Dec 20, 2017  -  Eagle Australasia has been selected by BLR Aerospace as exclusive dealer for BLR products in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, the company announced on 15 December.

Eagle will represent BLR products in these markets, including the FastFin system for the Bell 204, 205, 212, 412 and UH-1 model helicopters; as well as the Dual Tailboom Strakes for the Bell 206 series, including the Bell PH-58 and Agusta Bell models.

The FastFin tail rotor enhancement and stability system is designed to provide improved OGE loads, enhance productivity and improve stability during hover operations to reduce pilot workload and fatigue.

The Dual Tailboom Strakes are developed for single-rotor helicopters with enclosed tailbooms. They work by organising and controlling rotorwash, reducing undesired sideways lift on the left side of the tailboom and reducing turbulence under the tailboom.

| A Shephard release  ||  December 20, 2017   |||

Dec 20, 2017  -  Providing the opportunity to sharpen business administration skills through on-job and online learning, Skills Active now offers an exciting programme for the Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Business (Administration and Technology).

The qualification Skills Active delivers is specifically designed to suit people who work in a wide range of office administration and business roles within the sport, recreation and performing arts industries.

Officially launched on December 8, this is the first of Skill's Active's new business suite of qualifications.

Chief executive, Grant Davidson, is proud that the organisation is able to offer this nationally-recognised business qualification, which will provide value across all of Skills Active's industries.

"In all of our industries, the customer is key. Therefore, it is a natural fit for us to offer a qualification that develops an individual's customer service, technology and business administration skills," Dr Davidson says.

"Skilled staff with strengths in these areas will allow a workplace to run more smoothly, which in turn will provide a better experience for the customer."

The qualification is designed to be undertaken on-the-job, and assessed online. Staff learn while they earn, receiving on-job support and mentoring from managers, supervisors and colleagues to complete their qualification. Through completing the qualification in the workplace, new skills and knowledge are applied directly to the work the staff member engages with in their role. This ensures the qualification is highly relevant and useful to both staff and the workplace.

The qualification is a 60-credit package and includes tasks around: planning for your success, producing business documents; data processing to produce business information; and providing administration support.

The qualification is estimated to take around eight months to complete for a person newly entering their role.

The qualification costs $650 + GST. This price includes all fees, assessment costs, access to Skills Active’s learning support staff, and all online tools and useful study materials in one space.

With a high volume of interest already, Dr Davidson encourages anyone who is working in business and office administration roles in the sport, recreation or performing arts industries to sign up to this qualification.

"Doing this qualification while on-the-job gives you the opportunity to learn crucial business administration skills that are directly relevant to your role. The knowledge and skills you gain will enhance your confidence and increase your productivity within the workplace.”

To find out more about this qualification, and learn how to sign up, click here.

| a Skills Active release  ||  December 20, 2017   |||

Dec 20, 2017  -  VALLEY CENTER, Calif., Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Concierge Technologies, Inc. (OTC Ticker: CNCG) today announced that their wholly owned California subsidiary Kahnalytics, Inc. has acquired all of the assets and business of Original Sprout LLC, a California Limited Liability Company ("OS"). As of today, Kahnalytics has commenced operations under the fictitious business name "Original Sprout" from its location in San Clemente, CA.

Original Sprout, a manufacturer and distributor of clean, non-toxic, all-natural hair care and skin products, was founded in 2003 by master hair stylist Inga Tritt. Since that time the company's distribution has grown to include major grocery store chains, professional salons, health and beauty stores, family resorts, and hundreds of individually owned retail and Internet outlets. Originally conceived as a non-toxic baby shampoo, the product line has been expanded over the years to include an adult hair and skin care line, specialties for teens, and additions such as sun screen and lotions. The complete line remains true to its heritage of all-natural, non-toxic, ingredients. The brand is well recognized and in use by caring mothers, celebrities and royalty alike world-wide.

The purchase price, subject to certain adjustment provisions and staged payments, was paid in cash by Kahnalytics with funds advanced by Concierge Technologies under an interest-free loan. For further details please refer to the Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Concierge Technologies on December 19, 2017.

