Tetra Pak has teamed up with Microsoft to introduce management and diagnosis systems and tools to reduce machine downtime and boost productivity.TetraPak_Microsoft2
The carton packaging giant has started rolling out Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality headsets to Tetra Pak on-site service engineers – who are now able to work with the company’s global experts who specialise in production line problems.
A service engineer can show live video to the correct Tetra Pak expert, who guides the on-site work through Skype.
To help prevent or predict disruptions Tetra Pak is also employing Microsoft Azure Cloud technology that enable its cloud-connected machines to predict when equipment needs maintenance.
By connecting packaging lines to the cloud, Tetra Pak can collect operational data to help predict informed maintenance timing.
Johan Nilsson, Vice President Tetra Pak Services, said: “So if you’re a service engineer and you arrive at the customer, you can use a simple app to pull up the significant performance information from that customer.
“You are much more educated when you walk into the customer, and it becomes a much more informed and fact-based discussion between the service engineer and the customer.”
Nilsson added that the Microsoft HoloLens transforms the delivery of support and enables quick resolution of quality issues.
Caglayan Arkan, general manager of worldwide manufacturing at Microsoft, said: “We are excited to bring the transformative power of mixed reality and HoloLens to Tetra Pak customers to help them transform their business and enhance their service engineers’ capabilities.”
Nilsson told Packaging News both the Microsoft HoloLens and Azure Cloud technology is designed to help make packs look exactly the same.
“The better we can ensure packaging integrity, the better we can ensure food safety. This results in a more perfectly shaped pack.”
He said when creating 190bn packs consistently, these systems will help the quality and look and fit of the pack.
“For example, if you have vibration in the machines this may result in the pack being 1% out or 3% out. The better you keep that in shape and in the right condition, the better the packs are going to look and perform.”
He explained that initially the packs will look perfect, but all production lines require maintenance over time. With this Microsoft system, Tetra Pak can take action earlier so that it does not deteriorate as much and not reach a level that the pack is unacceptable to the consumer.
“So the consistency in packaging performance in terms of shape appearance and integrity will be better secured using this system.”
Tetra Pak is piloting the service in 2017 with 50 HoloLens devices, in the Greater Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, and plans to roll-out to more markets next year.Recommended Articles
| A Packaging News release || April 25,2017 |||
In developed countries, it's easy for most people to not give garbage disposal much thought: it's hauled to the curb, and a truck carries it away out of sight and out of mind. But isolated communities often lack that infrastructure, meaning it's harder to either truck out the trash or process it on-site. The Trashpresso is designed to lighten the load a little, as a semi-portable, solar-powered plant that turns trash into tiles.
The system was created by Miniwiz, the design company behind other creative recycling initiatives like Polli-Bricks, made from discarded plastic, and Nike's concept store in Shanghai, China, which is built entirely out of materials derived from bottles, cans and DVDs.
This latest venture is what Miniwiz calls a "mobile up-cycling plant." The Trashpresso fits inside a 40-ft (12-m) container that can be trucked around to remote locations that need some cleaning up. Once unpacked on-site, the system can wash, shred, melt and mold plastic and fabric waste into tiles, which Miniwiz says are suitable for indoor and outdoor flooring, or further refinement. The equivalent of five plastic bottles goes into each tile, and the Trashpresso can produce about 108 sq ft (10 m2) of them every 40 minutes.
To be deployed far from the grid, the Trashpresso needs to be self-sufficient, and to that end the system runs entirely on solar power. Even the water that it uses to wash the garbage is recycled back through the system, in an effort to reduce its footprint.
"Until now, industrial grade recycling was limited to plants," says Arthur Huang, co-founder and CEO of Miniwiz. "The Trashpresso overcomes the distance and energy barriers by showing that recycling is possible everywhere. Not only does it serve to transform trash on-site, it also serves as an educational tool in isolated communities."
The Trashpresso's first gig will be to clean up the glacier region of NianBao Yuze, which sits on the Tibetan Plateau and feeds into the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers. Miniwiz says that the area is seeing increased tourism and, as a result, increased litter. The company will deploy the system in July to show off its capabilities.
| A Miniwiz release || April 24, 2017 |||
As its future hangs in the balance a veteran EU trouble shooter weighs up the Union, past and present. Five questions now for Michael Lake.........
