February 2017
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MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY Bridging the skills gap.
Where is NZ manufacturing heading in 2017 and beyond? By Henry Zhou What will be the main trends for New Zealand manufacturing next year and beyond? Can we expect to see more “smart” factories across New Zealand? Will more New Zealand businesses embrace automation and Industry 4.0 data exchange? Can we expect to see improvements in workplace safety? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic YES. Money is the smartest thing in the world and it can be a very accurate predictor of future trends. Huge amounts have recently been invested globally in the following technologies: • Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Robotics: Opening new markets including service industries • 3D printing: This is now being used widely in small volume and customised manufacturing – it will challenge and disrupt the traditional mass production model • IoT: Data is becoming a key competitive advantage. NZ manufacturers can expect a further breakdown of existing technology barriers. This includes: • High level programming languages to unify and simplify automation programming
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SMART MANUFACTURING Industrial IoT goes mainstream in 2017.
NEWS 30 BUSINESS Fair and free trade for all.
Onwards and upwards in 2017! -Dieter Adam, NZMEA A warm welcome to 2017! I hope everyone was able to take some time off to rest and relax before, hopefully, a busy year for manufacturers and exporters. As we enter the New Year, many things seem uncertain, particularly in the realm of global politics, after 2016 ushered in changes that were unexpected to most. Domestically, things appear reasonably solid, but the exchange rate, access to skills and housing with its associated risks are key challenges – the lead-up to the next election will hopefully mean a quality discussion on how to address these issues and put growth in manufacturing and exports back towards the top of the agenda - the NZMEA will be pushing to make this happen. Globally, slow economic growth in spite of massive money-printing by key central banks, low inflation, rising debt, inequality and climate change remain as key concerns looking throughout the year, paired with increasing political discontent and anti-establishment movements in many areas.
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Not to mention, the continued technological change in processes and automation that both holds great potential for productivity, and raises further political questions on jobs and incomes. The question is, what should we expect the impact of all these uncertainties to be on the orders we expect from our customers off-shore? Around the world, since the GFC, growth policy has relied more heavily on monetary policy, through record low interest rates and quantitative easing, than Government spending. One unknown is - what will happen when interest rates rise, as we can already see in the US? Unless coinciding with strong growth in their economies, this will be a big challenge for a number of countries with high debt, such as those in the southern Eurozone, and those with highly leveraged housing sectors, such as Australia and New Zealand. We may well see additional policy around housing debt both here and abroad to try and limit and risks to financial stability, as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has already discussed in 2016.
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Social unrest and political instability as a result partly of income inequality and a skewed distribution of wealth here and abroad has been on the agenda
for some time. It was listed as one of the top three risks in a number of recent international reports, including the recent “Global Risks Report 2017”, by the World Economic Forum. The report highlights how higher inequality can act as a drag on an economy, as highlighted in an OECD report a few years back. The key, both New Zealand and aboard, will be finding the right policy set that helps address the issue while also creating a
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