Central Today Issue 60

Issue 60 | August/September 2010

www.centraltoday.co.nz

A cut

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Annah Stretton’s journey from farm to fashion and beyond Fifteen percent What more GST means for you

Dollars & Sense Dr Alan Bollard on safely steering our economy into a new era of optimism

Corporate Responsibility

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News | Initiatives | Interviews | Personalities | Information | Success | Profiles | Finance | Property | Sustainability | Export | Transport | Retail | Solutions | ISSN 1174-9520

Attention pet lovers did you know?

What you feed your cat or dog directly affects how long they live and the quality of their life. Not all foods are created equal. There is only one way to establish what you’re really feeding your pet...read the ingredients!

If you would like to discuss anything we’ve mentioned or would like to get sent some info and testimonials please give us a call, or go to our website to see the dozens of raving testimonials available. In fact a large number of clients are breeders, which is testament in itself, as these people take feeding their pets (their business), very seriously. These people normally spend a lot of time researching all options available and we’re pleased to say, they’re massive fans of our product.

In today’s competitive pet food industry, it’s hard to believe what may go into your pet food. Many companies (owned by multi-national corporations) have extensive marketing budgets, that portray a healthy pet jumping around, all thanks to their fantastic pet food. However, they seldom talk about ingredients. And to be frank, that is the most important element, followed closely by taste.

Because let’s face it, if your pet doesn’t like the taste, they simply won’t eat it.

(Unless it’s a Labrador....)

Here’s the most important bit.

The ingredients I’m not going to tell you how happy your pet will be or how high they will jump by using our pet food.

I’m simply going to give you a quick lesson about ingredients and what to look for and what to avoid.

The way ingredients are listed on packaging is the order that they are according to the percentage of food, so the first ingredient listed is the primary ingredient and so on down the list.

Some list “by-products” as the first ingredient, usually chicken or beef. Now this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. One of the many problems with byproducts is what can go into the mix. So for cows this can mean bones, hooves, hides, hair, intestines, or with poultry by-products it can mean feet, beaks, feathers, bones, intestines, as well as the small trimmings that are left behind after they have been boned out for human consumption.

interesting fact!

By law, by-products don’t have to include any meat at all in order to be called chicken or beef by-products.

Products with by-products will of course look like any other pet food biscuit. The organic chemicals that make up the mush that remains will still register as amino acids and proteins etc, yet the fact is that a large percentage of it will be completely indigestible to your pet’s digestive system. This means your pet will be unable to harvest goodness for its body out of much of its food.

This results in two things. First, you will have to feed more of the product to your pet to satisfy its nutritional requirements. Second, there will be more “unharvested remains” left to be picked up off your lawns. One of the huge benefits of feeding your pet a food that uses high quality ingredients is that there is less stool volume, because the animal is able to digest more of it. Another notable benefit

Here are results from three independent studies: 1) The Confidential Dog Food Report analysed over 2,000 pet foods and came up with the best nine. Canidae was one of them. The following dog foods available in New Zealand weren’t on the list; Beneful, Eukanuba, Iams, Pedigree, Purina One, Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow and Science Diet.

2) Each year The Whole Dog Journal (arguably the best dog journal in the world), rates dog foods from around the world and creates an “approved list” which includes approximately 25 foods. For more than 5 years Canidae has featured. The following

is that your animal’s stools will smell a lot better when they are fed a high quality, natural, highly digestible food that doesn’t have rancid meats and fats in it.

Canidae lists chicken and turkey meal as their first ingredients. Chicken, turkey and lamb meals are dry and are less than 10% moisture and contain 50-65% meat proteins.

Canidae and Felidae contain 10 skin and coat conditioners with balanced Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty Acids: chicken fat, fish meal, flax seed, sunflower oil, lecithin, linoleic acid, rosemary, sage, vitamin E and biotin.

Please go to our website or give us a call for the full Declaration of Ingredients. Without a declaration of ingredients, how do you really know what’s going into your pet’s food?

Why haven’t you heard of us?

Simply because we’re relatively new into New Zealand.

We have hundreds of satisfied clients and this year we’ve doubled the number of clients from last year and this is literally growing daily. However, Canidae for dogs and Felidae for cats have been selling in America for many years and are consistently ranked in the top few by leading pet journals and publications including The Whole Dog Journal.

We also don’t have the marketing budget of the huge corporations. In fact we have relied heavily on word of mouth, which works well, but we are now starting to do print and radio.

dog foods available in New Zealand aren’t on the list; Beneful, Eukanuba, Iams, Pedigree, Purina One, Purina Pro Plan, Purina Dog Chow and Science Diet.

3) Petsumer Report also does an independent study and ranks pet food out of five, with five being the absolute best.

Here’s some of the results: Beneful 0 CANIDAE

4.2 Eukanuba 2.7 Iams 2.7 Pedigree 1 Purina One 1.9 Purina Pro Plan 2.1 Purina Dog Chow 1 Science Diet 1.5

Here is a quote that I recently read in The Whole Dog Journal, arguably the best independent dog journal in the world. “I’d like to quickly dismiss the idea that any of the giants – Iams and Eukanuba, Purina, Science Diet - could possibly make dry dog foods that are as good as the foods that have a regular presence on WDJ’s “approved foods” list, (such as Canidae). The fact is, though, of course they could; they have all the resources needed to do so. They could bury most of the competition in the “natural and holistic” niche...if they followed through and used only the same high-quality ingredients typically used by the smaller, boutique brands. But they generally stop short – perhaps because they are unaccustomed to paying a lot for their raw materials, or marketing the products at a correspondingly high sales price.” - Nancy Kerns Save you time and money As mentioned this is a premium product, and if we sold in pet stores or vets, it would command a huge price tag. However, as we don’t have a “middle man” we can sell it at a price comparable to other “premium” products. In addition to this, your pet will actually require less, as he/she will actually be able to digest and utilise more of the food, which also creates less stools. In addition to this we will take the hassle out of driving to your pet store, lugging the food into and out of your boot, as we will deliver to your door free of charge.

Your satisfaction is assured every time you deal with us through our Make You Happy Guarantee If we ever let you down, we’ll ask “what can we do to make you happy?” So far we’ve never refused a customer’s request. And of course there’s a full money back guarantee on the product if your pet doesn’t like it.

ere

r anywh P.s We delive in NZ free Gary Collins, Owner

Call for a FREE sample and more information or call now to place an order. If you place an order this month WE’LL TAKE 33% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER when you mention this advert.

You’re probably wondering what’s the catch? Well we know that almost everyone who buys from us once, buys again, and again, and again!

Ph: 0800 101 729 www.canidae.co.nz

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Visit www.centraltoday.co.nz to read the Editor’s selection of interviews, business tools, feature profiles, lifestyle and motoring reviews, plus heaps more.

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Don’t forget to enquire about your own FREE feature profile or contact us with your news, views and opinions.

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Issue 60 | August/September 2010

www.centraltoday.co.nz

A cut

above

Annah Stretton’s journey from farm to fashion and beyond Fifteen percent What more GST means for you

Dollars & Sense Dr Alan Bollard on safely steering our economy into a new era of optimism

Corporate Responsibility

WIN AN HP NOTEBOOK

Consumers are catching on.

Are you?

Products 4U

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Apps with attitude

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News | Initiatives | Interviews | Personalities | Information | Success | Profiles | Finance | Property | Sustainability | Export | Transport | Retail | Solutions | ISSN 1174-9520

Central Today

Issue 60

18,763 ABC circulation as at 31/12/09

www.centraltoday.co.nz Head office Academy House 818 Colombo Street PO Box 1879 Christchurch

General manager Rebecca Harris

admin manager

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Fifteen percent

Motoring

Dollars and sense

Cover story

There’s no point running from the impending GST rise; all you can do is approach the transition well prepared

Our top 10 cars of the past quarter century — just prepare yourself for the odd surprise

Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard talks about safely steering our economy into a new era of optimism

Annah Stretton has gone from down on the farm in rural Waikato to being a darling of the fashion scene and beyond…

30 Green design

Corporate responsibility

The collaboration between architect Ian Pritchard, Clelands Construction and the Port of Taranaki has resulted in an innovative new home for the harbour authority

The modern face of best business practise means operating with a social conscience

sales & advertising Robert Cochrane sales executives Colin Morais Graeme Tall Steve Dando Grant Williams John Somerville Janet Campbell newsroom Jonathon Taylor Marie Sherry Melinda Collins Kate Pierson Bridget Gourlay

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managing director Gary Collins

administration Tracy Yellowlees Kylie Moore Shontelle Alexander Kelly Clarke Rebecca McQueen Angela Barltrop Kimberley Wells Hellie Hadfield

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editor

Phone: 03 961 5050 Fax: 0800 555 054 Email: editor@academy.net.nz

production Fleur Hall manager Carolynne Brown assistants Hannah Walters Samara Thomson Camilla Josephs Melanie Stanbury designers CJ McKay Hayley Brocket Ryan Carter Ian Knott Kirsty Opie Phone: 03 961 5050 Fax: 0800 555 054 Email: production@academy.net.nz

Disclaimer: This publication is provided on the basis that A-Mark Publishing is not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in these articles, nor for any error or omission from these articles and that the firm is not hereby engaged in rendering advice or services.

A-Mark Publishing expressly disclaim all and any liability and responsibility to any person in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done, or omitted to be done, by any such a person in reliance, whether wholly or partially upon the whole or any part of the contents of this publication.

Advertising feature articles are classified as advertising content and as such, information contained in them is subject to the Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice.

Contents Copyright 2010 by A-Mark Publishing (NZ) Ltd. All rights reserved. No article or advertisement may be reproduced without written permission.

News 6 After the party assessing the 42nd rendition of Fieldays

Corporate responsibility

6 Toast to the region Hawke’s Bay think tank tackles tourism

18 Fad or fact? a genuine attempt to do the right thing, or a bid to gain customer popularity?

7 Centre of attention campaigning to reignite downtown Hamilton

19 Make meaning and money will come why doing good means doing well

7 Investing in food’s future fresh fruit and vegetables aren’t just being bought and marketed as food anymore

19 Staying safe creating friendly workplaces

8 Winds of fortune Bay of Plenty inventor Paul Beckett celebrates 10 years of Blokart success 8 Talent wars a recovering economy and the job market

Business features

20 Carbon Copy Sizing up your carbon footprint

21 Initiatives Hamilton’s Claudelands development, North Island Mussel Processors and Marra Construction

20 Cleaning up your act reducing your environmental impact

30 NZIA Awards Port of Taranaki’s new home, Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre and the Aorangi House facelift

9 Selling to Uncle Sam clean and green might sell holiday spots, but it’s a less compelling currency for US consumers

Viewpoints

12 Events diary events and seminars to inspire

10 Service and sales have we forgotten what good service is already?

16 Products 4U iPhone applications with attitude

12 Finance The high price of financial mismanagement

Winning ways…  Win an HP Notebook worth $1499 from Warehouse Stationery on PAGE 6.

37 Solutions RHT heat transfer systems and Water Services Wairoa 39 Export Kilwell Sports and Forest Owner Marketing Services 42 Property & Construction David Reid Homes Taupo, Holmes Construction and Magnum Construction

17 Lifestyles a Queenstown retreat, something to wear and a local pinot for when you’re there

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And the winners are…

Central Today congratulates Julia Osselton on winning a marketing and communications manual from Living Words.

* CONDITIONS OF ENTRY: One entry only per person and must be sent on the official entry form or as otherwise stated. Entry is free and open to all residents of New Zealand. All entrants must be over the age of 18, proof of identity and date of birth may be requested. Employees and their immediate families of Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication are ineligible to enter. Winner(s) will be notified by e-mail/phone. The judges’ decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into. No responsibility is accepted for late, lost or misdirected mail. Prizes are not transferable or redeemable for cash. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered (including but not limited to direct or consequential loss) or personal injury suffered or sustained, during the course of prize winning travel or in connection with any other prizes won. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication accept no responsibility for health, luggage, insurances, travel, personal expenses and transfers other than specified. Entries remain the property of Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication and cannot be returned. Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication reserves the right to photograph and publish winners. Entries may be used for further marketing purposes by Academy Publishing, the promoter and agencies associated with any promotion in this publication but are not made available to any third party.

4 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

Prime Minister John Key at the opening of North Island Mussel Processors’ new plant in Tauranga

This publication is printed on papers supplied by

All wood originates from sustainably managed forests or waste sources. All mills utilise the Chain of Custody system to verify fibre source.

The end product is recyclable.

All mills are ISO 14001 certified.

Katere Coatings has got you covered For the SME owner, explosive business growth can be exciting.

It can be the beginning of a new era for the business and solidify the company’s existence in the sometimes brutal world of commerce.

In the same breath of excitement though, it can take a lot of hard work and sometimes you just need the right person at the helm – which has certainly worked for Katere Coatings.

Katere Coatings has always been a sound business model – in business under various names since 1952, the water and abrasive blasting and industrial painting specialist always maintained a loyal, but fairly static list of clients from the transport and shipping industries.

Earlier this year, the directors jumped at the opportunity to take on well-known New Plymouth man Garry Belsham as general manager. Belsham had a vast portfolio of experience in Taranaki industry under his commercial tool belt, including the management of fellow Taranaki firm GMP Environmental, which services the region’s energy and engineering sectors. So

his extensive list of contacts enabled him to help grow the business of his new employer.

But there was a fair amount of work to be done before growth could commence he says, including cleaning up the Katere Coatings yards off Katere Road. “It was just a matter of moving the business operation into the 21st century,” he explains. “We tidied things up, rearranged and updated the yard, then got stuck into a fairly major marketing campaign.”

As part of the streamlining of operations, Belsham promptly simplified the name from Katere Surface Coatings to Katere Coatings.

The name now stands resplendent in lime green and blue on company clothing and overalls, with company vehicles and equipment progressively being painted to match the distinctive branding colours.

Katere Coatings now has its own website, a comprehensive new health and safety policy and Belsham and the directors now have full marketing material that can be used to seek new work.

But the biggest development for the company is its diversified operations.

Katere Coatings has increased the reach of its services from the transport and shipping industries to incorporate the oil and marine sectors.

“We are now able to offer hot and cold pressure water blasting, drill string, casing preservation, high pressure water blasting and laser strapping,” Belsham says.

As a strategy, it has proved a success. The company now has so much work that staff numbers have been increased to 14 and they are working in shifts that cover 24 hour days to get through the workload. Katere Coatings is now advertising for even more staff to accommodate growth.

The company has substantial contracts with several important clients, the work encompassing abrasive blasting, water blasting, industrial painting, pipeline maintenance and maintenance work on offshore rigs.

The latest contract is to blast, clean and paint at least 80 large containers used by the vessels which service Taranaki’s offshore oil and gas industry. It all adds up to good, ongoing business that will require even more staff and additional facilities.

To handle the increased workload the company has three mobile units, with plans for more, and is building new facilities at Katere Road. A new blast room is being built, with two large paint shops and additional storage space to be created in the company yard soon.

The future is also likely to see construction of a new administration building, to replace a small prefabricated unit perched at the front of the company’s home base.

There’s no secret behind Katere Coating’s rapid business growth, Belsham says.

“The company already had a very good reputation for the quality of its work, so we simply needed to improve the company identity and our marketing effort – to move it into the 21st century,” he says.

“That’s now happening. We’ve put ourselves in a good position for even further growth.”

Katere Coatings 93a Katere Road Glen Avon New Plymouth T (06) 757 4028 E garryb@katerecoatings.co.nz www.katerecoatings.co.nz

Water and Abrasive Blasting and Industrial Painting.

We cover all of New Zealand. No job too big! www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 5

News

After the party

By Kate Pierson

The largest agricultural exhibition in the southern hemisphere has come and gone — so the question is, how well did the 42nd Fieldays rendition with its revamped formula, function?

On from June 16-19 at the Mystery Creek Events Centre in the Waikato and supported by strategic partners (National Bank and the University of Waikato), Fieldays exceeded expectations. The opening day saw 26,118 inquisitive fieldayers explore the interactive exhibitions areas — a substantial increase on last year’s opening day attendance of 23,975.

relationships between exhibitors, qualified key decision makers and business leaders in the farming sector. As sponsors of the Business and International Leaders Breakfast, KPMG also hosted the inaugural Fieldays Blue Pass KPMG Agribusiness Leaders Breakfast.

As a platform for agricultural show and tell, business and product diversity was at the heart of the Fieldays event. Scott Bright, the managing director of Interbloc, says his own success at Fieldays has been a catalyst for business growth.

This year saw the launch of the Fieldays Blue Pass Programme; a criteria based ticket introduced to facilitate identification and

The Isuzu D-Max was on show for the first time at Fieldays, although the model — trusted by farmers, tradespeople and weekend warriors — has recently returned to the land of the long white cloud. “We were very surprised with the recognition of D-Max,” Isuzu general manager Greg McDonald says.

“People came in to say they’d heard Isuzu was returning... and they had much greater awareness of its features and benefits than

Fieldays 2010 took the best of here and abroad and gave these businesses and organisations the opportunity to show what they’re made of…

In total, 122,349 visitors from all over the world passed through the gates, compared with 117,000 the previous year. On Saturday, the final day, 28,139 occupied the exhibition area — 11 percent up on the previous year.

Prime Minister John Key officially opened the National Agricultural Fieldays with the unveiling of the Innovation Tree sculpture by Marti Wong, commissioned to demonstrate the 2010 premier feature theme, “Innovation for future profit”.

of last year. The quality of people is excellent; people come in and know what they want.”

In 2003, Bright developed an interlocking concrete block system mainly for the construction and roading industries.

we expected. Better still, we sold a dozen vehicles during the four days… that really caught us by surprise.”

“We enjoy working with farmers; they’re our best clients to deal with, which is why it’s critical for us to be at National Fieldays. We’ve had the best Fieldays with more than double the sales

Online appeal

WIN AN HP NOTEBOOK WITH WAREHOUSE STATIONERY WORTH $1499

This year the popular rural website ruraltrader.co.nz offered a $5000 prize for Fieldays online ticket holders, to encourage online sales. “This is a significant step forward for Rural Trader and collaboration with such an event helps secure Rural Trader’s position as one of the country’s most recognised online rural portals,” Rural Trader director Dave Meaney says. Approximately 35 percent of Fieldays tickets were sold online, which is a further indication that the rural community has an increasing online presence.

Fieldays 2010 saw the launch of a diverse range of products and services. Two highly anticipated products by Hansen Products NZ Limited were released; the new creations refined in-house by Hansen’s research and development team to ensure quality.

Management prototype Crown Research Institute, Scion brought innovation to the fore through its demonstration of a new prototype — an online land management tool devised to help farmers capitalise from their land.

This thin, stylish and light weight HP Pavillion Notebook is packed with power inside a bold aluminium chassis. With extra long life battery, you can go unplugged for up to 7 hours.

To enter simply complete the form at www.form.everythingyouneed.co.nz/whs One entry per email address.

Full terms and conditions on entry form.

One prize will be drawn on 31 August 2010.

Details of prize are:

win

HP Pavilion DM3-1021TX 1.3GHz Intel Core2 Duo Processor 13.3” HP LED Widescreen Display 4GB RAM 320GB Hard Drive External 8X DVD±RW Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/N Bluetooth NVIDIA GeForce G 105M with discrete 512MB Microsoft® Windows® 7 Premium

6 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

The release of a new rural publication titled Landcare, A Practical Guide, also coincided with Fieldays 2010. Published by the self-governing organisation, NZ Landcare Trust, this guide presents landowners with realistic information on sustainable land management.

