T&G’s Lotatoes have fended off four other food innovators to win The Ministry for Primary Industries Primary Sector Products Award at the 2017 New Zealand Food Awards Reports.

The category promotes, recognises and showcases innovations in primary sector products, processing and packaging methods.

“Lotatoes are sustainably grown right here in New Zealand by passionate farmers loved by kiwi consumers. We’re extremely proud to win at the 2017 New Zealand Food Awards,” says Andrew Keaney, executive general manager, T&G who accepted the top award.

“Having judges recognise Lotatoes confirms we’re is on the right track, so hats off to the dedicated teams from T&G and our growing partners Balle Brother and Masters Produce for getting Lotatoes from the soil to the supermarket shelves.”

This potato, which has 40% less carbs and fewer calories than other potato varieties, was developed by cross-breeding different varieties of potato seeds together.

The seeds have a shorter, more sustainable, growth cycle using less water than traditional spuds making them better for the environment, T&G told FreshPlaza.

| A T&G release published in FreshPlaza  ||  October 13,  2017   |||

A new joint institute by the University of Waikato and the Zhejiang University City College in Hangzhou offers degrees in finance, computer graphic design and design media.ZUCC

The joint institute’s opening ceremony last month saw China and New Zealand representatives join Waikato and ZUCC staff to welcome 230 students to the campus.

The institute opened last month after being formally approved by China’s Ministry of Education in late 2016.

Its first intake has 230 students, with the University of Waikato expecting to have 1,000 students enrolled by 2021.

Students will be offered degrees in finance, computer graphic design and design media, taught by academics from both the University of Waikato and the Zhejiang University City College (ZUCC).

The institute will also welcome exchange students from the university’s Hamilton and Tauranga campuses.

The nearly 9,000m2 purpose-built facility is designed with New Zealand design principles, teaching approaches and standards in mind.

University of Waikato, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alister Jones said the development of the joint institute was the result of the university’s work and investment in China for more than 15 years.

“The University of Waikato is the first New Zealand university to receive this kind of approval.

“Over the years, the relationship between ZUCC and the University of Waikato has evolved from student programmes, staff training and a dual degree, to the establishment of this joint institute.”

The institute has set the foundation for an exciting future for the university’s programmes in China, Professor Jones said.

“It reflects the hard work that staff in Hamilton and Hangzhou have carried out to get us to this important stage.

“The joint institute uses digital learning technologies and classroom and building design that encourages social interaction.

“We also offer our students in China a uniquely New Zealand education experience, which comes from our commitment to Māori language and culture, and the distinct cultural and historical perspective that it brings,” he said.

Several new students were also awarded scholarships to programmes at the joint institute.

ENZ’s Regional Director for North Asia, Adele Bryant said it was wonderful to see high-quality students join the programmes at the institute.

“ENZ has worked with the university since 2014 to support the development of the joint institute, so it’s fantastic to see that this investment has been worthwhile.”

“The programmes on offer respond to the students’ desire for a global degree that embraces both Kiwi and Chinese cultures, and gives them a truly international qualification.”

The University of Waikato is now looking to extend its partnership with ZUCC, and work with businesses in Hangzhou and other regions to develop internship opportunities for students.Share

| An ENZ release  ||  October 12,  2017   |||

A new biocontrol Tamarixia trioaze, a parasitoid wasp which destroys the Tomato Potato Psyllid (TPP) pest, has been released in Hawke’s Bay and Canterbury.

These initial releases are the start of a wider planned release and monitoring programme that is being supported with funding through the government’s Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF).

The Tomato Potato Psyllid has caused enormous problems for the potato, tomato, capsicum and tamarillo growers in New Zealand since it was discovered here in 2006.

Since then, the industry has been waging a battle to control this insect pest. Tamarixia, a tiny wasp that lays its eggs on the psyllid, which then hatch and eat the psyllid, is a biological control option. Tamarixia is found in the USA and Mexico as a naturally occurring parasitoid of Tomato Potato Psyllid.

The Tamarixia were released onto African boxthorn - a TPP overwintering host, as there are currently no host crops such as potatoes or tomatoes in the ground.

The industry groups involved are now looking at ways of ensuring a supply of Tamarixia will be available for release by commercial growers this summer.

