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MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In events this month I'm particularly excited about what's happening in Lower Hutt on 19 November. Participants from Lightning Lab Manufacturing and Callaghan Innovation's C-Prize UAV Challenge are taking part in a "Dragon's Den" style pitch to a room full of investors. 

This will be an inspiring and intersting event for anyone interested in innovation, manufacturing and start-ups. I look forward to seeing you there!

Catherine Beard
027 463 3212 or cbeard@businessnz.org.nz

BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI
Steady operator – PMI

New Zealand's manufacturing sector again showed increased expansion in September, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for September was 55.4 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 0.3 points higher than August, and the highest level of activity since February of this year.

The continued upwards movement in overall manufacturing activity was assisted by healthy levels of both production and new orders.

Production was at its highest level since December last year, while new orders continued to improve. Overall, this should flow through into healthy results for the last quarter of the year. More...

C Beard

Lightning Lab Manufacturing And C-PRIZE Collaborate For ‘NZ Day Of Hardware Innovation’

Months of late nights, intensive mentoring and product testing will come to a head in Lower Hutt on November 19 in a double-header start-up ‘Day of Hardware Innovation’, as participants in Lightning Lab Manufacturing and Callaghan Innovation’s C-PRIZE UAV challenge come together to pitch their products to a room full of potential investors.

Thirteen companies and individuals (seven Lightning Lab manufacturers, and six C-PRIZE finalists) will each get the chance to demonstrate how their product in development will change the world and help support New Zealand’s future in manufacturing technologies.

Lightning Lab Manufacturing is New Zealand’s first hardware accelerator, where seven startup ventures with products as diverse as motion capture technology and sustainable surfboards, have been brought into the Lab in Lower Hutt for three months to build and scale businesses based on physical products. More...

MobileTECH 2016

Since MobileTECH first event ran in 2013, this series has firmly established itself as a major industry event for showcasing new technologies designed to increase the productivity of our primary food and fibre industries.

In three years MobileTECH has showcased hundreds of technologies, innovations and ideas to over one thousand of the primary industry’s brightest minds.

MobileTECH next year will be held on the 30-31 March 2016 in Hamilton, New Zealand. It will cover developments in rural network infrastructure, new technologies driving cloud-based computing, wireless monitoring, data management, enhanced quality satellite imagery, mobile computing, UAVs, robotics, automation and much, much more. This is an event for the technology developers AND industry users.

MobileTECH is the only event of its type to bring together the technology leaders from right across the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors under one roof. A place where developers, engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators and the next generation can meet, learn, discuss and showcase the latest technologies impacting on industry operations.

Interested in Speaking? Fill out this Expression of Interest Form 

Nominate a speaker.

Standards and Accreditation Bill

The Standards and Accreditation Bill received its Third Reading in Parliament on 15 October 2015.

Once it has received Royal assent, preparations for putting the new arrangements in place for the development and approval of and access to New Zealand standards will commence. These include:

  • establishing a new independent statutory board (the New Zealand Standards Approval Board) to approve New Zealand standards and membership of standards development committees
  • establishing an independent Statutory Officer (the New Zealand Standards Executive)
  • retaining and strengthening key elements of the current arrangements, such as codifying in legislation the role of balanced committees of technical experts in developing standards
  • locating the standards development function in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to ensure closer alignment with government objectives such as economic growth, international trade, innovation and health and safety. More...
TPP fact sheets released

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has released further information on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The first fact sheets issued cover:

•         Goods Market Access
•         Intellectual Property
•         Investment and ISDS
•         Market Access for Services and Investment.

Trade Minister Tim Groser said “In addition to tariff liberalisation for New Zealand goods and services, New Zealand also stands to benefit from a reduction in non-tariff barriers to trade in goods.

“For exporters, these changes mean less time waiting for goods to clear customs, lower compliance costs and more predictability around other countries’ processes.

“TPP will also open up greater opportunities to bid for contracts in TPP countries. This means New Zealand businesses will be able to compete for government procurement contracts in TPP countries on an equal footing with domestic suppliers."

The TPP fact sheets can be found here...

If you are interested in the specific sectoral outcomes, including detail for each goods sector, there is further information here...

Learning pipeline strengthened

Increased participation in Trades Academies is good for students, business and the economy, says BusinessNZ.

Trades academies, in conjunction with schools, teach vocational courses, including practical skills needed for manufacturing - such as engineering.  The Government is adding 600 places to bring the total places in Trades Academies over 6,000.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly says Trades Academies help students begin careers in the primary sector, building and construction and gain their NCEA.

“Trade Academies are part of the move towards vocational pathways that help young people transition more readily from school to higher learning and work.

“Employers are very supportive of the work being done to ensure fewer young people drop out of the pipeline between school and work.  It is important for economic competitiveness that our education system equips all young people with the knowledge, skills and capabilities needed for learning and employability across their lifetimes.

“We would like to see more being done in this area, to ensure students get a personalised learning programme for their aspirations, better careers advice, and seamless learning - whether academic, vocational or a mix - across school and tertiary providers."

New Zealand ‘16th most competitive’ nation

New Zealand is the 16th most competitive country in the world, according to this year’s Global Competitiveness Index*. 
The Index ranks countries according to their performance on factors such as innovation, market size, market efficiency, infrastructure, business sophistication and others.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly said, “In our progress towards becoming a more value-added, sophisticated exporter of goods and services, New Zealand performed ‘okay but could do better’ on factors such as collaboration for innovation, government purchasing fostering innovation, investment in R&D and training, availability of in-demand skills, availability of engineers and scientists, availability of finance for innovative start-ups, appetite for entrepreneurial risk, development of unique products and processes, companies’ control of international distribution of their products, and participation in value chains and clusters.

“Good scores were achieved for strategies for and use of ICT and for companies growing online sales. More...

ManufacturingNZ
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