Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 02 December 2014

A few decades ago the world’s largest dairy powder company decided to up their game.

They realised that off line testing of moisture, fat (replacer oil for infant formula) and protein was costly and inefficient. So together with NDC, they came up with a dairy gauge that could measure to reference accuracy and actively control their fluid bed driers.

Over the years these gauges have evolved and improved but remain standard fittings on their fluid beds. They control all their powder so production is kept at the top of the yield and problems are quickly identified and rectified.

They budget for, and get a fast return on investment. They keep telling us that these NDC gauges are “ a licence to print money” such are the improved yields, energy and staff savings.

So now a lot of the world’s largest dairy companies have fitted these gauges and enjoyed the same results.

Now with dairy powder prices running as they are, maybe it is time for dairy producers who don’t actively control their production to up their game and “print some money”. All the hard work has been done and the gauges are guaranteed.

We can even organise a lease to buy where the savings can be more than the costs. Google www.ndc.com or call Simon Ganley of Ganley Engineering Ltd on 09 42 83426. Simon's email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Another in the Simon Ganley series for manufacturers in the food industry

New Online Travel Management Application Drives Cost Savings and Productivity Gains for Smaller Businesses

Auckland, New Zealand. 25th July 2016 – Serko Ltd. (SKO.NZ) launched its new small business travel management application, serko.travel, in conjunction with Xero, the leader in online accountancy software. From today, businesses in New Zealand and Australia with up to 150 employees can sign up and make bookings online without any service fees, kick-starting a revolution in small business travel.

Designed to fundamentally change the way small businesses book and manage company travel, serko.travel gives users access to the same travel-booking technology and some of the same deals that are enjoyed by more than 6000 large corporations across Australia and New Zealand today. The new application helps to level the playing field in business travel that has historically favoured large organisations.

The application, which is accessed via desktop (at www.serko.travel) and via iPhone and Android, allows users to make domestic, Trans-Tasman and international bookings. In addition, the app allows users to change bookings, set parameters on employee use, control budgets and connect to Xero’s software. The features combine to help businesses save hundreds of hours a year in admin time and drive significant cost savings through better travel management and policy compliance.

Darrin Grafton, Serko CEO said “serko.travel brings together all of the key travel suppliers in the region, from Air New Zealand and Qantas to Booking.com and Wotif, and allows users to book everything in one place, at the same time, without having to pay any service fees. It’s a completely new way for businesses to manage business travel that will help businesses save money, particularly those that use Xero.”

Cameron Beattie Managing Director at cloud communications specialist firm, Conversant, says “we trialled serko.travel and it is fantastic. I signed up and had made my first booking in a couple of minutes. The real benefit to us is having everything in one place. We now officially have a travel policy and it’s saved us so much time. To be honest, I can’t believe no one’s thought to do this before. It just makes so much sense.”

Unlike any other online travel booking system, the online functionality of serko.travel will also be complemented by expert offline support from Helloworld for Business, Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel. For the first time, they will offer Travel Expert services on an ‘on demand’ basis which means travellers only have to pay ‘if and when’ they need their services.

Anna Curzon, Managing Director at Xero said “For businesses that book a lot of travel, serko.travel is the ideal add-on to Xero. It fits perfectly into our recently launched App Marketplace, our one-stop-shop for cloud apps that connect to Xero. The integration between the systems allows travel booking data from serko.travel to flow seamlessly into Xero, streamlining and simplifying the process of reconciling credit card statements.”

Businesses in New Zealand and Australia can find out more and sign up right now at www.serko.travel.

New Online Travel Management Application Drives Cost Savings and Productivity Gains for Smaller Businesses

Auckland, New Zealand. 25th July 2016 – Serko Ltd. (SKO.NZ) launched its new small business travel management application, serko.travel, in conjunction with Xero, the leader in online accountancy software. From today, businesses in New Zealand and Australia with up to 150 employees can sign up and make bookings online without any service fees, kick-starting a revolution in small business travel.

Designed to fundamentally change the way small businesses book and manage company travel, serko.travel gives users access to the same travel-booking technology and some of the same deals that are enjoyed by more than 6000 large corporations across Australia and New Zealand today. The new application helps to level the playing field in business travel that has historically favoured large organisations.