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Few officials have been involved in the EU at such a high level for so long and in so many sensitive postings as New Zealand-born Michael Lake, former EU ambassador to Turkey and to Hungary. Along the way he served also in New York, Brussels, and Tokyo. He was witness to the EU and participant in its operations from the outset of Britain’s membership when he was literally drafted in to assist the UK blend itself into European institutions.
Looking back between the 1975 referendum, the one which saw the UK joining the EU, and now Brexit, what went right? What went wrong?
What went right? Where do I start? Seventy years of peace, democracy and stability in western Europe after France and Germany had been at war with each other three times during the previous 70 years, usually dragging others into their fighting, notably Britain twice. Also the achievement of common policies which run more or less successfully today on international trade and remember that the EU is the world’s biggest trading bloc by far. It has acted in agriculture (sometimes too protectionist), and over the years in several other areas where it is more effective to act together than alone such as in climate change and the environment generally, energy policy, consumer rights, social policy especially in workers’ rights, and in the 35 chapters of the body of EU law.
There is the single market of 500 million consumers, which Mrs Theresa May seems to want Britain to leave. There is expansion of the EU to 28 members (soon to be 27) by including those countries recently released from 40-50 years of Soviet rule. Then there is the EU’s status as a community of law.
What went wrong? Time and forgetfulness, and younger generations decade by decade who have taken it for granted and are unaware of its benefits. Too much regulation, certainly. Although what happened was that the EU regulations replaced national regulations in order to make a level playing field for trade. So the aggregate of regulations in this area has not changed much. A newish one is that such regulations forbid state aid for industries. State aid is a subsidy and thus unfair. It’s like doping. It is allowed in special circumstances such as in restructuring major basic industries like steel and coal which are now almost irrelevant anyway, but which require concomitant efficiencies, such as down-sizing and major investment.
Generally speaking, the EU has always had trouble communicating with the public, largely because it can be highly technical and very diverse, and because national media tend to concentrate on national stories, thus undermining the more general overview of Europe working on a daily basis. Britain is particularly bad at this and over 40 years the coverage has been on a win/lose basis. In fact Britain has won most of its disputes by far, whether they actually got to the European Court of Justice or not.
The European Parliament which has a far closer hands-on role in governance on EU matters than ordinary British MPs have on British affairs is nevertheless remote from ordinary people partly because constituencies are too big and the media coverage has always been scant. But the European Parliament has the power of co-decision on most things with the Council of (national) Ministers. It can vote against and thus wreck a Brexit deal with the UK.
You became the European Union’s ambassador to Turkey and as such point man for a policy to integrate Turkey into the EU. In the light of developments over the past year, how do you view this policy now?
I was EU ambassador in Turkey and then, as you know, in Hungary. Here I was locally in charge of monitoring Hungary’s “accession” or membership process covering the 35 chapters I referred to in your previous question.
I was also closely involved earlier with Turkey joining the EU customs union, the only country to be in the customs union without full membership. This had a huge effect in Turkey such as when. the first department stores opened, and the expansion of trade offered consumers better quality at more competitive prices. Turkey relies on the EU market for more than 50% of its exports. Turkey no longer qualifies for membership and would be blocked because of its moving away from the pillars of democracy such as freedom of expression, a free media, and an independent judiciary.
It still does meet the requirement for pluralistic elections. Erdogan is now in charge of a bitterly divided country which is not what he intended. He expected to win by 60 per cent. Turkey’s candidacy for membership has not yet been revoked. But if Erdogan goes ahead and reintroduces the death penalty it would be revoked by the EU. This would be highly unpopular amid large swathes of the Turkish population who are pro-EU and highly sophisticated.
The recent referendum was so close as to create a new situation - Erdogan not only lost in his home city, Istanbul, but in his own constituency, Fatih, which is very conservative and rife with burkhas. Watch this space...Meanwhile it’s a tragedy, but in spite of Erdogan’s dictatorial rule the country remains a very important member of Nato and largely western values on the edge of a region in turmoil. There is no appetite to cut Turkey off.
Many believe that the United States was behind the expansion of the EU. To what extent was/is this true?The United States has always, and now, even under a revised Trump II, been strongly in favour of the EU for the democratic and economic values it represents. The EU and the US are each other’s biggest trading partner. I have never heard of the US specifically interfering in EU policies except once which happened to be in my own case. This was when the US ambassador in Turkey came to me and said that the White House wanted to know how they could help get the fractious European Parliament to endorse Turkey’s membership of the customs union?
