Mondelez International, the US company that returned US$1.1 billion to shareholders last year, is to close its Cadbury factory at the end of 2018, moving production to Australia and eliminating 350 jobs to cut costs. The decision will end more than 80 years of production in Dunedin, where the Cadbury factory is a popular tourist attraction and can send the aroma of chocolate wafting over nearby suburbs. The first redundancies would be made before the end of this year, with about 100 people kept on in the business until early 2018, it said. Mondelez vice president for Australia, New Zealand…

Argenta, a New Zealand-owned company dedicated to the provision of services to create, develop and manufacture products for the global animal health industry, has entered an agreement to acquire the manufacturing facility and operations of Elanco Animal Health in Dundee, Scotland. The acquisition is an important step in Argenta’s EU growth strategy and follows the company’s successful expansion into the United States in 2016, with the purchase of a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Elanco and Argenta have also entered into a manufacturing and supply agreement for select Elanco animal health products. The acquisition is anticipated to…

Aluminium extruders from several countries have came together in december 2016 to form a new trade group dedicated to promoting and defending fair trade practices in their industry. The newly-formed International Fair Trade Alliance (IFTA) was announced via press release on Tuesday. The non-profit organization’s mission is to assemble aluminium extrusion manufacturers and suppliers the world over to promote free trade within their sector. The new alliance is made up of extruders from North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Israel. “Our alliance believes that a network of market-based aluminium extrusion companies and associations can work…

For results tables and graphs, click here. The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during January 2017, shows total sales in December 2016 increased 7.23% (year on year export sales increased by 10.01% with domestic sales increasing by 3.30%) on December 2015. In the 3 months to December, export sales decreased an average of 1.4%, and domestic sales increased 11.7% on average. The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$275m in annualised sales, with an export content of 60%. Net confidence rose to 10, up from 8 in November. The current performance index…

CMT Materials Inc. (Attleboro, MA) has announced a new partnership with Phillip Shelton Tooling Pty Ltd. of Australia to distribute the Hytac line of syntactic foam plug assist materials for thermoforming. “We are very pleased to welcome Phil to our global network,” said Conor Carlin, Sales and Marketing Manager for the company. “Phil has a deep understanding of both toolmaking and thermoforming, which makes him an ideal partner for us in the Oceania region.” Continue to oarticle in Plastics Today > > >    

Why Trump will find it hard to achieve his economic plans From a shortage of skilled workers to income inequality, Donald Trump will face at least six challenges. WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s economic plans are nothing if not ambitious: Annual growth of 4 per cent — or more. A diminished trade gap. The creation of 25 million jobs over 10 years, including the return of good-paying factory positions. It all adds up to an immense challenge, one that Trump aims to achieve mostly by cutting taxes, loosening regulations, boosting infrastructure spending and renegotiating or withdrawing from trade deals. At the top…

BCDS Group has been appointed master distributor for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim region by labelling automation manufacturer FOX IV Technologies. FOX IV systems will be offered through ALS (Auto ID Labelling Solutions), a BCDS company, which is headed up by Bill Boursianis who has had more than 10 years’ experience with both FOX IV products and other printing and labelling equipment. BCDS Group was selected due to their technical expertise, regional sales and service coverage, as well their ability to provide complete solutions from supplies to installation. “BCDS’s expertise in integrating barcode, auto-ID and RFID equipment made…

Craig Zoberis, 48, started his career at his father’s contract engineering business where he says he experienced a workplace culture he didn’t like. So, in 2002, after getting an MBA from St. Xavier University in Chicago, he started Fusion OEM and focused not just on getting the product right but on creating a company where people want to work. Today, the company, based in Burr Ridge, Ill., just west of Chicago, is a contract manufacturer of mechanical and electrical machines and components. It did $12 million in sales last year and made a profit. While lots of other manufacturers have…

Nexans NZ is warning about non-compliant imported cables as its main competitor prepares to quit manufacturing early next year. The New Plymouth-based company will be the largest manufacturer of electrical cable following General Cable's decision to close its Auckland sales centre and Christchurch factory with the loss of 170 jobs. The closure was disappointing because local manufacturing provided certainty about standards, Nexans general manager Michael Pienaar​ said. |  Continue to full article  |  Dec 21, 2016  |    

Simpro Handling Equipment Ltd, a New Zealand manufacturer of specialised materials handling equipment, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a new head office and manufacturing facility at 66 Rangi Road, Takanini, South Auckland. Managing Director Stephen Simmons founded Simpro in Auckland in 1986, manufacturing truck-mounted equipment for the waste industry. “This is an exciting step for us” says Stephen. “We’ve been looking for a chance to consolidate for some time, since we’re currently spread over several locations, with various issues, low stud height and so on. The Takanini facility is a big step up in size, with a clearspan…

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), well-known Australian businessman Andrew Liveris has been recruited by Donald Trump to help bring back American manufacturing jobs. The chief executive of US multinational giant Dow Chemical, Liveris was appointed chair of the President-elect’s American Manufacturing Council. Liveris has led the manufacturing giant Dow for the past 12 years in Michigan, a so-called “rust belt” state where working class voters helped propel Trump to his presidential election win last month, noted the AFR. Liveris is also a close acquaintance of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and is a member of the…