The application to release Tamarixia by Horticulture New Zealand's Vegetable and Research Innovation Board on behalf of industry groups including Potatoes New Zealand, Tomatoes NZ, Vegetables New Zealand, the NZ Tamarillo Growers Association and Heinz-Wattie’s NZ Ltd., was approved by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in June 2016.

| A HorticultureNZ TomatoNZ release  ||  October 12,  2017   |||

SEATTLE, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NutriBullet, the world's original nutrient extractor, today unveiled the newest addition to its collection of products designed to achieve ultimate wellness – NutriBullet Balance – at the Smart Kitchen Summit. The NutriBullet Balance represents the evolution of blending by providing consistent taste, and detailed transparency of nutritional statistics such as calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat and sugar intake, among others with every smoothie.

In partnership with Perfect Company, NutriBullet has taken the art of smoothie making to the next level with NutriBullet Balance making its mark as the world's first fully integrated nutrition extraction system. Featuring a revolutionary integrated, Bluetooth-enabled Smart Nutrition Sensor™ that connects to a devoted NutriBullet Balance app on your smart device, NutriBullet Balance is designed to act as a Virtual Nutritionist™ assisting consumers in achieving health and wellness goals.

The NutriBullet Balance iOS and Android compatible app allows users to track real-time nutritional data as they build recipes, customize recipes to their desired taste, set and track their nutritional goals, create plans for optimum wellness, build shopping lists, and track items in their pantry. NutriBullet's team of registered dieticians, nutritionists and food scientists collaborated with Perfect Company to curate hundreds of recipes – tailored to various health conditions, nutritional goals and flavor profiles.

NutriBullet Balance is available for pre-order now and will be rolling out to select retailers nationwide this holiday season. For more information or to pre-order the NutriBullet Balance, please visit NutriBulletBalance.com.

Tracking aircraft maintenance just got easier through Spidertracks' cloud partnership with Aeronet writes Rob O'Neill in Reseller News.

Two New Zealand aviation technology developers have teamed to tackle one of the most complex and time-consuming problems in aviation: tracking and automating aircraft maintenance and flight logging.

Spidertracks, based in Auckland's Karangahape Road, already manufactures and sells on-board satellite tracking devices, dubbed "Spiders", though a global network of resellers.

Now it has teamed with Cambridge-based cloud fleet management software company Aeronet to automate the tracking process and eliminate reams of paper, ad hoc spreadsheets and manual data entry.

The new service, prosaically called Maintenance Tracking, uses data from the Spiders integrated with Aeronet’s API.

"It takes all of the admin out of what was once tedious and time-consuming and puts that time and effort back into the hands of operators, allowing them to focus on maximising productivity and growing their businesses," Spidertracks says in a blog post.

Fixed-wing aircraft equipped with Spiders just need to be signed up sign up for Maintenance Tracking while helicopters need a new Spider 8 device.

Spidertracks and Aeronet launched Maintenance Tracker at the National Business Aviation Association conference in Las Vegas this week.

Spidertracks’ chief marketing officer Todd O’Hara said allowing Spider Events and Maintenance Tracking to automate this area of customers’ operations means they have one less moving part to keep tabs on.

“For most operators, the data is already there. It was just a case of finding what else we were able to do with it that would provide more value to our customers," he said.

An early user, Canada-based flight training, aircraft charter, aircraft maintenance, and pipeline surveillance operation Synergy Aviation, said the system allowed maintenance to be performed "live".

“This is the only software I’ve found that works for helicopter operations where maintenance is regularly performed in the field," said Synergy director of maintenance Marc Hanatschek.

Spidertracks’ CEO Dave Blackwell said Maintenance Tracker was a milestone towards providing a broader range of services for customers.There’s been an increasing desire from customers to use Spider data to provide more value for their businesses, he said.

“We see a lot of examples where aircraft operators are having to work in disparate systems and duplicate data entry in an effort to get the job done. What we’re doing here is automating these work flows and integrating systems to provide greater efficiency and more reliable data, which will ultimately deliver significant cost savings.”

Spidertracks was founded by James McCarthy and other family members and associates after it took two weeks to find the pilot following a 2005 helicopter crash.

Those interests still own most of the company supported by a 16.5 per cent investment from The Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall's venture investment company K One W One alongside other smaller shareholdings.

Aeronet is deveolped by Module Limited, which also privately owned

| A REsellerNews release  ||  October 11,  2017   |||

New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines David Strachan expects stronger ties between his country and Cebu as the two parties further explore opportunities in trade, tourism and education.

At a time when the people-to-people links between New Zealand and the Philippines are burgeoning, Strachan led an 11-strong New Zealand delegation to Cebu to look into potential areas of collaboration.

“We continue to strengthen our ties and explore partnerships that would be beneficial for Cebu and New Zealand,” he said in a roundtable discussion with local media at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel last Friday.