I told him how this could in fact be done. He followed my advice. Tony Blair and ( Spain’s premier) Felipe Gonzales personally gave instructions to their delegations which comprised the biggest political group in the European Parliament and the deed was done.
There was, however, a case where the US may have taken a discreet lead and must indeed have agreed. At the G-7 summit in Paris in 1988, which I attended along with the seven other G7 summits in which I participated, the EU for the first time ever was given a role in eastern Europe and thus the Soviet bloc which hitherto had been the sole policy preserve of Nato
As Poland and Hungary, and indeed even East Germany, were showing signs of relaxing under the Soviet governance of Gorbachev there was a role for the EU in economic and social development (including more openness) of the bloc. The US strongly supported the enlargement of the EU from 15 to 27 in 2005 for strategic reasons. We have to remember too that the US has many, many citizens whose families hail from central and eastern Europe.
How do you gauge the success or otherwise of the Euro currency?The adoption of the Euro has been a boon to ease transactions without exchange rate costs across most of Europe. Anyone travelling on the Continent or involved in cross-border trading, whether in goods or finance, realises this immediately. But the system lacks a unifying authority, such as a Federal Reserve Bank, able to take decisions and able to issue eurobonds. The issue of a federal Europe is still controversial, but there is still widespread reluctance to go further towards further union that the EU has done with the Treaty of Lisbon. So when the banking crisis hit the world in 2008 the euro system was unable to cope properly because it was still subject to a national decisions. The European Central Bank has coped by effectively printing money but this is ultimately not sustainable. This instability in the euro zone remains. And it has exacerbated a prosperity gap between the richer northern Europe and the poorer southern, Mediterranean countries
If you were asked for advice on the EU by anyone in the New Zealand diplomatic-trade sphere, what counsel would you proffer?Quite simply I would say this. Take any opportunity at all seriously and go for it. The EU should be seen as the land of opportunity from a national point of view and on an individual level, a career-enhancing prospect.
| From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk || Tuesday 25 April 2017 |||
Ξ Anzac Day
Yesterday, the CTU publicly called for a return to centralised wage bargaining. Max Whitehead, CEO of Small Business Voice, says they have made their motivation for pushing for pay equity clear: The CTU thinks one shoe fits all employees.
“The unions are out of date and no longer relevant, despite having infiltrated Parliament and introduced a myriad of overzealous employment laws,” says Mr. Whitehead.
Mr. Whitehead says the unions’ overzealous laws are so difficult to handle that employers have spent the last ten years removing employees and replacing them with self-employed contractors. Consequently, New Zealand has become a nation of contractors and small employers. In fact, today, less than 4% of NZ enterprises employ more than 20 employees.
“Unions are now barely relevant because they focus on big employers. “Richard Wagstaff, who replaced Helen Kelly, is desperately trying to turn things around, but unfortunately, it is too late.”
Mr. Whitehead acknowledges that unions have at times played a positive role in the workplace. However, he says their lust for power has cost them.
“If Unions had have adopted a more moderate approach, they may have remained relevant.”
Mr. Whitehead says that today's jobs are more diverse and very different from in the past, so trying to impose one wage on them all is verging on ridiculous.
“Centuries ago, Prince Charming proved that one shoe does not fit all, so why do the unions think otherwise."
| A Small Business Voice release || April 24,2017 |||
Regulatory Reform Minister, Paul Goldsmith, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regulatory Reform, David Seymour, say changes to Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) requirements will lead to better informed decision making by Parliament and the Government.
“Our laws and regulations have a profound effect on our economic performance, the operation of business, and the well-being of every New Zealander,” says Mr Seymour.
“High quality policy advice is the foundation of robust government decision-making. Poor quality regulation unnecessarily increases the costs of doing business and reduces New Zealanders’ freedom.
“Although the quality of RIA from government departments has improved over time, it is still highly variable.”
The changes to the RIA requirements are designed to:
Encourage earlier and broader engagement on proposals by agencies
“These improvements are in line with the findings of a newly released report by Castalia that was commissioned by the Treasury and will help ensure the government regulates in the right way, at the right time and only when necessary,” says Mr Seymour.
