7 Nov  -  Oracle is diving headlong into its quest to get more traction in the Australian and New Zealand small to mid-market with the launch of its digital hub in Sydney.  The new hub, the first to be opened in Australia, is one of five digital hubs the software vendor is establishing up in the broader Asia Pacific region.  It is part of a global network of best practice centres for small and medium-sized business (SMB) and is set to serve smaller clients on both sides of the Tasman.

The tech giant first announced in November last year its plans to create hundreds of new jobs focused on cloud technologies, through the opening of a digital sales hub in Sydney.

The software vendor said it would house a new team of over 200 digital sales professionals, designed to help mid-sized organisations transition to the cloud.

“Cloud is changing the heart of business in Australia, and at an unprecedented pace,” Oracle Australia and New Zealand managing director, Rob Willis, said at the time.

“We are seeing companies selecting and starting to use their new platforms in less than six weeks in some cases,” he said.

Now, the Sydney hub has finally arrived, and is set to house Oracle’s new digital sales team, which will be squarely focused on helping mid-sized organisations transition to the cloud, and to “transform the buying experience”.

With the arrival of the new centre, end customers that want to buy Oracle products entirely online can use the vendor’s click-to-buy Oracle Accelerated Buying Experience platform.

The digital hubs will also provide a complete suite of cloud applications, platform and infrastructure services, as both standalone offerings and as bundles.

“There are more than two million SMBs in Australia, many of whom haven’t worked with Oracle or used cloud before,” Oracle’s A/NZ head of application for digital, Malcolm Ferguson, said.

“They now have access to the most modern solutions in the market, available online, direct via the hub and through our expanded end-to-end ecosystem, working with the vast network in A/NZ.

“The increased choice in cloud technology will help accelerate SMBs’ ability to innovate and grow more quickly, paving the way for the next big SMB revolution in the country. This solid investment reiterates our strong commitment to Australia,” he said.

While the launch of the new hub provides the facility for end clients to buy directly from Oracle, the vendor has stressed that it does not mean partners will be cut out of the picture when it comes to making a margin from deals in the potentially lucrative local mid-market.

“Our ecosystem is very, very important for us,” Ferguson told ARN. “We’re going to rely quite heavily on our partner community to provide the professional services to implement the products. That does not change.

“We will still be looking to our partner community to resell. So that doesn’t go away. In fact, we’re in the process at the moment of building that out….the reseller model and the service delivery model is very much a part of the Oracle digital strategy,” he said.

Not only will partners have the potential to provide services around the Oracle products end customers sign up for, according to Ferguson, they will also be able to either direct end clients to the click-to-buy portal or work through one of the vendor’s value-added distributors.

The move to open the hub locally is part of an effort by Oracle to look beyond its traditional top-end enterprise market and make a broader attack on the smaller end of the market, with a focus on organisations with turnovers of between $10 million and $250 million annually.

It is also part of a larger strategy by Oracle to push its cloud-based solutions and services to a market that may not have the infrastructure in place to handle the vendor’s offerings in an on-premises scenario.

The move follows multiple claims by Oracle co-founder and chairman, Larry Ellison, that the software giant is closing in on undisputed public cloud vendor, Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the cloud market stakes.

“Amazon is going to have serious competition going forward,” Ellison claimed during the Oracle OpenWorld 2016 event in San Francisco late last year. “And we're very proud of our second generation of infrastructure-as-a-service.”

| A ResellerNews release  ||  November 7,  2017   |||

7 Nov  -  With the risk to foreign student export market from potential changes to immigration policy, the government should increase its focus on the little cousin of education exports, edtech, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. The education export industry is a $3billion market of which the majority is made up of bringing in foreign students. Today is the launch in Auckland of EdTechNZ, which is focused on growing and nurturing education tech in New Zealand, and is part of the New Zealand Tech Alliance. “While edtech is probably less than a $100 million export market at the moment we are well known internationally for our education system and a number of Kiwi edtech companies are doing very well internationally,” Muller says. “We have some great examples such as Hapara, Matheletics and Wendy Pye Publishing. Another success story is Christchurch based Linewize which developed an education specific internet management tool which competed with the government owned Network for Learning. “Linewize quickly grew an international market with the support of the New Zealand Punakaiki Investment Fund and last month was purchased by Australian stock exchange-listed Family Zone. “The edtech market, while currently small for New Zealand, is forecast to be a $344 billion global market by 2019. More than 140 edtech companies have been identified in New Zealand and a group of them have joined forces to form EdTechNZ to collaborate and support the development of edtech not only for export, but also for the benefit of the local New Zealand education sector.” Digital technologies are rapidly causing changes to work not seen since the industrial revolution. This is a global challenge and, according to the OECD, schools have yet to take advantage of the potential of technology in the classroom in order to give every student the skills they need for today’s connected world. Technology is enabling a transformation of the education system. A shift is occurring from instructional education to a more personalised, self-directed and collaborative learning experience. Increased use of computers in classrooms and increased internet connectivity are impacting on education.Technology is not only helping teachers become more efficient and saving schools money, but it is also helping to improve the quality of education which often still relies heavily on Victorian-era lecturing methods,” Muller says.

