Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Some 50 staff are set to lose their jobs as forme supplier Hygrade Group enters voluntary administration.
The 60-year old operation was one of the Australia’s leading forme suppliers, with locations in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as one on New Zealand.
David Raj Vasudevan and Andrew Reginald Yeo from Pitcher Partners are handling the administration. Vasudevan says, “As the joint administrators, we have assumed control of Hygrade Group, Hygrade Management and Software, and Hygrade Cutting Formes. The affairs of all three are intermingled and intertwined.
“Effectively, the companies had to cease trading. We have invited offers from interested parties to submit bids for the assets. We will then enter an investigation stage, where we will look into the affairs of the company, and how the directors had handled the business.”
Over the last 18 years, Hygrade has established an additional manufacturing plant in Melbourne, two manufacturing plants in Sydney and one in Wellington, New Zealand.
Closure came as the company submitted for document 505, a notification of appointment of administrator, and a week later had lodged for a Declaration of Relevant Relationships and/or Indemnity Copy.
Australian Printer reached out to Rudi Jansen, the group CEO, but was unable to get comment prior to publication.
There is likely to be substantial interest in its assets, as the company had recently invested strongly, purchasing technology including: seven lasers, three counter cutters, computerised rule benders and processors, half a dozen axis engraving machines, CNC Water Jet cutting machine and its latest acquisitions, a 2.5 kilowatt laser and a CNC router.
| AnAustralian Printer release || July 5, 2017 |||
British bike manufacturer Orro have released the all new Terra C model road bike this month. Featuring sigmaIF – a combination of Innegra™ and Sigmatex carbon fibres, to produce a completely redesigned frame.
Orro’s mission is to create the best and most stylish bikes for serious riders. Their headquarters in Ditchling at the foot of the Sussex Downs, provides an area of outstanding natural beauty; an inspiration and a perfect testing ground for their bikes.
The Terra C is one of several bikes in the Orro range that feature Sigmatex carbon technology. The Terra C has a lightweight frame, tyre clearance and geometry aimed at the emerging adventure riding scene, while retaining the speed and handling of a road bike. Offering the same light weight performance as more traditional carbon fibre reinforcements, sigmaIF offers improved impact resistance and damping properties – absorbing energy and reducing vibrations, which makes for a smoother ride.
“sigmaIF is so versatile and we have been able to completely customise the fibres to improve the strength in critical areas to ward off rock strikes and other such impacts.” – Orro.
In addition to cycling, sigmaIF has been the chosen solution for a diverse range of sporting applications including paddle boards, ice hockey sticks and surfboards. sigmaIF has a greater damage tolerance which reduces failure in such applications where impact resistance is essential.
| A Sigmatex release || July 5, 2017 |||
We predicted - hedge funds pull back on Fairfax
What about the hedge funds and such like said to be lurking in the middle distance?The two newspaper groups began to go heavily into play in the 80s bubble and will have been stripped by now of hard asset value i.e. real estate. So they are unlikely to be a target for speculators.
Original article from the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. desk published Sunday 7 May 2017 . . .
NZ Commerce Commission Fairfax & NZME Merger Saga Decrypted---Presents Case Study on Peril in Strategic Planning of an Early Assumption That Masks Evolving Reality
Indicates need to distinguish between what is known and what is hoped for
The two newspaper companies always gave the appearance of being confident that they could win over to their way of thinking the Commerce Commission?They made the mistake, so evident now, of believing in their own assumption to the effect that the Commerce Commission would see the merger positively.
What were the contrary signals from the Commission that they missed?The Commerce Commission’s point of view in its rejection of the first draft of the merger proposal turned on several doctrinal, ideological, words that indicated that it was not for turning.
What were these words?Democracy, plurality and above all, diversity.
Why diversity?The loaded word runs through the Commission’s deliberations in a now clearly visible thread. It means that people considerations carry clear priority over any competing considerations in this case those of efficiency, economy of scale and so on.......
Why did the two companies go to the Commerce Commission in the first place? Would it not have been more effective to have simply concocted a new structure with a holding company?The Wellington and Auckland based companies had their hearts set on a single merged New Zealand company with a consolidated balance sheet and all that goes with it such as just one management structure.
