OFF THE WIRES - MSC NewsWire

Optimar strengthens position in NZ

Worldfishing & Aquaculture reports that Optimar has signed a contract for delivery of complete fish handling factory on board Sealord's newest trawler. It will include a modern factory where all parts of the catch are taken care of, including processing fillet, head/gutted and frozen products of Hoki, Hake, Ling, Squid, Jack Macarel.The rest of the raw material will be used for further processing of oil and fishmeal. Optimars newest automated solutions will be delivered with the factory, such as semi-automated batching systems, automated freezers, automatic sorting of finished products and automated palletizers.It is 82.9m in length and 17m in breadth…

Rocket launch vehicle manufacturer lands corporate headquarters, 400 jobs in Tucson

Heres a piece out of the Phoenix Business Journal - A rocket manufacturing company that started in a garage is opening a 400-employee corporate headquarters and micro satellite launch vehicle manufacturing facility in Tucson. The $290-million economic benefit from Vector Space Systems will be centralized on 15 acres in the Pima County Aerospace, Defense, Technology Business & Research Park. The company will hire 200 in the next 12 months and the additional employees over the next few years. The company will be a neighbor to high-altitude balloon maker World View. Continue to full article

Stanley Black & Decker to Buy Newell Tools for $1.95 Billion

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (IW 500/95) agreed to buy Newell Brands Inc.’s tools business for $1.95 billion in cash, helping the workshop giant push deeper into consumer and industrial equipment. Stanley will gain the Irwin, Lenox and Hilmor brands as part of the transaction, which is expected to add 15 cents to earnings within a year of its completion. The division generated $760 million in revenue over the past 12 months, according to Newell. It makes everything from industrial saw blades to screwdrivers. Continue to full article on Industry Week daily

Blooming good – PMI

Activity in New Zealand's manufacturing sector picked up in September, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for September was 57.7 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 2.5 points up from August, and the highest level of activity in the sector since January this year. The sector remains solidly in expansion in almost all months since October 2012. BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that the lift in expansion levels was welcome after two consecutive months…

Hawke's Bay apple exports break records again

It is yet another record-breaking year for Hawke's Bay apple exports. CEO Garth Cowie said, so far an 8.5 per cent increase on last year had been exported, with a record 22,205 twenty-foot containers shipped. "Despite a late start to the season and a shortage of pickers, it has been a record harvest for our local growers," he said. "Exports through Napier Port were up by more than 2000, twenty-foot containers on last season." Volumes are expected to grow further, with an extensive programme of planting underway across the region. "The pipfruit industry has set a target of achieving $1…

NZ company XLAM to open manufacturing plant in Australia

The Principal Sponsor for 2016 Prefab Aus is XLam, a New Zealand-born CLT company who by mid-2017 will be mass-producing 60,000m3 of CLT annually out of its new Australian manufacturing plant in the Albury Wodonga region. Depending on the value of XLam’s CLT and the company’s level of service, its manufacturing plant could be a welcomed resource for Australian designers and developers looking to incorporate CLT in their projects. To date, no Australian CLT project has used Australian manufactured CLT with Strongbuild using Austrian company Binderholz to bring its product into the Australasian market and Lendlease previously using the KLH…

New Zealand-based SPL to sell hand dryers in India

New Zealand-based SPL Ltd, engaged in manufacturing and marketing of hand dryers, will introduce its products in India in partnership with city-based Mrinalini Industries according to a report in Business Standard. The joint venture agreement would be of 'knowledge sharing' for SPL Ltd, while its Indian partner will manufacture the hand dryers at its factory in Irungattukottai near Chennai, SPL's Founder and Managing Director John Stares said here today. "It is a first of its kind initiative. The New Zealand government wants to promote trade and industry with India. So through this joint venture, we will be selling hand dryers…

'Flex supply chains' to cope with uneven growth

Firms will need to adopt different strategies to adapt to varying growth speeds across the world, an economist has warned. Dr John Glen, CIPS economist, said companies needed to "flex supply chains" in response to the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), which lowered growth projections for 2016 from 3.4% to 3.2%. Glen, who is also director of the Centre for Customised Executive Development at Cranfield School of Management, said: “There is... a requirement to be able to flex supply chains to turn on capability and supply in those parts of the world that are expanding, such as India for…

Australia leaves NZ behind in securing UK trade deal

New Zealand is in danger of missing the boat on securing a trade deal with the UK before it leaves the EU, says New Zealand First Leader and MP for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters. “Australia has got the jump on us – they’re well ahead of New Zealand in putting their case forward before the exit is official. “Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull says they are ‘getting in early’ and hopes for a ‘very strong, very open deal’. “A wise move for a country relying on trade. “Since the Brexit vote Mr Key has spent an inordinate amount of time…

New Zealand shower and tapware design company Methven has opened a new global head office, experience centre and manufacturing facility in Avondale, Auckland.

The new facility marks their 130th year in business, and was officially opened by New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, on Friday 30 September. Speaking at the event, Methven chairman Phil Lough congratulated the company on achieving this significant milestone. “We are incredibly proud to join a prestigious group of companies around the world that have been in business for more than 130 years. We are proud to distribute award-winning products throughout the world that are designed, engineered and manufactured right here in New Zealand,” he says. In addition, Methven has incorporated an extensive area to showcase their proprietary technology…

More full-time work lifts weekly earnings

Labour Market Statistics (Income): June 2016 quarter Median weekly earnings from paid employment rose $44, to reach $924, between the June 2015 and June 2016 quarters, Statistics New Zealand said today. This increase of 5.0 percent was the largest annual increase since the June 2007 quarter. Paid employment includes both wage and salary earners and self-employed people. “A rise in the proportion of full-time wage and salary earners, and the number of hours being worked, together pushed up median earnings for workers,” labour and income statistics manager Mark Gordon said. Full-time workers (working 30 or more hours) typically have higher…

Engineers Develop Carbon Nanotube “Smart Skin” to Sense Structural Damage

Engineers at the University of Delaware are developing a new method for monitoring the structural health of infrastructure based on the use of a “smart skin” made of a carbon nanotube composite. The composite is mechanically robust and can adhere to practically any shape, meaning it can be used to monitor the health of roads, bridges and other structures. Electrical Impedance TomographyThe smart skin uses a technique called electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to indicate which areas of the structure may be compromised. EIT makes use of surface electrode measurements to map the two-dimensional conductivity of the skin’s surface. The researchers…