“Our studies have found that if New Zealand was to raise its education outcomes over a period of 20 years to a level comparable with Finland it would generate a 204 percent increase in GDP worth an additional US$258 billion,” Muller says, “so education is critical to our nation’s future prosperity.”

| An NZTech release  ||  November 7,  2017   |||

6  Nov  -  Mining giant Rio Tinto Group is adding two alumina refineries in Australia to the Pacific Aluminium portfolio in an effort at sweetening the deal for potential suitors, according to a trio of sources claiming familiarity with the matter.

According to an article run by Reuters earlier this week, Rio Tinto included the QAL and Yarwun refineries to Pacific Aluminium’s existing assets, which include Australian smelters at Bell Bay, Boyne Island, and Tomago, and New Zealand’s Tiwai Point smelter. Sources indicate that the addition of the two refineries could boost the overall value of the portfolio by another billion dollars to US$2 billion.

Neither Glencore plc., Liberty House Group, nor Rio Tinto would comment on the rumors, and U.C. Rusal was unavailable for comment. However, Glencore is known to have operations in the vicinity of the refineries in question. In addition, Liberty House purchased an aluminium smelter from Rio Tinto in Scotland last year and this year purchased Australian steel firm Arrium in a bid to increase its presence Down Under.

Experts see the addition of these assets as a signal to the wider metals market as well, as the previous CEO Sam Walsh was unable to sell the portfolio during his tenure.

“We view inclusion of the refineries into the mix as a stamp of the new leadership at Rio, increasing the chances of a sale,” opined a fund manager with interest in Rio Tinto.

In addition, analysts see no time better than the present for offering alumina assets up for sale, noting that prices are half-again higher than in August on predictions that capacity cuts in the People’s Republic of China will lead to significantly higher imports.

“If ever there was a time to have a supply source for alumina outside of China, it’s now,” said James Wilson of Argonaut to Reuters. “For Rio, it make sense. For a buyer, such as a Glencore or a Rusal, it makes sense.”

| An Aluminium Insider release  ||  November 6,  2017   |||

6 Nov  -  A New Zealand insurance underwriting agency is providing an exclusive cover for manufacturers which are facing major challenges in relation to recall of contaminated food and beverage products. About 40 manufactured food products have been recalled so far this year, up from 25 for all of last year, Delta Insurance casualty manager Dinesh Murali says. Delta Insurance is a New Zealand based insurance provider and has an office in Singapore. They provide a range of specialty commercial insurance products. The New Zealand manufacturing sector is experiencing strong growth and is a standout on the international stage. Annual merchandise exports from New Zealand are almost $49 billion, according to Statistics NZ. Murali says manufacturing for the construction industry has grown by 9.5 percent while meat and dairy has jumped by 8.36 percent in the last year. “Our New Zealand climate and abundant natural resources make food manufacturing a good strategic choice. We have a particular strength in food manufacturing, but we have also seen growth across non-food manufacturing as well. “Across all manufacturing segments we regularly outsource manufacturing processes and source components from overseas suppliers and this supports an efficient global supply chain. More competition means increased innovation and creating products in new and more efficient ways. But this also poses new challenges and risks in relation to quality control. “Outside the food sector, we are also seeing a major trend where manufacturers are embedding technology into items such as equipment and machinery with these products becoming connected to the “internet of things. This gives rise to risks such as cyber security which was not previously a concern for these items. “Given the increased and evolving risks, Delta is providing manufacturing-risk cover for Kiwi companies which we believe is the most comprehensive coverage solution in New Zealand. “This cover under one umbrella targets both food and non-food manufacturers and insures a range of manufacturing-specific risks including coverage for product recall due to product defects and food contamination, cover for pollution arising from manufacturing process and crisis management cover. It can also be packaged with other coverages such as cyber liability. “If Kiwi manufacturers choose not to take this cover then they run the risk of potential losses being uninsured which would affect their balance sheet and could, in a worse-case scenario, result in the financial ruin of their business. “Beyond the direct financial impact, they could also suffer significant reputational damage if they do not have the resources and expertise to be able to manage some of these critical issues, such as product recall of contaminated products,” Murali says. For further information contact Delta Insurance’s casualty manager Dinesh Murali on 027 7007951 or Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188.

