One-person company becomes so much more

Pertonic Industries (Lead story, Page 1) have been manufacturing products that save lives for forty years.

Pretty impressive, huh?

Owner, Dave Percy, says the company has remained competitive against those from overseas and create products that add value to New Zealand.

Starting out as a one-person company, they now employ 140 people at their factory in Wingate, Lower Hutt. Half of their business is in Australia and they are looking to launch in the USA. NZ Manufacturer continues to follow their journey with interest.

There is an article in the Business News section, (Page 6) which discusses cyberattacks on manufacturing companies. Read the article, make sure your systems are up to date and call in a cyber security professional if need be.

Ian Walsh (Page 7) believes to succeed and survive in business we all need to adapt to our environment. Adapting in the business world, Ian says, is competitive advantage, a set of practices and skills which better companies embed into their “DNA.”

Elsewhere, we continue our focus on Women in Engineering, which also appears on the website www.nzmanufacturer. co.nz and on LinkedIn. This month it is Caroline Su, a quantity surveyor at Bettabuilt in Christchurch.

Insa Errey, one such focus not so long ago, is now an Advisor for the magazine. Her specialisations, leading change management within the energy, decarbonisation, and sustainability space are a welcome addition and sure to provide valuable insights for readers.

Finally, I draw your attention to two Comment articles. One is from Michael Baines, Executive Officer, Vocational Engineering Education NZ who reflects on the serious lack of skills to meet the challenges the country is currently facing (Page 15).

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The other (Page 17) is from Dr Matthew Birchall, Research Fellow, NZ Initiative who gives the example of William White of Kaiapoi who erected the first bridge across the Waimakariri River. He was a humble hotel owner from 19th century North Canterbury.

Today’s planners can learn a thing or two from White about shepherding a project through to completion in a timely fashion!