The application, which is accessed via desktop (at www.serko.travel) and via iPhone and Android, allows users to make domestic, Trans-Tasman and international bookings. In addition, the app allows users to change bookings, set parameters on employee use, control budgets and connect to Xero’s software. The features combine to help businesses save hundreds of hours a year in admin time and drive significant cost savings through better travel management and policy compliance.

Darrin Grafton, Serko CEO said “serko.travel brings together all of the key travel suppliers in the region, from Air New Zealand and Qantas to Booking.com and Wotif, and allows users to book everything in one place, at the same time, without having to pay any service fees. It’s a completely new way for businesses to manage business travel that will help businesses save money, particularly those that use Xero.”

Cameron Beattie Managing Director at cloud communications specialist firm, Conversant, says “we trialled serko.travel and it is fantastic. I signed up and had made my first booking in a couple of minutes. The real benefit to us is having everything in one place. We now officially have a travel policy and it’s saved us so much time. To be honest, I can’t believe no one’s thought to do this before. It just makes so much sense.”

Unlike any other online travel booking system, the online functionality of serko.travel will also be complemented by expert offline support from Helloworld for Business, Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel. For the first time, they will offer Travel Expert services on an ‘on demand’ basis which means travellers only have to pay ‘if and when’ they need their services.

Anna Curzon, Managing Director at Xero said “For businesses that book a lot of travel, serko.travel is the ideal add-on to Xero. It fits perfectly into our recently launched App Marketplace, our one-stop-shop for cloud apps that connect to Xero. The integration between the systems allows travel booking data from serko.travel to flow seamlessly into Xero, streamlining and simplifying the process of reconciling credit card statements.”

Businesses in New Zealand and Australia can find out more and sign up right now at www.serko.travel.

In a significant advance in engineering, Christchurch’s newest overpass features a world-first in quake-resilient technology described as the “Ferrari” of bridges, developed in Christchurch by University of Canterbury engineers.

The innovative, seismically resilient connections at the bridge piers of the new $30 million Wigram-Magdala Link overbridge project are engineered to minimise post-earthquake damage. This is understood to be the first bridge in New Zealand and the world to adopt this low-damage technology. Scheduled to open this week, the overbridge is 100 metres long, consisting of three spans over two piers, and passes over Curletts Road in Middleton, Christchurch.

The seismically resilient bridge piers or columns are designed to sustain different levels of earthquakes without damaging the column, University of Canterbury Associate Professor Alessandro Palermo says.

“The engineering design incorporates novel dissipative fuses and post-tensioning cables acting as rubber bands to allow the bridge columns to bounce back to the original position and not leaning in one side. The University of Canterbury is the first institution and New Zealand is the first country in the world to have it implemented in a real structure.”

University of Canterbury (UC) research was key to the development of the design, which is a significant advancement in engineering, he says.

“This bridge can be seen as the Ferrari of structures – high performance and safe,” Dr Palermo says.

“In other countries, it might take decades to see the first implementations of this technology. This fact highlights the fact that New Zealand engineers and researchers are world leaders in earthquake engineering innovation.”

The collaboration came about from interaction through the Canterbury Bridge Group, an initiative by UC to provide stronger links with the industry. Visits to observe the testing research at UC led to the concept of low-damage detailing being incorporated into the Wigram-Magdala Link overbridge, with support from the Christchurch City Council.

This technology has been embraced by the building industry for new commercial structures around Christchurch and elsewhere in New Zealand and presents a shift in design focus considering the ability to repair a structure following an event, allowing more rapid and low-cost reinstatement, plus significantly reducing disruption.

The design concept comes from a strong experimental campaign and research development at UC under Dr Palermo’s leadership. His bridge group investigated different bridge columns, detailing and comparing their performance under seismic loading. He also consulted the local industry, through the Canterbury Bridge Group, inviting them to witness the experiments in the UC engineering laboratories and explaining the mechanics behind the technology.

“This process certainly helped to educate the client and the designer to this new revolutionary system,” Dr Palermo says.