Celebrating 100 years of business operation in the agricultural market, two major New Zealand brands — Masport and Skellerup — exhibited at Fieldays 2010 and were considered “must-see” exhibitions throughout the event.

With some multi-cultural flavour introduced by the International Exhibition area, which hosted agricultural companies from across the globe, Fieldays 2010 took the best of here and abroad and then gave these businesses and organisations the opportunity to show what they’re made of in order to provide a platform for progression within the agricultural industry.

For information about Fieldays 2011 and how your business can become involved, visit www.fieldays.co.nz

A toast to the region…

By Bridget Gourlay

Tourism — is there a more enjoyable way for a region to make money?

Just nab visitors from around the world and present a place where they want to spend time (and subsequently dollars), experiencing the sights and sounds, past and present, all the while getting to know the locals.

Groups from the Hawke’s Bay think so. A tourism think tank of 20 creative thinkers and entrepreneurs with investments in Hawke’s Bay met earlier this year to see how they could attract more visitors.

The answers turned out to be reasonably straight forward, in line with current capabilities and surprisingly sensible.

First up on the menu was wine.

In 2001, the Hawke’s Bay Wine Country brand was launched, drawing attention to the beautiful vineyards and award-winning wine that comes from this area.

Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s oldest wine region in New Zealand with beginnings in 1851. By the early 1920s, several wineries, including famous ones that still operate today, were established. The soils and climate that produced such excellent wine a century ago continues to grow fantastic wines today. It is now New Zealand’s second largest wine region and the largest premium red wine producing region.

The think tank, which consisted of people from wine, food and tourism industries, decided the Wine Country brand, run by not for profit industry group Hawke’s Bay Wine Country Tourism Association (HBWCTA) needed to be re-emphasised.

A marketing survey to find out more about who visits Hawke’s Bay and why, is being developed so businesses can learn more about their market. Another project is the advancement and implementation of a regional events strategy.

HBWCTA executive officer Megan Harris says more visitors equals more money in the local economy, more jobs for locals and a happier region.

“Events are a key driver for a longer visitor season. Giving people a reason to visit outside of their standard holiday cycle can really help make our tourism industry more viable, and therefore benefit the whole region, by bringing in spenders from outside Hawke’s Bay.” Harris says they are going to engage a professional events consultant to develop a strategy. She says while some of these could be food and wine based, there are other exciting opportunities such as marketing the fun sporting events often held in Hawke’s Bay’s fine weather.

If all goes to plan, there will be more visitors in the Hawke’s Bay from New Zealand and all over the world — with a glass of wine in hand.

News

Investing in

By Bridget Gourlay

food’s future

The Bay of Plenty has long been called the ‘fruit bowl’ of the country with significant kiwifruit, avocado, apple and feijoa plantings injecting millions into the national economy each year.

Harnessing the economic power of this industry and ensuring it’s not neglecting emerging trends is the goal of industry group Food Bay of Plenty.

One issue worth tackling is that the nutrients of fresh fruit and vegetables aren’t just being bought and marketed as food anymore.

Take kiwifruit — it is the lifeblood of areas like Te Puke, but a century ago the vitamin C loaded fruit was barely heard of. It wasn’t until 1928 that a horticulturist discovered how conducive the rich volcanic soils and mild climate in the Bay of Plenty were to mass producing the delicious and healthy fruit.

The first exports made by pioneering kiwifruit growers were in 1952, to England. Today, kiwifruit makes up nearly half of all horticultural exports from New Zealand, with 77 percent of all exports grown in the Bay of Plenty.

It’s marketed on being healthy and delicious — with more vitamin C than oranges, the same amount of potassium as bananas, and loaded with beta-carotene and fibre. And there’s talk of this goodness being used as a medicine as well as just food.

The possibility of tapping into the emerging bioactives and nutraceuticals industry was discussed at a Food Bay of Plenty Strategic Leader’s Forum recently.

Chair Liz Muller says this is the practise of using food or food extracts to improve human health.

And kiwifruit could be the next big thing in that industry. “There are huge opportunities internationally for high value functional products using the active components extracted from foods such as kiwifruit… extracts from waste products such as kiwifruit seeds and skins also have exciting potential.”

Muller says nutraceuticals are one of the fastestgrowing segments of the food industry — with

affluent baby boomers in particular being willing to try new and natural health products.

But it’s not just kiwifruit tipped for the industry.

Well ahead of this trend is Comvita, a natural products company that has been operating from the Bay of Plenty for 30 years. It was founded in the seventies by two beekeepers who believed in the health benefits of manuka honey.

kiwifruit also lends itself to growing feijoas and tamarillos.

Today, among other things, they sell a range of medihoney products for wound dressing and healing. Comvita market these gels and bandages as creating a natural, moist environment for wounds to heal cleanly in.

An action plan for future growth has been drawn up. Other aims from the forum involve understanding Asian consumers better, creating a Bay of Plenty food and beverage brand story to personalise the purchasing decision and investing more in research and development.

Other fruits and vegetables could also be used.

Over half of New Zealand’s avocados are grown in the Bay of Plenty and the soil perfect for

Centre of attention

By Kate Pierson

It’s all about the pulling power. No, we’re not making reference to James Bond’s lady-luring charisma, or any provocative or sensational gimmicks to command attention. Pulling power in this context is all about the strategic ambitions of one civic association striving to introduce a cultural campaign with magnetism.

Working actively with the Hamilton City Council, on behalf of central business district companies to increase the pulling power of Hamilton’s city centre, the Hamilton Central Business Association (HCBA) wants to enhance commercial, retail and hospitality sectors.

HCBA chairman Arthur Pitcher says the council saw a need to revive the city centre. “With

the development of suburban malls, city centres have gone through an identity crisis, experiencing a loss of foot traffic.

The association is going to work to bring things within the Hamilton City Centre to life and encourage people to come into Garden Place.

It’s about finding the right formula that can pull people in.”

So what will this campaign entail?

“This process will involve redesigning Garden Place to make it more culturally compatible with the activities on offer. We want to make our centre city more alive,” Pitcher says.

“Ultimately, city centres are very attractive because they have a unique feel and offer boutique and individual styles, as well as historic building sites for viewing.”

With an elected executive committee at the helm of this campaign, the HCBA will advance:

 Advocacy with council

a full page map of central city streets and key shopping locations in the event programme

 Co-ordinated marketing

 All Blacks/South Africa rugby test match The 2009 Tri Nations Test saw a Mastercard promotion extend an opportunity to all Hamilton businesses to dress up the city.

Many hospitality and retail operators took up this challenge with verve

 Beautification in the CBD  Parking issues  Increasing security and safety  Strategic development of the CBD. A number of projects have been on the association’s radar since inception:  Free street parking on weekends The council and HCBA are working together on this initiative, the catalyst for a free on-street parking trial until the end of 2011  Craft and Quilt Fair 2009 This fair attracts 25,000 people, nationally and internationally, to the city each year. This event provided an opportunity for the HCBA to draw exhibitors into the city and to publish

 Summer in Garden Place — pre-Christmas The HCBA contributed to a free bus service operating in the central city (all routes, all day long) for the three Saturdays leading up to Christmas 2009. The association also sponsored ‘Fun Stop in Garden Place’ on December 19, to provide entertainment for families coming into the city to shop and dine.

For more information on the Hamilton Central Business Association visit www.hamilton.co.nz

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 7

News

Winds of fortune

By Melinda Collins

It looks like a tricycle tethered to a sail. But as the Blokart celebrates 10 years of manufacture, its popularity shows no signs of abating. The brainchild of Kiwi inventor Paul Beckett has long since exceeded expectations, with the global marketplace screaming out for more.

The wind-powered, hair-raising ultimate boy’s toy, more commonly known as a land yacht, has soared in popularity since its inception, now being sold in Europe, Britain, the Middle East, South Africa, the US, Australia and its New Zealand birthplace.

By the end of the year, the company is set to reach another milestone — selling 10,000 Blokarts in 27 countries. During the past decade, a steady 1000 Blokarts a year have been sold.

Bay of Plenty inventor Paul Beckett completed his prototype in 1999 and took over an old airport hangar in Tauranga to begin commercial operations.

Within two months he had built 17 Blokarts and launched them at the New Zealand Boat Show in 2000. He sold them all with orders for 750 more within the year. “It did inspire the imagination of people and it has become a way of life for the Blokart enthusiasts here and overseas,” Beckett says.

His son Matt has joined him on his business journey and, after taking over the day-to-day running of the company, is now the managing director of the commercial enterprise.

Cornering the market The Becketts realised the market for the Blokart would be quite different than that of the traditional ‘big boys toys’.

Talent

wars

By Melinda Collins

The war for talent refers to an increasingly competitive landscape for recruiting and retaining talented employees — a job seeker’s market.

But with an economy slowly but surely improving, is this game, set and match for the war for talent?

“We realised we couldn’t fill the K-Marts or surf shops with the Blokarts. They had a market of their own,” Paul Beckett says.

“They attracted certain types of people who have some ‘mongrel’ in them — yachties, windsurfers and guys coming out of motorcycling, motor racing and extreme sports — who could no longer get insurance.”

Matt Beckett says while this was an initial setback, his father’s foresight prevented it from affecting what was to become a global success.

“In the initial stages, it was really about getting people to accept something different. Sailing on land had been around for some time, but commercially this was far from anything that had been done.

Building a sport “One of the best moves my father took from the start was to focus on building a sport around the Blokart. As a product on its own it risked becoming a fad which faded out within a few years.

“We have put —and continue to put — a lot of effort into supporting the sport side of it.

“While competitive users only account for 10-20 percent of customers, they’re the best advocate and generate massive amounts of exposure.”

Portability and speed are big factors in the burgeoning sport of Blokart racing. Its popularity is booming, especially with adrenalin junkies looking for new thrills. The tiny land yacht — which can be folded down into a lightweight, suitcase-sized bag — can reach speeds of up to 100kph.

Blokart expeditions have crossed the Gobi Desert and a March 2011 crossing of the Atacama Desert in Chile is in the planning stages. In 2008 the Blokart featured on the Emmy-award winning reality TV series The Amazing Race.

The 90-Mile Beach Blast is held on New Zealand’s most northern stretch of coastline.

Logically, it makes sense; part and parcel of a recession are cutbacks, redundancies and a glut of people on the job market — an employer’s market, right?

Unfortunately not, recruitment specialist Hays managing director Jason Walker says. In today’s competitive, knowledge-based world, the calibre of a company’s talent increasingly determines success in the marketplace. At the same time, attracting quality talent is becoming more difficult as demand for skilled people outstrips supply.

So, the war for talent isn’t over, it is merely the nature of the battle that has changed.

International events include the Australian Open, the US Ivanpah Blokart Open and Rally, and the Ice Blokart Championships in Lithuania. The 2010 Blokart World Championships, only the second time the event has run, will be held in Belgium from October 13-17.

Made in New Zealand All Blokarts continue to be assembled at the original Parton Road workshop at Papamoa Beach, in the western Bay of Plenty.

The steel chassis for the Blokarts are made in Taiwan, but many parts originate from around the central North Island — the masts and fibreglass fittings come from Rotorua and the wheels come from Wanganui and Hamilton.

Matt Beckett says the most critical components are sourced from as close as possible to ensure quality. “We need to be certain for ourselves that what we send out is perfect every time.”

Blokart International has also developed different versions of the Blokart to suit climates in other countries, including a redesign using skates instead of wheels, that was introduced to the Eastern European markets for use in ice sailing — a popular sport in the some areas.

The company has recently developed a new “water” version of the Blokart called Katalyst, a small catamaran that whips along at speeds up to 18 knots with a mast and sail combination just under six metres in height.

Then train them well. “Do you ensure that the people in your business have everything they need to do their jobs well?” Part of this is clearly communicating your expectations.

“Ensure employees know what your company stands for — in other words, its culture and values — as well as what is expected of them in terms of technical output and behaviour.”

Walker says employers of choice have solid performance management methodology, such as a regular user-friendly appraisal system.

“Formal feedback is critical and an excellent opportunity to ensure talent is engaged.”

But how can New Zealand businesses expect to battle for talent, and win? “A company needs a coherent, consistent and sustained programme to make sure they enjoy successful attraction and retention, particularly for key individuals who add the greatest amount of value to your organisation,” Walker says.

Also ensure the availability of career development. “Not everyone is interested in career development, but top talent always is. It can be difficult for small organisations to offer opportunities, but career development is not restricted to promotion. Can you offer additional responsibility? Supervising other employees?

Coaching and training others? Managing projects? Chairing meetings?”

Retention starts with great recruitment. “Clearly identify, by benchmarking great performers, what makes someone successful in your organisation. Make sure the individual fits this criteria and in the recruitment process include an assessment of the individual’s values and motivators to ensure they align with the company or team’s goals.”

Front line managers are the key to retention, he says; they are at the coalface. “How good are your managers at motivating and inspiring their team members? At managing performance, good and bad? At setting useful goals?

Providing useful performance feedback? What does your organisation do to develop its managers?”

8 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

Ensure employees have a feeling of inclusion and are empowered to make decisions.

“Allowing people to be part of the decision making process, particularly in relation to decisions that affect their jobs and the overall direction of the company when possible, engages them with your business.”

Well developed reward and recognition programs can be used as part of a successful retention program, as long as there is a fair and equal system of processes for rewards.

“In a recent survey we found that employees prefer financial or a combination of financial and non-financial rewards over straight noncash benefits. The way in which staff are rewarded for hard work or successful results, or even as part of a salary package, is at the heart of the employment relationship.”

There are other ways to offer an attractive package than salary. “Not all organisations can offer a competitive salary. If you can’t, you should try to offer an attractive benefits package, which could include flexible hours, weekly or monthly office lunches, life or health insurance, sports events and a work/life balance.”

And lastly, recognise and praise individuality.

“Everyone is unique. Recognise and utilise the unique talents of each staff member.”

News

By Melinda Collins

For the past 10 years, Tourism New Zealand has marketed our country under the ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ banner. Everything the organisation does internationally — advertising, PR, online communication, travel trade and events — carries the Pure message.

The essence of our predominant tourism campaign is a clean and green country and we pump millions of dollars into this every single year. It’s what we’re known for — at least on the bank statements of Tourism New Zealand. If the Government and its agencies purport this image to be our selling point, who are we to argue?

So, when businesses get on the exporting bandwagon, assuming this eco-image is the way to go, it can be a fatal mistake — especially if you’re looking stateside.

Selling to

Uncle

Kiwi companies looking to sell their wares in the US are being advised to tone down the clean green headlines in favour of quality and local craftmanship. ‘Clean and green’ might work wonders when it comes to selling holdiay spots, but is a less compelling currency when it comes to business.

Sam

Research conducted by the Seattlebased Hartman Group for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), shows Americans only possess an entry level understanding of sustainability and

are not familiar with terms such as ‘food miles’ or ‘traceability’.

“Fresh is an uber-symbol of quality and sustainability,” the report says.

Other than a small, but growing, core of eco-aware consumers, most US consumers do not equate sustainability to concern for the planet, NZTE international market manager, Americas, Alison Foreshaw says.

While Americans do not spend time thinking about where their products come from, the research says they do notice if they’re made in mass-producing markets. “Frequently, products perceived as high quality in the US are the opposite to stereotypes of typical ‘factory’ production. The research has shown that NZ is perceived to be clean and pure, with very strict environmental regulations and no over-exploitation of resources, not a mass-producing, over-industrialised country,” Foreshaw says.

“NZ businesses can use this information to inform strategies for effectively targeting key US market segments,” she says.

“It will help companies to leverage existing product and company attributes, many which relate to sustainability, to meet American consumer priorities within specific product categories, optimising communications, branding, and business development activities, etcetera.”

The research, which focused on consumer products, especially food and beverage, interiors and apparel, has identified quality as an overriding purchase factor for most US consumers.

“It is about helping NZ businesses understand the importance of quality and the factors regarded as ‘quality indicators’ to the US market and how important it is for those selling quality products to communicate values like purity, freshness and safety.”

While urging us to flag clean and green, the good news for New Zealand is the characteristics of quality are startingly similar as the mentioned values.

“This is an important link for producers of quality New Zealand product to be aware of. The research supports NZTE’s work to help companies understand US market drivers around sustainability, quality and priorities for consumer product purchases.”

Current perceptions are in NZ’s favour, Foreshaw says. “Current US consumer knowledge of NZ is limited, but perception is overwhelmingly positive. It’s perceived as a progressive country and producer of pure, safe, fresh products.

“Many positive perceptions of New Zealand relate to sustainability, for example respect for the natural environment, kind treatment of animals and people, and pastoral farming practices. Such perceptions contribute to positive views on NZ consumer products.”

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 9

News

Have we forgotten already?

I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a column in our publications for a while, the decision was finally made after a trying morning recently cold calling companies to purchase products. The experience was frustrating to say the least and finally pushed me to write about the things that irk me and the frustrations faced trying to manage a company in an unaccommodating climate. If you agree or disagree with my comments, or need to vent, write to me; put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

I’m confident everyone will agree, at some stage over the last year or two we did one or all of the following: • Put one’s nose to the grindstone and worked our asses off • Thought outside the square • Returned to basics • Asked “how high?” when clients asked us to jump!

• Wrote and re-wrote the standard sales pitch.

The list goes on…

With an event looming I needed to purchase branded products — what a struggle. All I was faced with was excuses: • We only do quantities up to 500 • We only do quantities over 5000 • Orange isn’t a standard colour • You don’t want to air freight • You’ve left it too late • The lady who deals with that is away.

Consequently not a single product was bought.

Has everyone forgotten how precious every single sale is? I was a cold, unsolicited incoming call. It’s clear from my experience this particular day we’ve slipped back into our old hum-drum ways of not working hard to make a sale.

Not one iota of passion, enthusiasm or even helpfulness was experienced.

My day ended with a trip to a mall to return a watch for repair, only three months into the warranty of a well know brand. The counter sales person said to me “I’m not sure the warranty will cover it, they only cover the watch, not the strap.”

You have got to be kidding me, this lady got the death stare — I think she knew how I felt!

This was followed by a visit to a jewellery kiosk. I asked to try on a costume ring, would you believe it, the sales person took it out and popped it on the counter, promptly turned and walked back to where she was standing in the middle of the kiosk to do… nothing… just stand there. No one else was at the kiosk!

At the end of a very frustrating day, I realised the hard work our nation has put into customer service and sales over the last year or two has been forgotten. The lesson here is, it doesn’t matter in tough times or in good times, we still need to be at the top of our game. There needs to be a continuous strive to go above and beyond, or the tough times will get tougher and the good times will never eventuate!

Rebecca Harris is the General Manager of the Academy Group of Companies.

All correspondence regarding this column to: Email. rebecca@academy.net.nz Post. ’Rebecca’s Rant’, PO Box 1879

Christchurch 8140

By Kate Pierson

In New Zealand, Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the figure 12.5 percent have long gone hand in hand — but that’s all about to change.

The 2010 Budget announcement that GST will rise to 15 percent effective from October 1, confirmed the speculatory whispers preceding this legislative adjustment.

And, going by the influx of public protests and the flash of political claws in the democratic arena, this decision spells controversy. But the more pressing question on everyone’s lips is, will the GST rise affect small to medium businesses?

What’s the verdict?