Until quite recently the two companies worked closely together with a cooperative news pool and joint advertising sales promotion – why didn’t they just carry on as a de facto cooperative?This cooperative structure began to dissolve when the two newspaper groups came into play during the stock market bubble. The old proprietorial families moved away and were replaced by professional managers.
Where and when did they lose the plot?In their search of their competitive edge they opted for going it alone and thus they acted independently now in terms of their own evolving individual web sites and also in acquisitions. They dissolved their news gathering and dissemination cooperative, the New Zealand Press Association. Also abandoned now were certain geographic areas in which they had long agreed not to compete with one another.
Did they underestimate what the internet was going to do to them?At first the internet looked even promising. There were new personalities, celebrities that people wanted to read about. Covering the internet brought in the coveted younger demographic. Let’s look back. When television arrived in New Zealand the newspapers actually benefitted, and the Sunday papers were now launched to satisfy the interest in the new world of television
What happened with the internet?The internet instead now ushered in the era of disintermediation which is still accelerating all around us. People want to deal direct, sweep away the middle operator, the mainstream media, which had hitherto controlled the gateway to news coverage. You want an event covered?You go to Facebook. You want something known – there’s Twitter. You have an opinion? Then you start a blog. You have a range of points you want to air? Start your own website.
There are also any amount, at least 50, broadcasting channels available now. Plenty of competition you would think?The Commerce Commission took a narrower view of this scene than the newspaper managements jointly appeared to appreciate. The Commerce Commision’s verdict centred on most of the nation’s daily newspapers being held in a single set of corporate hands, and the perception thereof.
The daily newspapers published by the two groups are often considered to say the same thing about the same things anyway?The Commission concerned itself with the perception. In this case the perception of most of the dailies being controlled by just the one proprietor. It was now at the first decision that there was introduced the notion that New Zealand if the merger went through would convey a similar perception as that of China in that the press in China is controlled by just the one entity, the Communist Party. The signal was clear. It was not picked up.
The Commission’s second and seemingly last veto was delivered at the very start of International Free Press Day. Was this symbolic?Perhaps – and just because in this attenuated affair so much can be viewed as turning on symbols and perceptions.
What happens now?The two newspaper groups, the ones based in Auckland and Wellington must wash their minds of further approaches, appeals, to constituted authority including now the judiciary, and they must do so primarily on the grounds of sidestepping any further distractions. The danger of a strategic assumption, in this case that the Commerce Commission would approve the merger, is just that it is so enticing just because it makes the transition from supposition to reality. The wish becomes the fact.
In practical terms, this means....?The two groups will have to rearrange themselves around a new corporate structure and one that stops just short of a unified balance sheet. The daily newspaper business, an extremely marginal one, is riddled with intensive and in-built administration procedures especially on the subscriber and circulation side where there are stop-starts that can only be automated up to a certain point. They must now merge these departments. They must merge too their printeries.
They will have to be more radical than that, given their falling circulations?They will have to adopt a new business model and my feeling is that they will develop a franchise model which has already been experimented with by at least one rural newspaper management buyout. Print is relatively strong in the provinces. A franchise move will allow the two groups to develop their centralised services and will dilute the liability also of their substantial staff contingencies.
What about the hedge funds and such like said to be lurking in the middle distance?The two newspaper groups began to go heavily into play in the 80s bubble and will have been stripped by now of hard asset value i.e. real estate. So they are unlikely to be a target for speculators.
We keep hearing about the Auckland and Wellington-based groups. But what about the third proprietor, the one in Dunedin?The Smith family who control the Otago Daily Times group kept it within the family. They are a force to be reckoned with and in the affair under discussion remain the dog that did not bark. Or, if it did, was not heard by anyone. They remain in an envious competitive situation notably now dominating the high value tourist region centred on Queenstown.
What would you recommend that the two beleaguered would-be North Island-based suitors NOT do?Cut the frequency of any of their dailies to let us say three issues a week. The disruptive force of the internet and everything that came with it was to break the newspaper-reading habit. This custom so dominant until just so recently can only be further disrupted by meddling with the frequency of established daily titles.