“The asset owner, Christchurch City Council, and the designer, Opus International Consultants, felt that that such a critical bridge for the city should incorporate innovative technology to minimise post-earthquake damage and therefore also potential traffic disruption. UC and local professionals are working together to improve current design philosophies and deliver the next generation of structures which can experience several earthquakes with limited or no damage.”

The Wigram-Magdala Link overbridge incorporates low-damage detailing comprising rocking piers with replaceable energy dissipaters and internal post-tensioning to assist self-centring following a major earthquake.

The design was conceived to provide enhanced seismic resilience to this structure which provides an important link between the growing southwestern suburbs of Christchurch and the city centre, passing over SH73 Curletts Road which is also of strategic importance, according to Christchurch City Council’s Transport Planning and Delivery Manager Lynette Ellis.

“Christchurch has led the way with a number of new technologies as part of the earthquake rebuild. It was pleasing to have so many organisations cooperating to make this happen,” she says.

“We look forward to opening the overbridge.”

Opus International Consultants undertook the design of the Wigram-Magdala Link overbridge and engaged UC to provide technical support and verification for developing the low-damage detailing for the bridge. Scaling up from prototypes tested in the laboratory to a structure of this size presented many challenges, including ensuring the design was visually sympathetic. The main contractor, Hawkins Infrastructure, and their specialist subcontractor, Concrete Structures Ltd, have played an integral role in undertaking the construction of this bridge.

A University of Canterbury press release July 25, 2016

New Zealand’s Southern Spars has provided masts for a range of different teams in every America’s Cup for the past 25 years, including the victorious Black Magic campaign in 1995.

The boat, a 50ft foiling catamaran, will be launched early next year ahead of the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series and America’s Cup to be held in Bermuda from the beginning of May 2017.

Emirates Team New Zealand said it will be its most technically-advanced yacht ever.

Last month, Emirates Team New Zealand launched its first custom-designed development boat, which Southern Spars is also producing the wing-sails for.

Emirates Team New Zealand’s chief executive, Grant Dalton, said Southern Spars was an obvious choice when it came to finding a manufacturer with the pedigree to deliver a yacht capable of winning the next America’s Cup.

“Our relationship with Southern Spars goes back a long way and this will be our sixth campaign together. We are delighted Southern Spars will be drawing on their broad and deep international experience to build the entire boat, with the exception of the beams. ”

Southern Spars director, Mark Hauser, said the company’s 25 years involvement in the America’s Cup and long relationship with Emirates Team New Zealand provided a wealth of expertise and experience to the campaign.

“We are delighted to have been appointed. We will be bringing all of our people, processes, design and technology to bear in building a winning boat for Emirates Team New Zealand – backed by our comprehensive production facility in Auckland.

“Increasing the scope of our prior Emirates Team New Zealand work from masts and rigging to the overwhelming share of the boat is a great honour for us as we continue to diversity as a business.

“The boat will take at least 13,000 hours for our team to build and so we are delighted but at this stage there is little time to celebrate.”

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Laos this week to attend the ASEAN-NZ Ministerial Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 23rd ASEAN Regional Forum.

“New Zealand has long-standing ties with ASEAN and we enjoy close cooperation with member states across a range of regional issues,” Mr McCully says.

“The East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum play an important role in addressing the political and security challenges we collectively face, such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, and disaster response and preparedness.”

Dusseldorf has become the third German city in Singapore Airlines’ route network, with the arrival of flight SQ338 from Singapore this morning.

The new route is being served with the latest-generation aircraft to join the Singapore Airlines fleet, the Airbus A350-900. The first service departed Singapore Changi Airport at around 2340hrs local time last night and arrived at Dusseldorf Airport at around 0620hrs local time this morning, after a flight of nearly 13 hours.

Dusseldorf will initially be served three times per week. Singapore Airlines also serves the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich.

Customers departing from Singapore were treated to an assortment of food and beverages including champagne at a special boarding gate event held to commemorate the inaugural flight. They also received an exclusive goodie bag containing a commemorative certificate, a batik luggage belt with weighing scale and a wooden miniature silhouette of the Dusseldorf skyline.

Upon arrival at Dusseldorf Airport, the aircraft received a water canon salute.

