Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 02 December 2014

Heavy Haulage a division of Machinery Movers ltd, succesfully swapped out a small CD 160 drier for a larger TST 70 drier which will enable an increase in production for Taranaki By Products. Ken Evans of TEKAM NZ Ltd said it was impressive work by the heavy haulage team using very sophisticated lifting and transporting gear along with   Hawera based Croucher and Crowder who carried out the dis-assembly of the CD 160 long with the rebuild and commissioning of the TST 70.  A great job in a short time frame.

The CD 160 is now scheduled to be installed in it's new home early 2017.

Eleven MITO apprentices and graduates recently competed in the automotive technology and automotive refinishing categories at the National WorldSkills competition at Wintec.

They joined 56 regional competition finalists from across the country who showcased their respective skills in 14 industry categories. Each competitor completed a specific project over two days, replicating problems and tasks that they would encounter in their daily jobs.

MITO would like to congratulate the following competitors:

Cameron Bone from Fleet Street Panel Beaters, North Shore - Silver in Automotive RefinishingLogan Candy from the New Zealand Defence Force - Gold in Automotive TechnologyJeff Sutton from CLAAS Harvest Centre, Southland - Silver in Automotive TechnologyMorgan Lovelace from Keith Andrews Trucks Limited, Whangarei - Bronze in Automotive TechnologyLogan, Jeff and Morgan also received Best in Region awards which is a fantastic result.

The medal winners who meet eligibility criteria will now compete for selection to the Tool Blacks, New Zealand's representative team, at the WorldSkills Oceania Competition in Melbourne early next year, and later for the 2017 WorldSkills International Competition in Abu Dhabi.

More working New Zealanders are gaining skills and qualifications on the job, earning while they learn, says the Industry Training Federation.

Our industry training and apprenticeship system is improving steadily, according to recently released Tertiary Education Commission 2015 performance reports. Programme completion rates in 2015 were 75 percent, up from 72 percent, and 2015 credit achievement rates were at 80 percent, up from 75 percent in 2014.

"More people are getting real skills for real jobs while gaining national qualifications. The results are very pleasing and make an even more compelling case for investment in work-based learning as an effective and efficient way to deliver a skilled and productive workforce," says ITF Chief Executive Josh Williams.

Industry Training and Apprenticeships involves employer-led education across most of New Zealand's major industries. Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) work with thousands of New Zealand's employers and workers to deliver skills and qualifications, and address skill shortages in many areas.

“Industry training is a win-win-win-win", says Mr Williams. "Workers win because they get skills and industry relevant qualifications while getting paid, without taking on student fees and debt. Business wins through accessing a high quality training infrastructure that delivers up-to-date specialist skills and employability. The taxpayer wins as subsidies for workplace education are much lower, and trainees and apprentices pay tax rather than draw on student support. And the government wins with the instant economic return from a system that develops and deploys lifelong skills in the real economy."

There has been a marked improvement in the system since a major review in 2010, and the economic recovery since the recession. “New Zealand is fortunate to have an industry-led training system. Industry determines its skills needs and arranges training to meet those needs," Mr Williams says. "The results show the system is working and the numbers are increasing. Our eleven ITOs provide strong support to employers and trainees and they can be proud of these results.”

An Industry Training Federation press release

A FRESH Produce Trade Forum in Auckland last week marked a deliberate reboot of the fresh produce trade relationship between Fiji and New Zealand.

During the forum Fiji's New Zealand High Commissioner Filimone Waqabaca highlighted on the continuing trade imbalance between Fiji and New Zealand which strongly favoured New Zealand and how to close the gap.

"Fiji is New Zealand's biggest trading partner in the Pacific importing $NZ400 million ($F586.2m) annually from New Zealand whilst exporting $NZ55m ($F80.6m) to New Zealand," he said.

"Fiji's export in fresh produce was worth $NZ14.2m ($F20.8m) between 2011 and 2015."

Mr Waqabaca compared Fiji's export figures in roots and tubers, fruit, nuts and ginger with other Pacific countries and asked how could Fiji take some of the market share from these competitors.

He challenged exporters to double Fiji's export figures to $NZ30m ($F43.9m) in five years.

He said tourism had overtaken trade as the country's main earner but it needed to build a firm and sustainable platform to move forward together and realise opportunities.

"Agriculture could lift the economic growth of Fiji and had the potential to grow larger than Fiji's tourism industry," he said.

Mr Waqabaca said agriculture accounted for 10.5 per cent of Fiji's GDP and the country could aim for 20 per cent of GDP.

