Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 02 December 2014

While the business community’s response to a worker shortage in the Bay of Plenty is well known, workers who’re dealing with these issues every day have not yet had their say.

Robotics Plus CEO Steve Saunders announced it has signed an agency and distribution agreement with Global Pac Technologies which will see the company’s revolutionary robotic apple packers go global.   “Apple packhouses already use automation extensively for sorting and grading, but the  process of arranging apples in trays for export is still highly labour intensive and with labour shortages now causing major headaches for packhouses our packing technology can be a game changer," he said.

Margot Krasojević regularly produces thought-provoking architectural concepts, with recent examples including a house that screws itself into the ground during high winds and a floating revolving bridge.

The New Zealand Super Fund has invested US$65 million in Rubicon Global, an Atlanta-based waste and recycling technology company, to increase its exposure to small, fast-growing private companies

Paperwork needed to finish a Saudi agrihub project was located more than three years after 900 pregnant ewes were flown from New Zealand writes NZHerald political reporter, Nicholas Jones ,in today's Herald.

Tilt Renewables, the wind and solar generation facilities which split from Trustpower in 2016, posted an annual loss and trimmed dividends as a lack of wind in New Zealand and Australia stifled generation at its windfarms

Two researchers from the University of Canterbury and another from the Helmholtz Institute have developed machine-learning software that can predict how dangerous a particular strain of Salmonella will be, according to a paper published in PLOS Genetics this week [9 May NZ time].

“The Government’s announcement that this year’s Budget will allocate $42 billion to capital investment over 5 years will provide a welcome boost for regional and urban development, but speed in establishing a specialised strategic procurement agency is now a priority to ensure projects are sequenced and delivered at best value,” said Stephen Selwood CEO of Infrastructure New Zealand.

“Details of the exact programme will become clear on Budget day, but with major investment needs in health, education, justice, housing and of course transport, the challenge for the Government will be getting best value out of its programme.

“There is a risk that costs will inflate if project sequencing stretches the market by location, portfolio or skillset.

“A carefully-conceived project pipeline, developed with the industry and comprising the full spectrum of central and local government major projects, is essential to delivering a programme this large.

“Just as important will be the way in which projects are procured.

“Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones’ procurement agency idea now takes on immediate priority, not only to develop the project pipeline but also to ensure that hospitals, schools, roads, railways and other infrastructure are delivered on time, to specification and to budget.

“Recent reports that the SuperFund has made an unsolicited bid to deliver light rail in Auckland underline how sophisticated major project procurement has become.

“It’s great news that investors are looking at national infrastructure as an investment opportunity and we need serious expertise across government to ensure this type of approach will be a success.

“A specialised procurement agency will consolidate public procurement expertise and enable the 5 year $42 billion pipeline to be delivered in a way which benefits all New Zealanders,” Selwood says.

A InfrastructureNZ release  ||  May 11, 2018   |||

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Deal highlights demand for agricultural automation technology; follows recent investment from Yamaha Motor Co. to accelerate company’s growth.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson confirmed plans for $42 billion of net capital spending over the next five years in his latest pre-budget speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce this afternoon