NZ Manufacturer April 2015

April 2015

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Octopus inspired robot.

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SouthMACH 2015 PREVIEW The world’s most flexible, lightweight table robot.

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING Self-organised factories.

The Interview Ash Taylor, Business Development Manager, kanDO Innovation Ltd shares with NZ Manufacturer his vision for the company and the way ahead.

Unfortunately the most interesting innovations we work on we never get to talk about due to confidentiality and the Intellectual Property issues around developments.

NZM: How is business for kanDO Innovation?

Ash Taylor: Business for kanDO has been rapidly growing in the last few years. Since inception we have focussed on having the right mix of expertise and access to technology to be able to deliver integrated solutions to our clients. This has meant building a team spanning areas of mechanical engineering, software development, control, machine vision, automation, robotics and other areas. We have been fortunate to have retained all six founding members of our staff which has created a very effective and capable team.

We have moved into multiple market sectors and deliver solutions across a range of companies in the seafood industry, the meat industry, infant formula canning lines, packaging plants, wine bottling plants and other areas.

In the last few years we have also been hard at work in developing some of our own innovative solutions in partnership with different industries and are looking in the next two years to establish new international markets for the distribution of these.

NZM: Where are your main markets?

Ash Taylor: Primarily New Zealand, though we have delivered solutions to Australia, the US, South Africa and Qatar. We are working regularly with Australian clients and plans for wider distribution networks in the US and Europe are being formulated.

NZM: What innovations is the company currently working on?

Sean Hurd, lead robotics engineer on the Baxter project.

SouthMACH 2015:

The machinery of business The South’s premier tech trade show has been reinvigorated for 2015, with new owners XPO Exhibitions working hard to ensure that visitors and exhibitors alike get great business value from the time they invest.

International and local exhibitors will inform, delight, entertain and do great business deals with industry professionals from all over New Zealand – and some from abroad – and the close to sold-out event.

Aad van der Poel, Sales Manager for the event, says SouthMACH is the South Island’s premier technology trade show celebrating the heartland of NZ Manufacturing. “If you are an engineer - mechanical, design, consultant, electrical; machinist; communications technician/manager; supervisor; technical operator; operations manager or similar, then SouthMACH offers the

continued on page 10

continued on page 29

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

REGISTER NOW FOR FREE ATTENDANCE

www.southmach.co.nz

USING PROMO CODE: NZMANUF

THE SAFER FARMS PROGRAMME WHY A FARM SAFETY PROGRAMME? Farming kills more people than any other sector in New Zealand – 41 people have died working on farms in the last two years. That’s four times the number of fatalities in either forestry or construction.

There are also thousands of serious injuries that lead to a loss of productivity and income for farmers.

Farmers, their families and farming communities are directly affected, and bear the emotional and financial cost of deaths and injuries on the farm.

This is why WorkSafe New Zealand is partnering with farmers and their families, sector organisations, and the rural community as a whole on Safer Farms, a comprehensive farm safety information and education campaign.

WHAT IS SAFER FARMS? Safer Farms is a new way of working. It is a multi-year programme jointly funded by ACC. It aims to increase farmer awareness and understanding of their risks, support farmers to manage their safety, and build local and sector farm safety leadership. It will achieve this by: > Providing an easy-to-use toolkit and a comprehensive online resource - www.saferfarms.org.nz – so that farmers have clear health and safety advice and information. > A widespread media campaign in newspapers, magazines, on radio and online helping farmers identify and manage risks. > A seasonal information and education campaign highlighting the risks and how to manage them when they arise through the year (e.g. calving, shearing, picking). > Working with rural retailers to help them incorporate safety messages when dealings with farmers. > Training programmes to be delivered alongside rural stakeholder groups. > Education and information for rural kids delivered through school programmes and Dairy NZ’s Rosie’s World website.

Safer Farms was not developed in isolation. It was built with extensive input from farmers, their

WSNZ_00155_FEB 15

communities and the sector to ensure the focus was on helping farmers to take ownership of their health and safety.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION? Visit www.saferfarms.org.nz or call 0800 030 040.

KEEP SAFE, KEEP FARMING

SAFERFARMS.ORG.NZ

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

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CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS

ADVISORS

5 BUSINESS NEWS 6-7 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Metals Week 2015 to celebrate the industry.

Larry Wiechern

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Looking after the packaging industry (more).

Delcam Electrode supports multi-part electrodes.

8 ANALYSIS 10 THE INTERVIEW 11 MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY The Best We Can Be.

Is the Manager of the Maintenance and Reliability Centre, Manukau Institute of Technology.

12

Ash Taylor, kanDO Innovation Ltd.

Craig Carlyle

Is Director of Maintenance Transformations Ltd, an executive member of the Maintenance Engineering Societyand the Event Director of the NationalMaintenance Engineering Conference.

Octopus inspired robot.

12-15 SouthMACH 2015 PREVIEW

The world’s most flexible, lightweight tabletop robot.

We are connected so you can be.

Triple Eight Race Engineering re-signs partnership with Intercad.

Revolution Precision Machinery at SouthMACH 2015.

Global Aerial Platforms builds scale into UAVs

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Catherine Beard

Is Executive Director of Export NZ and Manufacturing, divisions of Business NZ, NewZealand’s largest business advocacy group, representing businesses of all sizes.

17 COMPANY PROFILE 18-20 THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING Timberland Solutions.

Manufacturing process expert NMW speaker.

Enhance productivity with Delta robots.

PowerMILL Robot for multi-axis operations.

Self-organising factories.

Brian Willoughby

Is Senior Vice President of the NZ Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Managing Director of Contex Engineers and Plinius Audio.

21 DEVELOPMENTS

Lifting productivity in Hawke’s Bay. Sustainable development for a sustainable world.

22 FOOD MANUFACTURING 25-26 WORKSHOP TOOLS

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Farm technology among awards finalists.

Optimum outcomes for motor and gearbox alignment.

Two dimensional materials.

ESPIRIT 2015 to increase productivity and automation.

Lewis Woodward

Is Managing Director of Connection Technologies Ltd, Wellington and is passionate about industry supporting NZ based companies, which in turn builds local expertise and knowledge, and provides education and employment for future generations.

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27 CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

HERA House re-opened after refurbishment.

AGGAT Global Conference at end of month.

28 INDUSTRY TRAINING

Dr Wolfgang Scholz

Apprentices called to compete.

Construction industry boom means apprentices needed.

29 BUSINESS NEWS 30

EMA owner manager programme.

SouthMACH is the machinery of business.

Bluelab Corp takes new product to market.

Is HERA Director and a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Engineers NZ.

22 Bruce Goldsworthy

ANALYSIS Waikato Innovation Park buoyant.

How are you going for serious news?

31 REAR VIEW

What’s in a Name?

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An advocate for NZ manufacturing for 40 years, he was Chief Executive of the Auckland Manufacturers Association for seven years He has been Manager of EMA’s Advocacy and Manufacturing Services, and lately manager for Export New Zealand in the north.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

EDITORIAL Productivity across all sectors

PUBLISHER

Media Hawke’s Bay Ltd,1/121 Russell Street North, Hastings, New Zealand 4122.

MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green T: +64 6 870 9029 E: publisher@xtra.co.nz

CONTRIBUTORS

Holly Green, John Walley, Ash Taylor, John Walley, Nick Inskip

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Vol.6 No. 3 April 2015 Copyright: NZ Manufacturer is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed, nor facts stated in the advertisements, are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher of NZ Manufacturer and, whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information, or for any consequences of reliance on this information. NZ Manufacturer welcomes your contributions which may not necessarily be used because of the philosophy of the publication.

They have a very intensive campaign which continues their push for improved wages so they have a fair deal and can afford to pay their bills.

salary is miles apart. The take away worker is still productive, however, and through their efforts allows their employer to add to the nation’s GDP.

So my ears pricked up here – naturally enough – when the plight of the takeaway workers became apparent with their employers over zero-hour contracts.

Maybe less skilled but still a valued member of society, of a community and contributing in domestic and business environments.

At this time, let’s give some credit for the role of the trade unions doing the right thing by the above mentioned workers. Trade unions support workers, they want to see people getting a fair go and being able to feed their children and not left at the bottom of the pecking order.

Trade unions are a compass to show the direction to better things. And even if you are not a member of a union you can still applaud their pro-activity for attempting to make life better for others.

New Zealand is a high tech country. However, not all of our citizens are into hi-tech working at Fisher & Paykel or the Reserve Bank. We are all, though, the sum of parts that make up this country and contribute to our going forward.

All countries are categorised as having blue and white collar workers. The colour of your collar is not what makes you a better person, is it? But having a decent wage in your pocket sure goes a long way to help.

If we measure the take away worker on a low income as against, say, a tradesman the

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MANUFACTURING NEWS

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success.

- Denis Waitley

Metals New Zealand is an incorporated Society serving the needs of New Zealand’s metals related industry.

Launched in 2011, it consists of organisation member associations and affiliates and key stakeholder companies representing 750 companies. The Executive Committee are representatives from across the Metals Industry, and they offer their time to contribute to sector group advocacy priorities and strategic thinking leadership.

Metals NZ’s Vision is to foster a vibrant, sustainable and growing industry that will benefit all stakeholders including the community and contribute in a meaningful way to the New Zealand economy. Success will rely on harnessing the energy and support of existing sector organisations and collecting and utilizing the power of a unified voice on matters of advocacy and leadership that affect the entire metals industry.

Industry research shows that recognition of the NZ Metals Industry is not proportionate to its economic contribution. The Metals NZ Executive believe its overall performance can be further improved through

Commercial & industrial growth

co-ordinating the efforts of existing metals industry organizations.

In 2010, the quantified headline metrics for our industry includes: 7% contribution to NZ GDP, $7b worth of metals-based products manufactured annually, more than $2.6b of product exported; making this at that time, 5% of total NZ exports and the statistics report 26,000 direct employment, with a many multiple number of this figure in in-direct employment . This data is somewhat dated now and will be refreshed soon, but we have a scale and therefore, the right to be heard.

The drive on business excellence across the metals industry will be essential in order to compete in a more global business environment into the future and to this end, such a collective ambition held by the metals-related industry leaders will help secure the future of our industry. METALS WEEK 2015 is a totally new concept that has been created with these opportunities in mind.

The CEO of Metals New Zealand Gary Hook believes that industry leaders need the opportunity to celebrate success, network across their peer groups from other metals related

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BUSINESS NEWS

sectors, be inspired by the latest business excellence leadership and management techniques and learn about the latest product innovations, applications and research priorities.

Metals Week has been created to achieve these outcomes and we are planning on this being a biennial event. We have a number of Core Events already planned and many more ideas are coming in weekly to help contribute to a successful week.

Suppliers to the industry can be involved by way of sponsorship and in exhibiting. Details on can be obtained from contacting Gary ceo@metals.org. nz There will be a 40-booth exhibition running concurrently with two conferences across two and a half days; Steel Innovations Conference is where designers and engineers will come together to discuss the latest in product application and research and will they have some celebrating to do on the back of the incredible technologies and solutions that have been employeed in the Christchurch rebuild.

The Metals Industry Conference will focus on business excellence

Employment growth

presentations, some from Captains of our Industry, and relevant external parties.

We are planning for 400 people attending these conferences and the flagship event, the IndutryGala Awards Dinner on September 3rd A number of other activities will be held by the various Association during that week.

Metals Week 2015 is then the opportunity for all stakeholders in the Metals Industry to come together, network, learn and celebrate the success in various contributions to the NZ economy.

Gary Hook says, “There is a real need for the industry to come together from time to time and leverage its scale. It’s important that we do this in support of our calls on government to create positive business operating environments.”

“It’s also important that we create networking opportunities so that our business leaders can learn and connect as they pursue their own business excellence goals agendas.”

Economic output

Crime rate East Tamaki is the largest industrial precinct in Auckland with 2000 businesses and a growth rate higher than the regional average. getba.org.nz

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Greater East Tamaki Business Association Inc.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

You must stick to your conviction, but be ready to abandon your assumptions.- Denis Waitley

Securing industrial networks and remote access for packaging machinery Packaging machinery’s automation control systems and networks need to be secured to protect valuable intellectual property and enhance productivity The ability to use standard unmodified Ethernet throughout, from the enterprise all the way down to individual field devices enables new levels in connectivity for people, processes, data and things, ultimately providing greater productivity, better utilisation of assets, and improved decision-making to industrial companies.

Establishing a Connected Enterprise can deliver many benefits to the packaging industry by providing improved connectivity between enterprise systems and the plant floor.

However, while increasing connectivity and visibility into the system helps create a seamless flow of information; technologies such as mobile devices, the cloud and big data also introduce security risks that require careful consideration and mitigation.

According to Robert Hicks, OEM segment manager at Rockwell Automation, “No single product, technology or methodology can fully secure industrial applications.

Protecting industrial assets requires a layered approach that helps mitigate various types of security threats both internal and external.”

“It’s also important to note that only a small percentage of security risks have malicious intent, the majority of

risks are non-malicious in intent, and often even unintentional, such as staff inadvertently accessing controllers or machinery they should not be authorised to access, or changing parameters without realising that their actions could cause issues for that system,” he said.

A defense-in-depth security architecture is based on the idea that any one point of protection may, and probably will, be defeated. This approach requires multiple layers of defense to help ensure a weakness or flaw in one layer can be protected by strength, capabilities or new variables introduced through other security layers.