"If Fiji could set itself up to satisfy the needs of the exporters and importers they could operationalise the vision," Mr Waqabaca said.

The forum noted that relationship between Fiji and New Zealand had flagged in recent years because of a range of political, economic and weather-related supply issues.

But open, friendly and frank discussions on the current state of the industry mapped out a way forward in the outcomes from the meeting.

Fiji's Minister for Agriculture Inia Seruiratu had opened the meeting and said, "There is a need for more interaction with stakeholders to better understand the needs of fresh producers and agencies and we're holding dialogue with stakeholders to identify pathways and network opportunities."

Mr Seruiratu discussed various programs and projects introduced to turn agriculture around.

The forum, organised by the Fiji High Commission in New Zealand, brought together more than 35 key stakeholders from Government, non-governmental organisations and the private sector in Auckland.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit China and Hong Kong for a series of trade discussions, and participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting in Cebu, Philippines.

While in Cebu, Mr McClay will meet bilaterally with his counterparts from a number of other negotiating parties to discuss both the RCEP negotiations and wider trade issues.“Consistent with the Joint Statement on RCEP issued by Leaders in September, I will continue to encourage my counterparts to aim for a modern, comprehensive, high quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership with commercially meaningful outcomes.

“If RCEP is successfully concluded, it will offer New Zealand businesses and exporters significant opportunities under a single set of rules in a region that includes six of our top 10 trading partners”, says Mr McClay.

In Hong Kong, Mr McClay will meet with the Financial Secretary, and Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development, and will also engage with key investors with interests in New Zealand.

“I welcome the opportunity to meet with my counterparts in Hong Kong, and exchange views on regional developments and our many shared interests” says Mr McClay.

Hong Kong is New Zealand’s 15th largest trading partner with two-way trade worth NZ$1.6 billion and a growing source of investment into New Zealand. A free trade agreement with New Zealand came into effect in 2011.

Mr McClay will also attend the 15th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business to engage with business leaders and executives from Germany, New Zealand and Asia and meet with Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Mr Sigmar Gabriel.

Mr McClay will also travel to Beijing for a brief trade-related programme, including a meeting with his counterpart, Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng.

Finance Minister Bill English has launched an online portal aimed at giving a clearer picture of high-value infrastructure investments opportunities throughout Australasia.

Together with Australian Treasurer, Scott Morrison, Mr English has launched the Australia New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline (ANZIP) in Sydney today.

About 25 New Zealand-based projects and about 90 Australian-based projects are listed - from government agencies, local authorities, State-owned enterprises and publicly-listed companies.

All projects listed are valued at over $100 million and have either recently started or are yet to get underway.

Mr English says the launch of ANZIP signals a joint commitment to building a more integrated infrastructure market between the two countries.

“Australia is critical to New Zealand’s economy. Not only is Australia our biggest trading partner, but approximately half of all foreign direct investment in New Zealand comes from Australia.

“Similarly, half of the investment coming out of New Zealand is invested in Australia.

“I expect ANZIP will help grow foreign direct investment in both countries, as well as giving greater visibility of future investment opportunities.”

The ANZIP can be viewed here: http://infrastructurepipeline.org

SAN FRANCISCO– Tradeshift, the leading business commerce platform, announced today the opening of an office in Sydney, Australia to deliver trade and financial capabilities for Australia and New Zealand-headquartered businesses and multinational companies.

“As a global company that connects businesses in more than 190 countries, setting up a presence in Australia was the next logical step in our international strategy, ” said Christian Lanng, CEO and co-founder of Tradeshift. “Our marketplace includes thousands of suppliers based in Australia and New Zealand. Both countries are growing economically and are key to how we will support the global supply chain going forward.”

Australia, which hasn’t had a recession in 25 years, is seeing public investment and growth across many industries, including construction. On top of this strong economic foundation, progressive regulations, such as the new national standard for e-invoicing based on the ISO-approved OASIS Universal Business Language (UBL), can help companies and entire industries join Europe and other regions on the path to digital transformation across the supply chain.

“Tradeshift’s vision for connecting businesses digitally across the globe will help many Australian and New Zealand businesses to expand and strengthen their supply chains,” said Nigel Wardropper, CEO of Procurement and Supply Australasia (PASA). “We may be isolated geographically, but we’re hyperconnected to world markets, and just like everyone else we’re seeing our entire industries transformed by digitalization.”

