Feb 22, 2018  -  New Zealand’s agritech community will be joined by some of the country’s best young leaders at MobileTECH 2018. One of the key highlights at the upcoming agritech event is the ‘Meet the future leaders’ panel.  “In addition to unveiling the very latest agritech innovations, we have lined up three emerging leaders to share their visions on just where the technology is heading, what areas they see as the most beneficial to their businesses and how it will impact on the sector’s future,” says Ken Wilson, programme manager for the MobileTECH 2018 event.

Feb 22, 2018  -  Entrepreneur Elon Musk has been given written permission to begin digging a transportation tunnel in Washington DC, which could eventually facilitate a 29-minute journey between the capital and New York City.  Musk's infrastructure firm The Boring Company now has the paperwork to start work on a Hyperloop transport link in the US Northeast, after receiving verbal government approval last summer.

Feb 21, 2018  -  Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (Fonterra) and The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) have today entered into a comprehensive strategic relationship that links Fonterra’s global milk pool and supply chain, manufacturing capability and in-market sales and distribution capacity with a2MC’s brand strength and capabilities.

As part of the partnership, Fonterra will now begin conversations with its farmers to source an A2 milk pool for a2MC products in New Zealand, which is intended to significantly expand over time to help meet the growing demand for a2MC products. A similar milk pool in Australia will also be developed.

Announcing the deal, Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings and a2MC Managing Director and CEO Geoffrey Babidge said the partnership is designed to generate returns for both companies by growing demand in both local and international markets for products using a2MC’s brand strength and capabilities.

“The partnership is intended to fast-track market growth and this creates opportunity for our farmers to create additional value from their milk,” said Mr Spierings. “Fonterra’s high quality milk pools, our global supply chain, our manufacturing capabilities and knowledge, and our in-market sales and distribution expertise is being combined with a2MC’s brand strength to unlock new opportunities in a wide range of international markets. It is a win-win for both companies.

“We continue to see a strong future for dairy based on our existing range of products, including recent additions such as organic, low-lactose and high protein milk choices that consumers seek out for a premium. The a2MC products promoted by this partnership sit well within our overall portfolio of products.

“Consumers like to have choices and the growth of a2MC branded nutritional powders and fresh milk sales in Australia, for example, shows the potential. This partnership is all about finding ways to continue to delight our consumers and generate more value for our farmers.”

The partnership encompasses:

• New Zealand and Australian milk pools to support the strategic partnership, and in the first instance the Nutritional Products Manufacturing and Supply Agreement. Fonterra will now begin discussions with its farmers on the best way to source this A2 milk for a2MC products, and share the value it will create for farmers. It is intended that these milk pools will significantly expand over time to support new a2MC products and its new priority markets across South East Asia and the Middle East.
• Nutritional Products Manufacturing and Supply Agreement (NPMSA) whereby Fonterra will exclusively supply nutritional milk powder products in both bulk and consumer packaged formats intended for sale in a2MC’s new priority markets across South East Asia and the Middle East. These products will be produced at Fonterra’s facilities in New Zealand as well as Fonterra’s nutritionals facility, Darnum in Victoria, Australia.Distribution and sales arrangements, in respect of a2MC branded products whereby the companies will seek to establish distribution and sales arrangements to assist a2MC’s entry into its new priority markets across South East Asia and the Middle East.
• Exclusive period to explore a2MC branded butter and cheese, and China sourced liquid milk for sale in Australia, New Zealand and China. These relate to other dairy products not presently marketed by a2MC and would be complementary to Fonterra’s existing portfolio of dairy products.
• A jointly owned packaging facility will also be explored as an extension of the arrangements under the NPMSA and to cater for growth.
• A New Zealand Fresh Milk Licence which will see Fonterra hold an exclusive licensing arrangement for the production, distribution, sale and marketing of a2 MilkTM fresh milk for sale in New Zealand. Fonterra will leverage its substantial fresh milk capabilities to establish distribution across the country.

No longer just tough shells for your noggin, the humble bicycle helmet has recently been kitted out with turn signals, walkie talkies, blind spot detection systems and bone-conduction speakers. Now an Australian startup called Cyclevision has revealed the Edge, a helmet sporting front- and back-facing cameras to let riders watch for danger or record their adventures.

A Māori historian is searching for the stories and photos of war veterans from the 28th Māori Battalion's D Company.

There are a few things that BMW is very good at, and one of those is providing plenty of get-go in a beautiful package. The new-generation 5 Series is a great sedan to start with, but add in the goodness of a twin-turbo V8 and there's even more to love about this beautiful sedan.

Air New Zealand has developed an interactive online experience allowing people to explore the best New Zealand has to offer using emojis.Users will be asked to comment on Air New Zealand #EmojiJourney Facebook or Twitter posts with a combination of emojis which would best describe their perfect New Zealand getaway. This will then automatically generate a link to a personalised map of New Zealand for them, with emojis highlighting points likely to be of interest.

Feb 12, 2018  -  University of Canterbury (UC) Physics Professor Simon Brown is developing a neuromorphic computer chip that may solve one of the biggest problems in the computer industry – power consumption – and create a New Zealand semiconductor industry.

Feb 10, 2018 - Yesterday  we signed the lease for the new OCHO chocolate factory on Roberts Street in Dunedin. It has taken some time now to find the perfect place, close to the waterfront and with the capacity for both a production space and cafe. There is so much to do in order to get the site up and running, and we are expecting things to be underway for our new site in the second half of this year.

Our first priority is production. By the end of this year, we want to be making two or three times the amount of chocolate we do now. This will mean commissioning a new production line which is on order. After we have that up and running smoothly, we will start taking tours through the factory. We know you all want to come and visit, but you will have to wait a little longer!

We have plans to put in a cafe, a retail space, and create a world-class factory tour down the line. In the meantime, our Vogel St cafe will remain our front of house with a test kitchen so you can still drink hot chocolate and smell the delightful aroma of cacao beans roasting out the back.

Our PledgeMe campaign is almost wrapped up, and we are overwhelmed with the support from more than 3,000 shareholders. Jim O'Malley and the Dunedin Manufacturing Holdings team have done an outstanding job planning and executing the next chapter for OCHO.

So why are we doing all of this? We believe business should be all about people. Our team has been looking at how we will evaluate success and we have nailed it down to seven core areas:

• Have a broad base of community ownership
• Make high quality craft chocolate
• Pay fair wages to workers
• Pay fair prices for cocoa beans
• Retain industry and craft skills in Dunedin with a profitable business
• Respect the environment through sustainable business practices
• Keep worker-CEO pay ratios within an agreed multiple
• Support the wider communities of our workers, growers & customers

Having so many shareholders from the beginning is something we are really proud of in developing the new OCHO factory. Not only do we have a great sense of accountability in our decision-making, but it is truly motivating to know thousands of people like what we do and why we do it.

So thank you to our community for getting behind the Own The Factory campaign. We hope to see all at our open days later in the year.

OCHO is a craft bean-to-bar chocolate company based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Having successfully campaigned to raise $2 million in just over one day, OCHO is set to give back to the community that supports their enterprise. Browse the range of single-origin premium chocolate on the website, www.ocho.co.nz. If you would like to get in touch with the OCHO team, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

| A OCHO release   ||  February 10, 2018   |||

A “Worldly and Informed Content” powers spectacular growth of New Zealand site.

Forecasts and reports unfiltered by the constraints imposed by the perceived need to adhere to rigid prevailing socio-political ideologies was an explanation for MSCNewswire surpassing one million visits per month.