We had some very good news earlier in the month, with the Government’s announcement on reconnecting New Zealand to the world. We've been calling on the Government to give us some clarity on when New Zealand will reopen for some time now, so it is good to have these dates to keep to. It's also important to note that stage 4 and 5 timings can be brought forward depending on the effect of the omicron outbreak in New Zealand.

January's PMI (Performance Manufacturing Index) result shows New Zealand's manufacturing sector continuing to expand, however with the changes in Covid-19 rules and restrictions, as well as the ever-increasing number of challenges the sector faces, we're not sensing any growing momentum at the moment.

Bye for now
Josh

New Zealand's manufacturing sector saw a reduction in the level of expansion for the first month of 2022, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for January was 52.1 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).  This was 1.7 points lower than December, and below the long-term average of 53.1 for the survey.

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You are invited to a virtual session to help understand how major New Zealand organisations are working through Phase Two of Omicron, as well as lessons from the Australian Omicron experience.

Hosted by BusinessNZ with support from the GM Safety Forum, HASANZ and the Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum, you will hear from Dr Ian Norton (Managing Director of Respond Global).

Dr Norton will be joined by the Chief Health and Safety Officer at Fletcher Buildering, Wendi Croft; and Air New Zealand’s General Manager of People, Safety and Aviation Medicine Darren Evans to share how their organisations prepared for the Omicron wave, and how they are managing throughout Phase Two.

The session will also focus on:

• Covid controls – what do we need to change and what can we keep as we manage a large Omicron wave
• What is the critical focus to address in this new context?
• The GM Safety Forum’s new resource Living with Covid Principles – designed to support all New Zealand businesses.

Register here ->>

Phase 2 applications for the 2021 Resident Visa will open from 10am on Tuesday 1 March, all applicants have until 31 July 2022 to submit their 2021 Resident Visa application.

People can test their eligibility for the 2021 Resident Visa here.

More information about the 2021 Resident Visa can be found here.

Processing information for the 2021 Resident Visa can be found here.

Cost-effective, off-the-shelf technologies are helping manufacturing SMEs to transform into highly efficient, digitally enabled businesses. Elizabeth Tofaris explains more about the Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project.

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The federal Opposition has backed the creation of a manufacturing industry fund, regular reviews of R&D incentives, as well as changes to procurement rules to encourage the development of sovereign capability in a Senate report which sets the manufacturing battle lines for the upcoming election.

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MatchBox Exchange (MB) is an open market digital platform that allows trucking companies, shippers and freight forwarders to reuse and exchange empty containers on the landside with instant approval. Offering an opportunity for container logistics businesses to increase efficiencies and save on costs by eliminating the need to make trips to the depot.

To learn more visit https://matchboxexchange.com or drop a note with Tom Storey, Customer Engagement Manager on tom.storey@matchboxechange.com.

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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