To help OEMs build these layers of security into machinery and endusers’ facilities, Rockwell Automation teams with industry leaders, such as Cisco® and its other PartnerNetwork™ members. Physical security mechanisms, such as guards and gates, and a network security framework that includes firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and managed switches and routers, are the building-block layers of a defense-in-depth approach.

Packaging machine builders are required to integrate machines and equipment into a plant network, protect intellectual property at the machine level and provide secure

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remote access for the end customer.

This allows operators to monitor critical parameters and take action before equipment fails to help keep machines running and saving valuable time and money for machine builders and their customers.

“By taking a defense-in-depth approach to security, the benefits that the Connected Enterprise can deliver to manufacturers far outweigh any inherent risks,” explained Hicks.

10 Steps to Building Security Into Machinery OEMs can enhance their industrial reliability and security with these 10 actionable steps.

1. Control who has network access using tools, such as access control lists and port-blocking features/devices.

2. Ensure robust and reliable operations by employing firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention.

3. Use anti-virus protection and whitelisting.

4. Establish a system-patching policy to keep software up-to-date.

5.

Develop procedures for employee-security practices, for example: managing and protecting passwords, managing removable media and use of personal devices.

6. Physically block changes to your controller by putting it in Run Mode.

7. Control who is allowed to do what from where in the application 8. Monitor what is going on in your system 9. Protect your intellectual property.

10. Ensure all Ethernet devices are connected using standard Internet Protocol

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

- Benjamin Franklin

7

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Delcam Electrode supports multi-part and family electrodes Delcam has increased the capabilities of its Delcam Electrode integrated solution for the design, machining and inspection of electrodes so that the system can now produce multi-part electrodes or family electrodes.

In addition, electrodes can now be displayed in the history tree of the tool on which they will be used, so simplifying the management of projects. Also, all electrode drawings will update automatically if the design is changed.

Multi-part electrodes can reduce the time needed for both machining and EDM compared to using several individual electrodes. In addition, machining multiple electrodes from a single blank can save materials and single holder can be used for the combined electrode.

The design of multi-part electrodes uses the same wizard-based process as is used for conventional electrodes.

The wizard helps users to define the region where the electrode will be used quickly and easily, extract the shape needed to produce the required feature in the part, and then edit the design to provide clearance from the main surface of the tool and to blend it into the blank size needed to fix the electrode into its holder. Once the electrode for the first area has been defined, the user then re-runs the wizard for other burn areas to be included in the multi-part electrode.

The same process can be used if particularly hard materials are to be burnt or if the same electrode design

is required in several areas of the tool.

In these cases, a single electrode might not be sufficient. A second electrode can be created within the blank, again by re-running the wizard, so that, once the first electrode has worn out, the electrode assembly can be rotated to use the second one.

In family electrodes, the roughing and finishing electrodes for a single area are combined in the assembly. Once again, the second part of the assembly is created by re-running the wizard.

However, in these cases, the different machining offsets required for the rougher and finisher are applied when creating the various parts of the assembly.

the heart of the Delcam solution is a novel file format – the .Trode file.

This contains all the information for each electrode project, including not only the electrode design but also the machining and inspection information, plus the set-up sheets for its manufacture and use. Having all the required information in a single file simplifies data management as well as increasing overall efficiency.

Delcam Electrode can provide scripts for equipment from AgieCharmilles (Agievision and CT Millennium controls), Exeron, JDMA EPX, Makino

EDM, Mitsubishi Electric, ONA EDM, OPS-Ingersoll, Sodick and Zimmer & Kreim. Scripts are the EDM equivalent of CAM programs for machine tools.

They provide an automated process for the programming of the machine, instead of users having to program manually from a set-up sheet. The automated process is much easier and quicker, especially when a large number of electrodes are being used on the same component. Furthermore, the direct link removes the human error that could always be possible with manual programming.

All of these compound electrodes require more complex movement around the tool as they are used in comparison to standard electrodes.

To ensure that collisions don’t occur, collision prevention technology from the PowerMILL CAM system has been added into the simulation algorithms used by Delcam Electrode.

Delcam Electrode combines the PowerSHAPE CAD software, the PowerMILL CAM system and the PowerINSPECT inspection software to give a completely integrated solution for the design, machining and inspection of electrodes.

At

Delcam Electrode can now be used to produce a family of electrodes from a single blank.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.

ANALYSIS

-

The Best We Can Be My time as Chief Executive of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) has come to an end it’s been a privilege to be part of this Association for 16 years.

I want to thank all those who have helped me and been a part of the journey; not least the NZMEA Governance, Members, Associates and Affiliates, as well as NZ Manufacturer Magazine for giving me a platform to discuss the manufacturing sector and issues encountered by the members of the Association.

It has not all been fun, but I have valued the opportunity to work with so many great business people in the effort to develop a culture and policy framework that supports manufacturing and exporting activities in New Zealand – I truly believe this is key for creating a sustainable and prosperous future for our country, and I have confidence in the NZMEA’s Governance, under the leadership of President, Tom Thomson, and new management to continue the debate and good work.

The Association’s work is a journey not a destination; it was encouraging to see some policies we have long advocated for, debated, and adopted as policy during the last election, if only for a short time - in the future the NZMEA has a major role in keeping that debate alive.

A few years ago I realised I needed to step away from the day to day demands of management responsibility, to

Arabian Proverb

- John Walley

make more time for my family, other governance roles and business projects.

Stepping down early in the election cycle puts the Association in the best possible position to recruit a new CEO, giving time to make the role their own and build relationships before the policy debate heats up in the lead up to the next election.

I want to leave you with a few thoughts on what I believe really matters, particularly for our young people – they need New Zealand to be the best it can be.

To be the best we can be, we need to create a more productive and sustainable economy, and a more equal society. New Zealand needs to be more than a market for land and buildings with a farm and theme park clipped on the side.

The way things are is no accident, it is the result of long standing incentives so deeply imbedded in our policy framework that we hardly notice them, that bias investment towards land and buildings, over more productive, income statement driven businesses.

Specifically, the absence of a Capital Gains Tax or similar policy to tax asset appreciation, and bank regulation that treats mortgage lending as less risky than other debt.

We are not alone - around the world the financial sector balance sheets expand, piling on debt and inflating the relative value of land and buildings with respect to earnings.

This threatens financial stability, misdirects investment away from productive activity, and overvalues our exchange rate; increasing the

We need to build a different world, where policy settings encourage productive activities here in New Zealand.

risks and challenging investment in the traded economy. In such a world productivity, capability development and employment suffer, increasing risk and damaging our shared future we can’t all get rich trading land and buildings.

We need to learn from others.

Countries that have experienced asset price crashes, such as Ireland, are working to control the volume of debt by anchoring debt levels to earnings.

Linking the volume of private debt to earnings is job one in being the best we can be.

Next, we need to build a different world, where policy settings encourage productive activities here in New Zealand, that add-value, export and create wealth, expand capability, require improving skill levels, and employ people at higher than average earnings. In this world manufacturing is not an optional extra - it’s a

fundamental requirement if we are to be the best we can be. Manufacturing drives innovation, R&D, capability, economic complexity, and competitive advantage, and exporting such goods and services allows us to pay our way in the world, and increase employment and living standards in New Zealand.

To my mind, policies that restrain asset price inflation by restraining private debt growth, correcting fiscal policy imbalances coupled with policies that encourage our productive sector can better drive sustainable growth offering a new path for our economy.

A path that leads New Zealand to be the best it can be.

I have personally taken over www. johnwalley.co.nz and will blog when stuff happens that I think needs comment. I will be most active on Twitter @johnwalley so follow me if you want to share or discuss what I am seeing and saying in the future.

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Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.

– Voltaire

title text

METALS NZ CONFERENCE STEEL INNOVATIONS CONFERENCE METALS INDUSTRY EXHIBITION

METALS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS’ MEETINGS NETWORKING EVENING INDUSTRY AWARDS GALA DINNER VISIT WWW.METALSWEEK.CO.NZ / EMAIL EVENTS@METALS.ORG.NZ

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.

ANALYSIS

-Albert Einstein

continued from Page 1

The Interview Ash Taylor: However, a good example is a key success last year in solving for Villa Maria Estates the challenge of inspecting wine bottle labelling.

Bottles were moving on the conveyor belt at high speeds of 18,000 bottles an hour and, with the movement of the line, presenting differently each time to any inspection unit or camera. Using an innovative 360 degree vision system that could cope with this, we were able to read the barcode, check orientation issues, measure the distance between labels and ensure the right label was applied.

This use of vision technology has opened up new client opportunities for detailed inspections of infant formula cans, other bottles and a range of products. We are also working closely with the meat industry with the use of vision and improving safety aspects of some cutting devices, and we continue working with the seafood industry on how automation can assist them with managing a declining labour workforce.

NZM: How do you see the New Zealand business at this time?

Ash Taylor: We continue to grow strongly alongside New Zealand businesses that are looking for innovative solutions to assist them with a range of business challenges, as well as with entrepreneurial companies looking to bring new products to market pushing the limits of technology.

NZM: Secrets of success?

Ash Taylor: Being a ‘one stop’ shop which has a unique blend of Research and Development capability alongside commercialisation knowledge. Being able to go from prototype right through to completed solutions has been the key to success from the start.

Our other key to success is the way we work collaboratively as a team and promote an innovative culture where people brainstorm for each client what is trying to be achieved and the best solutions arise out of these sessions.

NZM: Are you looking to export in the future?

Ash Taylor: Yes we are, we have in the past and continue to work on solutions for offshore clients. We are also working on partnership arrangements with New Zealand exporters so we provide the technology solutions and they provide the sales structures and support systems.

NZM: Is enough being done to help small businesses in New Zealand?

Ash Taylor: We have enjoyed the support of Callaghan Innovation and other bodies in funding R&D work and providing other support. There is always room for more support but increasing support is not necessarily the ingredient of success in our view.

NZM: Tell the readers about Baxter Ash Taylor: Baxter is our newest robotic solution we offer in our mix of robotics. Baxter represents a new breed of robot designed to work with humans. Created in the United States

by Rethink Robotics, the Baxter robot is being utilised in a range of commercial applications in the US, Asia and Australia. Baxter is a 6 foot humanoid

looking robot with a LCD screen as a ‘face’ with serious looking eyes, two ‘arms’ that can work independently, built in vision systems and incredible capability. Designed to sense and react to people working alongside, Baxter will stop on human contact and resume when the field is clear. The robotic unit also comes at an affordable price point or around 30% of the usual price of a robotic solution. kanDO has become the distributor and integrator for Baxter in New Zealand and we are excited by the potential Baxter offers. Having worked with robotics and automation across a range of industries, we are used to working with expensive automation solutions and see Baxter as a new type of automation: more flexible, affordable and compatible for SME’s needs.

Many small to medium manufacturing companies perceive that automation options are going to be too expensive and require reconfiguring the factory floor. Baxter presents a different type of solution that can fit into their existing floor space right alongside human workers and can also be trained for multiple applications rather than just covering one automation task.

Baxter is termed as a new innovation of ‘collaborative robotics’ based on the idea that a robot should work among human workers and be flexible enough to adapt to a changing environment.

Baxter can be set to packing boxes in the morning and then in the afternoon could be sorting goods off a conveyor belt or other repetitive tasks. With Baxter’s face displaying six different emotions showing what it’s focussed on and its current status or ‘mood’, workers with Baxter adjust to it becoming part of the team.

We have finished our trials with Baxter internally and are now in discussions for commercial pilots of the technology.

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Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need. – Voltaire

It has the ability to morph (change shape), propel itself and turn quickly in water (i.e. super-manoeuvrability) efficiently and silently, lending itself to future possibilities in surveillance and inspection.

Octopus inspired robot Scientists in Singapore have developed a new octopus-inspired robot which can zip through water 10 times its body length within one second, in an ultra-efficient manner. This first-ever ultra-fast propulsion and super-manoeuvrability demonstrated in underwater vehicles is unprecedented; and is the work of researchers and an engineer from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART).

This

ground-breaking

research

validates the physics of shape change (that forms the basis of jet propulsion of cephalopods) to give additional thrust to underwater vehicles.

Inspired by the speed at which cephalopods like the octopus, flee from danger by inflating its mantle cavity with water to a bluff-body shape and then quickly expelling it to dart away, the researchers started building an octopus-inspired robot in November 2013.

The end result is a polycarbonate 3D printed streamlined skeleton which had no moving parts and no energy storage device other than a thin elastic outer membrane. It works like blowing up a balloon and then releasing it to fly around the room.

The 27cm long robot is inflated with water and once released, rapidly deflates by shooting the water out through an aperture at its base to power its propulsion. As the rocket contracts, it can achieve more than 2.6 times the thrust of a rigid rocket doing the same manoeuvre, while creating minimum turbulence – an important feature in underwater research / survey vehicles. The skeleton within the robot keeps the final shape streamlined, while fins at the tail, help in stabilisation.

to power its ultra-fast escape, and is

When a fish escapes by swimming fast, it bends its body and zooms through the water, losing some energy to the surrounding water and recovering about 30% of the energy. An octopus, on the other hand, uses more effectively, energy recovery mechanism

For instance, these octopus robots

able to recover more than 50% of the energy available at the beginning.

Hence, rendering this octopus robot highly energy efficient.

With this fundamental understanding in fluid mechanics, research will pave the way for future robots that require fast manoeuvres to help us get close to something that moves fast or quickly evade hazardous situations such as a sharp temperature rise in mid-ocean ridges.

could

follow

dolphins

for

quick

observation, or inspect thermal vents safely in the mid-ocean ridges.

performance except torpedoes which require a lot of fuel. With further R&D, future AUVs and other marine vehicles can adopt this mechanism to help it evade threats or track something fast stealthily underwater without the need for much energy.