David Neibert, President of Kahnalytics and COO of Concierge Technologies, remarked "We have been working to close this transaction since first signing a letter of intent on May 1, 2017. Since that time Original Sprout has operated in consistent fashion and continued to grow its sales revenues. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Concierge Technologies, Original Sprout will further benefit from our attention to bottom-line profitability and access to additional resources for marketing outreach and product development. The current staff of Original Sprout will remain with the company and, over-all, the transition will be a seamless event for our customers. Original Sprout is a remarkable company and Inga Tritt has created a remarkable product. I hope our shareholders take the time to investigate our website at www.originalsprout.com and to try our products available at select retailers or online. Many mainstream hair care products claim to be "all natural", but Original Sprout is the real deal. Try the products, you'll be as impressed as we are."

About Concierge Technologies, Inc.

Founded in 1996, Concierge Technologies, Inc. today is a global conglomerate with operating businesses in financial services, food manufacturing, and security systems with facilities located in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada. Concierge's common stock is listed as "CNCG" on the OTC QB Exchange.

This release may contain "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Concierge Technologies or its subsidiary companies, please refer to the Company's recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at the Company's website (www.conciergetechnology.net) or at www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Concierge Technologies, Inc.

Dec 20, 2017  -  Delays in collecting containers from the Ports of Auckland is costing the road freight transport industry and their customers, and end consumers could ultimately pay the price.  The introduction of automated straddle carriers by the Port has reduced the working area at the container terminal and queue jumping by some trucking companies is creating delays of up to three hours for a truck to pick up a container.

As a result, the road freight transport industry is looking at charging customers for the time trucks sit idle at the Port, waiting to pick up containers.

In the past trucks have usually only had to wait 20 to 30 minutes to pick up a container, but the continued growth in container freight of between five and ten per cent a year is putting more pressure on the Port’s operations.

National Road Carriers CEO David Aitken says the issue has been building for years but recent increases in wait times mean it is reaching the stage where the industry may have to act.

“The time is coming when the industry as a whole may agree to charge for waiting time which will add to costs for end consumers.”

The problem is a complex one, he said, with no easy fix.

While the road transport industry is calling for the Port to be transparent around its booking system and not let some drivers push in when they do not have a slot booked to pick up a container, the solution is not that simple.

“Our industry and customers also have to be more organised and plan ahead at least 24 hours when they ask us to pick-up a container,” said Mike Herrick, the Managing Director of TDL Ltd.

The industry is incurring increased costs with more staff working shifts to pick-up containers at night, as well as the cost of the delays.

Passing costs on to customers when they can no longer be absorbed is becoming a real possibility.

“It’s been happening in Australia for a long time. It has become an acceptable part of the costs of doing business there,” said Top Tranz Ltd Managing Director Marcus de Kort.

“The delays have become the norm,” said Barry Mackenzie, the Managing Director of Philpott Airfreight Ltd. “It’s very frustrating. I know the Port has got to provide a service to the ships and turn them around promptly, but they should also be providing a better service to us.”

“Sometimes the boats are late arriving, but there is no space to store containers,” said. “Yes, there will be a bit more room when the updated automation process has finished, but the freight volume is increasing all the time.”

Mr Mackenzie said there were often queues of trucks, but straddle carriers to load the containers onto them were sitting idle without drivers, compounding the delay problem.

“The space is jammed with containers, often they have to shift three or four to get the one we are picking up.”

The Port operates a booking system, so transport companies can reserve a time to pick-up a nominated container. Only so many slots are available each hour, with some flexibility allowed due to Auckland’s increasing traffic congestion.

“But if the system starts running behind time it can never catch up,” said Mr de Kort. “If a truck sits idle for two to three hours its work schedule for the rest of the day is disrupted and it can’t meet other commitments during the day.”

Larger companies had more resources to juggle against hold-ups at the Port said Mr Herrick, but smaller fleets could often not deploy a different truck to do a job originally scheduled for the one held up at the Port.

“The problem is certainly worse at the moment with the pre-Christmas peak,” said Mr de Kort. But when the Port reduced staff numbers at off peak periods the problem has continued.

With exports expected to reach their annual peak volume early in 2018 the delays at the Port are expected to continue.

“When we moved to night shifts, the problem was solved for a while,” said Mr Herrick. “But now we operate 24/7 five days a week, with shorter hours at the weekend.”

Complicating the process are the different booking systems used by the Port, the Metro Port at Te Papapa and the six-empty container depots around the city where containers are stored in between use.

