A plastics processing facility in Lower Hutt now has the capacity to turn over 200 million plastic drink bottles a year into high grade food-safe packaging, thanks to a $4 million Government grant. The facility was today opened by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Associate Minister Scott Simpson. “This new plastics processing facility is an important part of the Government’s programme of building New Zealand’s recycling infrastructure. We are encouraging Councils and the public to do more to recycle plastics like soft drink bottles and fruit and vegetable punnets, but we also need the facilities in New Zealand to…

Specialist global steel manufacturer, SSAB, is well known for its Hardox wear plate and Strenx performance steel products, each offering their own certification program that adds value and quality to the end products in the market. Its longstanding Hardox In My Body program has become a simple way to recognise when the exceptional Hardox steel is used in truck and trailer bodies while My Inner Strenx is all about enhancing structural performance for industrial applications with the Strenx range. SSAB claims that it has over 400 certified members worldwide for its Hardox In My Body program. Members of the program…

Today’s announcement of adjustments to the proposed changes in the Essential Skills visa are welcome news to manufacturers who continue to face skill shortages that hold back their businesses from expanding, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA). NZMEA Chief Executive, Dieter Adam said, “Despite these changes appearing to be coming from pressure largely from low-wage and primary areas of the economy, they do address some concerns manufacturers had. “With the adjustments to the medium skilled salary threshold, the majority of skill shortages felt in the manufacturing industry will now be covered as medium skilled. This will help…

We are pleased to hear that the Government is planning to review incoming immigration changes with a specific focus on how they will affect the regions. Effectively addressing skills shortages in manufacturing and other sectors needs to remain a core part of our immigration system – notwithstanding changes that may be required to address other issues associated with current high levels of net migration, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA). NZMEA Chief Executive, Dieter Adam said, “In particularly, the 12-month stand-down after three years did not make any sense to businesses – having to send quality workers…

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Taking place in Brussels between 25-28 September, the printing specialist will display up to three narrow- mid-web in line UV flexo printing presses including the M5X, the M1 and the M6 lines. Visitors to the stand will also learn about the range of web-fed solutions Bobst offers in the different segments of the label industry. These include developments in CI flexo, gravure printing and lamination, which are suited for customers looking for efficiency in short run production. As well as the inline flexo presses showing incremental innovations to continuously increase the equipment performance, Bobst also has a brand new development…

End of car manufacturing in AustraliaHilco Industrial Acquisitions BV (www.hilcoglobal.com) has announced that it will lead the ‘disposition process’ for a massive machinery and equipment asset sale that will effectively shut down automotive manufacturing in Australia. The sale is the result of Toyota Australia closing all its manufacturing operations — the last remaining automotive production facilities in the country. This “unprecedented auto equipment sale” will include all the key production shops and vendors that have been part of car manufacturing in Australia for over 60 years. All the equipment will be offered for sale via private treaty from the factory…

WaterSaver is a New Zealand designed and manufactured device and was the brainchild of  Nelson based Jon Taylor.  In this article he talks to the NZ Entrepreneur magazine on the WaterSaver's path to market  [. . .]

Tetra Pak has launched its next generation high shear inline mixer, offering packers and filler advanced ingredient mixing performance and lower operating costs.  Featuring a new design that produces finer, more consistent and more stable emulsions, the new R370-1000D reduces the need for downstream homogenisation, delivers a better quality end product and cuts energy bills. The mixer features a built-in deaerating system, a flexible powder introduction system and a newly-designed mixing head. This allows the new machine to handle viscosities of up to 2,000 cP and break the size of the droplets to 1 micron (0.001 mm), significantly smaller than…

A new industrial manufacturing facility has won the Supreme Award in the prestigious Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards 2017. The Sistema manufacturing facility received the Rider Levett Bucknall Supreme Award, after being awarded the ‘Best in Category’ for the Yardi – Industrial Property Award at the annual black-tie gala dinner at Spark Arena in Auckland on 16 June. The state-of-the-art 55,000-square meter manufacturing facility, located in Mangere, Auckland, is also home to Sistema’s international headquarters. Featuring a strong operational focus, the buildings design was a stand-out for Chief Judge Andrew Evans due to the attention…

As the world of manufacturing becomes more integrated, the role of robotics is changing the shape of the factory floor writes  Steven Impey in today's Australian Manufacturers' Monthly Newsletter as he takes a look at the effect it will have on the Australian workforce. Depending on which literature the industry insider goes by, the impact that robotics will have on the factory floor of the future often splits its audience. The rise of robots programmed to do a human worker’s job sounds daunting – the very thought of seeing the livelihoods of Australian manufacturing workers potentially cut from under them…