Moving forward, SMART will continue in its research on understanding the physics of jet propulsion underwater and implementing the technology on marine vehicles.

The research was funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) through SMART at the Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE).

Currently, no autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) can achieve this ultra-fast www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

12

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

Ideas are the beginning of all achievement - Bruce Lee

The world’s most flexible, lightweight tabletop robot Industrial automation specialists Design Energy, has announced the launch of the new UR3 robot from Universal Robots into the New Zealand Market.

The UR3, which went through a three-year development phase, is an affordable tabletop robot that has a payload of 3kg and weighs a mere 11kg. It allows for 360-degree rotation on all wrist joints and infinite rotation on the end joint, ideal for tightening fasteners.

The size and price point of the UR3 is proving to be a great first step for any company looking towards automation. The user friendly touchscreen teach-pendant removes the steep learning curve associated with programming a typical 6-axis robot.

The light-weight compact robot can easily be moved around a number of processes to increase its utilisation and significantly reduce the payback period, which on average is less than 195 days.

Mike Shatford the Director of Design Energy can see an exciting opportunity for manufacturers who have not looked to automation previously, due the cost of the hardware.

“The new UR3 from Universal has significantly lowered the price of automating a process using a 6-axis robot. Manufacturers can now introduce an industrial robot into production at almost half the cost of technology which is currently available. We’ve been amazed by the variety of industries who have approached us about integrating a UR3 into their production. The robot is extremely capable and easy to use.... When you combine this with the game changing price point, we can see the UR3 making a different for a large number of local manufacturers.”

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

UR3 Key Features: • 6 axis, collaborative table-top robot • Weight: 11kg • Payload: 3kg • Reach: 500mm • 360 degree rotation on all wrist joints, infinite rotation on end joint • Repeatability: ±0.1 mm (±0,004 in) • 15 adjustable, advanced safety settings; force limit: Default 150 N, can be adjusted down to 50 N • Modular design: exchanging a joint takes less than 30 minutes with one day delivery • New motherboard with faster boot-up • Improved force control

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself.

- Albert Camus

13

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

We are connected so you can be For over 15 years New Zealand owned Connection Technologies Ltd has been supplying the Industrial, OEM, Defence, Power and Transport markets with electrical connectors and all the necessary accessories and tooling.

Representing leading international and reputable connector manufacturers, the aim has always been to work with the customer to understand their needs and any constraints and then to find the most appropriate product for any application.

Recognising that the NZ market is miniscule by international standards, the aim has always been to offer a solution that can be easily repeated without large minimums and long lead times. NZ industry is known for stretching the life out of plant and equipment and for this reason company staff make it a point that any product supplied will stand the test of time.

The focus products for SouthMACH 2015 will be on the smart new automation control products from B&B Electronics in the USA, the wide range of industrial connectors offered

by Harting of Germany and the new GEL electrical termination blocks from Etelec in Italy. All three of these manufacturers are world leaders in the supply of products in their markets and Connection Technologies are proud to be the NZ distributor for these companies.

Wzzard modules

B&B Electronics creates devices which solve communication and interfacing problems. The latest addition to the range is the “Wzzard” battery powered wireless mesh which provides sensor connections in places which might not otherwise be normally accessible, ie, where data and power connections are not available. The modules which are stand alone and rated at IP67, will be on show at SouthMach.

Harting is a long established German manufacturer of industrial connectors and are constantly redefining the range to fit the new technologies and industry demand for products to fit specific markets. They have recently designed connectors for the food industry where hygiene safety takes the highest priority. HARTING has launched the Han® F+B connector series that offers easy cleaning due to the smooth surfaces of the connector housing.

cables of up to 120mm². Where as in the past a solid resin was used to seal such joints, now the housing comes with a re-enterable transparent GEL. Applications range from straight and branch jointing with product being used overhead or even direct buried where it meets IPX8 Complimenting these products lines will be some of the other well known names we represent, ODU, Binder, Phase3 along with supportive tooling from Daniels Manufacturing, Weicon and Rennsteig.

Whatever your connecter requirement, our experienced team will find a match and ensure you have the right tooling to put it all together.

Etelec SHARK GEL terminations

New Harting food connector

Etelec is the world leading manufacturer of GEL termination joints which are sold as the SHARK range of product. Straight and branch jointing can be carried out on single and multi-core low voltage cable up to 0.61/kv. Multi conductor cable of up to 25mm² can be jointed or single

C o n n e c t i o n Te c h n o l o g i e s GELM2M termination blocks SEAMLESS NETWORK CONNECTIVITY GEL filled termination block comes in a wide range FROM EDGE TOall THE NETWORK CORE of sizes, for ASSETS single cables up to five cables, February 2015

Items & Products

providing an IPX8 protection to the joint. Suitable for direct burial and up to 1 metre under water, the SHARKand product can be used for jointing or branch jointingwe of cables protocols equipment or straight valuable infrastructure, help.

 Etelec Whether it is new IoT  Harting of your assets to create faster, more efficient ##smarter, Call us to check out thenetworks. stocked range of sizes. ##

you connect and integrate all

 ODU

Weicon INTELLIGENCE IoT & EDGE CELLULAR ROUTERS

• GSM, 3G & 4G LTE Routers • Intelligent GSM, Radio, & Data Modems

INTELLIGENT SENSING PLATFORM • Wzzard Development Kit • Wzzard Platform • Intelligent Edge Nodes

WIRELESS RF • Ethernet Bridges & Routers • Ethernet Serial Servers • Radio Modems - standard, industrial • Modbus I/O - standard, industrial • Long Range Bridge Modem • Buffered RF Modem Interface

MPGel, supplied in two bottles allows you to mix your own sealing GEL and seal your own enclosures. Mix the amount you need and within 5 minutes the job is done. Unlike hard setting resins, components and joints can be removed from the GEL with no damage to the cable or joint. Ideal for sealing PCB’s as used in wet environments. EX STOCK

Connection Technologies Ltd, P.O.Box 39340, Te Puni Mail Centre, Lower Hutt Tel. 04 5665 345 • Fax. 04 5665 347 • Lewis@connectors.co.nz • www.connectors.co.nz www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NOTE:

14

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.

-

Bill Bradley

Triple Eight Race Engineering re-signs partnership with Intercad Intercad, Australia and New Zealand’s largest reseller of leading design software, SolidWorks, has signed a further three-year Technology Partnership Agreement with Australia’s highly successful V8 Supercar Team, Triple Eight Race Engineering. Triple Eight Race Engineering is the powerhouse behind Red Bull Racing Australia, fronted by Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes.

Intercad is appearing at SouthMACH 2015 FROM 23-25 July IN Christchurch.

Championships in the past seven seasons.

Established in 1988, Intercad provides services and solutions to engineers and designers to create, simulate, publish and manage their design needs and outputs.

“The Triple Eight engineers use the full functionality of the SolidWorks software – simulations, visualisations, testing and data management - to help deliver an extraordinary number of wins to the V8 Supercar Team,” said John Atkinson, General Manager, Intercad Australia and New Zealand.

“We have worked closely with the engineers since 2010 to ensure they get the most from their design modelling solution and we look forward to continuing to support the team for another three years.”

The bespoke V8 Supercars Championship-winning cars, driven by Whincup and Lowndes, are designed using SolidWorks 3D software and technical support from Intercad. Triple Eight, with Jamie Whincup at the helm, has won an astonishing six V8 Supercars

“We started working with Intercad six years ago and enjoy a great partnership with the company and its highly skilled team of engineers who have unrivalled expertise and product knowledge,” said Ludo Lacroix, Technical Director of Triple Eight Race Engineering. “The results our engineers have achieved in designing championship-winning V8 Supercars using SolidWorks technology, and Intercad’s expertise, have been extremely satisfying.

“Intercad’s engineers assisted us in migrating to SolidWorks a number of years ago. There was risk and cost involved in moving to the new platform but Intercad eliminated this.

Now we quite simply wouldn’t be without the software or the Intercad team who help us leverage the full functionality of the SolidWorks suite.”

Intercad is part of the Central Innovation Group of Companies. For over 25 years it has been helping customers transform their design, engineering and manufacturing process. By providing world class software, such as SolidWorks, ongoing technical support, continuing professional development, specialist consulting and high performance hardware, Intercad ensures customers have the tools and expertise to perform more quickly, more productively, more easily, to budget and with exceptional accuracy.

Intercad employs over 50 people and has the largest team of certified SolidWorks experts, and engineers experienced in systems development and integration in Australia and New Zealand. It has a results-focused culture; partnering with clients to develop highly cost-effective and innovative solutions. The company provides the full suite of SolidWorks training courses and other customised design training programs at Intercad centres around Australia and New Zealand.

Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

SouthMACH is the South Island’s premier technology trade show celebrating the heartland of NZ Manufacturing.

REGISTER NOW FOR FREE ATTENDANCE USING PROMO CODE: NZMANUF

www.southmach.co.nz

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

- Jim Rohn

15

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

VISI CADCAM software leading bob-sled innovation A World number one skeleton racer for the last 20 years says the VISI CAD/CAM applications are vital in keeping the sport’s leading athletes at the top of their game. “We need the world’s best, to help the world’s best”.

When not hurling himself down bob-sled tracks at 90 miles an hour on asmall high-tech sled, Kristan Bromley designs and manufacturers sleds for 22 nations including Britain, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Korea.

His company, Bromley Sports, ships between 100 and 200 bespoke sleds to athletes around the world, but is currently moving into the recreational arena, having designed and developed a patented sled for an exciting new snow activity, Baseboarding.

“Our mission is to become the most advanced sliding sport product manufacturer in the world.”

And he says VISI, from Vero Software, is a critical aspect of the company’s future. “It’s absolutely vital for creating both high precision performance parts, and carbon fibre lay-up tooling.”

Although the Baseboard is extremely light, it is strong and stylised.

“The product is underpinned with thermo-plastic composites, creating

a super-tough 3D structure that can withstand temperatures of minus-30 degrees centigrade.”

develop everything that supports the manufacturing process in VISI as well the tooling and jigs.”

But Bromley Sports made its name in the highly competitive world of skeleton racing. “We’re giving athletes the tools to fight for Olympic medals, and VISI is absolutely pivotal in creating maximum-performing sleds by pushing boundaries to improve performance.

Reducing aerodynamic drag by five per cent can cut an athlete’s time by one, two, or even three tenths of a second, and that’s enough to take them from tenth place right through to Gold.”

Once the design is completed, he seamlessly drops the file into VISI and starts to work on machining strategies.

With more than 60 carbon fibre and stainless steel components in the skeleton sled, and the prospect of mass producing Baseboards, he says it was important to bring the whole operation in-house.

Previously, most of the tooling work was sent to sub-contractors, but he realised that by bringing tool design and manufacturing in-house they could create new designs, develop products faster, and innovate more efficiently.

“To achieve the precision we need to help athletes win medals, we’ve found we can’t hit a tool with a “one toolpath suits all” approach. We need to tailor those toolpaths and the cutting strategy in order to reduce machining time and produce a part with a high level of surface finish that requires minimal hand polishing.”

The company, which was established by Kristan and his brother Richard in 2000, now use VISI for every component in their skeleton sleds and Baseboards.

“And it’s not just the components that go into making up the products. We

And he says VISI’s simulation capability ensures they have the mould and toolpaths ready for perfect, accurate and

“Although VISI is extremely powerful and flexible, it’s also simple to use.

When we’re machining new tooling for the carbon fibre composites, being able to approach that particular tool with different machining strategies, and having the ability to manipulate those cuttings paths, is critical.

collision-free machining before they start to cut metal.

Defining Bromley Sports’ association with VISI, he says the software means they can build sleds with greater precision and to the required tolerances. “Gaining performance is all in the detail, and as an organisation trying to help athletes win Olympic medals we need the world’s best, to help the world’s best.”

For more information on VISI CADCAM Software contact Phil Robinson and Quentin Rowe at Revolution Precision Machinery (RPMCNC) www.rpmcnc.co.nz email sales@rpmcnc.co.nz Phone 022 653 4817.

16

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

SOUTHMACH 2015 PREVIEW

Run your idea up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it.

After hundreds of man-hours in the R& D phase, in association with a technology cluster of organisations, GAP successfully proved the flight worthiness of ‘proof-of-concept’ variants.

GAP is capable of constructing airframes in multiple shapes and sizes range from 1.9 metres up to 7.5 metres in wingspan and even larger.

“We welcomed Canterbury Coastguard encouragement to build UAVs able to handle the highly demanding requirements of search and rescue missions launched either from shore or from a fast-moving boat,” said Mr Tully.

Global Aerial Platforms builds scale into UAVs Christchurch-based aviation manufacturer Global Aerial Platforms has begun developing construction of the largest unmanned aerial vehicles yet to be made in the country and they are expected to attract significant interest at the South Mach15 engineering, machinery and electronics exhibition in July.

“The early history of drone aviation was linked to their military use

but Global Aerial Platforms Ltd (‘GAP’) is focusing on the peaceful purposes to which unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be put across the commercial, scientific, environmental and community spectrum,” said the company’s co-founder Graham Tully.

Tully melded experience in advanced composites manufacturing with the electronics expertise of his co-founder Paul Hartley to form GAP in 2013.