National Road Carriers Association is the largest nationwide organisation representing companies involved in the road transport industry. It has 1700 members, who collectively operate 15,000 trucks throughout New Zealand.

| A National Road Carriers Association release  ||  December 19, 2017   |||

 Dec 20, 2017  - “The Brexit and the European Plastics Converting Industry” has been published jointly by the British Plastics Federation and the European Plastics Converters Association.Brexit

A year and a half have passed since the Brexit referendum, and following months of negotiations, Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker announced that “sufficient progress” has been made to allow the beginning of the next phase: the talks about the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

In the light of these developments, the European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC) and the British Plastics Federation (BPF) have drafted a joint position paper, emphasising the need to develop a deep and comprehensive agreement that eliminates customs and minimises possible non-tariff barriers.

In a joint statement, Alexandre Dangis, EuPC managing director and Philip Law, BPF director-general, said: “In the interest of the European plastics converting industry, we ask the European Commission and the British Government to avoid any disturbances of the current trade with plastics and plastic products between the UK and the EU, especially in the second phase of the negotiations on possible sector trade issues.”

The BPF and EuPC stressed that plastics is an international business and the UK is the most important trade partner of the EU27 for manufactured plastic articles. In 2016, the EU27 exported goods with a trade value above €6.6bn to the UK. The same applies the other way around, in 2016, the intra EU exports of the UK amounted to over €4.5bn, which is 68% of the UK’s total plastic products exports. Additionally, there is considerable ownership of UK plastics businesses by EU companies from other member states and vice versa.

They added that restrictions to the free movement of labour could worsen the already existing shortage of qualified personnel that the European plastics converting industry is facing, and legal differences in the highly regulated plastics industry could become major barriers to international trade and investments.

The EUs flagship programme to create a circular economy can only be addressed in conjunction with the UK as a partner with the EU.

The major risks of a hard Brexit include the imposition of customs duties and other non-tariff barriers such as regulatory barriers or custom checks. Any of those barriers would have negative impacts on the highly integrated plastics converting industry. Therefore, the BPF and EuPC strongly believe that a temporary or permanent agreement should include:

The confirmation of duty-free trade between the EU27 and the UK. Mutual recognition of regulatory procedures and standards, especially REACH regulation. Customs procedures that are as efficient, simple and fast as possible.

More detailed information is available in the full joint position paper that can be found on the EuPC Website

| Source: packagingnews.co.uk  ||  December 20, 2017   |||

Dec 19, 2017  - The challenges of high pressure have kept metal 3D printing from gaining widespread application in hydraulics technology, but we may begin seeing 3D-printed components in specialized applications.

One advantage of hydraulics technology is its high power density. Hydraulic pumps are typically a small fraction the size of the electric motors that drive them, and the size and weight differential between pumps and gas or diesel engines is even more pronounced. An even bigger advantage is with actuators. Hydraulic cylinders only a few inches in diameter can generate forces to lift thousands of pounds, crush rock and concrete, or form high-strength steel into rugged components.

Of course, another advantage of hydraulics is its ability to control direction, speed, torque, and force using anything from simple manually operated valves to sophisticated electronic controls to command valves automatically. And even though electronic control of hydraulic valves continues to advance, processes improvements for manufacturing the valves themselves have not been as dramatic. But that has started to change.

Where We Are and May Be Going

Cartridge valve technology is widely used to integrate several control functions into a single manifold. Centrally locating multiple valves within a manifold can dramatically reduce

Continue here to read the full article written by Alan Hitchcox for Hydraulics & Pneumatics Hydraulics & Pneumatics  ||  December 14, 2017   |||

Dec 18, 2017  -  The Whangaparaoa Community Recycling Centre has found a way to harness the power of the sun as it gears up for the busy festive season. The recycling centre recently began using a solar-powered wheelie bin lifter for glass recycling after being granted $11,000 by the Glass Packaging Forum (GPF). The machine, which was custom made by Simpro Engineering, lifts bins filled with colour-sorted container glass and tips it into a storage container at the small site.

The glass can then be transported to New Zealand’s only glass manufacturers O-I New Zealand to be remade into new glass bottles and jars. The previous system saw workers manually pull the bins up a ramp and tip the glass out.