According to Strachan, 80 percent of New Zealand exporters are small and medium enterprises who could be the right match for Cebu-based entrepreneurs.

He said New Zealand is exploring potential investments on food and beverage, wood processing and furniture as well as information technology innovations.

Investments

Hernando Banal, the New Zealand trade commissioner, said they see a sustained entry of investments particularly into the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Aside from the BPO sector, he said New Zealand is also looking for collaborative projects in renewable energy, especially since the country is known for geothermal power sources.

Banal said the bilateral trade of the Philippines and New Zealand has been growing, registering $1 billion in trade value in the last five years, making the Philippines the 15th largest export destination for New Zealand.

He added that Philippine companies are also investing in firms in New Zealand, particularly those involved in food and food processing.

New Zealand boasts of a large Filipino community, with more than one percent or about 6,000 of the country’s population being Filipinos and making it the fastest growing Asian community there.

Tourism

Steven Dixon, Tourism New Zealand regional manager, meanwhile, said more Filipinos now see New Zealand as a travel destination.

They expect more Filipinos to travel to New Zealand as Philippines Airlines is set to launch a non-stop service between Manila and Auckland starting December.

“This decision by PAL would inject greater momentum into the fast growing two-way tourist flows,” he said.

Around 28,000 New Zealanders travel from New Zealand to the Philippines while 23,000 Filipinos travel to New Zealand every year, mostly for business, incentives, as well as visiting family and friends.

Education

Education New Zealand Regional Director John Laxon, for his part, said Cebu is becoming a promising education market for New Zealand.

He said that more than 1,000 students have registered for the New Zealand Education Fair hosted by Golden Summit Immigration Consultancy held at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel last Oct. 7.

“Filipinos pursuing their education in New Zealand are learning from some of the best education institutions in the world. They earn degrees that are internationally recognized. This gives them an advantage in pursuing their careers in the Philippines or elsewhere around the world,” Laxon said.

More than 4,000 Filipino students study in New Zealand, making the Philippines the fifth largest sources of international students worldwide.

Year to date, the number of Filipino students choosing to study in New Zealand universities has risen by 35 percent in 2017 compared to the same period last year.

The popular degree programs among Filipinos, Laxon said, are those related to management and commerce as well as health studies, animation, cyber security and ICT.

| A TravelWireNews release  ||  October 8,  2017   |||

The New Zealand Government has achieved its third fiscal surplus in a row with the Crown accounts for the year ended 30 June 2017 showing an OBEGAL surplus of $4.1 billion, $2.2 billion stronger than last year, Finance Minister Steven Joyce says.

“The 2016/17 Crown accounts are a direct demonstration of the hard work of New Zealanders since the Global Financial Crisis and the benefit of a strong economic plan that is delivering consistent growth,” Mr Joyce says.

Core Crown tax revenue was $75.6 billion for the 2016/17 year, up 7.4 per cent from the previous year with all major tax types increasing.

“The 12.3 per cent growth over last year in company tax, a 7.1 per cent growth in GST, and a 7.4 per cent growth in personal income tax, are a direct consequence of the confidence and growth of Kiwi companies and the growth in jobs.”

Core Crown tax revenue growth of $5.2 billion outpaced core Crown expenditure growth of $2.4 billion.

The final OBEGAL result for the year is $363 million better than predicted by Treasury at the time of the Pre-election Fiscal Update, largely due to core Crown expenditure being $502 million less than forecast.

“This better result should be seen as a one-off. Treasury advises that much of this expenditure reduction reflects timing differences and is likely to reverse out in the years ahead,” Mr Joyce says.

The country’s net debt has reduced in nominal terms by $2.4 billion from last year, to $59.5 billion. Net debt has dropped to 22.2 per cent of GDP.

“This is the first time net debt has reduced in actual dollar terms since the GFC and the Christchurch earthquakes,” Mr Joyce says. “It’s a significant milestone in the country’s economic recovery from those twin shocks.”

Mr Joyce says that the 2016/17 full year result should be interpreted with caution, and not seen as automatically flowing through into higher surpluses than forecast in the years ahead.

“Treasury has based its forecasts on current economic settings and some reasonably solid growth predictions for the years ahead. A number of commentators have noted a softening of growth indicators in recent days.

“The Government’s future surpluses will be needed to meet the cost of the significant investments we have committed to as part of the next four Budgets including the Government’s $32.5 billion infrastructure programme.

“We also need to keep reducing debt over time to prepare for the next rainy day event.”

| A Beehive release  ||  October 5,  2017   |||

The recent spate of toughened glass shower screens, pool fences, balustrades and overhead glass spontaneously exploding in homes across the Australia and New Zealand has prompted the need to issue a safety warning to building and homeowners.