“We have built robust and durable UAVs that can be used repetitively in rapid response search & rescue incidents in both maritime and mountain environments, or in disaster management in the aftermath of storms, subsidences and seismic events.”

Under the wing of Canterbury Coastguard, GAP showcased the larger scale fixed wing dual fuselage Global

-Anon

Ranger model at the World Drones For Peace competition in the United Arab Emirates in February.

“Around this event we have been filmed

by New Zealand and international television media. It is really positive for getting our confidence up but we need to also keep our feet on the ground. As we seek to accelerate our commercialisation we expect to have the same expansion capital needs of many young manufacturers.”

The company has an exclusive partnership with an established not-for-profit organization that will showcase the product’s performance capabilities in the highly demanding arena of maritime search-and-rescue.

GAP has identified local and export markets which it intends to pursue in the coming year.

All GAP UAVs deploy GPS satellite connectivity for the purpose of navigation and can be equipped with embedded stabilised cameras for the relay of thermal, multispectral and high definition imagery Engineering, materials, communications and imaging technology has positioned GAP at the forefront of a fast changing industry.

Visit Stand 151South Mach15 and See the Expanding Future of Unmanned Aerial Services Global Aerial Platforms Ltd (‘GAP’) is a New Zealand based developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for a range of commercial, scientific, environmental and community purposes. All GAP UAVs deploy GPS satellite connectivity for the purpose of navigation and can be equipped with embedded stabilised cameras for the relay of thermal, multispectral and high definition imagery communications TheEngineering, GAP Global materials, Ranger alongside an Auster.and imaging technology has positioned GAP at the forefront of a fast changing industry. GAP’s UAV models range from” ■ ■ ■

Our ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

The 1.9m delta wing ‘Kuaka’ UAV is designed as a fast response multi-purpose short-range vehicle with a flight time of 40-50 minutes. Launched by catapult, the Kuaka cruises at 50 knots and can land on land or water.

The 3.5m quad UAV ‘Hummingbird’ is designed as a robust work platform for multiple tasks in the urban landscape and horticultural fields including environmental monitoring and prevention systems. (Under development).

The 7.5m + dual fuselage‘Global Ranger‘ UAV is a fast response specialty vehicle with a stable platform to accommodate payloads, This version will cruise at high altitude on flights of long duration.

exciting range of UAVs is designed for multi-uses: Search and Rescue operations (seafront, ocean maritime and alpine rescue) National border surveillance Maritime support (fisheries, ports) Vessel monitoring (including yacht racing, anti-piracy) Livestock monitoring

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Emergency services Horticultural atmospheric analysis, crop monitoring and frost protection Highways, bridges and traffic surveillance Inspection and Maintenance of major installations Disaster management

VISIT US ON STAND 151 AT SOUTH MACH15 AT CBA ARENA CHRISTCHURCH JULY 22-23 2015 OR CONTACT US ON 64 27 265 5557 www.skygap.co.nz www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.

-David Brinkley

17

COMPANY PROFILE

TimberLab Solutions: innovation, versatility and quality bring firsts When two of New Zealand’s leading engineered timber design and manufacture companies, McIntosh Timber Laminates and TimberBond Industries, joined forces in November 2012, TimberLab Solutions Ltd was created.

Now with a combined Auckland workforce of 35 staff operating out of the old McIntosh Timber Laminates 3500m2 plant in Bostock Place, and over 76 years of experience; TimberLab Solutions has the best of both worlds, combining McIntosh’s extensive experience in manufacturing structural laminated timber for commercial use and TimberBond’s expertise in residential use of glued laminated timber (Glulam). The result has been a “greater perspective towards ways in which structural timber can be applied to all building situations”, according to Owen Griffiths, TimberLab’s Sales and Marketing Director.

TimberLab Solutions “aim to be the best provider of innovative, cost-effective and customised engineered timber solutions throughout New Zealand and to offshore markets”. They specialise in providing complete design-manufacture-installation packages for a wide range of timber projects, from small one-off sculptures to large industrial buildings. Being New Zealand’s largest and most experienced manufacturer of Glulam building systems, TimberLab’s Bostock Place premises showcase some of the capabilities on offer with Glulam portal frames, Glulam gantry beams, and reverse-curved Glulam beams featured throughout.

TimberLab Solutions also have a high focus on quality, which would usually make it more difficult to provide cost-effective customised solutions as set out in their mission statement.

However, they manage to achieve these objectives through careful

design work and quality control from start to finish.

“You can have two solutions for the same building, but because the designer is unfamiliar with the product and what it can do, they tend to be conservative in their design; therefore more expensive. Because we’ve had experience, we can provide a better value solution. It’s a matter of being able to choose the right solution for the right challenge. We have saved up to half a million dollars on some projects by being able to advise on appropriate design possibilities” says Owen.

Part of maintaining their high quality products is in sourcing the right materials. TimberLab only uses timber from sustainably harvested plantation forests in New Zealand, ensuring an environmentally responsible construction option which is backed by the FSC (Foreign Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody Certification.

This focus on providing high quality products has led to TimberLab Solutions achieving a number of “firsts” for New Zealand in recent years. Within the last year, they have commissioned a 5 axis CNC Gantry machine; the first of its kind in New Zealand and Australasia.

“It enables us to process slabs of timber up to 30 metres long and four metres wide, cut it, rebate it, drill it, and shape it into all sorts of shapes and sizes. It enables us to do detailed work that’s involved particularly in connection areas in our structures. Because we do complete structures, they involve

all sorts of detailed design and connectivity work which has to be very accurate and repeatable. This machine opens up a whole new possibility in terms of what timber can do, how it can be made.”

Another New Zealand “first” for TimberLab is the innovative multi-storey post-tension timber structures that they have been working on in Christchurch, in order to achieve earthquake resistance. This is an area in which TimberLab has developed expertise over recent years, and sets them apart from many of their close competitors.

TimberLab Solutions also recently finished working on the Tuhoe Headquarters in Taneatua, which was designed with the “aim of being the most advanced sustainable living building in New Zealand”.

“This is the first NZ living building, which means it’s self-sustaining. All the material had to be from sustainable renewable resources; it produces its own power with solar energy and feeds the excess back into the grid and has its own water reticulation system. It’s all built on very strict environmental requirements. It’s attracted a lot of attention, and won a lot of awards in terms of what it’s done.”

Other unique projects include a timber grid shell for the translucent roof at a newly built community swimming pool on the Kapiti Coast, and a three storey classroom at Sydney’s University of Technology made out of what looks like giant Jenga blocks and designed by

world-famous architect Frank Gehry.

“One of the most interesting ones locally has been this swimming pool in Kapiti. It’s called a timber grid shell because it’s in the shape of a shell, curving in all directions, has crossover timber arches that expand 40 metres, and they hold up the whole translucent roof so it lets all the light in. It’s quite an outstanding example of what can be done with timber in public spaces.”

While 65% of their production is for overseas markets like Australia, the Pacific, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, TimberLab Solutions would like to see more of a focus on the use of engineered timber solutions on their doorstep.

“An important message we’d like to get out there is the flexibility of how we can use this new machine to assist other woodworking manufacturers in the area. We can take their panels or bits of wood and sculpt them, shape them, and do special fittings for them.”

“It’s just a recognition of the need for local designers to be aware of what’s possible and to come and talk to us at an early stage. The problem we have is that the building has already been designed, structural engineering done; it comes to us and we see areas that could be done better. If people come to us first we can avoid having to redo it all over again. Where projects bring in our expertise at the start of the project rather than at the end, we can get some good savings.”

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

18

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

Get the right people on the bus and in the right seat.

- Jim Collins

Manufacturing process expert NMW speaker Manufacturers using - or considering - some form of Lean or Six Sigma methodologies to drive bottom- line improvements through optimised processes will attend National Manufacturing Week 2015 (NMW) for strategic and tactical advice from Bob Sproull, international expert in making manufacturing processes align with business goals.

NMW will be held in Melbourne 26th through 29th May. ECi Software Solutions (ECi), a provider of business management software, e-commerce, technology solutions, and services that help independent enterprises grow and compete will bring Mr Sproull, who is a special consultant for ECi, to Australia from the United States for the event.

From aerospace and defence to job shops, Mr Sproull has been consulting to manufacturers for over 40 years.

His background includes the design, facilitation and supervision - as VP or GM – of dramatic turnarounds in three different manufacturing companies, as well as authoring three books (a fourth is underway) to help manufacturers optimise processes to improve the bottom line.

Bob Sproull will present at the R&D Hub on the NMW show floor on Thursday, 28th May from 3:00pm-4:00pm.”It is my belief that you don’t need an army of belts populating your company,” says Mr Sproull. “What you do need is a structured approach that uses your existing process knowledge to identify where best to focus improvements.”

Mr Sproull has earned the certifications Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Theory of Constraint Jonah. However, his NMW presentation will go far beyond these methodologies.

Over the years, he has constructed a unique optimisation methodology for manufacturers, unifying the Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma that he says can deliver profitability improvements more quickly and with less risk and cost than standard Lean Six Sigma initiatives.

“Roughly 50 percent of companies using these methods are discouraged with their results and are either abandoning them or significantly reducing their efforts. There have been many reasons given for these lackluster results, but the fact is there

is a problem. And in my opinion this problem comes down to a lack of process improvement focus,” Mr Sproull continues.

Enhance productivity with Delta robots The new Delta-3 Robot from Omron can increase productivity and significantly reduce operating costs.

The Delta solution achieves up to 200 cycles per minute and can be synchronised with multiple conveyors to perform on-the-fly Pick and Place operations.

Voted Best Robot 2014 at the prestigious Automation Inside Readers’ Choice Awards,the Omron Sysmac NJ Machine Automation Controller (MAC) is the core of this system architecture.

The new powerful NJ501 series controller offers openness and performance for integrating functionality to satisfy any application,

including robots.

In the past, robots were controlled exclusively by dedicated robot controllers. A machine architect can now decide to control a robot in exactly the same way as all other parts, from one control system, by using one programming environment, the new Sysmac Studio software.

Never before has there been a solution that integrates machine control, vision, HMI, safety, and robotics using one programming software with one connection.

The NJ501 uses the fastest motion network in the world – EtherCAT. The control system calculates Delta-3 kinematics in a few microseconds and achieves top performance regarding the number of robot cycles and repeatability.

Based on the high speed EtherCAT network, it can provide the highest motion performance for demanding packaging applications.

Up to eight Delta robots can be controlled by one Sysmac NJ controller.

The integration of the NJ-Robotics controller with the G5 servo systems allows you to achieve the maximum throughput in your Pick & Place applications.

There are three types of Delta robot arms available as Washdown, Delta and Mini Delta robot. The NJ controller offers a response time of 2ms when controlling eight Delta robots or 1ms when controlling four robots.

The robots are ideal for any industry with a need to move lightweight loads quickly and accurately – especially food & beverage.

The Delta-3 robot has three arms and is programmed to pick and place with fast movements of low weight loads.

Previously, these tasks were performed manually – a time consuming and high cost operation. There’s an optional fourth arm for workpiece orientation.

The packaging industry typically uses Omron robots for lightweight needs, such as placing biscuits in a tray. It not only places an object in a tray, but positions the object so it is always placed the correct way.

The Delta-3 robot rotates at 360º and can work in an envelope of about 1100mm.The robots were designed by the Omron team in Japan and are assembled in Australia. Main benefits are increased productivity and labour cost savings. They can run 24/7, they don’t have holidays and they don’t go on strike. Also, they don’t need to sleep.

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary - Vidal Sassoon

19

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

Baskivilles announce game changer for hi-tech PCB In a major materials development breakthrough that is set to change current solder paste processing performance and cost paradigms, we announce the launch of the first-ever temperature stable solder paste material.

The game-changing formulation, LOCTITE GC 10, is temperature stable at 26.5°C for one year shelf-life and stable at temperatures of up to 40°C for one month shelf-life, which affords exceptional performance throughout the logistics and operations chain– from shipping/receiving to printing and reflow. “Truly, this is the most exciting thing that’s happened in solder materials development in decades,” says Dr. Mark Currie, Henkel Global Product Manager for Solder Materials. “A material that has temperature stability from shipping all the way through to final assembly is a remarkable achievement.”

In process, LOCTITE GC 10 offers significant improvements over conventional solder paste materials.

As compared to traditional materials which average abandon times ranging from 1 to 4 hours, the halogen-free, lead-free, temperature-stable Henkel formula enables abandon times of up to 24 hours and has a startup time of zero. Stabilized and consistent print transfer efficiency, an expanded reflow window and increased activity for better results with soak temperatures between 150° C and 200°C, make LOCTITE GC 10 incomparable among other paste materials. The solder system’s stability on the line allows for

Nanogenerator developed A research team of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed a hyper-stretchable elastic-composite energy harvesting device called a nanogenerator.

Flexible electronics have come into the market and are enabling new technologies like flexible displays in mobile phone, wearable electronics, and the Internet of Things (IoTs). However, is the degree of flexibility enough for most applications?

For many flexible devices, elasticity is a very important issue. For example, wearable/biomedical devices and electronic skins (e-skins) should stretch to conform to arbitrarily curved surfaces and moving body parts such as joints, diaphragms, and tendons. They must be able to withstand the repeated and prolonged mechanical stresses of stretching. In particular, the development of elastic energy devices is regarded as critical to establish power supplies in stretchable applications.

Although several researchers have explored diverse stretchable electronics, due to the absence of the appropriate device structures and correspondingly electrodes, researchers have not developed ultra-stretchable and fully-reversible energy conversion devices properly.