Sustainable North Trust trustee Betsy Kettle says the bin lifter is a great addition to the operation. “The workers love it because it eliminates the manual strain on their backs and frees up the space taken by the rusty old glass ramp.

“Having the extra space also means that the glass collection truck doesn’t have to shift the bins in the parking lot across the street, making the Whangaparaoa Road safer, too,” she says.

The recycling centre is once again expecting a busy festive season as the number of recycled glass bottles and jars increases over the summer. The new bin lifter gives them the capacity to deal with the extra load, Kettle says.

The site does not have a power supply, meaning it is essential the bin lifter be solar-powered. It also powers the center’s eftpos machine and can recharge the staff cell phones, she says.

The Sustainable North Trust and Community Business and Environment Centre (CBEC) jointly run the recycling centre under contract to Auckland Council. The recycling centre handles around seven tonnes of glass a month.

The GPF promotes the environmental benefits of glass packaging and manages the accredited GPF Product Stewardship Scheme. It allocated grants to fund infrastructure, research, events and public place recycling to increase the volume of recycled glass going back to the furnace at O-I, or for alternative uses for recycled glass.

| A Glass Recycling Forum release  ||  December 18, 2017   |||

Dec 15, 2017  -  A Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) between New Zealand and Hong Kong Customs is a step closer following the signing of an Action Plan to further progress the development of an arrangement. Customs GM Policy, Legal and Governance, Michael Papesch signed the plan on behalf of New Zealand Customs with Assistant Commissioner (Excise and Strategic Support) Mr Jimmy Tam signing on behalf of Hong Kong Customs and Excise. “It is an important milestone for both agencies. An MRA will lead to significant benefits for exporters and importers who trade between us, and include more streamlined customs procedures and improved customer experience of border services, while also providing greater assurance that risks will be managed appropriately so legitimate trade can flow more smoothly,” says Mr Papesch. “By developing and implementing an MRA we will build a closer working relationship, which will enable our agencies to collaborate more closely in the future. “In practical terms, MRAs mean that exporters who sign up to our MRA programme, the Secure Export Scheme, will be seen as a ‘low security risk’.

| SOURCE:  NZCUSTOMS  ||   December 15, 2017   |||

Dec 15, 2017  _  Why Hermpac chose Flow Software for EDI…  When its trading partners requested electronically-submitted invoices, building supplies manufacturer Herman Pacific looked to Flow Software to provide the necessary integration. In a low-touch solution, the company now seamlessly interfaces with the various enterprise resource planning systems used by its major vendors, with the efficiency and performance advantages it enjoys also extending to its partners.

Herman Pacific – or Hermpac – is New Zealand’s leading manufacturer and supplier of specialty timber products. Established in in 1974 with a simple promise, ‘quality first and second to none’, the privately and 100 percent locally owned company operates out of a 9-acre facility in Silverdale, north of Auckland, with further sales and warehousing facilities in both Wellington and Christchurch. In addition to its flagship Western Red Cedar timber, Hermpac offers over 15 different hardwood and softwood options, matched with a range of solutions from the ground up: flooring, decking, weatherboard, cladding, mouldings and paneling.

| SituationWith the march of time, the old methods of handling business administration are replaced with the new. Greg Crawford, Hermpac’s group accountant, explains that the major merchants with which the company works, updated their policies to require all invoices to be submitted electronically. “Previously, we were sending invoices by printing and posting them. This is a business process which we are increasingly seeing digitised for very good reasons, as it reduces errors, lowers costs and results in a much faster delivery of the paperwork,” he notes.

The merchants to which he refers are the large retailers and trade suppliers of building supplies across New Zealand such as Placemakers, ITM, Carters, Mitre10 and Bunnings. “Using the postal system is increasingly inefficient and the time taken for processing on our side and that of the customer isn’t good enough. All our major merchants want a similar sort of thing, with invoices going directly into Accounts Payable and lining up with order processing. It means they don’t need people keying in information and it reduces the chances of mistakes.”

| SolutionWhile a point-to-point integration doesn’t present any major challenges, the picture does get more complex when considering the multiple ERP systems in use by various customers, says Crawford. “Each of our major merchants uses a different system and we need to integrate with all of them,” he points out.

However, he says with Flow Software’s experience, addressing each integration has proven a surprisingly simple, low-touch task.