If you are one of the approximately 450,000 small to medium enterprises (affectionately known as SMEs), that make up more than 97 percent of all business in New Zealand, the media spotlight is on you in the wake of this announcement. And, chances are, you’ll be wondering what the GST hike means for your business’ margins, revenue and livelihood.

It’s hard to gauge a definitive verdict on the pros and cons of the GST hike if you’re drawing your conclusions from the noisy media landscape.

The resounding ‘woes, nos and what ifs?’ currently being voiced are contradicted, in turn, by strong verbal support of this decision.

Financial specialists, such as NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants tax director Craig Macalister, support this new financial equation, maintaining that personal tax cuts,

10 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

plus a GST hike, equals an improved tax system for New Zealand.

sector when making such a major decision as hiking up GST.

Yet a poll conducted by the Newmarket Business Association in May 2010, which was undertaken to gauge the opinions of key Auckland retailers on the GST rise, revealed 82 percent of the 400 respondents believed the timing of the government’s GST increase was “bad”.

“What we need is a smart economy with smart taxes that ensures a fair go for everyone.

Bumping up GST without hard analysis of the implications will only enlarge the divide between rich and poor. If the Government had spoken to business owners they would have realised how much disruption a decision like this can create for the industry.”

And while the survey revealed retailers were not overly-anxious about the rise, given personal tax cuts will be occurring simultaneously, it also showed that 53 percent of retailers believe the GST increase will have a negative impact on their own customers’ spending and a subsequent impact on their business turnover.

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Cameron Brewer says, “Given the very challenging retail environment of the past two years, the timing of the GST increase is viewed by most retailers as poor. Retailers have been knocked around for many months and they view this as just another obstacle.”

Brewer adds that despite personal tax cuts offering financial compensation to consumers, 73 percent of businesses surveyed also believed the GST increase will cost their business money to comply, due to the necessary acquisition of computer systems and repricing and retagging merchandise.

According to Brewer, the causal inspired commercial domino affect will also rear its ugly head across New Zealand, as meeting the cost of these demands will see businesses buckle under the financial pressure.

“There’s been a theory circulating that retailers won’t put up their prices come October for fear of scaring off price-sensitive shoppers,” he states. “However, the reality is there is not much room left in most retailers’ margins to absorb the rise. Eighty-seven percent of retails told us they intend to put up their prices to reflect the GST increase.”

Green Party small business spokesperson, David Clendon agrees with this argument, as he engages his own business experiences in consideration of the potential impact. “I’ve owned a small business myself and am shocked that so little consideration has been given to the

Clendon also believes the GST rise will have immediate and on-going implications for SMEs in the wake of the economic recession. “To cope with the GST rise, small businesses will need to prepare for inevitable fluctuations to demand and cash flow, major changes to their accounting system, a disjointed tax return and possibly an overhaul of all their products’ prices, which combined, is no small task.”

Brace for the impact Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Alasdair Thompson says there is no point running from the inevitable and impending GST rise; therefore it is imperative for businesses to go through this transition well prepared.

“SMEs will be aware of the rise being implemented on October 1, 2010 and most will not be able to just absorb the impact of this. Therefore, businesses will have to consider what increases they may need to implement on existing stock, as well as what their policy will be for new goods that come in after this rise.”

Thompson also acknowledges that pressures placed on SMEs by retailers to reduce costs on goods they are supplying to them, will find some businesses losing margin if they fulfil these demands. “It does put them in a quandary because if they don’t reduce prices on request, they risk losing that retail contract to their competitors.”

Thompson says in the lead up to the October 1, legislation changes, businesses should consider three things in particular; position, best pricing and margin.

“It is very important for businesses to maintain their margins, because if they don’t, they might find themselves on the road to ruin.”

10

Motoring | Top 10

of the best

It is mid-way through 2010 and motoring correspondent Tim Grey is in the mood to mull over motoring history. His pick of the top 10 cars of the past quarter century covers the gamut — from the perennially popular to the sure to surprise…

1

MINI (2000) There are more practical, substantive and fairer-priced cars out there, but to my mind none in the last 25 years have been quite so iconic or influential as BMW’s re-born Mini — the poster child for all things retro-automotive. Arguably VW did it first with the new Beetle. But that car — dash-mounted flowerpot‘n’all — was woeful, when the re-engineered Mini brought back a sense of attainable prestige to small cars with greater intelligence. Enter the new Fiat 500, the new Citroen DS range, etc. Even the Isetta’s waiting in the wings.

2

MCLAREN F1 (1992) Reaching 391km/h, Gordon Murray’s F1 is famous for two things — once being the fastest production car known to man or beast and being crashed by telly comic Rowan Atkinson. It made Murray the UK’s automotive equivalent to Isambard Kingdom Brunel and stuck two fingers up at the Italians, much in the same way McLaren boss Ron Dennis plans to do again with its successor, the MP4-12C.

5

BUGATTI VEYRON (2005)

MERCEDES-BENZ W124 (1984)

So ridiculous it makes the F1 look thoroughly sensible for a trip down to the shops. Not one V8 under the bonnet, but two, to make a W16 engine, not any old performance tyres, but specially-designed run-flats which cost around $25,000 US to replace. In fact, in every area, Bugatti owner VW pushed the envelope to breaking point to create a 407.9km/h machine which, thanks to climate change, may just be remembered as the unassailable peak of the combustion engined car.

Okay, I’m breaking the rules slightly here, as the W124 chassis E-Class was first released just before 1985, but it’s too good to pass up. Famous as the pinnacle of German toughness and build quality, it is known as one of the last “no expense spared” Mercedes. It ushered in new design thinking in many areas, from its unique single wiper famous for reaching all corners of the windscreen, to its low drag coefficient body and safety features like a driver’s side airbag. It has since gained a slavish cult following as examples still run around to this day with more than 1,200,000km on the clock.

6 ARIEL ATOM (1996)

3

MAZDA MX-5 (1989) Without doubt the best value driver’s car in the world, the Mazda MX-5 is basically responsible for every affordable drop-top made since the early 90s. Its simplicity, unbound drivability and sheer sense of fun out-MGed MG and revised the concept of the small British roadster with the advantage of Japanese lateral thinking. Hello Boxster, TT, et al.

Proving students are good for more than just consuming huge amounts of alcohol, the Ariel Atom began as a project at Coventry University. Its unique, lightweight exoskeleton brought F1 aesthetics to the road in a way the slick McLaren F1 couldn’t, and created a three second 0-100km/h acceleration platform with a power-to-weight ratio as high as 650bhp per ton, as seen in the supercharged models.

Personifies thinking outside of the box.

7

4

FORD FOCUS (1998) Humble, unassuming, even Corolla-esque, Ford’s indomitable hatch isn’t the most eye-catching car on this list. Thanks to its quiet drivability, however, the Focus hasn’t just survived, but thrived in a way which brings tears to the eyes of Toyota executives. Recently voted the car of the decade in the UK, the third generation Focus is being set up to be the global Model T of the next by Ford boss Alan Mulally.

8 5

9 BMW X5 (1999) Love ‘em or hate ‘em, soft-roaders have become a defining motoring trend. It started with runts like the Pontiac Aztec, but “going soft” only became a truly desirable option after BMW dropped the X5. Its acceptance by the establishment, if you will, can be found in a turn of phrase. The X5, according to BMW, was not an SUV — but an SAV, a Sports Activity Vehicle, to denote its on-road ability.

10

TOYOTA PRIUS

VOLVO XC60 (2008)

Love it or hate it, the Prius hybrid is certainly one car which will be hard to forget. It may have been preceded by the Mk I Honda Insight, and the carbon by-product inherent in the production of its nickel-hydride batteries may make the entire endeavour highly debatable, but regardless, it’ll always be in the history books as the most ethical way we could have driven. Indeed, Toyota is now rushing to apply its hybrid technology across its entire model range. It’s the grand-daddy of a legion of smugmobiles to come.

It is at this point you normally scrape the barrel, but the XC60, while being a fairly standard premium Euro soft-roader, will be remembered — especially if Volvo’s track record on safety innovations is anything to go by. Heard of ABS? How about the collapsible steering column or the driver airbag?

All part of Volvo’s history of safety innovations which was recently updated with its City Safety radar technology that brakes the car to avoid causing rear-enders. Expect it to filter down and become commonplace. www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 11

Events | Diary Grow your business

Viewpoint | Management

|

events

Tuesday, August 3

The Competent PA — EMA Northern Hamilton Designed to build confidence when interacting with team members and managers, develop organisational skills and professionalism. To register, contact Deborah Law-Carruthers, phone (09) 367 0947 or email deborah.lawcarruthers@ema.co.nz

Tuesday, August 3 Introduction to Business Seminar — Inland Revenue Tauranga A workshop for people thinking of starting their own business or new to business, covering record keeping requirements, keeping a cash book, income and expenses, budgeting for income tax payments, payments and provisional tax. To register, contact Denise Balloch, phone (07) 927 5217 or email advisory.tauranga@ird.govt.nz

Friday, August 6

An

open book…

Mastering the Art of Deliberate Success — New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants Waikato Being successful is never a matter of being lucky. People who are successful think and act in ways that are different from other people. To register visit www.nzica.com

Monday, August 9 Communicating With Your Customers — EMA Northern Tauranga The way you interact with others can be the key to your workplace success. Whether communicating under pressure, managing challenging relationships or looking to build lasting rapport, your communication style can make or break your relationship with customers. To register, contact Deborah Law-Carruthers, phone (09) 367 0947 or email deborah.lawcarruthers@ema.co.nz

Tuesday, August 10 IoD Branch Function — Institute of Directors Hamilton Jump on board with the Institute of Directors and listen to the Hon. Pansy Wong, Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister of Women’s Affairs. Noon at the Grandstand.

For more information, contact Leanne Summers, phone 021 358 772, email waikato.branch@iod.org.nz or visit www.iod.org.nz

Monday, August 16 Training Staff Trainers — EMA Central Masterton Participants will gain confidence to enable them to teach skills and learn how to engage others in learning, so that they can put skills into practise in the workplace.

Members $330+GST, non-members $414+GST. To register visit www.emacentral.org.nz or email training@emacentral.org.nz

Thursday, August 26 Building Successful Teams — EMA Central Wanganui A team leader doesn’t make a team nor can they make a team perform successfully. Learn what self-directed teams are, how they work and how to create and manage them. Members $320+GST, non-members $402+GST. To register visit www.emacentral.org.nz or email training@emacentral.org.nz

Wednesday, September 8 IoD Branch Function — Institute of Directors Hamilton Listen to Carrie Hurihanganui, the general manager of Eagle Airways, for some fascinating information. Starts 7am at the Ferrybank Reception and Conference Centre.

For more information, contact Leanne Summers, phone 021 358 772, email waikato.branch@iod.org.nz or visit www.iod.org.nz

Tuesday, September 14 GST Workshop — Inland Revenue Tauranga A workshop for those who are new to business and need or want to know more about GST. Covering GST basics, keeping a cashbook, expenses, invoices, how to complete GST returns and filing online. To register, contact Denise Balloch, phone (07) 927 5217 or email advisory.tauranga@ird.govt.nz

Tuesday, September 14 to Wednesday, September 15 Interviewing Skills — EMA Northern Hamilton A fast paced, interactive learning experience that helps you learn great skills in a practise-driven environment. To register, contact Bill Butler, phone (09) 367 0971 or email bill.butler@ema.co.nz

Thursday, September 23 Lean Manufacturing — EMA Northern Hamilton Designed to cover the fundamentals of lean manufacturing, with a brief history and concentrating on the tools and methods to eliminate waste and smooth product flows.

To register, contact Ken Vesey, phone (09) 367 0955 or email ken.vesey@ema.co.nz

Tuesday, September 28 Managing Those Difficult Situations — EMA Central Masterton Difficult situations often arise in the workplace. This course addresses some of the more common situations and identifies strategies for dealing with the situation.

Members $330+GST, non-members $414+GST. To register visit www.emacentral.org.nz or email training@emacentral.org.nz

Tuesday, September 28 People Management — EMA Central Napier

To understand the behaviour of others and to assist them in developing their own skills, it is first necessary for you to understand and acknowledge your own behaviour. Members $640+GST, non-members $760+GST. To register visit www.emacentral.org.nz/seminars or email training@emacentral.org.nz

Thursday, October 28 Managing your Cashflow — Federated Farmers Masterton

Seminars for farmers and rural businesses with practical financial information in an informative Q&A session. Get in early to register and reserve your place at www.fedfarm.org.nz/training

If you have events you would like featured in the Events Diary, email newsroom@academy.net.nz at least two months before the date of the event.

Or, if you have held an event and would like to supply photos for the Been Seen section (along with 100 words about the event and a caption for each image), send to newsroom@academy.net.nz

12 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

Lisa and the Go Fi8ure team

By Lisa Martin

As small businesses grow they often need to employ a finance manager, but if you pick the wrong person you could be risking everything.

In my work as a mobile bookkeeper I’ve seen small businesses being taken advantage of time and again because they don’t know what questions to ask about their finances.

Financial processes can be seen as timeconsuming and baffling. Once a finance manager is hired, some business owners heave a sigh of relief and never ask any more questions, because things are being “taken care of”.

However, if your finance manager never takes a day off, talks about their work as something “you wouldn’t understand” or can’t provide finance information at the press of a button, be cautious.

Most theft or fraud will begin small and build over time. Dishonest people might tell themselves they “deserve” a little extra for their hard work, or be hiding a more serious problem like a gambling or drinking addiction.

In one case I saw a trusted financial administrator writing $50 cheques to petty cash then changing them to $5000 without anyone noticing. She had rewritten cheque stubs, or not filled them in at all, and the business owner had never asked to see the bank records, or checked the cheque book, so didn’t notice the extra money going out.

When it comes to your businesses finances, laziness and not paying bills on time can be just as dangerous. I’ve seen a business miss out on a $24,000 tax refund because information was repeatedly not filed on time.

Business finance systems should be totally transparent. Bank reconciliations don’t lie — they detail exactly what’s going in and out of business bank accounts and if you’re using online banking that will be very detailed.

Don’t let financial mismanagement cost your small business.

Trust your staff but ask questions, be curious and follow it up when something doesn’t feel right.

It’s often not until a sudden illness, leave of absence or death in the family occurs that problems are uncovered.

All business owners should be able to ask for a balance sheet or a profit and loss statement and be presented with it without an issue. If your staff member is defensive about providing it, gets angry or says they don’t have time, then you potentially have an issue.

I wouldn’t hire anybody for a finance position without rigorous checks of their background and their values system. That could be a police check, several reference checks from previous employers or psychometric testing — regardless of what it costs it could save you a lot in future.

However, my number one rule is to know what’s happening in your business. Trust your staff but ask questions, be curious and follow it up when something doesn’t feel right.

Lisa Martin is the owner of Go Fi8ure, a mobile bookkeeping company working throughout the lower North Island.

Go Fi8ure specialises in day-to-day financial management for businesses employing less than 30 staff and is renowned for its service delivery.

www.gofi8ure.co.nz

Dollar$

News Profile | Alan Bollard

sense

By Sandy Galland

Do you understand the relationship between monetary, fiscal and tax policy? Do you understand how these and other influences; like the OCR, inflation, deflation, GDP, CPI, PTA, interest rates and overseas economies impact, either directly or indirectly, on your business?

Central Today went to the New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard and asked him how the activities of our central bank impact everyday business and, more importantly, does the average business practitioner understand the bank’s role?

Put simply, the role of the Reserve Bank can be likened to a big juggernaut truck, says Dr Bollard. “This big truck is driving down a motorway and we (the Reserve Bank) are working the accelerator and the brake, but we are not working the steering wheel, that’s a whole lot of other people doing that.

“We are trying to work out what the road’s like ahead, but of course we can’t actually see it.

We are forecasting ahead by looking in the rear vision mirror. So that, of course, is always going to be a bit dicey and a bit of a skill as well,” he adds.

“We would like this truck to move as fast as the road conditions allow, but no faster because that’s dangerous. Or if it is going very slowly, not up to what it could be going, then that is not the best either, because it means it is not getting the growth it could.”

So there it is in a nutshell — Bollard and his team work between the brake and the accelerator to try and manipulate our economy for the best possible outcomes.

A stable economy The role the reserve bank has is to do with a number of things to help stabilise the economy. Bollard says the bank is only a part of the government process for getting the best economic performance for our country.

“What we are trying to do is make the economy as stable as possible, in particular focusing on keeping price inflation under control so that

businesses can get on, under stable conditions, and make the most sensible decisions to get the best growth they can for themselves.”

where there is certainly no rush to take on extra staff at the minute so the labour market is still quite weak.

Bollard explains the main tool to do this is to move the OCR (official cash rate) around, so that it either slows down the economy if it is running too fast, or to accelerate it if it’s running well below its level.

“Secondly on credit; generally businesses, where they can, have been running down their credit requirements, de-leveraging, looking to be much more conservative about borrowing and are not showing much sign of borrowing for increased investment into the future. At some stage that will have to change and we will begin to see more investment, but we are not seeing it yet.

“We do some other things; we obviously produce the notes and coins you use and we regulate the banks, so that they are sound and New Zealanders can rely on them as stable places to lend their money to and to borrow from.”

Does the small business owner fully understand your role?

“I’m sure they don’t, but should he or she have to?” Bollard asks. “What I think they need to understand is the government is trying to get a stable environment, so that becomes an attractive growth environment for businesses.

In that, of course, government is doing a lot of other things within a lot of other policies, but that’s happening separately to us. We will, however, take that into account when we try and get the most stable economy we can.

When the bank is talking to businesses, what are the recurring messages you are hearing?

“Well it’s been a very unusual time. During the second half of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 we had shocking economic and financial conditions of the sort we had not seen before.

Not as bad as the 1930 depression, but worse than anything since, and it was also a time most small business owners had not seen before.

“We were all rather worried about what was happening and we all had to look at what were the most sensible things to do. In our case we were just looking for stability in the economy.

“In the case of a lot of business owners, they were worried about their businesses, worried about their markets, worried about their banks getting tough on them. A number of them responded by making sure borrowings were not too high and their asset base was as sound as possible, that they weren’t running unnecessary costs in their business and that they were hunkered down for the duration.

“Now over the last few months we have seen very significant improvements, not just in New Zealand, but around the world. We think we have got through this very bad recession. We think we are coming out but also think that it’s also quite a fragile recovery, so you still have to be cautious. I think a lot of businesses have reached that conclusion as well.

On an individual business level, what can people do for themselves in this current financial climate?

“Generally businesses are surprisingly optimistic.

I say surprisingly because it has been a very big shock, but the general consensus is that the worst is over and there are better times to come. But having said that, they’re being very cautious on two fronts, one is on employment,

“A lot does depend on the individual businesses and where they are. Are they servicing the domestic market or the export market? Have they been growing rapidly? Have they taken on a lot of debt and so on?

“Those that are tied into markets, directly or indirectly, with Australia or eastern Asia generally have found they are not doing too badly. Some of those markets have found to be quite strong and the prospects are pretty reasonable as well. On the other hand, those that have relied on US and European markets have taken more of a hit, because those countries have been through much more of a shock.

“The domestic area? It really depends on just which sectors we are talking about.

Some sectors, like tourism and some parts of agriculture, like the dairy sector, have been reasonably strong — others, like some traditional manufacturing and some other services, have been hurt by this.

When do you anticipate we might start to see more growth in borrowing and employment?

“A lot of businesses are saying they are going to get through this year with the capacity, plant and equipment they have currently got.

