Synlait Milk, the South Island-based milk processor, will establish a research and development centre in Palmerston North to drive new product development, process technology and packaging. Rakaia-based Synlait is partnering with Massey University and FoodPilot, which is located at the university's Palmerston North campus and houses the largest collection of pilot-scale food processing equipment in the southern hemisphere. The business-to-business dairy products manufacturer, which counts milk marketer A2 Milk as a key customer, announced last week that it's looking to enter the market for branded consumer products for the first time. "Our goal is to become more profitable and diversified.…

Written by Rural News Group the red meat sector looks to government for action.  The red meat sector has eight key priorities and believes the next government can play a key role in bringing about positive change. Environment • Continuing to improve the sustainability of our production is a top priority. We are committed to improving our water quality and further reducing the sector’s GHG emissions. Our leaders recently committed to bringing New Zealand’s rivers back to swimmable levels and we are working on further ambitious targets for the environment. The incoming government can help by: o Working with the…

Ground-breaking research into design’s economic contribution to New Zealand’s economy has shown that during the last year alone design contributed $10.1b to New Zealand’s GDP (approximately 4.2%). The research launched in late July 2017 by Hon. Steven Joyce Minister of Finance, was undertaken by PwC and commissioned by DesignCo. Professor Claire Robinson, convenor of DesignCo, said at the launch of the research “There is a strong correlation between national prosperity, economic growth and a thriving design sector. International evidence confirms that design leads to more competitive firms making and selling higher value products and services. “The research reveals that if…

Manufacturers are important employers in New Zealand creating many opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour. As released in ManufacturingNZ’s election manifesto, the sector employs 250,000 people and accounts for 14% of all jobs. In the current skills shortage environment, the sector needs the incoming government to have a cohesive strategy for addressing growing the workforce of today and in the future. In the EMA Election Manifesto, it outlined several recommendations to close the skills and training gaps. These included: - Applying more funding to fill the skills gaps in the trade sector and incorporate an employer-based approach - Policies need…

Productivity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for higher wages and standard of living. Shamubeel Eaqub says ease of doing business and relatively low levels of reported corruption are clearly not enough to improve New Zealand's productivity. New Zealand has a productivity problem. We are working harder to grow the economy, but we aren't getting much better at it. Poor productivity has plagued New Zealand for the past 40 years. We have a productivity problem. The problem is not new, there are no easy fixes, and doing more of the same will most certainly not fix it. We should…

The Government’s planned investment in Defence over the next 15 years represents a huge opportunity for New Zealand companies, says Defence Minister Mark Mitchell. Mr Mitchell told Defence industry representatives last night that the country needs a Defence Force that is equipped and supported to respond to a rapidly changing strategic environment. “This requires investment. Over the next 15 years, the Government will invest up to $20 billion in new and upgraded military capability, including replacement of all our major platforms and the regeneration of the Defence estate. “We have many companies in the Defence sector who are themselves investing…

The Productivity Commission has released an issues paper calling for submissions to its inquiry into state sector productivity. "State sector productivity matters because it tells us how many public services are delivered for the government’s investment in them. That might sound simple, but measuring government productivity is notoriously difficult," says Inquiry Director, Judy Kavanagh. The Government has asked the Commission to investigate how to improve measurement of state sector productivity in the health, education, justice and social development sectors. Ms Kavanagh says the inquiry process will also investigate what capability, culture and systems are necessary to support government agencies to…

Youth Minister Nikki Kaye tonight announced details of the $6 million investment over four years under Budget 2017 to fund more youth enterprise initiatives. Ms Kaye made the announcement at Victoria University’s Rutherford Building in Wellington, where eight teams of young people had gathered to take part in the Greater Wellington Region finals of a ‘Dragons' Den’ competition, pitching their ideas for innovative companies to a panel of local business leaders for a share of $5000 of prize money. “Youth enterprise funding is about supporting young people to develop entrepreneurial skills through a range of youth-focused business and enterprise initiatives,”…

The latest growth figures from Statistics New Zealand and the latest OECD report review of our economy, published yesterday, show that while our economy keeps growing, we’re lacking in areas that can really make us a wealthier nation, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association. NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam said, “Our GDP is rising, but on a per capita measure, it is much less impressive – we need to harness our potential and work on growing our high-value productive industries to improve this. Real GDP per capita growth in New Zealand is currently below the OECD average, and…

Corrections has signed up its 100th employer to offer prisoners jobs in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Waste Management today, says Corrections Minister Louise Upston. The partnership will see Waste Management work with Corrections and offer prisoners jobs when they are released, including drivers, administration, computer operator, runners, landfill operators, general operators, labourers, diesel mechanics and call centre roles. “It’s great to have Waste Management on board,” says Ms Upston. “There is huge potential in this partnership and I look forward to seeing it to develop and offer more employment opportunities for prisoners on release. “Through these partnerships, Corrections…