Recently, researchers have collaborated and demonstrated a facile methodology to obtain a high-performance and hyper-stretchable elastic-composite generator (SEG) using very long silver nanowire-based stretchable electrodes. Their stretchable piezoelectric generator can harvest mechanical energy to produce high power output (~4 V) with large elasticity (~250%) and excellent durability (over 104 cycles).

These noteworthy results were achieved by the non-destructive stressrelaxation ability of the unique electrodes as well as the good piezoelectricity of the device components.

The new SEG can be applied to a wide-variety of wearable energy-harvesters to transduce biomechanical-stretching energy from the body (or machines) to electrical energy.

This exciting approach introduces an ultra-stretchable piezoelectric generator. It can open avenues for power supplies in universal wearable and biomedical applications as well as self-powered ultra-stretchable electronics.

significant cost savings with on-line paste utilization of more than 95%.

The reductions in solder-related defects achieved with LOCTITE GC 10’s process performance result in higher yields and improved profitability.

Not only will manufacturers realize process improvements and cost reductions due to LOCTITE GC 10’s unmatched performance, but will also experience resolution to long-standing logistics and storage challenges. The temperature stability of the product eliminates the requirement for cold packing, overnight shipping and refrigerated storage. Packaging and shipping costs are reduced and energy

consumption within the factory is decreased.

Having been trialed at numerous customers worldwide, the results of the material’s performance indicate future commercial success with widespread integration into electronics manufacturing operations worldwide.

“The improved performance, higher yields and better profitability customers will achieve from this breakthrough material are substantial,” explains Dr Currie. “LOCTITE GC 10 sets a new standard for high-performance solder materials.”

PowerMILL Robot combines manual and CNC programming Delcam has launched the 2015 release of its PowerMILL Robot software for the programming of robots for multi-axis machining operations.

The new release enables manual and CNC programming to be combined in a single program so providing the maximum programming flexibility.

Other enhancements include improved collision checking, automatic avoidance of wrist singularities and the ability to generate robot programs from tape files produced in other CAM software.

PowerMILL Robot also benefits from the many enhancements made in recent releases of PowerMILL, in particular the Vortex strategy for high-efficiency area clearance.

In addition, the range of robots supported by the system has been increased so that it now includes KUKA, ABB, Fanuc, Yaskawa Motoman, Stäubli, Hyundai, Comau, Kawasaki Robot, Nachi and Universal Robots equipment, in all cases eliminating any need for third-party translation software.

The new functionality in the 2015 release allows users to duplicate in the virtual environment teach-and-learn programming of the robot for linking moves. The model robot on the computer can be ‘jogged’ between positions where machining is to take place, in a similar way to the movement of the arm in the real environment.

The programmed linking moves can then be integrated with the cutting moves to give the complete sequence of operations.

This approach will be necessary in any cases where there are additional objects in the real world that are not included in the CAD model of the part to be machined, such as the clamps or fixture being used to hold the item.

In other cases, the user might prefer to move up and over the part, rather than moving around it, even if that is shorter.

A singularity in robot operation occurs when collinear alignment of two or more axes results in unpredictable robot motion.

Singularities must, therefore, be eliminated to maintain smooth, predictable machining. The new release avoids automatically wrist singularities, the most common example of this type of problem.

The improved collision checking in the 2015 release allows the complete NC program to be simulated in one operation so saving considerable time when compared to the previous method of checking each toolpath individually.

Finally, the ability has been added to import existing tape files from other CAM systems. Once imported, the toolpaths can be simulated and post-processed in PowerMILL Robot in the same way as toolpaths from PowerMILL.

The new PowerMILL Robot software incorporates improved collision checking.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

-Anon

Self-organising factories In a vision of the future of manufacturing, the pervasive networking of people, things, and machines will create completely new production environments.

Manufacturers, researchers, and governments are working together to implement this concept for tomorrow’s factory.

Germany intends to spearhead the modernisation of production by making its companies the leading providers of cyber physical systems (CPS). Germany’s National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) believes that new manufacturing processes will lead to a 30 percent increase in industrial productivity.

much more independently than they do today, production processes will still have to be managed at a higher level in order to, for instance, set cost targets, deadlines, environmental goals, and other objectives,” says Professor Dieter Wegener, who heads the Industry 4.0 Office at Siemens.

As manufacturers look to the future, they are examining how advanced information and communication technologies can boost value creation.

In addition, the academy points out that CPS will revolutionise not only production but also mobility and healthcare. This development will ultimately lead to a huge increase in automation and in the intelligence of such systems.

Long before the term Industry 4.0 was coined, Siemens had laid the groundwork for the digitization of companies. The introduction of Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) in 1996 enabled companies to coordinate the components of their production processes and closely integrate their software and hardware.

In Germany, this development is called “Industry 4.0.” Similar initiatives have been launched in other European countries, the U.S., China, and elsewhere.

Industry 4.0 aims to achieve production-related advantages by creating a networked, flexible, and dynamically self-organising manufacturing process for highly customisable products. Over the next 15 to 20 years, it is expected to be accompanied by a paradigm shift that could justifiably be called the fourth industrial revolution. The result will appear to be revolutionary from today’s point of view, but ultimately it will involve a large number of development steps in a process of evolution.

The first industrial revolution was triggered by the invention of the steam engine and the Mechanisation of manual work in the 18th century. The second revolution was made possible by the introduction of electricity and involved the use of mass production techniques in the early 20th century, and the third was ushered in during the past few decades by electronic systems and computer technologies for automating manufacturing and finishing processes.

Now the rules are changing again in many sectors, due to the digitisation of the entire value chain and continuous and pervasive access to a comprehensive range of information in the form of virtual models, data, and knowledge.

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As a result, market researchers at IHS Technology expect global sales of industrial automation systems to rise from $170 billion in 2013 to $209.4 billion in 2016. In Germany, industrial value creation accounts for twice as much of the total economic output as in the UK, France, and the U.S. Nobody can say at the moment what the smart factory of the future will look like in detail.

However, the components, tools, shipping containers, machines, and conveyor systems in today’s advanced, automated factories are already equipped with sensors and communication systems that share and analyse thousands of pieces of information every second in order to manufacture mass-produced goods quickly and efficiently.

Many players in this development believe that the machines in the smart factories of the future will largely organise themselves, supply chains will automatically link themselves together, and orders will be directly converted into manufacturing information that is incorporated into the production process.

Nevertheless, strategists at Siemens expect that an overarching production management system will still be needed even in the far future. “Even if facilities and machines will one day be able to organize themselves

components in record time. At the click of a mouse, they had the components produced.

Development times are reduced

Siemens has since then continuously enhanced its range of TIA offers.

In 2007 Siemens introduced a comprehensive family of PLM software products, to which it is continually adding more modules. PLM stands for product lifecycle management, which aims to optimise product development.

To achieve this goal, design, prototype development, and simulation take place in the virtual world so that development times can be greatly reduced even for very complex systems such as the Mars rover Curiosity.

PLM development software enabled scientists at NASA to test and assemble all of the rover’s components in a computer and simulate how the rover would operate on Mars.

Similarly, Sebastian Vettel’s world champion Formula 1 car was also developed using Siemens software.

The vehicle had to be redeveloped because the automotive association FIA had issued new rules for the 2014 Formula 1 season that required far-reaching changes in the race cars’ design. Siemens PLM software enabled engineers in the Infiniti Red Bull racing team to design and virtually test new

The rover and the race car were manufactured only once -- a batch size of one. They are nonetheless indicators of a general trend toward making products increasingly specific, in line with the customer’s individual wishes.

This is made possible by simulating real-life production environments (i.e. the factory and its machines).

We don’t know yet which products people will need 20 or 30 years from now. However, the trend toward customisation is an important indicator of where developments are headed.

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

A picture is worth 1,000 words, but it uses up 3,000 times the memory.

-Anon

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DEVELOPMENTS

Lifting productivity in Hawke’s Bay – the secret to a productive pie levels in other countries. The result is that even though we are relatively hard-working our incomes and living standards are lower than they should be.

Kiwis value a good pie. Indeed, every year New Zealanders consume around 70 million of the things. But there’s a story behind this that often goes unnoticed. And this can provide lessons on how New Zealand could address its poor productivity performance.

To explain it is useful to return to New Zealand’s productivity challenge.

The concept of productivity can be illustrated with a quote from Ernest Rutherford that goes “we don’t have the money, so we’ve got to think.”

This shows that there is no simple relationship between resources like money and people (inputs) and what is achieved (outputs).

Rather than just increasing inputs, it is possible to achieve more by better using resources (increasing productivity). This is important everywhere but especially so for a small and distant country like New Zealand.

Yet New Zealand does not have a strong productivity track record. For several decades New Zealand’s labour productivity has suffered a long, slow decline compared to productivity

This can be shown with numbers from the OECD. This think tank has argued that New Zealand’s productivity performance is a paradox. We have plenty of natural resources, skilled people, it is easy to set up a business and our broad policy settings are pretty good. Yet our incomes are well below where they should be.

Indeed, the OECD reckons that our Gross Domestic Product per person should be 20% above the OECD average. But we are 20% below.

Rather than having an income of $43,518 per person (compared to the OECD average of 37,181 in 2009) our average income was $30,179. And the major reason for this gap is our productivity performance – with there being a 27% productivity gap between New Zealand and the average of 20 OECD countries.

The case for lifting productivity is just as important when we move from the national picture to a regional one. I recently visited Business Hawke’s Bay to talk about productivity and hear about the High Performance Work Initiative.

The Regional Economic Activity report shows that this region is home to 3.5% of the country’s population, provides 3.6% of employment but accounts for

just 2.9% of national GDP. Further, as Infometrics’ economic profile on the region shows, over the last 10 years the average annual percentage change in the region’s productivity growth has been 0.7%, compared to 0.9% nationally.

And while national productivity grew by 1.7% in 2013, productivity in Hawke’s Bay fell by 0.7%. While there are caveats around estimates of productivity at a regional level, these data do nonetheless indicate the challenge facing Hawke’s Bay. It could be that this reflects the types of industries that the region has. However, Infometrics has also collated data that shows how each industry performs against the national average. So, for example, construction in Hawke’s Bay can be compared to construction nationally.

These data show that for every industry productivity in Hawke’s Bay is lower than the national level. Rather than simply reflecting a concentration of activity in low productivity industries, there is a general problem with Hawke’s Bay’s performance.

And this brings us back to pies or – more specifically – the efforts of Goodtime Foods in Napier to improve workplace productivity. Goodtime Foods is one of New Zealand’s largest manufacturers and distributors of frozen pies. By focussing on lifting

workplace productivity, along with making changes at their plant, they expect to be able to increase production by as much as 50% while keeping the number of staff the same.

The plan is to improve their processes and management through the High Performance Work Initiative. To give just one example of the changes taking place, while they knew that downtime was costing them money they did not know exactly how much. Now they attach a dollar value to this and efforts have been made to reduce the time for product changeover from 15 to 5 minutes.

Goodtime Foods is not the only business in Hawke’s Bay making use of the High Performance Work Initiative.

And when their experience with this initiative is compared with companies like True Earth, Strata Group and Turfrey a consistent theme emerges: the value of improving management skills.

This is important for the rest of New Zealand too as research shows a substantial tail of Kiwi firms who need to lift their game in this area, especially when it comes to managing people. Efforts in Hawke’s Bay to improve management skills and turn the region’s productivity performance around could point to more general lessons for helping firms throughout New Zealand.

- Patrick Nolan, Principal Advisor

Sustainable development for a sustainable world Principles of Green chemistry and Sustainability concept have largely influenced research and development in chemical sciences. These principles include convenient degradability and minimised toxicity. It is a well-known fact that common chemicals are mainly based on toxic, bio-incompatible substances, which are dangerous for the environment.

On the contrary, natural components are biocompatible and have no toxic effects. Nowadays, chemists undertake numerous efforts to replace toxic substances with corresponding natural analogues, and fortunately, change of just one component sometimes does increase environmental compatibility and reduces harmful impact.

This approach has been used in attempt to create biocompatible ionic liquids.

Ionic liquids, also called molten salts, liquid electrolytes, or ionic melts, are salts, which are liquid at temperatures below 100ºC. Spatial directionality and

segregated nano-structuring found in ionic liquids provide them with unique properties, one of the most startling of which is the possibility of ‘fine-tuning’: each ionic liquid consists of cation and anion moieties, and by varying them, individually or together, certain properties of the IL can be changed.

Being non-volatile and non-flammable substances, ionic liquids were believed to become a replacement to traditional volatile and flammable organic solvents, and have found application in such various fields of modern chemistry and technology as organic synthesis, catalysis, electrochemistry, nuclear fuel processing, and others. Originally, ionic liquids were considered as ‘green’ chemicals; however, their biological potential has quickly become evident.

Now it is established that ionic liquids may affect life at all levels, from single biomolecules to whole ecosystems.

The authors tested a series of common and amino acid-based ILs and showed

that ionic liquids containing anions or cations based on the amino acids Glycine, Alanine, or Valine generally demonstrate cytotoxicity higher or comparable to that of conventional imidazolium-based ILs with inorganic or small organic anions. The authors observed increased toxicity for several ionic systems after incorporation of natural amino acid fragments.

A possible mechanism of action of such amino acid containing ionic liquids involves interactions with membrane transporter proteins employed by cells for amino acid intake.