I think they are looking to see growth become reasonably robust through this year.

“While we are getting reasonable growth numbers at the minute, a lot of it still does depend on government stimulus, that’s both on the tax side on the loose monetary policy side.”

You have made recent comments that we can benefit from the “crumbs coming from Australia’s table”. What do you mean?

“Australia is growing very fast, the predictions are it will grow faster because of some very big mining developments they have had. When that happens, the Australian dollar is likely to be strong. It is likely to put some of their traditional exporters under quite a bit of pressure and some of their domestic producers as well.

“Agriculture has become much smaller in Australia, but there is a strong demand for food products and other primary products. In addition manufactures there are finding some of their operations hard to be competitive on, and New Zealand manufacturers have been able to be more competitive.

“There are quite a lot of export of services in Australia now — tourism is one, but there are plenty of others as well.

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 13

News Profile | Annah Stretton

A cut above

By Bridget Gourlay

It’s a success story that sounds a bit too out-there to believe.

A young mum from rural Waikato starts a fashion line from a dairy farm and within a year it makes a million dollars.

Not only does the small town girl continue her fashion success, but she goes on to launch a magazine, a business network, a mentoring programme and to work tirelessly for a range of charities.

Regardless of how fairytale-esque this entrepreneurial story may seem, it’s all true and it belongs to Annah Stretton.

Of course, no successful business falls into place all on its own and Stretton works long hours (her alarm usually goes off at about 5am).

Her strategy is to immediately get the most pressing and least interesting tasks done first.

Using time wisely is another strategy — she often has to drive from Morrinsville to Auckland, which can take up to two and a half hours.

She started Stretton Clothing Company in Morrinsville, and that’s where it’s remained.

Other manufacturers may have embraced globalisation and exploited foreign sweatshops, but Stretton chose not to, citing moral and practical reasons.

“As I drove forward and set up a retail base, I really believed a big part of our point of difference was that we were New Zealand made. That’s very important to people. We’re still price sensible, especially in the provincial environment, there’s no need to go offshore.

“I can still make a profit and pay the team at market rates. It’s good for our industry.

People believe that we make our clothes in our Morrinsville head office when really we contract with CMT factories throughout New Zealand.”

Humble beginnings Annah Stretton started Stretton Clothing Company in 1992, selling clothes under the label Annah S. Her office was the spare bedroom in the house on the rural dairy farm she and her husband owned and she combined her business operations with being a full-time mum to her two preschool children.

Instead of spending that time sitting impatiently on the motorway, she invested in a hands-free phone and tells her mentorees to call her while she is driving for advice. On flights Stretton doesn’t watch movies, but brings her laptop and paperwork and works.

Within a year, she made $1 million with 50 percent profitability. Originally Annah S clothing was sold into other stores, but a few years later Stretton began opening her own boutiques in the Waikato. Today it is a multi-million dollar business that sells internationally and has stores throughout the country.

Annah Stretton is a born and bred Waikato girl.

She attended local high schools (Karamu and Tararua) and, other than a few years in her late teens studying art in Otago, she has lived here all her life.

In 2005 Stretton bought Her Business magazine and worked as editor, commissioning stories on successful women entrepreneurs and giving business tips. Within a few months it was one of New Zealand’s fastest growing business titles.

I’ve never experienced doubt. Doubt is the one thing that handbrakes people — to not follow that dream, take that trip, buy that car — but I’ve never had doubts.

14 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

News Profile | Annah Stretton

A good team With 150 team members and an 18 year old company, Stretton knows about being a good employer. A fundamental lesson she’s learnt is the necessity of a good team — and that spending time and money on them is an investment, not an expense.

“Great people cost money. That needs to be factored in as marketing spend. Engaging a great retail girl is better than putting in an ad for your product into local media.”

Stretton sees retail as a career and is working with Waikato’s Wintec to develop a study certificate. Some of the sales assistants in Annah S shops earn upwards of $60,000 a year, something Stretton says is absolutely worth it. She advises employers not to fill a position if they haven’t found a good fit, because she thinks it’s better to leave a position open then hire the wrong person.

At Annah S, they have a 10 point checklist for the attributes they look for in employees and if the candidates don’t meet at least nine of them, they are not considered for a retail role.

Stretton doesn’t believe for a second she’d attract a better team if her head office was based in Auckland or Wellington. She says she employs extremely capable women from

the local area. “The calibre of women that are around locally is huge. I’ve never had problems filling key positions. I’m spoilt for choice.”

Stretton likes sharing her business experience with budding entrepreneurs and other business people. In September a book titled Wild Heart, with 10 of her top business success tips will hit the shelves.

She thinks women in the workplace allow their emotions to factor far too highly in their decision making process. While she admits this opinion may be “contentious” she says she’s seen many women take problems with employees and setbacks personally, and make emotional decisions, instead of the black and white decisions that a company needs. “Business is business. It’s never personal.”

Tall poppy Taking things personally can be easy when you have your critics. Stretton’s had her fair share of them too. She’s been lambasted by animal rights groups for using fur (even though it’s from possums killed humanely as part of pest-control).

The first copy of Her Magazine under Stretton’s stewardship got a front page article in the local Waikato paper for its grammatical and spelling

errors. But Stretton says her defence against tall poppy syndrome — which she sees as being firmly entrenched in New Zealand society — is not to listen to criticism, because she knows herself when she’s done a good job or not. And if she hasn’t, if something goes wrong, she looks at it as a lesson.

“If something doesn’t work, I see that as a learning exercise. Failure has been the foundation stone of my success. There’s so much I’ve learnt from tripping and falling. If I do have a challenging day there’s not much a glass of red wine and an early night won’t fix.”

Surviving the recession Stretton’s companies have survived the recession — a period she sees as being “like a damn good frost, wiping out below average businesses that don’t deserve to be trading”.

She says the economic turmoil gave businesses time to batten down the hatches and look at their core business. “We get slack in buoyant times because we can make money a lot easier.

During a recession, businesses must look at their products and services which is always positive for the consumer… the down side is where people lose jobs. But great people will always find jobs, perhaps they could look at difficult trading times as an opportunity to upskill.”

Doing what you love The one thing Stretton can’t give advice about is a work-life balance — because she doesn’t really have one. She spent ‘quality time’ rather than ‘quantity time’ with her children when they were younger and her hobbies tend to involve more work — pro bono organising and speaking for charities and mentoring budding fashionistas and entrepreneurs.

There’s no recipe for success and Stretton’s story proves that you don’t need an MBA or to work for a multinational to succeed in business. She attributes her success to passion, attitude and integrity. “I’ve never experienced doubt. Doubt is the one thing that handbrakes people — to not follow that dream, take that trip, buy that car — but I’ve never had doubts.

“I’ve always had a huge belief in myself and my ability to achieve. It was nothing but passion and drive and excitement. Obviously you have to consider all the roads that you travel and it becomes about making calculated decisions.

“After all, business is always about profit. But I’ve never doubted myself. That’s the key to our success. If you don’t love what you do, get out.”

Confucius said that if you choose a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Thousands of years later, and from a very different person, these wise words still seem to be ringing true.

If something doesn’t work, I see that as a learning exercise. Failure has been the foundation stone of my success. There’s so much I’ve learnt from tripping and falling. www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 15

Living | Today

iPhone apps with attitude

products

As a purported mystical figure of luck, the numeral seven represents the number of stars in the big dipper, wonders in the ancient world and days in a week. Seven is also the number of iPhone apps that have made our “must have” iPhone applications list.

A contemporary take on the traditional Top 10, this compilation is comprised of apps selected with your social, physical and emotional spirit in mind.

Shozu We’ve taken our personality and cloned it, because cyberspace has taken the meaning, ‘be who you want to be’ to a whole new level. Existing in two dimensions, we have on and offline identities and as the trend for socialising becomes transfixed on tweeting, posting, chatting and networking, it’s our online persona that’s prevailing. So with social savvy, time-conscious and general yuppies in mind, the Shozu iPhone app has been created, allowing users to interact with a host of social websites including Twitter and networking haven Facebook. Shozu has taken the ‘be in two places at once’ expression to the extreme and then quadrupled it, so your availability to the world around you knows no bounds.

Jamie Oliver 20 minute meals It’s every women’s fantasy and every male appetite’s dream; Jamie Oliver in the kitchen. The Jamie Oliver 20 minute meals iPhone app is all about abandoning your culinary inhibitions. With access to more than 60 gourmet meals, 90 minutes of video clips, helpful hints and a step-by-step pictorial guide, you’ll be a fine food connoisseur in a Jamie Oliver heartbeat. In a rather odd twist, the motion of moving your iPhone draws out a random recipe from this app’s imagination. It’s like a palate pleasing pick’n’mix — you never know what you’re going to get.

Dictionary.com SMS, txtese, chatspeak or more familiarly, what we know as text talk, is launching a take-over of conventional language. Depends on who you’re asking; but they’ll either attest it’s making a mockery

16 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

of language and literacy, or revolutionising the ethos of expression. Either way; until the time abbreviations, acronyms and conversing in code reigns supreme, a mind rich in vocabulary variety is still your best bet for mastering the art of communication and the Dictionary.com iPhone app can be your portable tutor. As an academic archive, this app features a database of more than 275,000 definitions and 80,000 synonyms and has auto-pronunciations, alphabetical indexing and word origin history on file. With the dictionary.com app, you’ve got the world of words at your fingertips.

Shazam Call yourself a music enthusiast? Well you’re not a living breathing expression of this term until you have Shazam on your iPhone. With a proprietary recognition system, it’s got an ear for music this one and by simply holding your iPhone to a speaker and tapping “tag now,” Shazam will listen to the beat, interpret the sound and translate the track’s title and artist. But it’s not just a music discovery engine, because with this app, you can attach photos to clips or view compatible songs on YouTube. Shazam is a music matchmaker.

Good Guide Today we live on a diet of instant gratification in the form of fried and fast foods. But it’s time to reacquaint ourselves with delicious traditionalism and seek out safe and sustainable nutrition. With the Good Guide iPhone app, you can shop with knowledge.

Representing 50,000 products and companies, it’ll be your environmental and social conscience, with a barcode scanner to boot. Just aim your iPhone camera

at the product and hit ‘scan barcode’. Each product has a rating plus a breakdown, because the Good Guide is all about product transparency. It’s the iPhone app that let’s you be the judge.

FlightTrack Pro Ranked as one of the Top 10 iPhones app’s of 2010, FlightTrack Pro is your essential travel companion.

It covers more than 5,000 airports worldwide and if you’ve got a tendency to forget rather than file your itinerary info, FlightTrack Pro allows you to save flight schedules up to 11 months in advance and it’ll even automatically synchronise them for you. It’s got an intuitive nature this one; predicting flight delays with the aid of airport warnings and historical delay forecasts. FlightTrack Pro will also help you find flight alternatives with a tap, track domestic and international flights and it’ll keep you up to speed with airtime and altitude.

Good Night Sleep is hibernation for the mind and body; preparation for the spontaneity that life’s sure to bring each day.

And while our days are often dictated by bells and whistles, the transition from asleep to awake should be all about ease. The Good Night iPhone app is exactly who you should to go to bed with every night. Working with your iPhone’s microphone or accelerometer, Good Night monitors your sleep phases during a 30 minute span of your selection. Sensing your subtlest movements, it calculates your sleep rhythm and will nudge you from rest to reality during your lightest sleeping phase. This app has a sensitive side and knows just how to tune into your body clock.

7 ways to understand ‘apps’

An app can range from a game to help fill  Application software, also known as applications or  in a couple of minutes while cruising in a taxicab to apps, is computer software designed to help perform singular or multiple related specific tasks

 Think of an app as being an electric lightbulb and

the electric power generation plant is a system. The power plant generates electricity, which is not of any real use until harnessed to an application like the lightbulb which performs a service to benefit the user

 An app gets more out of your existing technology.

Think of Facebook as one giant app applied to your computer to help you communicate fully with others

 Apps are not restricted to iPhone or iPod Touch

usage and they’re not restricted to Apple products either, with apps available for Blackberries, PSPs, cellphones and more

a program which resets your circadian rhythms after traversing the international dateline

 One of the easiest ways to source apps

is at the apps store, an online store specialising in applications for mobile devices. The original app store was run by Apple and other companies soon picked up the concept so they could create and sell applications to users as well

 Applications in an app store can vary in

cost, from free downloads to bank balance drainers, depending on who developed the application and its purpose. The good news is, most paid downloads are relatively low priced.

Living | Today

touches of style

lifestyles

Travel style

Azure Lodge Queenstown

DIY fashion style Shoes of Prey

Techno style

Ecosol Powerstick

Murphy’s law says that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Never has the saying been more apt than when it comes to mobile phone batteries — just when you need your phone the most, it dies. A handy gadget that can recharge your phone (and your social life) is the Ecosol Powerstick. Complete with nine device connectors, it is capable of recharging virtually all your portable devices. The Powerstick itself is also rechargeable, quickly charging through the USB port concealed beneath its end cap.

Ever had one of those moments where your shoes just aren’t quite perfect — the strap is just a little too high or the heel a smidgeon too short? Finding the perfect pair of women’s shoes just got a whole lot easier, with the launch of Shoes of Prey. The first-of-a-kind website uses online technology to turn women around the world into high fashion shoe designers. From high heels to low heels, bows to straps, open toe to closed toe, suede to snakeskin, shoe shoppers can now have their own choice, and a near endless choice, designing the exact fashion shoe they want and have it shipped worldwide. No design experience or special software is required — all that is required is a web connection and your personal style. Users can save their designs and get their friends’ comments. The shoes are individually hand crafted from top quality materials and home delivered with a 100 percent money back satisfaction guarantee.

Wine style

Mondillo Pinot Noir 2008 This Central Otago pinot noir has scooped the top prizes in one of the country’s oldest and most respected wine competitions, picking up a gold in the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards 2010 and trophy for Champion Pinot Noir. The run of accolades continued for the tiny Bendigo vineyard when it swept aside 1517 wines from around the country as its 2008 Mondillo Central Otago Pinot Noir was named Champion Wine of Show.

Tasting notes describe the wine as a graceful, silky, single-vineyard wine which is dark in colour, elegant and balanced. It is dense and rich with beautifully scented aromas of dark-cherry and plum up front, followed by vanilla and spice.

HTC Desire

RRP: $899.99 +shipping

RRP: Prices from $900 per night

RRP: $250 for ballet flats and up to $390 for a 10cm heel, plus shipping

RRP: $79.99

Available: www.expansys. co.nz

Contact: Azure Lodge, phone (03) 409 0588, email rsvns@azur.co.nz or visit www.azur.co.nz.

Available: www.shoesofprey.co.nz

Available: Noel Leeming stores and online at www.powerstick.com

Communication devices are shooting at us so fast, it’s hard to keep up. First the Blackberry, then the iPhone, now it’s the Desire — the latest and greatest multi-function smartphone from HTC. With the Desire, HTC has succeeded in creating a phone that’s almost as good for business messaging tasks as a Blackberry while offering all the features of an iPhone — and then some. At the heart of the Desire is a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor for superfast web browsing, wicked multimedia capability and if you’re absolutely desperate, you can even use it as a phone and actually talk to people. The 3.7inch OLED screen offers 480 x 800 pixels, plus there are some wicked applications for these things. However, nobody ever said cool was cheap.

Winter’s here and what better place to spend a mid-winter break than Queenstown. And it would be hard to picture a more perfect setting than the one captured by Azur Lodge. With views of both Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains, Azur Lodge is one of the region’s most luxurious retreats. Perched on a hillside, the lodge and nine villas are made from silver beechwood and stone to blend with the surroundings. Floor to ceiling windows take advantage of the breathtaking scenery, as does the large outside deck. It is all set among 1.4 hectares of native bush. Azur captures the best of both worlds, amazing views in a tranquil and isolated setting only five minutes from downtown Queenstown.

Available: Selected bars and supermarkets RRP: $47.99

Home style Apaiser Haven

One of the best ways to relax, unwind and thaw out during the cold winter months is in a luxurious bath with some bubbles — both the bath kind and the beverage kind. Apaiser sits among the world’s best designers of freestanding stone bath tubs. The Haven is fluid in form, made from handcrafted stone, has a soft warm organic feel and remains highly resistant to abrasions, scratches and stains. The sleek minimalist designs will transform any bathroom into an oasis of tranquility, elegance and calm. Say goodbye to the winter blues in your very own luxurious and inviting Haven bath.

Available: Inovo, phone (09) 379 7399 or visit www.inovo.co.nz RRP: $10,750

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 17

News | Corporate Responsibility

A game you can’t afford to ignore

By Jonathon Taylor In 2003 a Canadian documentary The Corporation looked at the nature of arguably the dominant institution of recent history — the corporate entity.

What it did was prescribe the legal status of a person onto corporate behaviour, essentially putting the corporation on a psychiatrist’s couch and asking ‘What kind of person is it?’

The results are nothing less than horrifying.

The corporate entity, as an individual, demonstrated a callous disregard for the feelings of others, an incapacity to maintain human relationships, reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness, the incapacity to experience guilt and a failure to conform to social norms and respect the law.

The abject failure of the banking industry is a painfully acute case in point. Unchecked

greed, placing vested interests over charged responsibilities and above the greater good, built a house of cards that, when collapsing, spewed red ink on the way down to the tune of trillions.

The salt on this wound was the very people whose livelihoods had been jeopardised, then had to foot the bill via taxpayer funded bids to stave off national financial collapse.

Add to this reports that big banking is right back in the swing of things, again embracing the bonus culture, and the result hasn’t just been a complete loss of public trust in the sector, but wider opinion holding corporate banking in nothing less than contempt.

It’s a classic case of a few bad apples ruining the reputaton of all and an example why corporate responsibility, as a catch phrase for social conscience, is something any sized business ignores at its peril.

Your reputation is as valuable as it is fragile, particularly when in the online court of public opinion it can so easily be tarred by the brush of another. Add to this that in today’s world of instant information news, both good and bad, travels fast and far and the potential for widespread reputation ruin is as great as ever.

The result is more emphasis than ever before is now placed on conducting business in a responsible, socially acceptable manner, by both businesses and consumers alike.

Capitalism is still alive and well and making money, lots of money if you can, is no crime.

But making it at the expense of others with a ‘the end justifies the means’ attitude is more likely to be publicly exposed and expunged.

Philanthropy is becoming a currency unto itself as a modern incarnation of the old adage that it’s not what you think that matters, it’s what you do that counts.

Fact or fad?

By Sandy Galland

Corporate responsibility — a fad or a fact of life?

Is corporate responsibility a strategy companies are building into their corporate DNA, or is it seen simply as a marketing ploy to appear environmentally aware in a bid to gain customer popularity?

Firstly, what is corporate responsibility and how is it measured? It seems most experts work on the assumption that consumers are interested in how companies behave and this has an influence upon their consumption behaviour.

Corporate responsibility — also known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) is basically a form of self regulation honouring the triple bottom line — people, planet and profits.

Make meaning not money, goes against the traditional business model where maximising profits for the shareholders was the number one consideration. Today many companies are turning their focus to embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public.

Some will argue this perspective, which is broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits, will generate greater long-term returns. Others dismiss the initiatives as straight PR exercises which will win little favour and distracts from the core financial purposes of the business.

Is there a financial pay-off to be gained from good behaviour?

Absolutely, says Dr Rodger Spiller, one of New Zealand’s most experienced and knowledgeable leaders in socially responsible business.