This year, two different Victorian apartment blocks have experienced exploding balcony balustrade panes. In Perth this June, a shower screen suddenly shattered while a four year old boy was taking a shower. Similarly, a Sydney mum called the ambulance in September 2016 after a shattered shower screen cut her three month old baby’s face. In Sydney this January two sisters, one eight months pregnant, were sitting next to a pool fence when it suddenly shattered. Shoppers at Robina Town Centre in Queensland were startled when a shopfront window unexpectedly exploded in June this year[1].

In New Zealand there have been a number of instances where glass has for no apparent reason to explode such as over an escalator in Wellington, entrance canopy glass in Christchurch and Dunedin.

Apart from physical impact or damage to glass edges, the most common cause of glass explosions in toughened (tempered) glass is a phenomenon called ‘Nickel Sulphide (NiS) inclusion’.

To protect employees, family, friends, guests and even passers-by from spontaneous glass explosions, Solar Gard and Speciality Window Films suggests the application of a safety film, which essentially creates a membrane that holds the glass together if it shatters.

Glass with applied Solar Gard safety film can be brought up to Grade A safety standard under Australian / New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 2208:1996, Grade A safety glass in human impact situations. It is a very tough, clear polyester film less than 1mm thick with a safety-strength adhesive. The combination of film and adhesive helps hold the glass together if it breaks, so instead of pieces falling onto persons or property, they remain stuck to the film.

“The recent incidents of random glass explosions are alarming. While toughened glass is designed to fragment into small cube-like pieces when broken, it can still pose a serious injury risk as the cubes can ‘clump’ together and sharp edges can be present, says Mr Ross Eathorne Managing Director Speciality Window Films.

“There is no way of predicting which installed products in your home could fail,” Eathorne continues. “So when it comes to glass, it’s best to err on the side of caution because the risk of injury to anyone nearby is so extreme. Safety film presents a permanent, invisible and cost-effective solution to the unpredictable and dangerous threat of toughened glass explosion.” Says Eathorne

With the recent introduction of much tougher Health and Safety regulations in New Zealand, employers and property owners have a responsibility to provide a high level of safety protection

Homes, offices and government buildings around the world use safety film to help protect against broken glass from bomb blast, extreme weather or spontaneous explosion. It can be applied to any glass surface, internally or externally, and comes in a range of different colours and thicknesses (the thicker the film, the stronger the substrate it’s applied to becomes). Solar control, UV reduction safety film is also available.

What is Nickel Sulphide (NiS)?

Invisible to the human eye, NiS is a tiny particle that can form inside glass during manufacture. NiS particles naturally expand during the lifespan of the glass, and usually never cause a problem. Toughened glass is about four times the strength of normal glass. Its strength comes from a balance of tensile and compression forces put into the glass during manufacturing. Sometimes the expansion of NiS particles disrupts the balance of these forces inside the glass, causing spontaneous explosion of the ENTIRE pane.

Central Wellington Apartment building 12th May 2016

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/303649/glass-balcony-sheets-fall-from-wellington-high-rise

1- Christchurch Public Hospital February 2016

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/76638610/Glass-shatters-falls-from-canopy-at-Christchurch-Hospital-entrance

2- Willis Street Escalators September 2015

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/71927722/large-glass-pane-shatters-over-1-willis-st-escalators

3- Dunedin mall March 2015

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/334867/mall-glass-failure-not-structural

[1] Link to story and footage of the exploding glass balustrades in Carlton and Brunswick, Victoria, 2017

Link to story regarding the Perth shower screen incident, June 2017

Link to story regarding the Sydney shower screen incident, September 2016

Link to story regarding the pool fence explosion in Sydney, January 2017

Link to story regarding shopfront window explosion in Robina, June 2017

Distributed in New Zealand by:-

Specialty Window Films

3D/89 Ellice Road

Glenfield Auckland

Tel (09) 441 0040

Contact:- Ross Eathorne

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About Solar Gard

Solar Gard positively impacts lives with products that protect, save and renew. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Solar Gard makes industry leading architectural and automotive window films, photovoltaics and custom coatings.