A harmless amino acid, being a part of ionic liquid, helps a biologically active/toxic moiety to enter the cell, where it causes apoptosis, or the programmed cell

death. Although the original goal on making a non-toxic ionic liquid was not achieved, these findings suggest potential application of amino acid containing ionic liquids in biology and medicine for targeted drug delivery utilising tuneable properties of ionic liquids.

Sustainability concept in chemistry involves replacement of toxic chemical components with bio-compatible analogues in attempt to produce environmentally friendly materials and technologies. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

FOOD MANUFACTURING

Accomplishing the impossible means only the boss will add it to your regular duties.

-Doug Larson

Farm technology among Hi-Tech Award finalists For the second consecutive year, Hamilton-based Dairy Automation Limited (DAL) has been named finalist in two categories of the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards.

The subsidiary of farmer-owned co-operative LIC specialises in manufacturing

Both systems provide real-time results while a cow is being milked, that farmers can

sensor technology systems for the dairy shed, for real-time on-farm milk analysis.

utilise to increase production, reduce treatment costs and make more informed

Its CellSense system is a finalist for the Endace Innovative Hi-Tech Hardware

herd management decisions. They also integrate with LIC’s Protrack automation

Product award, and YieldSense system is up for the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Innovative Agritech Product award.

CellSense meters measure somatic cell counts for early detection of mastitis. It is the only fully automated in-shed in-line somatic cell count sensor in the world.

YieldSense is a combined full flow milk meter and milk component measurement device for the individual measurement of cow milk in the dairy shed. The six-in-one sensor analyses yield, fat, protein, lactose, conductivity and plant wash.

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systems, so any cows identified by the sensor systems as requiring closer inspection or further treatment will be alerted to the farmer and automatically drafted at the end of milking.

The sensors are highly regarded by farmers in New Zealand and demand from farmers overseas is increasing too. Sensor technology has the potential to revolutionise traditional herd testing practices.

Introducing

Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need.

– Voltaire

title text

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

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FOOD MANUFACTURING A point of difference in today’s busy FMCG market.

Developed by AsureQuality, inSight™ provides shoppers with independently verified information about the products they are about to buy.

After a successful application process, producers can place the inSight™ logo and a QR code on their product packaging.

When shoppers scan the QR code at the point of sale they can access information about the product, including: • • • • •

Environmental sustainability Social and ethical concerns Nutritional information Safety and quality Origin

Call us now on 0508 00 11 22 to find out how inSight™ can add value to your business. www.aqinsight.com

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz A new innovation taking product assurances into the 21st Century

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

DEVELOPMENTS

Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. -Communications axim

Steel construction: innovation and investment By Alistair Fussell, Manager, Steel Construction New Zealand Structural steel is the material of choice in most of the world’s major construction markets, including the USA and the UK where the market share is approximately 60% and 70% respectively. New Zealand is no exception.

Our diverse steel construction industry – comprising manufacturers of structural steel and steel products, distributors, fabricators, designers, detailers, galvanisers, and paint and building supply companies – has worked hard to grow market share. Today, structural steel’s market share is more than 70% nationwide; in Christchurch, due to the material’s proven seismic performance, steel has grown its share of the multi-level construction market to almost 80%, up from virtually nil prior to the Canterbury earthquakes.

What’s behind this dramatic growth?

Quite simply, it’s the industry’s focus on innovation and investment: innovation in seismic and fire design; and significant investment in high-tech fabrication technology.

Since 2007, the New Zealand industry has invested substantially in new plant and technology: Grayson Engineering and D&H Steel in Auckland, and Pegasus Engineering in Christchurch,

have all built new state-of-the-art workshops; and there are currently three new workshops under construction – Redsteel in Napier, John Jones in Christchurch and Calder Stewart in Milton.

This commitment by New Zealand fabricators has boosted the industry’s capacity, efficiency and quality. Indeed, the industry is well placed to satisfy the high demand for prefabricated structural steel, which is now similar to the 2007 peak.

What’s more, collaboration is playing a growing role in the successful delivery of structural steel projects.

Christchurch is a good example of New Zealand fabricators working together to deliver structural steel projects.

Compliance story The recent boom in construction activity, centred on Christchurch and Auckland, has seen an increase in the amount of imported prefabricated steelwork entering New Zealand.

However, with this offshore product comes the risk of non-compliance: there have been cases where paperwork has been missing or the steelwork does not meet the required specification, leading to costly project delays.

To address this situation, last year the industry introduced the Steel

Fabricator Certification (SFC) scheme. The scheme’s focus is on quality assurance and removing risk for procurers and specifiers.

As with other construction materials, the current compliance regime for structural steelwork relies, for the most part, on self-inspection and self-certification. The SFC scheme raises the bar by providing independent, expert certification of New Zealand fabrication companies.

The scheme marks an important milestone for the industry and presents a key point of difference for locally fabricated steel compared with imported steelwork. Based on international best practice, this industry-led quality assurance scheme ensures participating fabricators have the appropriate personnel and quality management systems in place to ensure they manufacture product to the specified quality standard.

So we’re doing our bit to raise the bar of our own industry to ensure the quality and compliance of local materials and fabrication. And last year we welcomed the Government’s new procurement rules, which introduce a focus on achieving value for money over the life of projects rather than the cheapest up-front costs.

Now we’re encouraging the Government to take the next step: ensure there are appropriate measures in place to ensure the compliance of imported product, which is of particular importance in our seismically active country.

Steel Innovations New Zealand’s structural steel industry is focused on achieving business and technical excellence; we’ve strived to grow our market share through innovation, investment in technology and market development.

With this in mind, SCNZ will host the second biennial Steel Innovations conference in Auckland on 3-4 September. With a central theme of promoting technical excellence, the conference is a forum for disseminating the latest knowledge in the research, design and construction of steel structures. Key topics of the two-day conference include seismic engineering, composite steel construction, fire engineering, durability and sustainability. SCNZ’s annual Steel Agenda member event will be held at the same time and promote better business.

Accelerating commercialisation of foam forming technology Foam forming technology offers companies major cost saving possibilities in paper and paperboard manufacturing. It also expands the use of natural fibres in the production of recyclable and lightweight products. Some products can even be lightened by 15–25%.

Together with an international industrial consortium, VTT has launched a EUR 3.6 million project to promote the commercialisation of the technology.

In the foam forming process a significant amount of air – in the form of tiny bubbles – is mixed to a water-fibre suspension. This improves the properties of paper and paperboard as well as the raw material and energy efficiency. The technology can also be used in the production of porous, lightweight and even products such as non-wovens and insulation materials.

The aim of the 2.5 years project, which is being coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, is to speed up the implementation of the technology towards industrial scale. The project targets, for example, to explore how current paper and board machines could be converted to foam forming. The project will support Europe to achieve its low-carbon, resource-efficiency goals and promotes the Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster’s research strategy, one of the aims of which is to develop smart and resource-efficient production technologies.

From a pilot towards industrial scale Launched in February 2015, the project is a continuation of development work which began as part of the Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster FIBIC’s research programme in 2008. During 2013-2014, VTT’s pilot-scale research environment for fibre processes in Jyväskylä was converted to foam forming with the support from the www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

European Regional Development Fund.

The potential of the technology has been verified and new product applications have been demonstrated in several trials done with both large companies and small and medium size enterprises. Some products can be lightened by as much as 15–25% and the most recent results indicate about 20% reduction in drying costs in papermaking. Due to the promising results, the interest of companies has grown considerably.

Broad international industrial consortium The project has raised extensive interest. The following 20 industrial partners from Finland, North America, Europe and Asia are participating the project coordinated by VTT: Albany International, BillerudKorsnäs, Domtar Paper Company LLC, International Paper Company, Irving Paper Limited, Kemira, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Kuraray Europe, Lenzing Aktiengesellschaft, Metsä Board, Moorim SP, Pixact, Sappi, Smurfit Kappa Group, Sofidel S.P.A., Stora Enso, Sulzer Pumps Finland, UPM-Kymmene, Valmet and Wetend Technologies.

The kick-off meeting of the project was held in Jyväskylä on 5 March 2015. “It is great to see so many innovative companies, which are joining their forces to develop the foam technology further. The project will strengthen the already strong position of VTT and Central Finland as the leading centre of expertise for fibre-based products and bioeconomy. It also builds confidence that our long-term R&D work in the paper and board sector is highly valued by the companies,” explains Harri Kiiskinen, VTT’s Principal Scientist leading the project.

The project has received a million euro funding from the European Regional Development Fund, via the Regional Council of Central Finland.

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

Find a job you like and you add five days to every week. - H. Jackson Brown

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WORKSHOP TOOLS

ESPRIT 2015 to Increase productivity and automation ESPRIT helps increase productivity for a full range of machine tool applications by generating more efficient toolpaths while also saving time by providing substantial improvements in computer numerical control (CNC) programming productivity.

Besides increasing productivity, the release also provides many new and improved features specifically in the areas of intelligent machining, strategic machining, CAD-CAM data exchange and Cloud-Enabled CAM.: ESPRIT 2015 5 - Axis Blade Roughing cycle makes it possible to completely machine blades in a single setup.

Intelligent Machining Intelligent machining features in ESPRIT 2015 accelerates the machining process by providing new and unique 5-Axis cycles that reduce cycle time.

This makes it possible to completely machine blades in a single setup.

ESPRIT´s 5-Axis Blade Roughing tool motion is morphed across the blade from any size stock shape to uniformly offset stock allowance so it can be immediately followed by a finishing cycle.

ESPRIT 2015 offers unique features in 5-axis to make complex machining more efficient, allowing users to have more tool path options with features like blade roughing and chamfering.» said Cedric Simard, Global Marketing & Communication Director of DP Technology. »ESPRIT 2015 blade roughing enables users to remove material down to uniform stock around the blade and eliminates the need to follow semi-finish cycles.

Users in the aerospace, energy, medical and automotive industries will benefit the most from these time-saving operations for precision parts.»

The Port Roughing cycle, another intelligent machining improvement in ESPRIT 2015, is a brand new 5-Axis cycle. It creates a 5-axis roughing operation to remove the material inside an area where the tool must enter through a restricted opening.

The shape of the toolpath is an offset of the port surfaces, starting at the surface and proceeding inward at a constant stepover.

The new ESPRIT 2015 5-Axis Chamfering strategy chamfers edges lying along a 3D curve.

Productivity Boost ESPRIT 2015 also includes features that increase machining productivity. The new Bottom Up roughing strategy helps take ESPRIT´s ProfitMilling high speed material removal cycle to the next level. The new Bottom Up strategy lets you attain a small residual stock height during the stock removal process. Even more, it can be combined with ProfitMilling - unique high-speed machining roughing technology for a major improvement in overall productivity.

ProfitMilling optimises toolpaths with engagement angle, chip load, lateral cutter force and material removal rate to massively reduce cycle time and increase tool life.

Strategic machining The strategic machining capabilities of ESPRIT 2015 have been expanded with completely redesigned stock automation capabilities for multi-tasking machines with mill, turn and drill capabilities.

where stock remains. This function greatly reduces air cutting which in turn drastically reduces cycle time.

Additional strategic machining improvements have been made by providing support for slot mill tools in the Port Milling and Composite cycles.

Slot mill tools save machining time on operations as tee-slotting and square shoulder milling and their geometry generates lower cutting forces in soft materials and unstable setups which increases tool life.

Barrel-shaped cutters are now supported in 5-Axis Blade and Composite cycles.

Barrel-shaped cutters provide a much better surface finish than ball end mills because their geometry provides a larger effective radius of engagement, resulting in smaller cusps between toolpaths.

system into the CAM environment.

Three new geometry types -- sketches, feature profiles and curves -- are now available through ESPRIT FX data exchange from Dassault Systemes CATIA, Parametric Technology Pro/ ENGINEER and Siemens NX/UG.

Cloud-Enabled CAM ESPRIT 2015 allows you to select tools based on the features of your parts in minutes — saving you the drudgery of flipping through catalogues to find ideal tooling. With the ESPRIT MachiningCloud Connection, programmers have access to complete and up-to-date tooling product data, cutting hours of programming time by eliminating manual tool creation.

ESPRIT 2015 simplifies the selection of cutting tools and automatically obtains the recommended ones.

CAD to CAM New data exchange features in ESPRIT 2015 make it easier ever before to move information from your CAD

.

Available for the Facing, Contouring and Pocketing milling cycles, the new stock automation function maintains awareness of the stock removed by previous operations to generate cutting passes only in areas www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

WORKSHOP TOOLS

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

-Anon

Portable hardness tester – next generation

Optimum outcomes for motor and gearbox alignment Used extensively across a wide range of industries, electric motors and drives can operate for significant periods of time with few reliability issues. However, if they are poorly mounted or misaligned, serious and often costly problems can occur very quickly.

Proceq has released their most versatile portable hardness tester in 60 years.

Proceq’s Equotip became the industry standard in portable hardness testing when it was introduced in 1975. Still proudly SWISS-MADE, Proceq’s new Equotip 550 is a complete all-in-one hardness testing solution which combines Leeb with portable Rockwell methods.

Having the motors and drives poorly mounted or misaligned can cause problems such as bearing and seal breakdown, coupling failure and possible consequential damage to other components.

The problem often occurs when components are assembled or replaced in working environments where there is urgency to recommission the machinery.

Often drive motors and gearboxes are swapped out with replacements which may have some differences in mounting hardware, or originate from different manufacturers.

Technofast Founder and CEO John Bucknell explains that the correct alignment of the two components is always required when changing one or the other.

“Large machines are often aligned using laser equipment to ensure best outcomes. Normally, the procedure requires linear adjustment and shim packing for correct height alignment.”