“There are a whole range of very logical business cases to support the argument (of being responsible).

“I have been exploring this for 20 years and have seen the momentum grow dramatically in

18 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

recent years. It is almost expediential the growth of interest and action in this field recently.”

Spiller adds the drivers for companies to have lasting CSR attitudes are not going away. From an environmental point of view, the challenges the world faces are possibly here to stay, as we experience population growth, climate changes, global warming and waste management issues.

“The challenge to be a truly sustainable business and sustainable society will be with us forever — it comes down to how high we set the bar.”

Another driver pushing companies into CSR initiatives is the desire from investors to only place their dollars with responsible businesses that are socially and environmentally proactive.

“This is a strong imperative from the investment community and that’s another reason businesses are in this for the long haul.”

The pressure is also on our small companies.

As the larger companies have addressed their own issues and put into practice environmentally aware systems, they are turning their attention to the entire supply chain. “To supply to these larger companies you must meet their standards of environmental performance.” This continues on down the chain and Spiller believes New Zealand businesses are getting the message now and because big businesses really care about their reputation, they are forcing these same standards onto everyone who deals with them.

A true CSR commitment requires more than just awareness of the impact of a company’s responsibilities on the wider world — it requires action which proactively promotes the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices which harm communities, people or the planet — regardless of legality. It is about companies taking on the same humanistic responsibility each of us is morally obliged to adhere to in our lives.

News | Corporate Responsibility

Make meaning and the money will come

By Sandy Galland

To do good is to do well. This is a huge shift in business culture but one which companies have embraced with enthusiasm.

Yes, it is about protecting the environment, saving money, and growing and supporting communities, but it is also about being confident and proud your business is putting in more than it is taking out.

Doing good is good for business. But do customers really care? Are they prepared to spend more on a product or service delivered by a company with a great reputation for being a responsible corporate player?

Dr Rodger Spiller says customers are increasingly purchasing from companies that have a reputation for responsibility. “Across the EU, for example, one in six consumers either buys or boycotts a product because of the reputation of the company.

Here in our own backyard, look at the public outcry when one confectionary maker decided to use palm oil in its chocolate. Shoppers voted with their wallets and Cadbury bowed to consumer pressure and stopped using palm oil in its dairy milk chocolate. Many blame palm oil plantations for huge contributions to global warming and the intensive habitat destruction of orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The 4P Model  Purpose The company’s stated reason

for which it exists. A responsible business will explicitly include environmental, social and economic wealth creation within its statement of purpose.

 Principles These are the beliefs which guide the company’s action. Responsible businesses explicitly state and follow a clear set of principles reflecting core values and virtues.

 Practices These are the actions a

company takes to fulfill its purpose. It is at the level of business practices that the true test of environmental, social and economic wealth creation occurs, as practices reflect the application of purpose and principles.

 Performance

Measurement

This involves the company reporting on how its practices have impacted its stakeholders, reflected its principles and created environmental, social, and economic wealth.

Being a responsible company can also aid in the recruitment and retainment of employees.

Spiller says being an employer of choice is a more valuable asset than ever.

less than a quarter of them had a formal CSR policy and over 80 percent who did CSR activity, do not measure its return on investment. Of those who did participate in CSR activity, a third of them reported improved employee moral, 28 percent cited a stronger public image, 11 percent extolled the benefits to the environment while 10 percent believed there was an increase in brand recognition.

So does your company participate in CSR activities? And if so, are you seeing and measuring the impact of your initiatives?

As part of his PHD research, Spiller created a Responsibility Scorecard for businesses.

The 4P model forms a part of this and in his consultancy, is an invaluable training tool.

It is at the level of business practices where the true test of responsible business occurs, as practices reflect the application of purpose and principles. “While it is relatively easy for a business to produce a statement of purpose and principles, it is more challenging to implement these in practice.” Spiller provides examples of some of the practices businesses might adopt:  Environment: Desirable environmental practices, such as the reduction, reuse and recycling of materials, energy conservation and environmental audits  Employees: Favourable employee practices include effective communication, learning and development opportunities, safe and healthy work environments, and equal employment opportunities

This is particularly the case with Generation Y employees, because many young people are keenly interested in business responsibility.

He quotes a study of 11 leading European and USA business schools, where 97 percent of MBA graduates said they were willing to forgo financial benefits (on average 14 percent of expected income) to work with an organisation with a better reputation for corporate social responsibility and ethics.

 Customers: Customer practice, for example, industry-leading quality programmes, full product disclosure and safe products

“Only if business learns that to do well it has to do good, can we hope to tackle the major social challenges facing developed societies today.”

 Community: Good community practices include activity such as innovative giving to the community through volunteer programmes, and support for education and job training initiatives which strengthen the relationship between business and society

Across New Zealand, 19 percent of consumers are making purchasing decisions each month based on green or social imperatives. “In our economic system we vote with our money every day. Our decisions as investors and consumers impact what is produced and how, the growth of some companies and the demise of others.”

— Peter Drucker, international business expert, from The New Meaning of Corporate Responsibility

Do consumers pay more for a company with good CSR initiatives? As Spiller explains, there are two aspects to this. While he believes in some instances consumers will pay more, many others, when faced with similar products of the same price, will choose the product from the more responsible company.

“This gives the company a greater share of the market and in the bigger picture makes this company more attractive to investors,” he adds.

Consumer chief executive Sue Chetwin says increasingly people are taking considerations other than price into account when they make purchasing decisions.

“Products which carry the Fairtrade logo are being stocked on the supermarket shelves next to products that might be cheaper but which aren’t fair-trade.” Chetwin says coffee is a good example of this. “Price still plays a major part, but where people can or are financially able, they will make the responsible decision.”

In New Zealand, Nick Jones and Associates, a corporate social responsibility, sustainability and non-profit research consultancy found that over 62 percent of people aged over 10 years agree they think more highly of companies who support charities/worthy causes.

A recent Manpower white paper, Corporate Social Responsibility: Current Trends in Australia and New Zealand found more than half of New Zealand businesses don’t practice CSR activities.

While the paper says this could be due to the economic downturn, they do not have historical data to substantiate the claim.

Of the HR professionals who responded to the survey, only 39 percent of them, employing between two and 10 people participate in CSR activities. For the larger companies, between 301 and 1000 team members, this rises to 73 percent of them participating in some form of CSR initiatives. This dropped again as the company had over 1000 people. Of the companies who do participate in CSR measures,

 Suppliers: Long-term purchasing relationships, plus fair and competent dispute handling are examples of supplier practices

 Shareholders: Shareholder practices include receiving a good rate of return, comprehensive and clear information and effective management of corporate governance issues.

So often CSR is confused and associated with philanthropic efforts in forms of charitable donations, sponsorships and handouts, it is not philanthropy — it is a way of doing business. It is about doing the right things by taking account of all the social, economic and environmental impact your business has in the long term.

Being responsible should be the foundation to all corporate decision-making, business practices and policies. The increasing external pressure and opposition from a wide cross section of society is pushing more and more of our businesses in this direction. For the sake of the environment, our social structure and our communities, hopefully as more businesses adopt CST initiatives; it is for the right reasons.

There are advantages and opportunities for every business acting as a responsible corporate citizen — is your business making the most of them?

Staying safe on site Whether on a construction site, in a restaurant or in an office, it is important to provide a safe working environment for employees.

With a raft of OSH regulations to be met, the likes of safety helmets and hivisibility jackets on construction sites and ergonomic chairs in offices have become common. However, there is always a need for policies to be rewritten and enforced as times change.

First aid procedures, evacuation policies and the like are something that should be discussed on a regular basis. The provision of fire wardens, first aid certificate holders and heath and safety officers can go a long way within the work environment.

Trust your staff, and by giving them this responsibility they are more likely to stick with the company and contribute in a positive way.

A couple of policies that are missing from the majority of workplaces include sexual harassment and bullying within the work environment. As an employer you need to ensure you provide a safe work environment, and these two examples can have a detrimental effect not only on employees, but on a company as a whole.

Employment law expert David Beck from SB Law in Christchurch says the key to preventing these types of discrepancies is pre-planning and implementing policies.

“That is the key thing. You have to have a policy around the likes of sexual harassment and many people don’t understand that it also extends to the likes of sexually offensive comments,” he points out. “The likes of a personal grievance can be taken out by an employee if an employer does not resolve the matter adequately.”

He believes it is important to make your employees aware of your policies surrounding such things as sexual harassment and he points out places such as universities are doing that well.

“Posters go up about the policies, or if you want more information about this head to the human rights commission, there is a lot of information available on this topic.”

Workplace bullying has been a hot topic, and stories about tyrannical senior managers circulate the internet. But how do you tell the difference between a bully and an authoritarian?

“With old school managers, it’s ‘do as I tell you’, but at least you know where you stand and that may not be bullying,” Beck says. “But if someone does something wrong and they yell and scream that can be seen as bullying.”

He says the best way to deal with workplace bullying is not to label anyone.

“In some workplaces there is a lot of bullying. You can become either the victim or the bully, but it’s not helpful,” he says. “There needs to be intervention much earlier to resolve the issues.”

Organisations that fail to provide an emotionally secure and safe working environment, under employment and health and safety legislation, can face expensive legal ramifications, so it is important to put policies in place to ensure your work place is a safe environment for your employees.

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 19

News | Corporate Responsibility

Sizing up your carbon footprint Every organisation has a carbon footprint. It is the measure of emissions it creates through daily activities that use energy from fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and gas).

plentiful. The biggest and most relevant reason for manufacturing and export companies is to ensure competitive advantage in key markets where emissions content will appear to consumers on labels. “Consumers want to know what they’re buying is not harmful to the environment,” Neilson says.

These fuels release CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As the concentration of greenhouse gases grows, heat is trapped in the atmosphere and less escapes into space. This increase in trapped heat is believed to lead to climate change and altered weather patterns.

As a manufactured product goes through the supply chain before reaching the end consumer, the carbon footprint of that single product can be high. As consumers become more aware of the effects greenhouse gas emissions have on the environment, corporations are increasingly disclosing their emissions to the general public.

For simplicity of reporting, a carbon footprint is often expressed as the amount of carbon dioxide, or its equivalent greenhouse gas emissions emitted. An individual, nation or organisation’s carbon footprint can be measured by undertaking a GHG emissions assessment. Once the size of a carbon footprint is known, a strategy can be devised to reduce it.

New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development CEO Peter Neilson says the reasons for reducing a business’ carbon footprint are

Not having this information can have dire effects on companies in procurement deals, Neilson adds. Large companies such as Tesco or Walmart increasingly want information on emissions from suppliers of product or raw materials and will start selecting against businesses who cannot or will not disclose that information.

“In the past SMEs who didn’t sell (products), didn’t think this involved them. But, it increasingly will do.”

Another factor is cost and substantial savings can be made from reducing your carbon footprint.

“When you reduce emissions, you generally reduce the cost,” he says. “There is evidence in New Zealand and abroad that companies taking care of the environment are making bigger profits. Locally, major gains are being made by companies setting out to measure and lower their emissions, mostly from lower energy usage.”

Engaging in sustainable business is also an advantage when it comes to attracting young, tertiary educated staff, he says. “They want to work for a company whose values align with theirs and increasingly won’t work for an organisation who is acting in a way that is harmful to the environment.”

Energy efficiency resources and an emission calculator are available at the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development website www.nzbcsd.org.nz. Carbon accounting and resource efficiency resources are available through the Ministry of the Environment website www.mfe.govt.nz

Ways to reduce environmental impact

By Melinda Collins

Climate change, carbon footprints, energy efficiency — you know the terms, but do you know what they mean for your business?

Complying with policy and legislation is one thing but making positive changes for the good of your business and the environment is another.

However, it is not just the environmental responsibility that drives some companies to reduce their carbon footprint, but also the savings. Fortunately, many green practices are not only eco-friendly, but they’re friendly on the company budget as well.

Make the environment work for you and you’ll reap the rewards:

bills by up to 15 percent according to www.carbontrust.co.uk Make use of desk lamps, it is cheaper than lighting the entire office  Paper makes up 35 percent of the waste stream, according to www.ecopreneurist. com — even though it’s one of the easiest materials to re-use and recycle. Go digital with your documents, even invoices can be sent electronically  Recycling is never a chore when it’s just as easy as throwing something away.

Place recycling bins everywhere there is a trash can  E-waste is so essential to business, yet so toxic to the environment. Recycle everything you can including electronic equipment when it bites the dust or you upgrade

 If you turn your heating down one degree, your heating costs may decrease by about three percent, turn it down another five degrees for four hours a day and reduce heating bills by almost six percent, according to www.stopglobalwarming.org Keep windows closed while heating or air conditioning is on  Make use of the energy savings features on office equipment including PCs, monitors, faxes and printers. Managing PC power consumption can cut PC energy costs by up to 60 percent, according to Arcola Energy  Make use of natural daylight where possible.

It costs nothing and can reduce lighting

Pull that plug when you’re not using the appliance/ computer/cell charger — they can all be secretly pilfering energy when left plugged in Running your servers and personal computers, under-utilising hardware, using old energy-hungry servers, not optimising server space or virtual servers all use energy that creates a carbon footprint. For example, a moderate size server has about the same annual carbon footprint as a gas-guzzling family

20 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

SUV using 16 litres to travel 100km, according to Paua Interface.

To get this into a bigger context, the largest global financial services organisations — all intensive companies — generate about 500,000 metric tons of CO2 per year and information technology electricity consumption accounts for up to 65 percent of that total.

According to IT consultancy Paua Interface director Robyn Kamira, information technology is one of the leading causes of carbon footprints, racking up billions of wasted dollars.

She says organisations are increasing their information capacity and buying more systems which need more power. And with global energy prices rising, there is a significant increase in operational budgets.

Organisations which are reducing their carbon footprint are also saving millions:  3M reduced its carbon footprint by 37 percent, saving more than $190 million  Canon’s energy efficient products yielded savings of $250 million for customers  IBM saved $791 million by reducing emissions 37.8 percent through energy conservation measures  California, the world’s sixth largest economy, has already saved itself $20 billion in electricity and natural gas expenditures and by 2011 forecasts saving $57 billion more.

Grandstand transformed

Initiatives | Hamilton City Council/Claudelands

Claudelands widens Hamilton’s events landscape

Key development features:  Conferencing for up to 1200 delegates with tiered auditorium seating

At 132 years old, The Grandstand at Claudelands is one of Hamilton’s most loved historic buildings.

Now a fresh new look has transformed The Grandstand into a stylish function space suitable for 80-person banquets, offering top quality cuisine and specialist event and catering services.

 Main conference hall for up to 900 people (dividable into three spaces)  Conference meeting room for 2010 people (dividable into two spaces)  Large break-out room for approximately 50 people, plus other break-out rooms  Three function lounges  Executive boardroom  Speaker-ready room  Indoor exhibition trade space, up to 5000sq metres

The authentic heritage setting is just one of the amazing transformations revitalising the city of Hamilton as part of the $68.4 million Claudelands development.

 Expansive outdoor hard surfaced exhibition space of up to 3000sq metres  Grassed oval for activities

From mid 2011, Claudelands will offer a wide range of activities, including indoor sports and sports entertainment, trade and consumer exhibitions, outdoor and indoor shows, music concerts and live entertainment, conferences, meetings and large banquets.

 Ample on-site car parking

A clean, safe and visually appealing urban environment is now seen to be a vital part of economic infrastructure and an important aspect in promoting a city.

The challenges and opportunities in revitalising extensive areas of a city is a key issue for economic growth, competitiveness and social equity. How a council responds to the need for revitalisation and the approach taken is of vital importance to the city and its future.

Hamilton City Council has long recognised the benefits of revitalising the city to unleash its economic and cultural potential and prosperity.

Its vision — to create physical spaces everyone wants to share that reflects Hamilton’s unique identity as a thriving commercial and cultural centre. It’s about ensuring an enjoyable city for all those within its realms. And it’s about creating a city that thrives and assists the people within it to thrive as well.

Investment Devised as part of Hamilton City Council’s 20092019 Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) deliberations, the Claudelands development project represents a significant investment in the Hamilton events landscape.

environmentally friendly focused package focus with equivalent green star rating of 4.5.

Hamilton Mayor Bob Simcock says the Claudelands project is strongly supported by the community and will bring more than $20 million into the community every year, mostly from conferences.

“That means more jobs for people,” he says.

“Claudelands will also give us access to many sports and entertainment events that don’t come to Hamilton currently. This project will keep up to 300 people employed for the next two years in an industry that is under pressure.”

Designed on the basis of a unique one-site, multi-zoned facility with strong connectivity and close proximity to Hamilton’s central business district, the project includes a 5000-capacity multipurpose indoor arena, 1200-capacity conference centre and upgraded exhibition facilities, the latter already completed.

The Claudelands development represents just a small piece of Hamilton’s revitalisation puzzle and will strongly complement the City-Heart project, which includes the establishment of a predestrian link between Claudelands and the central city to increase connectivity between accommodation, central city businesses and the venue.

The facility has a grassed oval for activities and ample on site car parking, all put together in an

Claudelands development and commercial director Mark Christie says that once complete,

Claudelands will cement itself as a crucial piece of the city’s event infrastructure and will enable a variety of mid-sized live performance concerts, international sporting fixtures, major conferences and exhibitions, along with an enhancement of the existing exhibition and show business.

Events reputation “Hamilton’s ever-growing portfolio of signature events means the city is rapidly gaining a reputation as an events destination with a great blend of international, national and local world class event,” he says. “This project will build on this momentum and help bring more quality events to the city.”

The completed venue is due to open from July 2011, with bookings available now.

When it comes to thriving urban landscapes, the Claudelands development is already proving a big success.

For more information and event enquiries, visit www.claudelands.co.nz

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 21

Initiatives | North Island Mussel Processors

Mussel innovation Automation proves its worth as a seafood industry flexes its muscle The New Zealand Greenshell mussel is an iconic species unique to New Zealand waters. Now, the aquacultural industry surrounding this mouth watering wonder is set for a revolution with the release of a world first in technology.

On June 17, 2010, a milestone for this industry was acknowledged and celebrated, as the new $23 million North Island Mussel Processor’s Limited (NIMPL) plant in Tauranga was officially opened.

This state-of-the-art Greenshell mussel processing plant is set to provide the world’s largest half-shell production capacity. And at the core of this operation, the Automated Mussel Opener (AMO) is an innovative world first.

At present, aquaculture constitutes approximately 20 percent of the value of New Zealand’s total fisheries production. According to the 2008 NZ Seafood Industry Council Export Statistics, Greenshell mussels are the greatest contributor to the growth of this industry and represent 77 percent of the New Zealand aquaculture sector, which is worth more than $300 million.

NIMPL history NIMPL was established as an equal joint venture between Sanford Limited, Sealord Group Limited and Greenshell New Zealand Limited.

Prime Minister John Key presided over the official opening of the NIMPL factory on June 17, and also took the opportunity to sample a couple of what the factory excels at processing

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www.automationtechniques.co.nz 22 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

Initiatives | North Island Mussel Processors

Tasked with developing a low cost, high volume mussel processing facility, NIMPL is a toll processor for shareholders who export Greenshell mussels to other countries including the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

With its iridescent green shell, it is larger than its European black shell counterpart and contains higher meat to shell ratio, protein per kilo and higher Omega 3 concentrations.