One has this impression, somehow, of unfinished business. Was anything held back by any one of the parties involved?The episode was characterised by candour. It was just that the two parties looked at the same thing, the merger scheme, and each saw something that was quite different.
Your full hindsight?The two groups should have pulled back after the first round when the Commission’s viewpoint was made clear. They should have done so issuing high-minded yet truthful communiques about the severity of their position, and their continuing determination to better the lot of the public at large. In the event they appeared resentful and so their task in formulating a virtual amalgamation will be harder than before.
| From the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. || Sunday 7 May 2017 |||
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 [. . .]
University of Waikato’s Science & Engineering Open Week
Australian cloud software company has won a major contract with New Zealand Post
Tenon says cash available to shareholders after liquidation likely to be US$4.7M
Maersk restores IT systems after major cyber attack
Each of the five Formula One cars suspended from this 35-metre-high installation are intended to represent key moments in the career of race-car driver Bernie Ecclestone. [. . . ]
DeZeen: 5 July 2017: More Clips
With a second rocket planned for launching from the Mahia Peninsula also in Hawkes Bay another Rockit is on it's way to dominate a world market if the CEO of Rockit Global, John Loughlin has his way.
Unlike Peter Beck's rocket this Rockit is much smaller and delivers a huge sweet taste but like the Mahia Rocket it is winning it's fair share of awards. This last week Rockit Global, who grow the Rockit apple, were named ExportNZ Hawke's Bay's ASB Exporter of the Year.
Theres more to the Bay than just the weather! AUTHOR: MAX FARNDALE: Previous clips
Emirates Team New Zealand and 'Auld Mug' were welcomed at Emirates Group headquarters by Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and Gary Chapman, president Group Services and dnata, along with Jeremy Clarke Watson, New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE
Ahead of their highly-anticipated welcome in Auckland, the winning crew of Emirates Team New Zealand arrived in Dubai, home of main sponsors Emirates, on Monday to proudly celebrate their America's Cup win.
Emirates Team New Zealand and 'Auld Mug' were welcomed at Emirates Group headquarters by Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and Gary Chapman, president Group Services and dnata, along with Jeremy Clarke Watson, New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE.
Later in the morning, Emirates employees were given the chance to take pictures with the America's Cup trophy.
Emirates' sponsorship of Team New Zealand dates back to 2004 and has helped bring the Emirates brand to many parts of the world. Emirates announced its renewed commitment to Team New Zealand in March 2015 as the team took steps towards mounting their challenge for the 35th America's Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport and the pinnacle of world sailing. The team has held a number of America's Cup titles including clinching the trophy in 1995 and successfully defending the title in 2000. Emirates Team New Zealand celebrated an overwhelming victory last week at the final match-off in Bermuda taking the 35th America's Cup in a 7-1 win over Oracle Team USA.
After the title victory, Team NZ boss Grant Dalton had said: "We just can't wait to get home."
Emirates has been committed to New Zealand since 2003, and the airline currently operates 35 return flights per week to New Zealand via its two gateways, Auckland and Christchurch.
And apart from Team New Zealand players and officials, the cup is also getting deluxe treatment as they fly home from the America's Cup in Bermuda first class. The silverware Auld Mug stands 1.1m tall and weighs more than 14kg, and is safely ensconced in its Louis Vuitton suitcase.
Meanwhile, details of Emirates Team New Zealand's Americas Cup victory parade have been announced with the cup set to be greeted by tens of thousands of proud Kiwis lining Auckland's Viaduct Harbour on Thursday to welcome the winning crew.
Start at 12.30pm on the corner of Wakefield St and Queen St, the parade will run down to Princes Wharf and the team will then do a sail past ending at the Queens Wharf even as ticker tape, banners, plenty of Team New Zealand flags and patriotic cheering will welcome the men home.
| A KT Report/Dubai release || July 3, 2017 |||
RAISING
A
ROCKET
"I want to make space accesible"
Peter Beck chats withAnna Isaac
AN INTERVIEW: Previous Clips
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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