After each alignment adjustment, the mounting bolts must be tightened and the alignment measured to assess the outcome.

This may require a number of passes to get the required result and often takes many hours of labour and downtime.

Use of Technofast’s EziTite Hydraulic Nuts can dramatically reduce installation times as mounting bolts do not have to be screwed down and fully tightened repeatedly with torque wrenches or other means.

When used in conjunction with the correct alignment tooling, EziTite Hydraulic Nuts and Bolts allow the operator to bring all corners of the component motor or gearbox down simultaneously for measurement of alignment.

Ring is simply nipped up tight, the pressure released and pressurising equipment removed from the finished job. The whole process takes just minutes, not hours.

EziTite Hydraulic Nuts and Bolts are ideal for simultaneously tensioning bolting arrays such as fasteners on a flange, joint or cover, often loading 100% of the fasteners at once.

Use of EziTite Hydraulic Nuts and Bolts offer the user additional benefits including vastly improved safety, by removing flogging spanners and larger wrenches, along with greater accuracy and much reduced downtime on vital equipment.

EziTite Hydraulic Nuts and Bolts can be used to secure motors and drives found right across the world in a wide range of industries including mining, heavy engineering, manufacturing, oil and gas facilities and power generation.

Applications include conveyor drives, crushers, milling and rolling equipment, turbines, pumps, fans, blowers, vibrating screens and sieves, pipe flanges, reactor joints and covers, autoclaves and foundation bolts.

They can be specified and manufactured using high strength alloy or stainless steels to suit application requirements, with protective covers or optional surface treatments available.

Necessary linear adjustments or shim packing can be done by releasing the hydraulic pressure, making changes, then reapplying it to achieve the optimum result.

EziTite hydraulic bolts are precision engineered, high performance, hydraulically operated fasteners which incorporate mechanisms for tensioning. They can be quickly and easily fitted using standard pumping equipment such as Technofast’s hand operated, electric hydraulic or air hydraulic pumps.

When all is to spec, the EziTite’s Lock

The EziTite hydraulic nuts can be

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The Equotip 550 excels with its latest generation full color, dual processor Touchscreen Unit packed with features.

The instrument also features enhanced software with interactive wizards, automatic verification processes, personalized options, custom report functions and much more.

rapidly applied by being installed on bolt studs then hydraulically actuated, stretching the bolt to the precise tension required and then locking it in place mechanically with a locking device.

The reverse procedure permits equally rapid disassembly when it is eventually required for maintenance, for example.

With a combination of Leeb and portable Rockwell methods, the Equotip 550 is ideal for a broad range of applications including but not limited to Oil & Gas, Automotive, Aerospace and Steel Working. The Equotip 550 is designed for rugged environments and is rated IP54 with special protection for hardware connections (probe connector, USB Host, USB Device and Ethernet).

EziTite hydraulic nuts and bolts are ideal where: • Accurate and reliable loading is required on bolting.

• Vibrational or torsional stresses are a problem.

• Regular maintenance requires repeated adjustment or removal of nuts.

The popular Equotip 3 portable hardness tester has been superseded by the new feature-packed Equotip 550. The Equotip 550 offers superior performance, increased efficiency and enhanced quality assurance.

• There are confined or difficult nut locations.

Standard range of the EziTite hydraulic bolt is 20mm (7/8”) to 100mm (4”) bolt diameter and features a unique lock-ring thread technology to ensure maximum retained load and a spherical seat ensures correct alignment to the joint face.

Available in a variety of seal designs for temperature/pressure requirements, the maximum pressure of EziTite hydraulic bolts is 100MPA, though custom designs may be higher.

All standard EziTite hydraulic bolts are fitted with a stroke indicator, quick connect fittings and CEJN type male snap fittings, 1/8” BSPP porting and bleed plugs.

The EziTite hydraulic nut is a precision engineered, high pressure, high performance, hydraulically operated bolt tensioning device that can be quickly and easily fitted and used with Technofast pumping equipment.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

-Anon

27

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

HERA House Re-opened following extensive refurbishment HERA House, home of the New Zealand Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA), celebrated the re-opening of its refurbished premises, officiated by the Minister for Research and Innovation Hon Steven Joyce. The building’s refurbishment coincided with 30 years of service, and the Minister congratulated the Association on the impressive $2m face-lift of the metals engineering industry-owned facility.

focuses on the key technology of metals based fabrication - i.e. welding. This division has its own income stream in the form of a levy on welding consumables, and integrates other weldable metals such stainless steel and aluminium. This is important as many of our industry members use more than one material in their daily operations, and technology support over the entire welding fabrication field is crucial.

Acknowledging HERA’s role as an important non-profit private sector [WS1] industry body that acts as the resource centre for New Zealand’s metals-based engineering industry, Mr Joyce said that while there are very good CRI and university research entities, it is organisations such as HERA and sister associations like SCNZ (Steel Construction NZ), NASH (National Association for Steel-framed Housing) and Metals New Zealand that play an important role in growing the industries and sectors they represent.

“It gives us the confidence that if we are supported by the Government with a level playing field, our industry will be competitive against imports and we will successfully export, as my company does with our tow bars in the international automotive market.”

The Heavy Engineering Educational Research Foundation or HEERF is the owner of HERA House.

A key objective of HEERF is to recognise individual and company excellence, and promote the careers and development of the engineering profession associated to the industry. This has been achieved in the funding of awards such as the annual sponsorship of final year student engineering project awards, the industry awards Innovator of the Year and Exporter of the Year, and the most prestigious award the Keith Smith Memorial Award for Distinguished Services to Industry.

-HERA Executive Chairman John Frear introduced HERA’s mission “to have an internationally competitive New Zealand Metals Engineering Industry. We want HERA to be the catalyst to achieve this through ongoing innovation. Therefore HERA’s mission is clearly to assist industry innovation in the provision of research, education, marketing and advocacy functions.”

John also introduced HERA’s New Zealand Welding Centre, “The Welding Centre

Guests at the HERA House re-opening.

HVAC&R trade exhibition in May The Institute of Refrigeration, Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers Inc. (IRHACE), Climate Control Companies Association (CCCA) and Refrigerant License New Zealand (RLNZ) have announced details of their annual Trade Exhibition and Industry Conference.

The Air Force Museum, in Wigram, Christchurch will host the event on Thursday 14 May and Friday 15 May 2015. Councilor Phil Clearwater from Christchurch City Council will officially open the event at the Networking Function Thursday 14 May. The trade exhibition is free to attend (no pre-registration required) and boasts over 50 companies and over 60 stands.

Who should attend?

• Architects, agents, builders, consultants, contractors / Designers, developers, distributors, educators • Engineers (consulting, design, hospital, hotel and plant) / Engineering companies

• Self-employed operators / Property managers, plumbers, project managers, processors Industry professionals are invited and encouraged to view the latest technologies, products and services.

Suppliers will be on site to discuss the choices available to solve your purchase decisions.

AGGAT Global Conference at end of month After four years of effort and support by a lot of different people in industry and academia, HERA has finally reached the stage where they can showcase the work they have been doing in the Above Ground Geothermal and Allied Technologies (AGGAT) programme with the first AGGAT Global Conference to be held at the Sky City Convention Centre on 30th April.

This is THE opportunity area for New Zealand companies, especially in providing niche solutions to the market. What makes this conference special is its timing, which is immediately after the World Geothermal Congress (WGC) held in Melbourne the week before.

Delegates from around the world will be coming to WGC and some will be arriving in New Zealand for geothermal site visits right after and some of these will be attending the

AGGAT Global Conference.

What is needed to make this inaugural conference a success is support, to build on for the future. Registration is easy just go to www.aggat.co.nz and be part of this ground breaking experience.

The great thing about the AGGAT programme is it is here for you and we want you to ask what it can do for you. Come to the conference to find out. Look forward to seeing you there!

• Facility managers, government departments and agencies • Principal purchasers, business operators, decision makers and commercial/industrial product end users www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

28

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

INDUSTRY TRAINING

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.

-Mark Twain

New Zealand’s top carpentry apprentices called to compete!

New Zealand carpentry apprentices are being urged to show off their skills and talent in the Registered Master Builders Carters 2015 Apprentice of the Year following an increase in entries in 2014.

Entries for the competition are now open, with a share of more than $100,000 in prizes up for grabs, as well as the coveted title of 2015 Apprentice of the Year.

Registered Master Builders Chief Executive David Kelly says the competition is an excellent opportunity to showcase the calibre of apprentices in the carpentry industry.

“Apprentice of the Year is a great opportunity for apprentices. Taking part and perhaps winning a place in the competition really does set them up for rewarding careers, and it is a great way for them to meet others in the industry,” he says.

William Ellis and his employer Ben Redmond from Redmond Builders.

“With a record number of apprentices signing up to the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) last year and an

Apprentice program benefits Rachael Smith New Plymouth-based TGM Creative has made a rewarding entry to PrintNZ training programmes, with its print specialist/graphic designer Rachael Smith being named as one of five finalists in this year’s Apprentice of the Year Awards.

With judges now in the throes of determining the ultimate winner, TGM Creative owner Andrea Leadbetter says the process has “really opened our eyes to the benefits of extra staff training”.

“Rachael is currently our only staff member in a PrintNZ training programme and this is the first time we have entered this award,” says Mrs Leadbetter.

“As a design, print, web and marketing agency working with many of Taranaki’s largest organisations, it is important that the company offers the most qualified and experienced specialists across all areas and this qualification was no exception. We can now offer specialist print knowledge to the Taranaki business community that wasn’t previously available.”

In regards to Ms Smith specifically, Mrs Leadbetter describes her as being an “extremely organised person” who

takes her role within the company “very seriously”.

“Helping clients to produce the best solutions for their printing requirements is something she does on a daily basis, so completing her print apprenticeship one whole year early with three of her five assignments achieving excellence was no surprise to us.

“She also actively participates in assisting the organisation with continuous improvement and helping other staff members to improve their own delivery through streamlining systems, as well as regularly updating quality manuals.

“Additionally, Rachael has some medical challenges, so she has juggled this whole process in between regular visits to her specialist in Wellington, life-changing surgery and full-time work -- and has co-ordinated it so she causes the least amount of disruption in the workplace.”

Ms Smith says she is delighted to have made the final five.

“It’s such an honour, especially as I’m regionally-located as opposed to being from one of the bigger cities -- it just doesn’t happen around here!” says Ms Smith.

Fascinated by art and design as a student, she describes herself as “one of the lucky ones” who has been able to turn her passion into a career.

The TGM Creative team (Rachael Smith positioned second-from-right and Andrea Leadbetter positioned middle).

www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

starts to make sense as you no longer just see what your task is, but why you need to do it a certain way and what the company is trying to achieve by doing it.”

upswing of competition entries, we’re anticipating higher numbers again and some strong contenders for the title of Apprentice of the Year.”

2014 winner Tom Southen says taking part in Apprentice of the Year has helped him to plan out his future, and was a fantastic chance to meet other apprentices at a similar stage in their career along the way.

“Entering the competition gave me the opportunity to see how I ranked against my peers,” he says.

Principal sponsor Carters will be supporting the competition for the eleventh year running. Chief Executive Mike Guy says the Apprentice of the Year competition is considered a key component of our investment in learning. Training and mentorship of new talent is fundamental to the

future of the industry as a whole.

“While looking after new people entering the industry is a crucial element of our partnership to educate and train, we follow a lifecycle approach. This means that throughout their career, apprentices can look forward to a continuous engagement with learning, via our education programme, as a constant component of interacting with our company,” he says.

Carpentry apprentices can enter the competition online at www.apprenticeoftheyear.co.nz, with entries closing on Thursday, 11 June.

Apprentices, employers and young people aspiring to be part of the construction industry are also encouraged to join the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/apprenticeoftheyear.

$100 billion construction industry boom results in urgent apprenticeship drive With a $100 billion construction boom now a reality[i], the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) is doing everything it can to recruit more people into construction apprenticeships.

BCITO has launched an ‘edgy campaign’ aimed at raising general awareness of the incredible career opportunities now available in construction due to skills shortages across the country.

“Since 2012, our construction sector has grown by nearly 9%, in contrast to the wider economy which has grown around 2.5%. This has never happened before, and construction is now one of the fastest growing parts of the economy, predicted to grow 3.2% per annum until at least 2017,” says BCITO Chief Executive Ruma Karaitiana.

“The downside of this is that we are now very short of professional tradespeople, and there seems to be a lag in market response to opportunity. Sure we’re signing up more apprentices now, but most career seekers are behaving in the same way, going down the same pathways that they have been going

down for decades. While nearly 30% of school leavers are going off to uni’, less than 7% are going into trade apprenticeships[ii]. We’re trying to change that.”

Ruma says BCITO is looking for motivated people in particular – those who are driven to succeed, and want to be future managers. This means targeting career seekers who may well be considering more academic pathways, and putting BCITO messages in front of them.

Ruma says recent BCITO research shows that 98% of graduated BCITO apprentices are in full-time employment. Of these, 32% expect to progress into supervision or management in the next 2 years, and 27% even see themselves starting their own business.

BCITO’s “It’s Not” recruitment drive aims to do just that. It’s a tongue-in-cheek campaign underpinned by some real truths; challenging pre-conceived misconceptions of construction trades. [i] National Construction Pipeline Report, October 2014 [ii] Ministry of Education

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

Aim low, reach your goals, and avoid disappointment.