As a rich source of nutrient and a variant exlusive to New Zealand waters, the desire to maximise Greenshell production has been the catalyst for dynamic changes to the existing NIMPL plant. Already one of Tauranga’s largest employers, NIMPL has a total of approximately 220 staff — 25 permanent and 185 seasonal staff. A further 200 season staff were contracted during the transitional phase of the NIMPL plant expansion, to begin processing in the new factory.

Of the incentives behind the plant development, NIMPL general manager Steve Wells says, “All major projects begin with a formal concept layout and our mission was to develop the design to meet our shareholders expectations.

“Throughout the development, we were working in conjunction with the company’s working group comprised of some of the industry’s best minds, including Ted Culley, Peter Vitasovich, Tony Sedman and Dorje Strang, to take the original concept and develop the

processing details we wanted to apply greater technology to.”

Feature continues on next page >>

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 23

Initiatives | North Island Mussel Processors

‘We have established new standards for building and engineering in the aquacultural industry.’

Malcolm Angell MAS Engineers consultant

NIMPL director Peter Vitasovich, Prime Minister John Key and Sanford managing director Eric Barratt look over the finished product

From concept to creation The NIMPL plant expansion plans started with primitive beginnings; a few preliminary sketches on paper, after a meeting of fortuitous nature saw Wells and MAS Engineers consultant, Malcolm Angell, collaborate their skills to realise a vision.

But however basic these original design plans may have seemed, they undeniably had great potential. Because by early June 2009, Wells’ and Angell’s strategic plans for a major renovation of the NIMPL premises were underway, with MAS at the helm of the design process.

With core skills in process development, design requirements and health and safety, as well as environmental planning, MAS specialises in delivering niche solutions, making the company the ideal candidate for this job.

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24 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

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12-strong MAS team led by Angell comprised of architects, civil, mechanical, geo-technical and structural engineers, as well as roading and town planners who were responsible for liaising with Tauranga City Council officers.

And while the MAS group may have been based at five separate locations throughout the project, Angell says the collective worked as a cohesive entity through comprehensive communication, something he says “has to be” at the core of any successful project group.

With MAS involvement staggered through the project — determined by the progression of the development and what skills were required at any given time, Angell describes the end result as the product of conceptual foresight. He says it was about working backwards to create an environment that would accommodate the selected processing machinery, such as the AMO technology.

Of the complex environmental and structural challenges throughout the expansion, Angell says, “Given that the area we were working in was below the area water table, we had to design the building construction and expansion in such a way that water would not get into the building. We had to demolish some of the old factory but keep it working as a sterile

environment in the interim. Essentially, we were wrapping a new factory around the old factory.”

Throughout the NIMPL project, learnings from the dairy industry and relevant hygiene standards were integrated into the plant design to future-proof the life of the building and minimise potential microbial contamination.

Additional changes were due to circumstances.

“When equipment arrived from overseas it was not quite what we thought, meaning the building parameters had to change,” Angell says.

“The client also wanted their packing facility to be modelled on overseas requirements, meaning a 15 metre, double storey packing room had to be increased to twice this size. We were fairly good at being able to extract the best from these situations though and ultimately, we came into this job and collaborated with the client to transform something that was imagined by them into something that works.

“When we look at it now, we think, ‘gee, we did something quite impressive’ and we have established new standards for building and engineering in the aquacultural industry — we have professional pride in that. I personally feel grateful to Steve and the board, that we were entrusted to undertake this project.”

Initiatives | North Island Mussel Processors

AMO Prime Minister John Key presided over the official opening of the NIMPL factory on June 17.

NIMPL chairman Geoff Burgess has previously described the NIMPL joint venture as an innovative model for expert co-operation and rationalisation and believes NIMPL will contribute to the industry’s ambitious goal of making New Zealand’s aquacultural sector a sustainable billion dollar industry by 2025, with the full support of the government.

NIMPL director Peter Vitasovich supports this. “Our new Tauranga factory houses 28 automated mussel opening machines that each process up to 3600 mussels per hour — that’s more than 1.6 million mussels per 16 hour day.

When fully operational, NIMPL will boast the world’s largest capacity for half-shell production.

Our ability to process this raw product in such high volumes at a lower cost base will increase New Zealand’s competitiveness in overseas markets and help build a sustainable model for the future,” he says.

Utilising a complex network of interactive machinery to create a simplified processing and packaging procedure, the new NIMPL plant will see export manufacturing capacity increase nearly three-fold.

At the core of this operation, the Automatic Mussel Opener (AMO) has attracted significant attention for its revolutionary nature. To date, NIMPL has operated with manual mussel openers, but with the introduction of the mainly automated AMO technology, the NIMPL factory

will now redirect its focus on delivering valueadded mussel products.

The AMO technology utilises vibration and rollers to separate the mussels in front of a camera that determines which way the mussels are orientated for opening. The machine then repositions the mussel correctly and vacuum cups are applied to both sides of the shell, allowing a knife to separate one side from the other, to produce a half shell.

Feature continues on next page >>

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 25

Initiatives | North Island Mussel Processors Intellectual property for the AMO technology is owned by Sanford Limited, who developed this concept in partnership with Auckland technology company, KanDO. Having been patented in New Zealand and in various countries throughout the world, the initial research and development of the AMO machine was initiated in 1998 by Sanford Limited and Industrial Research with the support of a government grant.

In preparation for the establishment of the new NIMPL plant, manufacturing expert, Stainless Design won the contract to produce the machine components for the AMOs and KanDO provided the electronics and operating systems.

As a New Zealand innovation that was built and serviced in New Zealand, the AMO machine was specifically developed to open Marlborough and Coromandel mussels. Although the average person employed in mussel opening can process 29 mussels per minute and the AMO machine opens 27 per minute, it can operate 24 hours a day.

In human speak, this complex technology translates to a revolutionary process that will be the catalyst for enhanced operational productivity at NIMPL. Yet for all its efficient qualities, the AMO concept had relatively humble beginnings, having been designed in a Coromandel workshop by a former Sanford Limited chief engineer, Errol McNeil.

It seems Kiwi ingenuity was at the heart of this technology’s emergence and Sanford’s aquaculture manager Ted Culley agrees. “Before 1998, much of the mussel processing technology was manual and a lot of the technology we had in New Zealand was for blue mussels and came from overseas.

“Because our point of difference in the marketplace was half shell, we required people to open every single mussel that went to the market and we really needed to develop our own technology to be more globally and commercially competitive.”

Following a technology for business grant, awarded to Sanford Limited in 1998 in support of its efforts to mechanise the half shell process, an additional seafood innovations grant in 2005 provided 50 percent funding for the construction of a prototype by Device Works, an Industrial Research Limited division.

“Once this technology was proven, we built five machines which were installed at a Havelock plant in January 2008,” Culley says. “We then licenced the technology to KanDO Innovations and many of the staff who worked on this technology at KanDo, were previously working for Device Works on the original prototype.”

In recognition of the need to expand the NIMPL facility, Sanford Limited identified the AMO technology was the best option for the new processing facility. “We’ve now patented this machine and it has gone through with clear parents, which means it has been deemed novel technology,” Culley says.

“The main challenge was that we started this technology from ground zero. In terms of the process, we had to develop reliable transportation of product through the AMO machine. A big challenge was orientating the mussel for the opening device and manufacturing the technology so it could separate good product from waste shell. We

‘We’ve patented this (AMO) machine and it has gone through with clear parents, which means it has been deemed novel technology.’

Ted Culley Sanford Limited aquaculture manager

also wanted to ensure it could be cleaned before the processing finished. It was a long process with lots of trials, tests and comparisons to see if we were achieving our objectives.”

Going by the expansive and highly efficient NIMPL factory and equipment, it is evident the venture’s objectives have now been achieved.

AMO’S associates At the core of this plant, the AMO machinery works as part of a coordinated and interactive network of processing equipment.

Once the mussels have been opened by the AMO machinery at NIMPL, they are visually inspected prior to being frozen. As the first technology of its kind being utilised in the New Zealand mussel industry, the Spiral Freezer from John Bean Technologies Corporation, features an integrated re-freeze section.

This freezer is a continuous spiral-belt model designed to minimise product weight loss and ensure quality during the freezer process.

Product is evenly fed from the production line directly onto the loading freezing belt, before it is quickly transported into the low temperature freezing zone.

The belt spirals up into the rotating drum until it reaches the top where the frozen product is gently discharged from the freezer discharge point. Due to the large belt surface available, product in single layers is Individually Quick Frozen (IQF). Because product can maintain its original load-in position throughout the freezing process, it is easier to sort afterwards.

Once the half shell is snap frozen, the product is then glazed with chilled water (frozen down to -18c) before it is packed. NIMPL utilises a new conveyor handling system ROFLO3 from TNA — a New Zealand global packaging and processing solutions company.

This system allows for gentler handling of the product and is generally used for biscuits and potato chips, although this is the first instance in which ROFLO3 has been utilised in a full wash down environment.

NIMPL Factory Facts

26 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz



NIMPL is a toll processor for shareholders who export Greenshell mussels around the world



The AMO machines process more than 1.6 million mussels per 16-hour day



The new factory was officially opened on June 17, 2010



NIMPL has approximately 220 staff

 

The new factory houses 28 automated mussel opening machines (AMO)

A further 200 season staff were contracted during the transitional phase to begin processing in the new AMO factory.

Initiatives | North Island Mussel Processors The ROFLO3 system feeds by computer level control systems, an even distribution to two of the latest Japanese Yamato computer controlled Multi Head Weighers. Two Propac Vertical Form Fill bag makers provide the bagging technology receiving weighed product from the Yamatos.

The filled formed bags are then presented to a metal detector check weigher combination system, from Yamato, which senses predetermined parameters for export requirements.

The productivity of the new NIMPL plant will be furthered still with an investment in a Danish cooking technology provider called Cabinplant. This company has custom-made a blancher for NIMPL, adapted from a vegetable industry prototype. As a more energy-efficient solution than traditional steam blanchers, the Cabinplant model utilises counter current energy transfer and meets strict hygiene standards.

Of NIMPL’s renowned efficiency and potential, Vitasovich says, “We are recognised here and internationally as producing healthy, high quality, environmentally sustainable aquaculture products.”

To continue moving forward in this sector, Wells adds, “More research and development is required and more financial resource needs to be secured for continued productivity and to increase and enrich our margins in this industry.”

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 27

Initiatives | Marra Construction

State-of-the-art expansion Marra Construction 2004 Limited recently built the $5.8 million state-of-the-art Tauranga plant expansion for North Island Mussel Processors Limited (NIMPL).

Marra Construction general manager Rob Bailey says the NIMPL construction project began in September 2008 and was completed by December 2009. “It involved a remodel and significant extensions to an existing facility. It more than doubled the size of the premises and included new offices, changing facilities and new production and packaging areas.”

Extensive concrete work The building project was a typical industrial project for Marra. It involved extensive in-situ concrete slabs, cast on site concrete tilt-slab walls and structural steel, as well as a large area of cool-store panel. While the structure was a standard industrial building project, Marra completed the build to a very high standard of quality, in line with MAF and health regulations regarding a food processing facility.

Marra Construction under way with the $5.8 million expansion of North Island Mussel Processors in Tauranga. The construction was challenging due to the wet ground conditions

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www.metalcraftpanels.co.nz 28 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

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Marra Construction was required to build around the existing plant, as the facility had to remain open and functioning during the construction process. “It was a significant challenge although some of the time, when out of season, the plant was shut down. The building process was very carefully thought through in terms of the design and how it was built,” Bailey says.

Site challenges While the build itself was not overly difficult, there were challenges involving the site in Greerton. “It was a challenging project in that the ground conditions were very poor and it was an existing building,” he says.

“The site is in a very wet area. There are natural springs that come out of the surrounding slopes, so it was very wet and boggy.”

Not withstanding the poor ground conditions, the project was completed in time for the arrival of the new automated mussel machinery. “I think all parties would have been happy with the outcome of the project because it’s a very innovative high-tech production facility at the end of the day,” Bailey says. “Everyone worked very well towards that end goal.”

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Initiatives | Marra Construction

Marra Construction 2004 Limited undertakes a wide variety of residential, commercial and retail projects, in addition to industrial projects such as the North Island Mussel Processors development.

industrial construction, including development projects and design and build.

Marra Construction general manager Rob Bailey says the company is fortunate to have a good order book, despite the economic recession.

Marra Construction, formed 30 years ago in the Bay of Plenty, is a professionally managed company that has been involved in some of New Zealand’s largest construction projects.

The company today employs about 60 staff, plus an additional 25 staff on contract, from its head office in Tangmere Place, Tauranga. It also has staff located permanently in the Waikato, with projects completed throughout the central North Island as far away as the Coromandel and Havelock in the South Island.

Marra Construction has grown to become one of the largest commercial builders in the Bay of Plenty, embracing all areas of commercial and

“We’re doing the upgrade to the Bayfair Shopping Centre in Mt Maunganui, the new Cosmopolitan Club at Mt Maunganui and the new Golden Sands Primary School in Papamoa,” he says. “Our office in Hamilton has been operational for a year now and they’re starting to gain traction in that market. Under the current economic circumstances we are pleased with the position we’re in.”

Marra Construction has been involved in a wide range of construction projects throughout the Bay of Plenty region, including residential, commercial, retail and industrial. The company offers a complete design-and-build service, from architectural through to interior and landscape design, enabling the client to fully integrate their concepts with one company.

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Marra Construction’s work was part of a $23 million development for North Island Mussel Processors.

The project involved a remodel and extensions, which has more than doubled the size of its premises

Over the years Marra has developed a designand-build service for industrial and commercial buildings, including lease back facilities. “Our market position is reinforced through reputation and we believe that our company growth is an indication of that service that we deliver.”

Marra Construction 2004 Limited PO Box 315, Greerton Tauranga 3122 T (07) 543 0774 F (07) 543 0776 www.marra.co.nz — Advertising Feature

As the largest building supply merchant in New Zealand, PlaceMakers are the preferred supplier to Marra Construction.

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Marra Construction 2004 Ltd is a Limited Liability Company operating in the Bay of Plenty and embraces all areas of Commercial and Industrial construction including Development projects and Design & Build.

Marra Construction 2004 Ltd has been established in the Bay of Plenty for nearly 30 years and have grown to become one of the largest Bay of Plenty based commercial builders over the last five years.

Marra Construction are pleased to support North Island Mussel Processors. www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 29

NZIA Awards | Port of Taranaki Offices

Green-minded A couple of years ago it had become obvious to all those concerned that the Port of Taranaki office had outgrown its ‘drab’ building and needed a new home.

The port’s CEO Roy Weaver commissioned architect Ian Pritchard in 2008 to design a new office building for the growing company.

“The old office space was very 1960s in design and had no real attention to natural light, air flow or the connection between offices — it was like a rabbit warren,” Weaver says.

Ian Pritchard’s ethos and plan embraced environmentally sustainable options. “My personal philosophy is that you do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do,” he says.

Often using sustainable design elements such as solar panels in his buildings as a matter of course, Pritchard pitched a building that would meet the high standards it takes to be awarded five green stars by the New Zealand Green Building Council.

Weaver quickly agreed that an environmentally sustainable building was the way to go for the Port of Taranaki for a variety of reasons.

The port’s major shareholder, the Taranaki District Council, is the “environmental watchdog for Taranaki”, Weaver says.

He was also confident there would be no problem attracting excellent tenants for the building’s bottom floor which is rented out.

But largely he realised that a green building was the most sustainable option. “We were aware that we wanted the building to be future proofed to not only house us today, but in twenty or thirty years time.”

Particular attention has been paid in the office’s design to the expensive and high carbon process of heating and cooling the building.

“The air conditioner is smart — it can simultaneously heat and cool areas.

“It achieves this in part by taking air in one space that’s too hot and moving it to an area that is too cool, and vice versa. It’s cheaper and more sustainable to shuffle air than heat and cool it,” Pritchard says.

Minimising artificial input The building was designed however, to minimise the use of artificial heating and cooling. The office faces north and has a passive solar design, with large areas of the interior capturing the sun’s light and heat during the winter, but not during summer.

Much of the structure is made of pre-cast concrete that the sun heats during the day.

“Buildings are cold in morning, heat up and peak during midday then drop off again. The office’s concrete mass will gently release the heat it has stored at midday during the cooler part of the day. This moderates the fluctuations in temperature. Again, it reduces the air conditioning load,” explains Pritchard.

Port of Taranaki Offices: 2009 commercial architecture, Western awards

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Most of the materials used in the new offices are also “green”. Ceramic tiles have been used, rather than polyvinyl chloride (PVC) enriched materials, which from manufacture to disposal emit toxic compounds. The carpet is made of 100 percent recycled materials and where possible, wood has been used instead of aluminium, because less energy is needed to create wooden materials.

“… they (Taranaki District Council) are taking their environmental responsibilities seriously” Ian Pritchard Architects Ian Pritchard

30 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

NZIA Awards | Port of Taranaki Offices

design Water recycling is another key environmental feature. Rainwater dripping off vehicles in the parking lot flows into a “rain garden” filled with special plants to filter that water before it enters the city’s stormwater system.

The water used to flush the toilets comes from the building’s roof.

There are also covered bicycle racks, showers and lockers for staff who cycle, run or walk to work.

Green star rating system The New Zealand Green Building Council is an industry based organisation established in 2005 dedicated to accelerating the development and adoption of market-based green building practices.

The council’s green star rating system uses a points scoring system to evaluate buildings against a total of nine categories — management, indoor environment quality, energy, transport, water, materials, land use and ecology, emissions and innovation.

A total of 45-59 points indicates industry best practice and a four-star rating. A total of 60-74 points signifies New Zealand excellence and gets five stars.

Six stars are only awarded to those projects scoring 75-100 points and signifying world leadership status.

Only a handful of buildings around New Zealand have so far received green star certification.

Green features The Port of Taranaki office is the first in Taranaki to officially receive the sought-after five stars.

 Solar panels on roof  Covered bicycle racks, showers and lockers

“As a civic organisation they are taking their environmental responsibilities seriously.

 Pre-cast concrete that releases previous day’s heat during cold mornings

“They have put their money where their mouth is — for them being sustainable is more than just spin,” Pritchard says.

 Recycled and environmentally friendly materials

Feature continues on next page >>

 Garden using special plants filters contaminated rainwater.

Prime Minister John Key congratulates Port of Taranaki CEO Roy Weaver at the opening of the new office building in September 2009

 Toilet water comes from the office building’s roof

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NZIA Awards | Port of Taranaki Offices

“We wanted a building that was hard-working, not prissy or fancy … that could cope with the elements — salt, sea and wind.”

Roy Weaver Port of Taranaki CEO

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NZIA Awards | Port of Taranaki Offices

Pritchard says the team used an excellent consulting company, E Cubed, to advise them on how to secure a five green star rating.

The building has also been recognised by the New Zealand Institute of Architects. The judges have called the building “innovative, well-executed and elegant”, something Roy Weaver absolutely agrees with. He loves how stylish the building is, but also its durability.

“We wanted a building that was hard-working, not prissy or fancy, we wanted one that could cope with the elements we deal with every day — the salt the sea and the wind.

“It’s the sort of building that you think is nicely done but not over the top. It doesn’t look like money’s been wasted on non- essentials.”

Surprise find Clelands Construction was the company in charge of building the office. Project manager Bruce Earby says the company had never worked on a green star building before and there were some changes to standard operating procedures, particularly with recycling as much of the material as possible.

“We separated out the left-over timber which went to the local depot here.

