followed up elsewhere. We also need to amend the Concrete Structures Standard to ensure newly designed buildings are adequately designed to cope with beam elongation during long duration earthquakes. This will be done this year.
“A compounding factor was geological basin effects that are not well understood but which have also been observed in other earthquakes internationally. This is not to do with reclaimed land but the amplification of ground shaking in a basin. This phenomena is similar to the way sea waves respond to a wall in an enclosed bay. This is an area of seismic science that needs further research, particularly in respect of Wellington, and to be considered as part of a review of the Earthquake Actions Standard.
“There is a building law issue that arises from this report on which I have asked officials to report. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has limited powers to follow up on design deficiencies like those identified in this report beyond those specifically provided for following civil emergencies. This means MBIE cannot require building owners to follow up on these sorts of potentially serious technical problems. I have asked MBIE to report on whether additional powers are needed in the Building Act.
“New Zealand is at the cutting edge of international seismic design standards but we have not yet solved all of the potential ways a building can fail. Most buildings in Wellington performed well despite the ferocity of the Kaikōura earthquake. We need to take the opportunity following such earthquakes to learn as much as we can and to further strengthen our standards and systems to improve building safety for the future.
“These detailed issues over the performance of modern buildings are important for improving design standards but they should not divert attention away from the far more significant risk to life of older buildings. The Kaikōura earthquake was sufficiently distant from Wellington that the city did not get the dangerous high-frequency shaking that poses the greatest risk to life.
“The largest safety gains for Wellington are to be made in the initiatives requiring unreinforced masonry facades and parapets to be tied back over the next year and all earthquake-prone buildings under 34 per cent of Building Code to be upgraded under the new law coming into effect on 1 July.”
The Statistics House investigation report is available at http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/building-construction/safety-quality/statistics-house-investigation
| A Beehive release | March 31, 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