- Scott Adams/Dilbert

29

BUSINESS NEWS

continued from Page 1

SouthMACH 2015: The machinery of business Manufacturer receives tools, technology and services to work smarter.

“With one visit to this show you can see all the big names from your industry and can really weigh up the benefits of each before you make the big decision.

You can then be sure you are getting the very best. There’s no charge to visit if you pre-register and, as a trade-only event, you can be assured that your time will be well invested. This biennial event gives you the opportunity to come face-to-face with the experts behind the key innovations entering the New Zealand market.”

Aad notes that while there’s plenty of time for those in the industry to register, time’s running out for companies wanting to be seen at SouthMACH. “There aren’t many spaces left. If you want to get your products and services in front of thousands of people keen to find the best and latest, then you need to act now and give XPO a call.”

One of the businesses that made sure it secured its spot is kanDO Innovation Ltd and its TV star robot Baxter which

is featured on this page.

Leussink Engineering will also be helping New Zealand industry keep ahead. “We’ve been manufacturers of the Demmeler world class Jigging & Fabrication systems for over 30 years, and are a family run business providing quality and time saving solutions,” says Russell Brinkworth, Demmeler Account Manager.

“We have been exhibiting at SouthMACH for many years and we find visitors want to learn new technologies and witness state of the art equipment that could give their company the competitive advantage.

“People visiting our stand can get hands on and receive professional demonstrations outlining how Demmeler can improve productivity and provide quality components whilst reducing overall tooling costs. They will be able to discuss their company’s requirements with proposals instantly formulated to their needs and any orders placed at SouthMACH will receive special pricing.”

Robots, drones, and the leading equipment, machines and services to build new innovations – it’s all at SouthMACH, at the Horncastle Arena Christchurch, 22 and 23 July 2015. It is a trade-only event, with free entry to those who preregister online at www. southmach.co.nz

Bluelab Corp taking new product to market Bluelab Corp, which makes electronic metering and control devices to aid plant growth, will use a new research and development growth grant to speed up taking a new sensory product to market in the next year.

Tauranga-based Bluelab decided in 2004 to focus solely on manufacturing measuring equipment which is used in controlled growing spaces such as greenhouses, hydroponics and aquaponics by commercial growers and backyard hobbyists. It exports nearly all it produces to 15 countries, with the major markets being the US, Australia, and the UK. It was one of 14 companies among the latest growth grants handed out by government-funded Callaghan Innovation which are estimated to be worth up to $15.8 million over three years, based on applicants’ indications of their likely research and development spend. Qualifying companies can claim back 20 percent of R&D expenditure

capped at $5 million a year, providing they have spent at least $300,000 and 1.5 percent of revenue a year on R&D in New Zealand.

Bluelab chief executive and majority shareholder Greg Jarvis said he’s unsure at this stage how much he will be claiming back but the company already spends around 5 percent of revenue on R&D. He wouldn’t disclose the annual revenue though says it has doubled in the past five years as export growth ramps up. The goal is to double it again in the next five years.

The grant will help the company commercialise a new product in the next year which Jarvis wants to keep hush-hush at this stage for commercial sensitivity reasons. The sensory product is at the prototype stage after two years of development but Jarvis said taking the next step to bring it to market has kept getting put on the backburner due to more pressing needs.

innovation commendation from Government The introduction of Kiwi-designed innovative products has seen a New Zealand based exporter recognised in a new government-lead initiative to promote creative research and development in New Zealand business.

Heating appliance manufacturer Rinnai was assessed on their innovative practices by the Callaghan Institute, a stand-alone crown entity established in 2013, and tasked with encouraging innovative practice in New Zealand businesses.

In a new initiative, Callaghan Innovation is now using an international benchmark framework – the IMProve Innovation assessment – to gauge the success of Kiwi companies, and provide them with feedback on their competitiveness and sustainable growth in terms of the global market.

In the report, Rinnai was given an overall score of 63% for their innovation management performance, compared to an average score of 50% among 594 comparable companies from around the world in the machinery/equipment (plant construction) class.

Rinnai was also ranked higher than a category of global Growth Champions – a group defined as the top 10% of their category, based on the highest and most sustainable growth in sales, operational profit and number of employees over the last four years.

The outstanding results reflect a dedicated approach to innovation within the Kiwi company, says Rinnai’s design manager Ben Hawkins, which has also seen sales growth of 109% since 2009, and currently exports to Australia and Japan.

space for product development were also acknowledged as encouraging innovation.

“We have a saying at Rinnai that in order to have great ideas, you need to have lots of ideas,” explains Hawkins.

“In order to encourage everyone to contribute their ideas, we have a ROFI (Rinnai Opportunity for Improvement) system, where any team member from the factory floor to senior management can suggest ideas for improvement in any area.”

“A large percentage of Rinnai staff members have also had exposure to a customer-led design process, which seeks insights into the way our customers use our products. Plus we have created ‘The Love Shack’ – a creative space for brainstorming and product reviews that is designed to foster new and innovative ideas.”

Achieving such high results in the innovation assessment will help cement Rinnai’s reputation as a leader in innovation within New Zealand, and further afield, says Hawkins. “We have a strong brand built on the innovative control of heat delivering comfort to our customers, and these results back that up.”

It will also help the company identify what can be improved upon in the future to continue succeeding. “It’s a nice surprise to be acknowledged for these things, but we still have areas to work on as identified by the assessment,” says Hawkins.

“Rinnai has a real focus on innovation, and we have increased that focus in the last four years, so it’s good to know the processes and practices we have put in place are working,” says Hawkins.

Hawkins says products such as Rinnai’s Neo Gas Fireplace (designed as an insert model into existing Masonry chimneys), which offered a simple installation with good efficiency performance and functionality that suits customers’ needs, is a key example of the result of innovative practices at the company.

Meanwhile, systems at the Auckland-headquartered company such as fostering a culture of putting forward new ideas and creating a dedicated

Ben Hawkins. www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

30

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.

ANALYSIS

-Anon

Waikato Innovation Park buoyant Thirty-three of the companies reported gross turnover of over $188 million.

“Fostering innovation and the growth of the companies based at Innovation Park is adding value to the region and value to the country.”

These words come from LayerX group chief executive Bruce Trevarthen who took part in Waikato Innovation Park’s recent survey of its 34 tenant companies. Results show collective turnover of the respondents1 is up 18% from one year ago.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the companies surveyed reported some financial growth, with an average of 33% growth.

LayerX, a hardware, software and service delivery company, reported 186% growth over the 12 month period. CEO Bruce Trevarthen credits its growth to working with companies with a similar ethos, having a great team, more credibility in the market for cloud services, and refining the software development side of the business.

value that journey - it ensures the outcome delivers on promise,” said Mr Trevarthen.

LayerX’s outstanding growth is also due in part to their push into the Canadian market. “We have spent seven years refining and re-turning our product and we can now take it into a market like Canada with confidence and credibility,” he said.

Thirty-three of the 34 Innovation Park companies who responded to the annual company survey collectively reported gross turnover of over $188 million. This is up from approximately $160 million just one year ago.

“Eleven of our companies have turnover greater than $3 million which is one more company than reported sitting at this level last year.

Fifty-six percent (56%) have turnover

between $250,000 and $3 million, up from 48% last year. Only three of our companies have turnover of less than $250,000, which is an 8% drop from last year’s survey results,” explained Waikato Innovation Park CEO Stuart Gordon.

“All-in-all, the companies here at Waikato Innovation Park are doing really well. Revenues are growing and they are generally achieving this with the same number or fewer staff.”

In January 2013, surveyed companies employed 1213 staff. Those same companies now employ 1183 staff, 421 of which are based at the Waikato Innovation Park. Sixty percent (60%) of the surveyed companies have less than 10 full time employees, down from 62% one year ago.

“Finding the right staff is difficult for many of our companies, with one out of every five companies (21%) identifying staff recruitment as a major challenge,” said Mr Gordon.

Bruce Trevarthen of LayerX affirmed this challenge: “New Zealand’s people resource is thin.

We’ve recruited some talent from Auckland - people who are looking for a better quality of life and lower living costs. We’re also looking at the option of exchanging

“We create efficiency through smart technology and have a prescriptive journey around understanding the customer’s problem, finding the right solution, and then building it. It’s good to find customers who

staff between New Zealand and our company in Canada as one way of retaining good people.”

While the Waikato Innovation Park companies are growing their revenues, slightly less of that turnover is reportedly coming from exports.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the survey respondents are actively exporting, which is down slightly from 83% this same time last year.

“Of those companies exporting, the United States has gained ground as a trading destination. Fifteen percent (15%) of our exporters are doing business in the States, which is up from eight percent (8%) last year,” said Stuart Gordon. “Surprisingly, China now only represents six percent (6%) of our exporters’ total markets, which is down from nine percent (9%) last year.”

Twenty-three percent (23%) of Innovation Park exporters trade with Australia, which has grown from 14% one year ago. Europe has also grown from 19% to 25%.

“A delightful surprise in the results was that over 75% of respondents are actively engaged in research and development of new products or services. This is up significantly from fifty-eight percent (58%) just one year ago,” said Mr Gordon.

How are you going for serious news? – Doug Green This latest noise going on about Campbell Live has, quite rightly, a lot of people up in arms. The show is a bastion of strong support for community and political issues and of John Campbell keeping an eye out for the little guy.

The program has never pretended to be anything else and has tackled some pretty large issues such as the Christchurch earthquake for the common cause. When insurance companies are slow paying and builders take too long putting up, Campbell Live informs and forces the protagonists to face the antagonists and stand to attention.

What TV3 management does with its programming is its business. If they want to make an ill-considered opinion to get rid of the show they have the right to do so. If they want to have egg all over their face and make a silly www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz

decision that is also their right.

But they must remember the viewer, the public way out there in the suburbs, is quite capable of switching off – or switching over – when palaver ruins their evening. If no decent current affairs is available – or to be replaced by some variety show or the second coming of the man or woman looking for a partner- then forget it. The public is not going to stoop to that level and, who knows, may switch over to SKY News Australia, the BBC, Fox News or CNN where there are plenty of current affairs shows run by decent presenters like David Speers and Megyan Kelly who discuss the same issues (as John Campbell does).

In case you think I’m rooting for John Campbell and ‘a lefty’ I am merely looking for a sense of fair play, a balance. There are ‘blue’ voters in NZ and there are ‘red’ voters in NZ and

there are’ green’ voters in NZ and you know what, I reckon that at some time viewers of John Campbell are followers of all three parties.

there will always be current affairs, let’s keep it strong.

As for the PM saying Campbell Live doesn’t amount to much then he needs to be a bit careful. He is on shaky ground as it exposes him to a lot of voters who will move away when they vote at the next election. He can’t keep on Mike Hosking’s good side forever, surely not?

Tony Abbott, Barack Obama and David Cameron have strong opinions on the media. Rupert Murdoch worries them.

His Fox channel and newspapers bother them a fair bit and they have become more cautious about having lunch with him (he brings out the nerve rash!)

But in the end business media keeps on producing the current affairs programs. Politicians come and go…

Top John Campbell.

Left David Speers.

Rht Rupert Murdoch.

Bottom Megyn Kelly.

NZ Manufacturer April 2015

The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.

REAR VIEW

–Oscar Wilde

What’s in a Name?

31

-Nick Inskip

After a major refurbishment, HERA House was officially re-opened on 20th March by the Minster of Science and Innovation Hon Steven Joyce. He is also Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister of Science and Innovation, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Minister Responsible for Novopay and Associate Minister of Finance; not quite Minister for everything but nearly.

Following speeches that looked at HERA, past, present and future and with supportive comments from the Minister the bronze plaque was unveiled to take its place alongside others including the original bronze plaque from the opening of HERA House thirty years ago by the then Minister for Science and Technology Hon RJ Tizard.

Another plaque commemorates the establishment of Metals New Zealand, the industry’s peak body in 2011 which was launched by the Hon David Carter, then Minister for Economic Development.

In 1985, HERA was very much about science and technology. It wasn’t long after its establishment and there was strong recognition that as a small and isolated country, industry needed support. But things have changed and HERA has changed as well.

Science and technology are still the cornerstones of what the organisation is about, and are perhaps even more important today where our industry is open to global competition, than ever before.

There has been a global phenomenon in relation to science and technology and that has been a strong connection between science and technology and economic performance, so it was wholly appropriate that New Zealand follow suit and that David Carter launch Metals New Zealand.

Today, HERA continues to meet the science and technology needs of industry, but like our members and the market they operate in, we know that such activities

must be part of a linked development strategy, so it is most appropriate that the Hon Steven Joyce in his two roles as Minister of Science and Innovation and Minister for Economic Development, unveiled the plaque at the reopening of HERA House.

Science and technology are still the cornerstones of what the organisation is about.

We are hopeful that the close association between science and technology and development heralds an approach by Government that mirrors that taken by HERA and Industry.

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NZ MANUFACTURER • MAY 2015 Issue • Features

SouthMACH 2015 Preview Maintenance The Future of Manufacturing Manufacturing Technology CNC and Workshop Tools Advertising Booking Deadline – 15 May 2015

Editorial material to be sent to :

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Editorial Copy Deadline – 15 May 2015 Advertising – For bookings and further information contact: Doug Green, P O Box 1109, Hastings 4156, Hawke’s Bay Email: publisher@xtra.co.nz

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At NZ MANUFACTURER our aim is to keep our readers up to date with the latest industry news and manufacturing advances in a tasty paper morsel, ensuring they do not get left behind in the highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing world.

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NZ Manufacturer April 2015

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