“The concrete that was left over — including the concrete from the paths and basements of the original houses moved off the site — was taken away and ground up and recycled.

“It’s being used on farms as driveways.

Vegetation from the site was mulched and used in the restoration of an old quarry site.”

Another big challenge was the discovery of important Maori heritage as Clelands Construction subcontractors dug up the site.

The area was once a pa site for the local iwi, Ngati Te Whiti, and builders found cooking pits and middens as they were working on the site. The entire project had to stopped so that archaeologists could examine the area.

While most artefacts have been returned to the iwi, some of the stones from the pa site are now on display in the foyer of the office to honour the site’s past.

Despite the halt in work due to the archaeological find, the office building was completed on budget and on time. “I’m full of praise for Clelands, their subcontractors and for the architect,” Weaver says.

The Port of Taranaki office building was officially opened by Prime Minister John Key in mid September 2009.

The building is now a “healthy-feeling” office with plenty of natural light, an amazing view of the harbour and wide windows, Weaver says.

Port of Taranaki PO Box 348 New Plymouth 4340 T (06) 751 0200 F (06) 751 5051 www.porttaranaki.co.nz

Clelands Construction PO Box 3240 New Plymouth T (06) 758 0869 F (06) 757 9752 www.clelands.co.nz

Architects Ian Pritchard PO Box 112 New Plymouth 4310 T (06) 757 3620 021 757 362 E info@architects.net.nz

Proarch Architects Ltd PO Box 1105 Palmerston North T (06) 356 9549 F (06) 357 3007 www.proarch.co.nz

Although there is an air conditioning system, Weaver didn’t use it once last summer because of the excellent ventilation. That’s just one of the savings Port of Taranaki can look forward to in the future, says Ian Pritchard, because of its sustainable design.

“A green building is both environmentally and fiscally responsible.”

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 33

NZIA Awards | Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre

Working for

Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre Visitors Centre: 2009 small project architecture, Wellington awards

our wildlife

For decades the Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre has been a haven for endangered native animals north of Wellington, offering tourists and locals the chance to see kiwis and other rare birds in their protected habitats as they are bred to be returned to predator-free areas.

Throughout the years, as visitor numbers have increased, the visitors centre has struggled to cater for all-comers.

Before the upgrade, the foyer was very cramped — if two buses showed up at the same time then the number of tourists exceeded capacity.

The Mt Bruce centre management commissioned Proarch Architects to design a revamped visitors centre, retaining the best of the old in conjunction with the new.

Proarch Architect Mike Swann says his design expanded and modernised the entry to the foyer. It also enlarged the cramped shop area to make it open and inviting for the visitors, and made a bigger and more accessible café. Before the renovations the café, tucked away around the corner, wasn’t visible to guests.

Holmes Construction took care of creating the new centre.

“Now it’s obvious to anyone who comes in desperate for a cup of tea,” Swann says.

The visitors centre now includes computer generated images and interactive displays, recreating the sights and sounds of the bush and telling the stories associated with animals that have been released back into the wild.

Swann’s design paid heed to lighting and space to enhance this important part of the building.

Holmes Construction built the upgrade. The project was challenging, CEO Andy Holmes says.

“It rained nearly every day of the six months we were there. Working on the main entrance presented another challenge because the centre hardly ever closes so we had stringent health and safety measures in place to divert tourists away from the construction and into the building.”

“Our re-design honoured the original” Mike Swann Proarch Architects 34 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

NZIA Awards | Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre

The award-winning design includes:  Café made more accessible and obvious  Foyer made larger and modernised  Gift shop extended and enlarged  New interactive displays.

The original entrance-way (above) was peeled back to expose the Lockwood construction and transformed into a building that embraces the best of the old in conjunction with the new

Despite these challenges, Holmes Construction finished the job on time and on budget.

kiwi programme and introducing new visitor viewing facilities.

The visitor’s centre’s design won the New Zealand Institute of Architects 2009 small project architecture award. The jurors noted how the original Lockwood structure had been “peeled back to embrace the forest canopy beyond”.

The kiwi house is still in the documentation stage and Proarch Architects are designing it.

Swann says this project is a novel one for his team. “We were scratching our heads a little bit there. No one’s done one of them before. But it certainly is a fun challenge.”

The Lockwood structure used solid timber panels, Swann says. “Our re-design honoured the original. It was built out of timber but we used good framing and excellent insulation, because the visitors centre could get very cold beforehand. Mt Bruce is a cold and sometimes snowy part of the country.”

Proarch Architects Ltd PO Box 1105 Palmerston North T (06) 356 9549 F (06) 357 3007 www.proarch.co.nz

The upgrade is the first in many phases to renovate the Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre.

The centre recently won a $300,000 grant from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board to assist the $1.5 million upgrade and extension to the nocturnal kiwi house.

Holmes Construction PO Box 12 Greytown 5742 T (06) 356 4163 F (06) 356 5463 www.holmes-construction.co.nz

The planned work includes completely renovating the bird enclosures, flood-proofing the structure, relocating the Operation Nest Egg

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NZIA Awards | Aorangi House

facelift

The ultimate

Aorangi House was a drab, seventies office building with an out-dated and leaky façade, as well as internal issues of heating, cooling and ventilation.

Largely unlet since 2005, in 2009 work began to transform it into a smart, modern office building with an award for environmental sustainability.

Primeproperty Group is the development company that bought the building, then commissioned Studio Pacific Architecture to redesign it. Keyway Construction was the team responsible for renovation work, inside and out.

Architect Michael Davis used to visit the building when Statistics New Zealand was in it and he was designing a new office. “It was a hot, stuffy building that could best be described as ‘tired’.

On a windy day the wind would make a terrible screaming noise in the windows — once my client asked me to call him back because the noise was so bad he couldn’t hear me properly.”

Statistics New Zealand moved to new premises in 2005 and Aorangi House was largely unlet.

“There are a lot of inner city buildings that need an upgrade for the 21st century. There’s often not much room for large new buildings to be built in cities and we can’t have endless urban sprawl.

“From an environmental point of view, our cities need to be looking at options to improve the existing building stock. This is why we feel we’ve set an example of what we can do. While the building is of its time architecturally, it was a robust design that meant it had really good bones. We’ve made the most of them.”

Eyal Aharoni of Primeproperty Group says the company chose Aorangi House for development because it was empty, had an excellent location and had a tenant waiting. Using environmentally friendly techniques to restore an existing building is, in his view, better than creating a new green building from scratch.

A plaster system encapsulating 10 centimetres of external insulation was put on to the white plastered columns on the façade, a technique widely used in Europe but something not used on a commercial building in Wellington before.

“Beca have been through the warm season. The test now is what winter will be like. Because of the exposed thermal mass and high insulation I expect they won’t be using much heating either,” Davis says.

Sunshades called ‘brise soleil’ in architect-speak cover the building on three sides, providing solar shading for summer but still permitting maximum daylight and views out to the stunning sea, city, and hills.

Aorangi House has applied for a five star rating from the New Zealand Green Buildings Council and the team is confident it will meet

The revitalised Aorangi House (left) is a vast improvement on the outdated original (above)

the criteria. Studio Pacific won an award for Sustainable Architecture in the 2009 NZIA Wellington Architecture Awards. The jurors made the following comment on Aorangi House when awarding it a prize in the sustainable architecture section: “Intelligent, sustainable interventions have been applied to an existing multi-storey building, resulting in a synergy between efficiency and innovation. A fine example of responsible design upgrade.”

Aorangi House was also shortlisted this year for a New Zealand Institute of Architects National Award, again in the sustainability category.

Aorangi House: 2009 sustainable architecture, Wellington awards

This was the first project undertaken by the newly formed Keyway Construction, director

John Fletcher says. It was ambitious in terms of the size of the job but also because of the special environmental features and processes.

“We had to ensure that all of the specified sustainable design principles were included in the trade contractor’s scope of works and properly implemented.

“For example, in order to achieve the Green Star points for waste management we had to implement a system that required us to separate all of the demolition and waste materials during construction. This was successfully done but required constant monitoring. Part of the bonus of doing this ourselves was that we were able to obtain rebates for certain recycled materials.”

“Overall I’m extremely pleased with it — we met the tenant’s requirements, and thanks to BNZ we were able to fund the project in a very challenging financial environment. Everyone worked hard and it was done on time and on budget. That’s not always an easy task.”

Studio Pacific Architecture Level 2, 74 Cuba Street PO Box 11-517 Te Aro, Wellington T (04) 802 5444 F (04) 802 5446 E architects@studiopacific.co.nz Primeproperty Group Level 4, Greenock House, 39 The Terrace PO Box 11785 Wellington T (04) 499 1773 F (04) 499 1774 E info@primeproperty.co.nz Keyway Construction PO Box 11-785 Wellington 6142 T (04) 460 0451

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INTERIOR ADVANCED SOLUTIONS

Solutions | RHT NZ

cool For quality radiators made and tested in New Zealand, look no further than RHT NZ. Directors Dayne and Shona Collinson bought the company three years ago when it was part of ABB Transformers.

Dayne Collinson says while the company is now independent, there have not been significant changes in direction under their leadership.

“Our company is new but our technology has been well tried and tested over many years. A policy of continual improvement has ensured that we have kept with modern advancement in our field. Our processes have stood the test of time and constant research maintains a product second to none.”

RHT manufactures specialist radiators for the transfer of heat away from thermal generators such as transformers, where the maintenance of a stable temperature is mandatory for the efficient functioning of the unit.

The company has devised a practical means of ensuring the optimum dispersion of heat from a compact volume. This ensures a high degree of efficiency and stability over a wide range of operating temperatures.

The factory is situated in New Plymouth but the company supplies radiators nationwide. There is a three-part process to manufacturing the radiators, Dayne says. “Firstly, our radiators are manufactured from flat sheet steel which has been cold pressed to a configuration that has proved over the years to be a most successful design. These pressed panels are then faced together and TIG welded by an automatic process to make a flawless radiation panel.”

Secondly, the completed panels are then assembled on a jig which ensures accurate

alignment and positioning of individual panels. These are then MIG welded by RHT’s experienced, qualified welders.

After a cool-down period the completed radiator is given a final proving test in a deep water bath and high pressure air is injected. In the unlikely event of a leak this is immediately apparent and the unit is withdrawn from the process for repair and re-test. The radiators packaged and shipped.

Design difference Collinson says their New Zealand made radiators have an inherently better design then the competition shipped in from overseas countries like China.

“The outside of our panels are tig-welded while the competition use continuous rollus spot welding. When we fuse the panel we have a rounded edge that allows us to adhere the paint better, making it a more protective coating. The way others are manufactured allows for water to be trapped on the surface or dirt to collect on the top. This doesn’t happen with our quality, designed products.”

In the past RHT has been a major player in the refurbishment market supplying replacement radiators for older transformers. The company aims to regain this market.

RHT would also like to manufacture wider panels than the 290cm wide panels it currently makes.

New power transformers are being made in a larger format which means there needs to be a corresponding jump in the size of radiators. RHT is in the process of sourcing machinery to make bigger radiators.

Collinson says RHT aims to keep doing what it has been doing for the last three years — creating well designed quality radiators and providing excellent and professional service.

Our company is new but our technology has been well tried and tested over many years.

RHT NZ Ltd PO Box 5139 New Plymouth 4343 T (06) 755 2961 F (06) 755 2946 E rhtnzltd@yahoo.co.nz www.rhtnz.co.nz — Advertising Feature

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 37

Solutions | Water Services Wairoa

LooKInG For STAFF? Most of the company’s work is with the supply, maintenance and installation of pumps and water systems for stockwater and farmhouse water purposes. In the five years since the Waites bought Water Services Wairoa it has grown in size, assisted by the stock of Brian Hill Ltd, purchased a year ago when Hill retired.

Water Services Wairoa stock hydraulic hose and fittings, bolts, seals, filters, general tools and a larger range of belts which are all available from the showroom. There is also an extensive range of pipes, hoses, fittings, tanks, troughs, plumbing stock and Caltex products.

Water Services Wairoa offers spares, repairs and supplies many different brands and types of farm equipment. “We aim to be the one-stop shop for the local farmers,” says Glyn Waite.

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The company employs four full-time and two part-time staff. Waite and his employees often work in tough conditions — many of the local properties are steep hill country sheep and beef farms. “We have very high water pressure to deal with, running up over 300 psi — that’s equivalent to 200 vertical metres.”

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After spending the 46 years since he left school working on and off for a tractor services company, Glyn Waite, accompanied by his wife Del, decided to purchase the business in 2005 when the then owner retired.

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An exciting project for Waite recently was installing the first solar powered pump in the district. While Waite predominantly works with farmers, Water Services Wairoa also does engineering work, domestic plumbing and service work for local mills.

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38 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

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Export | Kilwell Sports

Hi-tech

tools What’s at your back doorstep; a dishevelled garden, worn gumboots, a rustic tin shed? Or do you have access to the kind of recreational playground from which an innovative business, Kilwell Sports, emerged more than 75 years ago?

Before most Kilwell Sports fans were even twinkles in their parents eyes, the late John Wells moved his humble tackle company to the central North Island. Home to world class trout fishing locations and wild deer and pig hunting territories, Rotorua was the ideal backdrop for what became Kilwell Sports, which has traded as a privately owned company since 1933.

for peak performance

masts. The Rotorua factory employs around 50 staff, works two shifts and exports 70 percent of production. Half of the 30 percent sold domestically is exported by other parties within one or two months.  Kilwell Rod Craft — This division manufactures a range of top end sport fishing rods to compliment low and midpriced ranges imported from Asia.

Managing director Jeremy Wells says being a family owned venture gives the business a personalised element not always found in commercial enterprises. Of the 85 staff employed in the Kilwell Group, more than 40 staff have notched up more than 10 years service with many at the 25 years level. Two employees in the fibretube division have each contributed 42 years service.

for light sabres in Star Wars. The next time you see someone aloft in a hang glider, it will more than likely have Kilwell Fibretube spars on board.

innovative tube designs. High performance water sports such as yachting, sail-boarding, rowing and canoeing have benefited and now account for approximately half of Fibretube’s production, with kayak paddle shafts being exported to all corners of the globe.

At the Beijing Olympics, Kilwell Fibretube rowing oar shafts featured in all the Peoples’ Republic of China and American crews, as well as other countries including most New Zealand crews.

Many America’s Cup syndicates have utilised Kilwell Fibretube as a supplier of specialist carbon tubing including sail battens, with Team BMW Oracle being a strong supporter.

Bentley utilises Kilwell structural tubes in its cars and Fox Studio used Fibretube’s Texalium tubes

Kilwell Fibretube can rightfully feel it has played a part in the medal-winning efforts of Kiwi sporting greats such as Ian Ferguson, Rob Waddell, Mahe Drysdale and the Evers-Swindell twins.

Kilwell Sports Limited PO Box 3033 Rotorua 3010 T (07) 345 9094 F (07) 345 5149 E sports@kilwell.co.nz www.kilwell.co.nz — Advertising Feature

Kilwell’s Fibretube policy is to produce quality components to exact specifications for other manufacturers, leaving them to “end work” (produce) the finished items.

The Kilwell Group encompasses three divisions:  Wholesale distribution — Based in Rotorua and Christchurch, this division distributes a diverse range of fishing and shooting products for resale in retail outlets throughout the country.  Kilwell Fibretube — This division manufactures an extensive range of fibreglass, carbon fibre and composite tubes that have a wide range of applications, from fishing rods to antennas and yacht

The company prides itself on quick turnarounds on orders and has a small dedicated team handling development requests. A willingness and ability to handle small volume specialist orders has been part of Kilwell’s exporting success as opposed to Asia’s lower price but demands of high volume.

The advent of space age materials like high modulus carbon in various weaves has led to

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www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 39

Export | Forest Owner Marketing Services

Headache-free

Turning a forest into cash sounds easy. Cut the trees down, process them into logs and load onto trucks — easy! In reality however, harvesting trees is a much more complex operation.

cartage contracts. We make the sales for the sawmills and we then invoice the sawmills, collect the money and pay the contractors. It’s headache-free for our clients.�

The process can be simplified, thanks to an organisation dedicated to supply a service to harvest your trees. This includes building and pre-funding roads, organising all of the machinery and labour to carry out the operation and then selling your higher grade logs to sawmills and exporting the balance.

FOMS sells to virtually every sawmill in the southern North Island — including the Taranaki, Manawatu, Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay regions.

Although it is only six years old, the company has built a strong client base via a strongly professional attitude.

Forest Owner Marketing Services (FOMS), started in October 2004, has gone from strength to strength. The Feilding-based harvesting and marketing company provides forest owners with industry leading services individually tailored for each client. Operating throughout the North Island, it is primarily based in southern regions, including Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay.

FOMS guarantees payments for clients. Bartells says its partner, the Tokomaru East Forest Company, provides the equity to allow FOMS to guarantee payments.

“It is a very competitive industry, there are a number of similar operations in this area. We have grown in our six years to become the largest in the region we operate in. I think it’s because we’re very professional and we do what we say we’re going to. We’ve become a preferred supplier by many of the sawmills because of that factor.�

Managing director Mike Bartells says FOMS takes care of everything. Once the client signs up, generally the only input FOMS then needs is a GST number and bank account details for final payment matters.

The figures say it all in regards to FOMS’ exponential growth. In October 2004, the company started by harvesting 43,000 tonnes in the first six months. By 2006 it was putting through 175,000 tonnes a year. This has grown to 390,000 tonnes for 2009-10.

“We carry out the operation from go to whoa.

If there needs to be roads, we build the roads.

We organise the harvesting contracts and the

FOMS recognises the value of the New Zealand sawmilling industry and the significant part it plays in maximising returns from forests.

Ph: +64 6 323 6622 Phone 06 755 9000 | Fax 06 755 2185 Hudson Road | Bell Block | New Plymouth www.taranakipine.co.nz

NZ Sawn Products are proud to be associated with Forest Owner Marketing Services Ltd

Your Total Harvesting and Marketing Solution offering:

Forest Owner Marketing Services Ltd l Agri-Business Centre l 8 Weld Street, PO Box 96 l Feilding Phone 06 323 5621 l Fax 06 323 5372 Marcus 027 492 1081 l marcus.musson@foms.co.z Chris 027 492 1072 l chris.maher@foms.co.nz

Your Total Harvesting and Marketing Solution 42 | August/September 2010   www.centraltoday.co.nz

s ! FREE NO OBLIGATION ASSESSMENT OF YOUR TREES WITH PERSONAL SERVICE AND ADVICE s ! .: OWNED AND OPERATED COMPANY s 'UARANTEED 0AYMENTS s 0RE &UNDING OF ROAD AND SKID CONSTRUCTION TO AGREED LEVELS WITH NO lNANCE CHARGES s (IGHLY EXPERIENCED STAFF TO MANAGE THE (ARVESTING -ARKETING OF YOUR TREES s %XPERIENCED QUALITY CONTRACTORS TO HARVEST AND TRANSPORT YOUR TREES s ! RANGE OF HAULER GROUND BASED CONTRACTOR HARVESTING OPTIONS AVAILABLE s !CCESS TO ALL DOMESTIC SAWMILLS IN THE REGION s %XPORT 3ALES THROUGH .: S LARGEST LOG EXPORT COMPANY s /PTIONS OF MANAGED OR GRADED SALES AND OR LUMP SUM PURCHASE WHERE APPROPRIATE

TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION THAT SUITS EACH INDIVIDUAL FOREST OWNER s &OREIGN EXCHANGE OPTIONS FOR EXPORT GRADES

Export | Forest Owner Marketing Services FACT FILE  Highly experienced and well-respected staff  Best net return possible through value maximisation and cost minimisation  Guaranteed payment  Pre-funded road construction and other harvest related costs  Ability to harvest any forest type, with a range of hauler and ground based options  New Zealand owned and operated  Access to all domestic sawmills in the region  Export sales through New Zealand’s largest log export company

“That’s why we always target the domestic sales first, only exporting volumes and grades that are unsuitable for the domestic market.”