“The changes also reflect feedback from the business community suggesting costs of regulation are insufficiently considered.”
The changes to RIA requirements are a key part of the Government’s new Regulatory Management Strategy, also announced today.
“At the core of the regulatory management strategy is the government agencies’ role as regulatory stewards, and the expectation that they will actively monitor and maintain regulation to ensure it delivers the intended benefits,” says Mr Goldsmith.
“Rapid societal, market and technological changes are increasing the demand for more sophisticated and nimble regulatory solutions, strategies and regulators.
“While we have a well-established reputation for our fiscal management and reporting disciplines, the challenge is to build that same level of discipline around government regulation.
“Good regulation is an important driver of national competitiveness, productivity and living standards, which all contribute to the Government’s clear economic plan for building a faster-growing economy with more jobs and rising incomes to support New Zealanders and their families.”
The Castalia report that informed the RIA changes can be found HERE.
The Regulatory Management Strategy can be found HERE.
| A beehive release | April 21, 2017 |||
A rare opportuntiy to purchase a business that offers services now required by law and even more so allows common sense to play a real role.
Prime Minister Bill English today announced the appointment of Gerry Brownlee as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nathan Guy as Minister of Civil Defence, Nikki Kaye as Minister of Education and Mark Mitchell as Minister of Defence.
The changes follow the resignations from Cabinet of Hekia Parata and Murray McCully.
In other changes Simon Bridges has been appointed Leader of the House and Nicky Wagner has been made Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration.
Mr Mitchell has been promoted to Cabinet.
Tim Macindoe, a former chairman of the justice and electoral select committee and National’s senior whip since the 2014 election, and Scott Simpson, the chairman of the local government and environment select committee have been appointed ministers outside cabinet.
“This is a Government that is focused on the future. Our careful stewardship of the Government’s books over the past eight years has given us a rare opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives and we are going to take it.
“These changes illustrate the depth of talent within National’s parliamentary ranks,” Mr English says.
“As education minister, Ms Parata has changed the conversation in our schools and driven sharp rises in achievement for all our students, particularly Māori and Pasifika.
“As foreign affairs minister, Mr McCully has improved existing relationships and developed new ones, all the while running a truly independent foreign policy for New Zealand.
“Neither will be easily replaced but in Nikki Kaye and Gerry Brownlee we have two very well qualified successors.
“The same holds true for the Ministers who are picking up the roles relinquished by Mr Brownlee to take up the demanding foreign affairs position.
Mr English said he particularly wanted to pay tribute to Mr Brownlee for his untiring efforts to put Christchurch back on its feet after the 2011 earthquakes.
“Having worked alongside him as associate minister for several years his successor, Ms Wagner, is ideally placed to replace him.”
The Prime Minister also announced some changes to the housing portfolios.
Social Housing Minister Amy Adams will remain responsible for Housing New Zealand and all aspects of the Government’s supply of social and emergency housing. She will also take responsibility for the Crown land programme and have a closer involvement in the Government’s overall house building programme.
Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith will continue to oversee the various aspects of building regulation, including planning, minimum codes and building sector productivity issues.
The new ministers will be sworn in next Tuesday and the new Cabinet will hold its first meeting on May 8.
| A beehive release || April 24, 2017 |||
Elaflex HIBY Tanktechnik, a specialist company in safe connections for the transfer of dangerous goods and sensitive fluids, have acquired a major stake in Oasis Engineering Ltd of Tauranga (New Zealand). Oasis, a member of NGV Global, is an internationally operating specialist for valves and couplings used in the compressed natural gas (CNG) industry.
The company established a strong reputation as supplier of CNG components and systems for filling stations and gas delivery networks. An example: Worldwide CNG trailer companies are rapidly adopting the new Oasis high flow breakaway and coupling systems that have positively changed the whole economics of road transport for gas.
“This exciting partnership brings together two highly innovative companies both well respected in the fuel handling world,” says Andy Cameron, Managing Director of Oasis Engineering.
Stefan Kunter, Managing Director of Elaflex: ”The complementary product ranges mutually allow us to further expand our expertise with fluid energy transfer.”
Existing distribution structures will remain untouched. Oasis will continue to independently operate, with unchanged staff and with Andy Cameron, as Oasis’s managing director.
| An Elaflex release || April 23, 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