Since Tradeshift’s founding in 2010, it has proven superior in its ability to integrate tax and trade compliance requirements of the localized economies it has entered, including those in Latin America and Asia.

Building on the successful expansion into Japan and China, Tradeshift is setting up operations in Australia to stay ahead of the demand for its solutions and continued global-scale adoption of its platform.

Adoption is accelerating, in part, due to the network effects that result from wave after wave of tens of thousands of invited suppliers connecting to buyers across geographies. Once on the platform and carrying out transactions, businesses harness the simplicity of open, networked software and quickly find and connect with other trading partners. This original approach creates a common foundation for business processes like e-invoicing, eProcurement, and supply chain financing.

Other corners of Asia-Pacific are also on the company’s horizon. Speaking recently at the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum in New Delhi, Christian Lanng said that Tradeshift will be investing more in the region to help more buyers and suppliers digitize their supply chain information.

About TradeshiftTradeshift is a global network and platform that helps companies innovate the way they buy, pay and work together. Tradeshift connects 800,000 companies across 190 countries and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Copenhagen, New York, London, Paris, Suzhou, Tokyo and Munich.

A TRadeShift press release

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is pleased to announce James Hay has been appointed as its new Chief Executive.

He will take up the role in mid-January.

“James has an impressive background spanning the energy, transport and public sectors, working with infrastructure and energy businesses, and with community-facing organisations,” says EECA Chair Tom Campbell.

“This is an excellent fit for EECA, which is a government agency known for its expertise in working across all sectors of the economy.”

As Network General Manager – Motorways for Roads and Maritime Services, James is currently overseeing the AUD$16.8 billion Westconnex motorway scheme under construction in Sydney.

He has previously been Acting Chief Executive for Meridian Energy, and a director of Marlborough Lines Limited and Cloud M Limited.

James, who originally trained as a lawyer, has also held leadership roles at Christchurch-based civil engineering company, Central Plains Water Limited, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA).

EECA’s current Chief Executive, Mike Underhill, is to retire in mid-November after nearly 10 years in the role. 

Includes Sigpack VPF for powder filler, compact horizontal flow wrapper, and complete lines from a single source.

Following the introduction of the Sigpack TTMP topload cartoner for pharmaceutical products, the company now adds two further machines to its portfolio: the Sigpack VPF vertical flat pouch machine and the horizontal flow wrapping machine Sigpack HML.

The new vertical flat pouch machine Sigpack VPF was developed especially for the packaging of powders. Pain killers in powder form are among the products typically filled into sachets. Thanks to the innovative sealing technology from Bosch, the machine produces hermetically sealed packages, which safely protect the product. The VPF allows manufacturers to flexibly expand their sachet production by up to 12 lanes. The pouch size can also be quickly and easily adapted according to customer requirements. High dosing accuracy and excellent sealing properties allow the machine to produce and fill up to 1 500 sachets/min with precision and quality.

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Lantek, world leader in sheet metal technology, has developed new functionality powered by its CAD/CAM software, which integrates online shopping for sheet metal parts.

With this new capability Lantek’s customers can integrate with their own customers into a supply chain. These customers can reorder previously supplied parts or request quotations for the manufacture of new designs through each individual company’s website.

By implementing this technology on their websites, Lantek’s customers will be able to work much more closely with their own customers, delivering accurate quotations even more quickly while checking for available capacity for manufacture, to offer realistic and achievable delivery times.

When a request is received through the customer’s website, the Lantek system will firstly decide if the information is good enough to generate a quotation and delivery date automatically. Some of the elements considered are availability of material, available capacity and quality of design data. If the information is acceptable, the system can continue automatically. If not, a workflow ticket is generated to involve a member of staff in clarifying the enquiry.

Within the system, time and cost are calculated and estimated using the software libraries in the system. The desired delivery date is then included within the algorithm and takes account of other jobs being manufactured in the same material and the status of machine capacity. It also considers material availability, delivery times for material, should it need to be ordered, and current material costs.

With this information and where necessary with assistance from a staff member, an accurate offer can be supplied extremely quickly and with little administrative effort, making it much easier to work in partnership with customers and be a valued part of the supply chain.

For the manufacturer, the system delivers benefits in addition to improved customer relations and reduced administrative load. By looking at current capacity and parts made in the same material, the software will help to smooth peaks and troughs in production, filling available capacity more efficiently and thereby achieving improved machine utilisation. Furthermore, the increased accuracy of the quotations will help to maximise profitability for each job produced.

A lantek press release