A significant amount of the wood FOMS harvests and markets is milled in New Zealand and used in buildings and for products made here.

“We are tough negotiators when it comes to setting log prices, which ensures our clients are getting some of the best log prices in any current market.

Radiata is a fast growing wood that can be easily worked and treated. It’s a plantation species and not native to New Zealand, so although it is not as “attractive” as other native species like rimu or kauri, Radiata pine has a more extensive range of uses, at considerably lower prices. “Our wood is probably used for hundreds of different products all over the world,” Bartells says.

“Our size enables us to provide sawmills with continuity of supply throughout the year, which in turn allows us to place logs into markets where others may not, due to inconsistent supply,” Bartells says.

FOMS exports logs, under its own name, through export agents the TPT Group, who are based in Tauranga and the largest log exporter out of New Zealand — exporting to China, South Korea and the Middle East. FOMS and TPT are currently investigating exporting to India.

A big issue facing the foresting industry right now is the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which came into effect on July 1. When FOMS harvests a forest it can offer information and advice to forest owners about the ETS on carbon credits and replanting requirements under the ETS.

Open book policy

FOMS offers free, no obligation estimates of current net value of mature forests.

FOMS sends exports out through New Plymouth, Wellington, Napier and Tauranga ports. Forest owners using FOMS do not pay additional export agency fees, which can sometimes occur when logs are sold to At Wharf Gate (AWG) purchasers acting as middle men.

invariably provides better returns to forest owners, Bartells says.

In any given month, one of the different exporting companies may have a slight advantage in terms of sales prices or shipping, giving a better New Zealand dollar return (AWG) for one or more export grades. However, over the longer term, the open book harvesting and marketing scenario preferred by FOMS

“We have the option to sell our clients’ export logs to whichever company has the highest net return to the forest owner. Each month we compare our export options with those available AWG from other exporters. We can then make decisions on behalf of our clients as to which market their export volume will be sold.”

Forest Owner Marketing Services PO Box 96 Feilding 4740 T (06) 323 5621 F (06) 323 5322 www.foms.co.nz — Advertising Feature

Markhams Wanganui Limited

MARKHAMS CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS & BUSINESS ADVISORS

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249 Wicksteed Street, Wanganui email: wg@markhams.co.nz Rex McKinnon • Stuart Wright • Warwyck Dewe Jeff Whitlock • Nicola Gibbons

Forest Owner Marketing Services have been a key supplier to the Kiwi Lumber Group since their inception. They are a professional organisation and we congratulate them on their success. We look forward to a long and successful future together.

Kiwi Lumber (Dannevirke) Ltd 255 Weber Rd, Dannevirke P 06 374 4600 | F 06 374 4601

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McCARTHY TRANSPORT ARE PROUD TO BE FOREST OWNER MARKETING SERVICES LTD PREFERRED TRANSPORT SUPPLIER CHRIS PURCELL: OPERATIONS MANAGER 0274 978 012 McCarthy Transport 361 Heads Road, Wanganui Phone: 06 344 1620

FOR ALL YOUR LOG CARTAGE NEEDS “PROUD PEOPLE, LOYAL SERVICE” www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 41

Property and Construction | David Reid Homes Taupo

Homes heart The need for shelter is a rudimentary instinct. It is a practise which has been around since the beginning of civilisation when cavemen painted cave walls.

As our dwellings have evolved, the modern home has moved from just providing shelter to also become a vehicle for personal expression.

Today’s homes are inspired and designed to deliver a structure which is both a beautiful and unique expression of those they shelter.

To say it is now a manifestation of our hopes and dreams isn’t far off the mark. But translating the hopes and dreams of people into a reality is a task few can master.

David Reid Homes Taupo has long upheld the tradition of establishing homes which are a hybrid of both practical living solutions, while realising the hopes and dreams of those they’re building for.

David Reid Homes is an iconic New Zealand brand with a proud history. As one of the largest building groups in New Zealand, it has won more Master Builder awards than any other building company. In 2008 alone the company won more than 50 awards, with more gold awards than any other builder — an outstanding achievement, highlighting the company’s commitment to the highest of quality standards.

David Reid Homes Taupo is proud to have built one of the best homes in the country as judged by the Master Builders in the 2007 National House of the Year competition. Not only was the home a Gold Reserve Award winner, but at the black tie awards evening attended by the

Prime Minister and other dignitaries, the home was judged the national winner in the $350,000 to $450,000 category, beating more than 700 entrants to achieve the distinction.

years building exquisite homes, David Reid Homes Taupo illustrates the commitment to quality the brand has become renowned for.

A great example of what can be achieved when you work with David Reid Homes to create your dream, the home was custom designed for the clients to fit a prestigious site overlooking the Kinloch marina and features the use of natural materials, including schist, cedar and copper.

While having an extensive plan library for inspiration and ideas, David Reid Homes Taupo realised how daunting the task of custom design and build can be.

Established in 1993, David Reid Homes has gone on to become a nationwide network of 22 franchised branches. With more than seven

Commitment to excellence

It inspired the team to develop a tried and true process to ensure a smooth transition from concept to the reality of a new unique custom built home to suit individual sites, director Mike Grove says.

“We manage your building project from concept to completion. We listen to your specific requirements and custom build to meet your needs. We guide you through the building process to ensure you get your desired outcome.

“Building your home is, afterall, one of the largest investments you will ever make.”

Achieving the highest standard of build quality and design is nothing new to the Taupo branch of the nationwide company. David Reid Homes Taupo has been building in the area for more than seven years and is consistently racking up a vast portfolio of accolades.

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“Award Winning quality costs no more” DAVID REID HOMES TAUPO | PH 07 377 0777 | taupo@davidreidhomes.co.nz 42 | Central Today | August/September 2010

Proud to be associated with David Reid Homes Taupo Contact Graeme or Toni 28 & 30 Matai Street • PO Box 443 • Taupo Freephone 0800 555 545 • Phone 07 377 3086

Property and Construction | David Reid Homes Taupo 10 year guarantee. “We don’t cut corners. Our homes are the best and we don’t mind showing you why,” Mike Grove says.

$400,000 and the country’s leading builder of architecturally designed custom built homes.

The company is again showcasing its abilities with its latest showhome in Wharewaka, illustrating why David Reid Homes is at the forefront of energy efficiency and design.

Featuring four bedrooms on two levels, it boasts the latest in technology with excellent heat retention and sustainability, meaning you get the best in ongoing future energy savings. This technology is in line with the company’s policy of finding total energy efficiency solutions.

The showhome at 5 Loloma Way, Wharewaka, is open Thursday to Sunday, 1pm-4pm.

David Reid Homes Taupo is no ‘formula’ housing company, being known for superior masterbuild characteristics and timeless style, rather than easily spotted design re-runs. It designs and builds homes that cater to every market, from an economical holiday home to a timeless masterpiece. Being part of Master Builders means all David Reid Homes carry the association’s seven year guarantee or the new

This essentially gives the company independent confirmation of its commitment to be the best, with substantial knowledge of building design and detailing, ensuring it provides clients with sound advice on specifications and fit-out.

With the ability to handle your planning and resource consent requirements, down to lighting and interior design consultation and including

PH: 021 657 046 FAX: 07 376 7472 PO BOX 1292 TAUPO 3351 Email: scott@taupogas.co.nz

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David Reid Homes Taupo 46 Kenrigg Road Kinloch, Taupo T (07) 377 0777 E taupo@davidreidhomes.co.nz www.davidreidhomes.co.nz — Advertising Feature

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As a member of Taupo Master Builders, David Reid Homes is able to provide peace of mind through the Master Build Warranty, which complements its award-winning standard of finishing and workmanship.

the latest in energy efficiency, David Reid Homes Taupo provides a complete and professional building service. A building consultant is the first point of contact to explain the David Reid Homes process and the team invites you to call in and see for yourself its commitment to excellence.

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The commitment goes above and beyond the delivery of your dream home. “We manage your building project from concept to completion. We listen to your specific requirements and custom build to meet your needs. We guide you through the building process to ensure the desired outcome from one of the largest investments you will ever make.”

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Proud suppliers to David Reid Homes Taupo 90 Spa Road, Taupo | www.placemakers.co.nz www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 43

Property and Construction | Holmes Construction

Finding the right formula “You have to risk going too far to discover just how far you can really go.”  Holmes Construction Group has offices in the Wairarapa and Wellington, plus a branch in Palmerston North  Holmes has been operating in the Wairarapa for 50 years and in Wellington for 12 years. It turns over in excess of $30 million per annum  Holmes Wairarapa has received numerous awards including the 2007 NZIA for the renovation of the Greytown Town Hall  Holmes Wellington has also won many awards including the 2005 Master Builders national award for commercial construction over $5million, for the Kate Sheppard Apartments  Holmes Construction can work with your architect and assist from design to completion of your project  Holmes Construction is proud to be a member of the Master Builders Association.

These words, uttered by poet TS Eliot back in the 1930s, remain pertinent today, especially when it comes to business.

After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained… although the high failure rate of start-ups illustrates the risks involved in entering the business world. And with recent statistics suggesting only one in three family businesses succeed in making it from the first to the second generation, it’s clear the family business owes any success more to good management than good luck.

So a family owned business with three generations actively playing their parts is testament to the dedication and business acumen of the family itself.

While Holmes Construction co-director Andy Holmes concedes this to be the case in his own family business story, he suggests the greatest factor in the company’s growth is good old fashioned hard work.

Architectural Windows Ltd are proud to be offering Holmes Construction ongoing support throughout the Central region.

We offer a full design, fabrication and installation service to both commerical and residential customers.

Proud to be a supplier of top quality hardware for Holmes Construction.

11 Manchester Street, Paraparaumu Ph 04 298 3736 (Kapiti), 04 568 2828 (Wellington)

Phone: (06) 843 9074 www.htlhardware.co.nz

Daikin Heat Pumps are engineered with an intelligence to respond quickly to changes in the weather outside so the temperature in your home stays just perfect.

They’re also amongst the quietest and most energy efficient in the world.

Daikin also has a network of heat pump specialists who do it all for you. From finding the right product, to professional installation and customer support. So contact your local Daikin Specialist Dealer now to discuss your heat pump requirements.

Proud to be associated with Holmes Construction

Henry Hintz Available at:

B.W. O’BRIEN AND CO LTD 138 Dixon Street, Masterton Phone: 378 2288 Email: bwobrienandco@xtra.co.nz

44 | August/September 2010 www.centraltoday.co.nz

M. 027 276 2121 AH. 357 4007 | Fax. 06 357 4012 henrysplumbingltd@inspire.net.nz

“We value our employees and, in turn, they stay with us for long periods because it is a great place to work.”

The construction industry in New Zealand is an extremely complex and increasingly regulated environment within which to conduct business.

The quality and attention to detail maintained

by Holmes Construction allows this to work in the company’s favour. “Our attention to detail and the quality of our workmanship ensures successful relationships with our customers and the successful delivery of their projects.

“We are committed to meeting and exceeding industry standards of quality in the projects we are involved with.”

“We have a measured approach to growth — slow and steady wins the race. Holmes Construction is solid and strong,” he says.

Together with rigorous cross-checking and form-based sign off procedures, key personnel are able to ensure the delivery of the specified design in a safe and productive manner. The procedures and systems ensure quality and have been recognised by consultants, clients and local authorities, as being practical and effective in the delivery of quality at all levels of the building process.

Holmes Construction maintains its competitive edge by focusing on the quality of the outcome, as opposed to the financial result.

“Holmes Construction is synonymous with quality. We look after our clients and have many that have used our services repeatedly.”

“We’ve grown to the point where we are small enough for everyone to know each other, but have enough experience and financial strength to undertake large and complicated projects.

The Holmes Construction Group is a group of companies in the lower North Island, with offices in Wellington and the Wairarapa, owned and managed by the Holmes family.

It constructs a wide range of buildings from quality residential homes to large commercial developments.

Well into corporate maturity at 53 years of age, Holmes Construction is a proud member of the Master Builders Association.

Service with a smile for all your plumbing needs Roofing repairs, spouting, renovations, new homes, and maintenance

The company challenges the traditional competitive marketplace of the industry by taking a team atmosphere. “Our approach to all projects is that of a team. We have a core group of senior employees who bring a diverse range of experience to the table for the benefit of our clients,” Holmes says.

Quality decorating by a team of local professionals. We pride ourselves on our workmanship, no matter what size job.

Licensed “Nuplex” contractors and specialists in • Floor coatings • Resin Topping • Waterproofing • Graffiti Removal • Interior & Exterior High Performance Coatings P. 06 378 9383 F. 06 378 9308 M. 027 458 7473 PO Box 158 | 273 Upper Plain Road MASTERTON carman.dec@xtra.co.nz

Holmes Construction 150 Main Street Greytown Wairarapa T (06) 304 9816 E office@hcgltd.co.nz www.holmes-construction.co.nz

— Advertising Feature

Carters are proud to supply Holmes Construction 37-53 High St, South Carterton Ph 06 379 6866 134-138 Lincoln Rd, Masterton Ph 06 370 9750 www.carters.co.nz

Property and Construction | Magnum Construction

Full bore

action Magnum Construction in Te Kauwhata has spent 20 years specialising in earthmoving and roading, extending its core business into mining five years ago. Today the company undertakes a variety of roading and mining projects, employing up to 40 skilled staff who operate a fleet of hi-tech machinery.

Earthmoving and roading Formed 20 years ago, Magnum Construction is operated by the Magee family, under the leadership of company owner and general manager Nolan Magee. His wife Ruth is the office manager and sons Lance and Mark are area and project managers. Daughter Paula is the pay master with help from grand-daughter Stephanie, who is also in the office.

Above: Magnum Construction in action stripping overburden at a mine at Huntly, and (left), the team clears an old house site at Cape Reinga

Assistant general manager David McKelvey says earthmoving and mining are core work, with projects throughout the country. “We carry out a lot of state highway reconstruction. Earlier this year we finished realignment of State Highway 1 between Waitiki Landing and Cape Reinga, which was a three-year project,” he says.

“We’ve just completed a large industrial development at One Tree Point near Marsden Point in Northland, and we’re about to start stage two of the Kamo bypass in Whangarei.”

This involves improvements from north of Kamo Road south to Tarewa Road in Whangarei.

Magnum Construction also hopes to be involved in the Te Rapa bypass project in Hamilton.

“We mainly work as a subcontractor on those projects, undertaking the earthmoving part of the project,” McKelvey says. “We generally work for the main construction company, rather than directly for the New Zealand Transport Agency.”

In addition to state highway work, Magnum Construction has recently completed stage one of a multi-stage redevelopment and lengthening of the runway at Rotorua International Airport.

It is the second time around for the company, having previously lengthened the runway several years ago.

Mining focus The past five years have also seen Magnum Construction hone its skills as a mining contractor, with the company undertaking a lot of work for Solid Energy.

“We operate two or three crews in the mine as well as out on the highway. A crew normally consists of a hydraulic excavator (50 tonnes and upward), and three or four mine trucks, bulldozers, compactors, graders and water trucks,” McKelvey says. “We’re currently undertaking a coal mining contract for Solid Energy at the Huntly East Mine, where we are opencasting the removal of overburden and recovering coal from old underground works.”

A mining project could involve Magnum Construction removing up to 800,000 cubic metres of overburden, as well as 150,000 tonnes of coal. “We have completed stream diversion and water management projects, engineered earth structures and undertaken rehabilitation works at the completion of mining.

A larger project involved the removal of over 1,000,000m3 of soft material that much heavier mine machinery could not work on.

McKelvey says Magnum Construction succeeds in a niche market through hard work and focusing on what it does best.

McKelvey believes Magnum Construction has succeeded in the tough civil construction market through the dedication and hard work of its owners and staff.

“The company is a family business — everybody works. We put long hard hours into it and getting the right support from equipment suppliers always helps. It’s the hard yards,” McKelvey says.

While the past couple of years have been tough for everyone in the civil construction industry, he believes there is more work starting to come through as the Government begins to undertake its proposed state highway work.

“It’s going to be a very busy season coming up with some good projects.”

Magnum Construction Limited 74 Wayside Road Te Kauwhata Waikato 3782 T (07) 826 3033 — Advertising Feature

K & L Distributors Ltd is a locally owned and operated company who for the past 17 years has been providing lubricant solutions to the Waikato. They pride themselves in exceeding their customers expectations in terms of delivering profitable lubrication solutions to their business partners.

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Proud to be associated with Magnum Construction.

www.centraltoday.co.nz August/September 2010 | 45

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Natural herbs for savoury & medicinal purposes.

6.

Premium oils & fat for a healthy, shiny skin & coat (with balanced Omega-3 & Omega-6 fatty acids).

Testimonials

CANIDAE All Life Stages

CANIDAE Chicken & Rice

CANIDAE Lamb & Rice

CANIDAE Platinum

CANIDAE Grain Free All Life Stages

CANIDAE Grain Free Salmon

FELIDAE Cat & Kitten

FELIDAE Chicken& Rice

10. CANIDAE is cost-effective (feed 1 cup for 11 kg of body weight).

11. 100% money back guaranteed.

To see hundreds of testimonials in full go to our website

“It has been almost a year since I switched and Chynna is doing great” After the recall scare, I decided to switch dog food for then 11 year old terrier mix dog, Chynna. The food she was on was not one of the recall but she has been having bladder infections her entire life, and was overweight despite giving her a food for overweight dogs. After reading about all the stuff that was in other dog foods and all the great reviews for Canidae, I decided to let her try it.

It has been almost a year since I switched and Chynna is doing great. She has lost close to five pounds, has a lot of

energy and no bladder infections. I adopted another dog six months ago and immediately threw away the food the pound gave and started her on the Canidae All Life Stages dry food formula. Canidae is more expensive than other food, but the money that I saved in medicine for bladder infections and vet visits more than make up for it.

One thing to be thankful for with the food recall, it made me more aware about the nutrition of my dogs.

Linda, Houston

“Thank you for making a great pet food” I just wanted to say that I recently switched my two dogs to Canidae All Life Stages and it is wonderful. They are both doing great on it and their coats have never looked better.

If I can budget it in I plan to switch our two cats to Felidae

when the bag of food we currently have runs out. I’m sure they will do equally as well on it. Thank you for making a great pet food and saving me, I’m sure, hundreds in future vet bills.

How to order All orders are couriered to your door FREE. If you place your order by 2.00pm most orders are received within 48 hours, unless it’s a rural delivery.

Simply go to our website www.canidae.co.nz or call us toll free on 0800 101 729 and ask for a FREE sample and information pack, or place your order today.

Mention this advert this month & receive 30% off your first purchase. PLUS Call us for a free sample and information on Canidae & Felidae

We Offer A No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee

For more detailed information call on 0800 101 729 Level 3, 818 Colombo St, PO Box 1879, Christchurch. Fax: 03 961 5112 - Email: info@canidae.co.nz - Web: www.canidae.co.nz 46 | Central Today | August/September 2010

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