With advanced technology and superior operating efficiency, the A350-900 offers customers an improved travelling experience with features such as higher ceilings, larger windows, an extra wide body and lighting designed to reduce jetlag.

Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first A350-900 in March and now has four of the aircraft type in its fleet, with another 63 on firm order. The initial batch of A350s is being fitted with 253 seats in three classes, seating 42 customers in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class and 187 in Economy Class.

The A350 will form a key part of the Airline’s fleet in the years ahead, allowing for the introduction of new services such as non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco from October, helping to boost connectivity to and through the Singapore hub.

A Singapore Airlines press release July 22, 2016

Singapore Airlines will fly non-stop between Singapore and Manchester from 30 October 2016. In addition, as part of the Northern Winter Schedule, services to Adelaide, Christchurch and Kolkata will increase during peak periods, while seasonal services to Sapporo will be operated in December 2016.

The non-stop Singapore-Manchester flights will be operated five times weekly and will continue on to Houston, which is currently served via Moscow. Flight SQ52 will depart Singapore at 0235hrs and arrive in Manchester at 0900hrs. Flight SQ52 will then depart Manchester at 1015hrs, and arrive in Houston at 1535hrs. The return flight SQ51 will depart Houston at 2015hrs and arrive in Manchester at 1005hrs. Flight SQ51 will then depart Manchester at 1135hrs, and arrive in Singapore at 0820hrs (all times local, and subject to change).

Services to Christchurch will meanwhile increase to 10 times weekly from seven times weekly between 13 November 2016 and 5 February 2017, while services to Adelaide will increase to 10 times weekly from seven times weekly between 1 December 2016 and 31 January 2017. Services to Kolkata will increase to four times weekly in December 2016, up from the current three weekly flights.

To cater to peak winter travel demand, Singapore Airlines will also operate seasonal services to Sapporo from 1 December 2016 to 5 January 2017. A total of 24 round-trip Sapporo flights will be operated during this period.

With the launch of the Singapore-Manchester-Houston service, existing Moscow-Houston and Munich-Manchester services will be suspended, from 30 October 2016. Both Munich and Moscow will continue to be served, however, on a non-stop basis to and from Singapore. Services to Munich will be operated daily, while services to Moscow will be operated four times weekly.

Singapore Airlines will also operate daily non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco from 23 October 2016 using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Flight SQ32 will depart Singapore at 0830hrs and arrive in San Francisco at 0805hrs. The return flight SQ31 will depart San Francisco at 0935hrs and arrive in Singapore at 1820hrs. (all times local at the start of Northern Winter, and subject to change).

The above flight details are subject to regulatory approvals. Ticket sales for the above flights will be made available for sale through our various distribution channels on a progressive basis.

A Singapore Airlines press releas July 21, 2016

Solar Gard positively impacts lives with products that protect, save and renew with Window Film options formost.   Headquartered in San Diego, California, Solar Gard makes industry leading. Architectural and automotive window films, photovoltaics and custom coatings. A division of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, Solar Gard's architectural solar control window films are proven carbon negative and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Solar Gard products are sold in more than 90 countries under the Solar Gard and Solar Gard Armorcoat brands.Saint-Gobain is located in 64 countries and with almost 190,000 employees, Saint-Gobain is one of the world's top 100 companies. A world leader in habitat, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes building materials, providing innovative solutions to meet the challenges of growth, energy-saving and environmental protection.  With an objective to reduce energy costs and improve comfort levels Solar Gard window films provide a solution including solar and window insulation products as well as safety and graffiti protection products.

Available in New Zealand through Solar Gard New Zealand distributor, SWF Distribution.

 Solar Gard items published here on MSCNewsWire  include . . .

• Sola Gard products give Factories Temperature Management plus Glare & UV Protection - May 31, 2016
• Capshot Energy Simulation Report
• New Zealand now has the highest melanoma rate in world.

Hasmate have developed software to manage Health And Safety procedures.

They developed a tool to manage health and safety, chemical management, human resources and training records, ISO 9001 records and more.  Since 2002, Gordon and Jan Anderson have refined HASMATE into a robust software application, using real world experience and development.