CentrePort has invested in a new regional hub in the Wairarapa. The Waingawa log hub, near Masterton, supports the fast growing and valuable forestry sector through a reliable and cost effective transport connection, ensuring exporters remain internationally competitive. Transport Minister Simon Bridges officially opened the venture this morning. The project is the result of a successful partnership between Wellington’s port company CentrePort, Forest Enterprises Limited and Farman Turkington Forestry with the support of KiwiRail. It is served by daily KiwiRail freight trains, connecting the Wairarapa region to CentrePort and to the world. The development follows a period of sustained growth…

New Zealand should grab the opportunity to be at the forefront in creating the new narrative for global trade. Right now globalisation is under attack. Any number of hypocrites ranging from Donald Trump through to Hillary Clinton are pandering to fear. Protectionism is on the rise, ironically at a time when the impulse towards economic integration has never been stronger. It’s in New Zealand’s interest to continue to make the case for trade – not just domestically where the record has been pitiful in recent years. But also on the international stage. And with the architecture for global trade changing,…

Experienced construction candidates remain in such high demand that they often receive multiple job offers, says recruiting experts Hays. Quantity Surveyors, Site Managers and good skilled trades and labour are among the skills in such short supply that employers will move quickly and offer career progression in order to secure their preferred candidate. “Most regions in New Zealand are experiencing increased residential activity while the unprecedented investment in commercial construction and transport projects across Auckland is adding to the significant skill shortage,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand. “In Auckland, residential companies are busier than ever…

Fletcher Building Limited (Fletcher Building) announces it has completed the transaction to acquire New Zealand and Fiji road construction and maintenance business Higgins for a purchase price of NZ$303 million. The businesses acquired as part of this transaction comprise principally: Higgins’ road construction and maintenance operations in New Zealand, including asphalt and bitumen plants Road construction and maintenance operations in Fiji Higgins’ aggregates business (excluding the Horokiwi Quarry, a Wellington based joint-venture) Other related businesses including the manufacture of traffic signs, bitumen tanks and sprayers Higgins’ ready-mix concrete and property businesses are excluded from the transaction which has been cleared…

Working in collaboration with Cycling New Zealand, High Performance Sport and New Zealand track athletes, including World Champion Sprinters Sam Webster, Eddie Dawkins and Ethan Mitchell, Avanti have created a product, that by all data collected, should give the kiwi team an edge against the rest of the world. Kim Struthers, Country Manager commented, ‘we’re really excited to have the pinnacle of Avanti Design Technology (ADT), a design philosophy we incorporate in every Avanti bike, showcased on the world stage.’ Avanti started working on this project with Cycling New Zealand in August 2013, with strain gauge testing at the Invercargill…

The impact of the UK’s exit from the European Union on the country’s $30bn machinery production market will depend largely on whether it makes a “soft” or a “contentious” exit from the EU, according to a new analysis from IHS Markit. This year, more than 37% of the UK’s machinery exports will go to the EU. Thus almost any EU response to Brexit will affect machinery production and the UK’s machinery exports adversely. Even before Brexit, IHS Markit was predicting that the UK’s machinery production sector would contract by 1.6% during 2016, before reviving to deliver an average growth of…

The NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards, which have been running for 14 years, are the pre-eminent and longest-standing sustainability awards in New Zealand. They celebrate the contribution businesses, government agencies, social enterprises and individuals are making to transforming New Zealand to a model sustainable nation. The Awards, which are free to enter and open to anyone in New Zealand, are a great way to celebrate your sustainability progress. Entries are now open to the 2016 Awards, closing on 1st August. Enter now!

Turkish shipyard group Sanmar has delivered azimuth stern drive (ASD) tugs to owners in the United Arab Emirates and in New Zealand. These are Yenicay series of ASDs based on Vancouver based Robert Allan’s Rascal 1800 design. Safeen was delivered to Abu Dhabi Ports and Arihi to Port Otago Limited in New Zealand. Both 18.7m tugs have a bollard pull over the stern of 32 tonnes, delivered by two Caterpillar C32 main engines, each producing 970kW at 1,800 rpm. They drive Veth type VZ900 Z-drives for agile omni-directional performance. They also have heavy duty deck machinery including a DMT towing…

The latest companies that meet eligibility criteria for R&D (research and development) Growth Grants have been announced by Callaghan Innovation. 23 new companies will be able to increase their investment in R&D through Growth Grants worth up to $18.5 million over three years. The latest companies to qualify are: 8i LimitedAccord Precision LimitedAutex Industries LimitedA-Ward LimitedEcostore Company LtdFuture Products Group LtdGoodnature LtdGourmet Blueberries LimitedJavelin LimitedLeapThought NZ Ltd (TR)Maxtel Sotware LimitedOasis Engineering (2003) LtdOutpost Central LimitedProlife Foods LimitedRayglass Sales & Marketing LimitedReal Time Genomics LimitedS.L.I. Systems IncSolutions Plus LimitedStabicraft Marine LimitedTask Management LtdTotara Learning Solutions LtdWaratah NZ LimitedWinScribe Inc Ltd A…

Oracle -- whose CEO Larry Ellison was NetSuite's first and biggest investor -- sees midsize customers in its future. Already one of the most acquisitive companies in the tech industry, Oracle said Thursday it's buying cloud-app pioneer NetSuite for about $9.3 billion in cash. That will give Oracle an inroad to smaller customers wanting a single system to handle finance, HR, e-commerce and other business management tasks. Oracle has been an aggressive buyer since 2005, when it bought PeopleSoft for $10.4 billion in a hostile takeover. Since then, it's acquired at least 100 companies, including Sun Microsystem. NetSuite is one…

Airways New Zealand and Aviation Australia have announced they will open a purpose-built air traffic control training centre for international students in Brisbane. The joint venture is the first move under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between New Zealand’s air navigation service provider and Aviation Australia, a state-owned enterprise of the Queensland Government. The agreement will see Airways delivering ab-initio air traffic control (ATC) training at Aviation Australia’s Brisbane training campus, Airways’ Head of Training Sharon Cooke says. “We have similar training partnerships in place in Dubai, Puerto Rico and China and it’s pleasing to be adding Australia to…