A division of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, Solar Gard’s architectural solar control window films are proven carbon negative and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Solar Gard products are sold in more than 90 countries under the Solar Gard®, Panorama®, Quantum® and Solar Gard Armorcoat® brands. For more information, visit www.solargard.com.au

 About Saint-Gobain

Located in 64 countries and with almost 200,000 employees, Saint-Gobain, world leader in habitat, designs, manufactures and distributes building materials, providing innovative solutions to meet the challenges of growth, energy-saving and environmental protection. World leader in high performance plastics, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics is headquartered in Aurora, Ohio (USA). The company employs 4,500 employees in 16 countries. Its product offer includes films, foams, coated fabrics, bearings, seals and fluid systems. For more information, visit www.saint-gobain.com and www.plastics.saint-gobain.com.

Bringing a whole new meaning to “speedy recovery

We all know Formula 1 is a test bed for a variety of technologies that will eventually trickle down to the street. Now, McLaren is taking its go-faster know-how and applying it somewhere a bit unexpected – health care. The body armor you see here was created in response to a client’s request for a device that would help keep his organs protected after undergoing surgery. It’s called Invincible shield, and it protects the rib cage through the use of high-failure strain Dyneema fibers, as well as woven fabrics and a highly-toughened resin system. The construction and materials pull from McLaren’s F1 experience, and includes the same fibers used as side-impact crash protection in the race car. Essentially, this armor is made from the same stuff that’s going into next year’s F1 competitor.

The end result is something lightweight, but tough and rigid enough to protect the client. The armor was designed to be discreet as well, and was perfectly tailored to the client’s body to be hidden under a shirt. Responsible for its creation was McLaren’s Applied Technologies division, which apparently has a hand in developing health care products. “From digital therapeutics, to tailored human performance programs and bespoke medical devices, our aim is to innovate health care solutions that can be tailored for individual patients,” says Dr. Adam Hill, McLaren’s Chief Medical Officer. Yeah, I didn’t know McLaren had a Chief Medical Officer, either.

Continue reading for the full story here on TopSpeed  ||  October 5,  2017   |||.

A leading tech businessman, who has possibly done more to improve trade ties with Vietnam than any other New Zealander, has last night recognised for his leadership at the Auckland University of Technology Business School NZ Business Support Excellence awards. Augen director, NZTech and FinTechNZ chair Mitchell Pham was one of the finalists at the gala event in Auckland. Pham has impeccable links with South East Asia and was pivotal in setting up the Kiwi Tech Connection Hub in Ho Chi Minh city to help Kiwi tech businesses accelerate presence and engagement in the ASEAN region. “New Zealand lacks capability and reach to operate in Asia. There has been plenty of focus on China and India, but not enough capability in South East Asia. We provide that reach and operational capability on-the-ground with the Kiwi Connection Tech Hub,” Pham says. “New Zealand has not had the capacity or expertise to engage in broad business development activities and deep relationships with business networks as well as tapping into talent pools and investment capital in South East Asia. “We are starting to look at how we can take Kiwi Connection Tech Hub to the next level and provide a more direct business development channel to Kiwi tech businesses. New Zealand faces global demand for tech innovation, while at the same time we also suffer from shortage of both tech talent and investment capital to support international growth. “I feel very honoured to be a finalist in the awards last night, on behalf of all the people and organisations that I work with. As I don't work alone or achieve any impact on my own, this recognition is for them.” Pham developed his leadership skills from business and community engagements and has also spent time at Harvard University’s Kennedy School to further enhance and broaden his capability in this area as a result of being named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. His company, Augen, has brought resource scalability to help nearly 250 New Zealand businesses accelerate innovation and gain speed-to-market advantages, including such groups as Acuite, AgilityTRx, Atlantis Health, Auckland District Law Society, Benecura, Blackbay, Calqtech, Go Car Finance, GO Rentals, HealthSoft, Kiwa Digital, Manawanui In-Charge, MerlotAero, OMNIMax, Orion Health, Rhombic, RoleQ, ShapeShifter, SoftTech, Strategic Pay, SurveyOnline.com and Wizbang. Many of the Kiwi businesses assisted by Augen have also been upskilled with the capability to work effectively with international teams in today's diverse globally supply chains and digitally-connected business ecosystems. Pham was one of the refugees who were fortunate enough to successfully get out of Vietnam in the 1980s. He survived several near-death experiences crossing the South China Sea and two perilous years in four refugee camps in Indonesia. He says he resettled in the best country on earth, received world-class education, established his life in New Zealand, built a technology business group and expanded back into Vietnam years later. “I am very fortunate to have built a business career in an industry – technology – that is now the fastest growing globally. I reconnected with my immediate family after 13 years apart and reunited in New Zealand after 30 years. I have expanded my Kiwi technology group back into Vietnam to support the growth of New Zealand businesses and creation of opportunities for both countries.”

| A MakeLemonade release  ||  October 5,  2017   |||