He explains a typical integration: “We get a Message Information Guide (MIG) pack from the merchant which details their requirements – and Flow generally already has that anyway. We pass over the contact details of the merchant as well as the people who support our Dynamics SL ERP [Adaptable Consulting].”

Flow’s technical people installed their middleware software at Hermpac, and within Dynamics SL, Adaptable created several views which were accessed by Flow’s technicians. “Those views come from our SQL database and are dumped into the Flow server, which checks every 10 minutes or so for invoices which are then sent to our customer by EDI.”

Getting it done, Crawford again notes, took very little effort aside from coordination between Flow and Adaptable Consulting. “And there was already a working relationship there – so engaging with a trusted partner with a proven track record really made this easy, with basically the same process for every one of our customers which wanted invoice integration.”

He has praise for the flexibility of Flow’s integration and the lateral thinking of its people; one customer required a feed of electronic purchase orders into Hermpac’s systems before invoices could be sent the other way. But there was a problem, as Crawford explains: “We didn’t want the PO going directly into our systems, as when we are supplying specialty timber solutions, it has to be carefully checked to be sure the right product is selected. If it is wrong, it must be corrected, cancelled and resent, creating an administrative overhead.”

Flow created a workaround, which saw the incoming POs captured and held, allowing for evaluation, before continuing the process. To the merchant, the process is seamless, while for Hermpac, there is no need to worry about incorrectly specified orders going into its systems.

| ResultsIntegrating with its trading partners, say Crawford, has gone off without a hitch. “For each EDI implementation, Flow asks for sample orders, sets them up as tests in the system and works with the recipients. When all parties are happy with the testing, we get an OK, go live and we haven’t had an issue.”

With the first such go live in February 2016, and a further three merchants since the original integration and a fifth being added at present, he says Hermpac has had ample opportunity to test the reliability and durability of the Flow integrations.

Electronic integration, Crawford says, dramatically accelerates invoice processing while eliminating the costs of printing, paper and postage. “Customers get their invoices a lot quicker. We save time and money. And it is more reliable.”

Which isn’t to say all Hermpac’s customers are receiving EDI invoices. Some prefer an emailed PDF document, while others still prefer snail mail. He says the company’s systems are set up to provide options for the preferred mechanism of information exchange depending on individual requirements.

Asked if he would go through the process of invoice EDI again, Crawford has no hesitation. “If it was with Flow I would. They have the expertise, they understand this well and they made it work without any headaches or issues. And their lateral thinking is of great value.”

| Source:  Flow Software  ||  December 15, 2017   |||

Dec 13, 2017  - : Rocket Lab has completed analysis of the Electron test flight abort that occurred during the company’s ‘Still Testing’ launch attempt yesterday. The analysis determined the launch was aborted due to rising liquid oxygen (LOx) temperatures feeding into one of the Electron’s nine Rutherford engines on the vehicle’s first stage. Rocket Lab has implemented corrective actions ahead of the next launch attempt, which is currently targeted for no earlier than 2.30 pm, Thursday 14 December NZDT.

The slight LOx temperature increase was a result of a LOx chilldown bleed schedule that was not compatible with the warm conditions of the day at Launch Complex-1. Rocket Lab has modified the bleed schedule to ensure components are sufficiently chilled ahead of a new launch attempt tomorrow.

While the temperatures were within safe parameters for launch, Rocket Lab had set conservative parameters for the test flight campaign that led to the vehicle performing a safe auto-sequence abort at T-2 seconds prior to a lift-off. The abort caused no damage to the vehicle or launch pad infrastructure, with the vehicle performing exactly as expected in accordance with the launch criteria.

Rocket Lab CEO and founder Peter Beck said the rapid and safe abort was yet another advantage of Rocket Lab’s advanced electric-turbopump engine technology, which can shutdown significantly faster than traditional turbopump engines.

“Electron performed as it should if it detects anything off-nominal during the auto-sequence and the electric turbopumps shut down in milliseconds. Our team developed very advanced systems to prevent launch if any one of thousands of factors isn’t perfectly aligned, and yesterday we proved those systems are performing well,” he said.

“We quickly identified the cause, put corrective actions in place and are looking forward to another launch attempt soon.”

For real-time updates from Rocket Lab, follow us on Twitter @RocketLab

| A RocketLab release  ||  December 13, 2017   |||