Greetings Manufacturers.

It has been my privilege to meet with you, hear your stories, and represent you to Government and in the media for the last 11 years. I have enjoyed it immensely and could not have worked on behalf of a more worthy business community. It never ceases to amaze me at all the wonderful, innovative and customer tailored solutions I see emerging from our manufacturing sector.  You are creative, problem solving, practical people and the economy could not do without you.  Those of you that export have to compete against much larger and probably better resourced competition, but most of you have found your X factor that sets you apart.  

I have a new role at BusinessNZ as the new Director, Advocacy.  As such I will be across a broader range of issues with the policy team – still working on your behalf, just with a broader mandate. Josh Tan has joined us as a senior policy advisor and he will be your main point of contact from now on. I will still be here in the background and will always keep your interests at the forefront.

I want to also acknowledge the great team of people we have in the BusinessNZ network (EMA, Business Central, Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Business South) and I am very proud to have worked alongside them on your behalf. I am sure I will continue to bump into many of you at future events around NZ, so keep up the good work, in what has been very challenging times.

All the best, Catherine Beard

New Zealand's manufacturing sector saw further steps into expansion for October, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for October was 54.3 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).  This was 2.7 points higher than September.

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Kia ora!

My name is Josh Tan and I am very excited to finally introduce myself to you all as the new Senior Policy Advisor for ExportNZ and BusinessNZ.

Previously, I worked with the Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Business Central for four and a half years where I was Senior Policy and International Relations Advisor.

My first role at the Chamber was as an International Trade Officer (issuing export documentation) and then moved into a policy and advocacy role. During my time at the Chamber, I was also responsible for managing the Chamber’s relationships with the diplomatic corps, bilateral business councils, and Wellington City Council. For two and a half years I was the Executive Secretary for the New Zealand Taiwan Business Council.

I am looking forward to working with the BusinessNZ network partners to support manufacturers and hope to get out and about and start to meet a lot of you soon.

If you would like to get in touch, please don’t hesitate to email me: jtan@businessnz.org.nz or you can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuam-tan/

Government announces further industry vaccination mandates and sets out the process for non-mandated workforces.

The Government made some key announcements for businesses. This and other updates can be viewed via the link below:

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This follows F51/21 (F51/21 China: Registration of Food Manufacturing Premises) published on 1 November and gives some guidelines on the self-registration process for manufacturers who need to register directly with China Customs to meet China’s manufacturer registration requirements (Decree 248) by 1 January 2022. Note that MPI does not have any direct involvement in the self-registration process; the guidelines are to facilitate this process only.

To stay informed of similar publications such as this, MPI recommends subscribing here: Subscribe to MPI | NZ Government

Congratulations to all our winners at the Westpac Champion Business Awards that were announced on Thursday 25 November.

The Awards celebrate business success in Canterbury and recognise organisations and individuals that are shaping the future of the region.

Check in here to see who the Winners are! 

Customs continues to be aware of the impact the current Covid 19 ‘delta’ outbreak is having on  many of our deferred payment and excise clients.

Customs has reached out to clients advising them to contact us if they may not be able to make the payment due date for Customs Duties and/or GST.   The Custom’s revenue section continues to work with  clients  to negotiate new due dates for payment and/or  instalment repayment plans.  This will assist clients manage their cash flow during this challenging period.

The client need to be able to show a downturn of at least 30% turnover or be registered with WINZ for COVID-19 assistance.

Tax relief from compensatory interest and late payment penalties may be available for clients who meet certain criteria.

To be eligible for a remission or refund on interest and penalties the duty payer must meet the following requirements:

• the due date of the unpaid Customs duty is between 25 March 2020 and 25 March 2022; and
• the duty payer’s ability to make a duty payment, including associated levies, on time having been significantly adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak; and
• the duty payer made contact with Customs as soon as reasonably practicable; and the duty payer has agreed an instalment plan with Customs or paid the duty in full (but the payment was late).

Any queries can be emailed to Revenue@customs.govt.nz

Learn more about the challenges manufacturers are facing when adopting new technologies and how the Demonstration Network is helping drive Industry 4.0 across New Zealand. Key survey insights include how the network is successfully helping businesses remain informed, inspired, and engaged around the value, benefits, and ease of adopting Industry 4.0 solutions across their businesses. The results highlight that the programme is a valuable bridge linking those early in their Industry 4.0 journey with others who are actively implementing Industry 4.0 solutions.

Find out more by reading the full report here.

Thursday, 9th December 2021

10.00am-11.00am

As COVID-19 has made it a challenging time for business, Industry 4.0 technology has helped lead the way by providing much needed support to manufacturers.

This webinar provides the opportunity to learn how some manufacturers have used Industry 4.0 technology to aide business recovery.

We will be joined by Frank Phillips, Senior Consultant LMAC NZ Ltd, in conversation with Kevin Flint, General Manager Oasis Engineering and Jim Marsh, Business Manager Pengelly Engineering. Hear how they are navigating COVID-19 and gain insights from them to apply to your own business to take the next step in your Industry 4.0 journey.

We encourage you to join our Industry 4.0 Community Platform as we work together to shape the future of the manufacturing sector to ensure it thrives for years to come.

Register here ->>

Don’t forget to check out our contract manufacturers directory if you are looking for contract manufacturing support or you are wanting to advertise your services.

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