A Delta Insurance release  || November 6,  2017   |||

3 Nov - For the first time, a comprehensive new guide that introduces young Kiwis to the many career opportunities in New Zealand’s booming service industry has been published by ServiceIQ, Industry Training Organisation (ITO) for tourism and travel, retail and retail supply chain, hospitality, aviation, and museums service sectors.

Service Career Kick-Starter was launched to the whole of the country via the Sunday Star Times at the end of October.

It’s packed full of helpful information, case studies, sector profiles, statistics, job and career paths, and real success stories with just a few of the thousands of talented young New Zealanders gaining an education and industry qualifications on the job, including up-and-coming pilots, aviation engineers, chefs, tour guides, retail managers, museum curators and more.

The well-established industry sectors offer serious opportunities in which to gain an education, real skills, national qualifications and a career, and achieving it all on the job, earning as you learn.

In fact, around 35 percent of all new job opportunities between 2017 and 2021 are in the sectors ServiceIQ serves.

ServiceIQ Chief Executive Dean Minchington says it’s an essential guide to discovering what’s possible and getting a career underway.

“The sectors we serve hold a huge range of possibilities for many young New Zealanders, including secondary school students considering what to do with their life. While university and polytechnic work for some people, for those people who excel at learning by doing, our sectors offer the chance to train

| A ServiceIQ release  ||  November 3,  2017   |||

3 Nov - The acquisition includes Convene in Auckland, Convene South in Christchurch, Convene Q in Brisbane and the Pacific Area Incentives and Conferences Expo (PAICE). It also covers Convene South East Region (SER), due for launch in 2019.  ProMag Publishing director Stu Freeman says the sale to Convene Group headed by Eastaugh ensures the future of the expo series will be delivered with continued vision and integrity.

“Ally has been with ProMag for over four years and during that time has successfully launched Convene South and Convene Q as well as building on the strengths of the existing shows – PAICE and Convene,’ said Freeman.

The change of ownership officially takes effect on November 17.

“This latest move will allow the events to grow and develop in the future,” said Eastaugh.

“Our first priority is our stakeholders, exhibitors, visitors and suppliers, to discuss new opportunities and ways forward, together.

“Convene Group looks forward to retaining a valuable working relationship with ProMag in the marketplace. There will remain a strong synergy between the two separate companies.”

| A CIM release  ||  November 3,  2017   |||

3 Nov - More than $100bn of infrastructure works are planned but country doesn’t have enough local workers to fill the gap.  New Zealand has launched a campaign to lure thousands of UK construction workers away from their wintry building sites to deliver the country’s biggest ever infrastructure and housing program.  An estimated 65,000 new construction workers will be needed over the next five years to meet demand, forcing the industry to work with the government to create what is the largest ever recruitment drive for UK workers.

The recent downturn in British construction activity had created an ideal employment environment to attract potential migrants, said Greg Edmonds, Auckland Transport’s chief infrastructure officer, as Brexit’s uncertainties continues to take their toll.

A package created by a recruitment consortium, called LookSee Build NZ, offers “experiences”, including fishing, surfing and cultural events, to entice construction professionals. Interested and qualified candidates would then be matched with appropriate employers.

The new Labour-led government wants to spend NZ$2bn (£1bn) building 100,000 new homes over the next 10 years as part of its election promise to improve housing affordability. There are also massive infrastructure works planned during that time, which the industry says will cost about $125bn. However, there aren’t enough local workers to make it happen.

The government forecasts New Zealand’s construction needs will reach a peak in 2020. But despite 11,000 apprentices learning the trades, the industry training organisation says New Zealand still needs many more to meet demand and replace those who retire or leave.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is introducing a scheme that would fast track 1,000 to 1500 visas to specifically attract construction workers from abroad.

Craig West of engineering company Downer, which is part of the LookSee group, said the need for top talent was acute. “Our construction sector is very competitive and this kind of inter-industry cooperation has never happened before but the need for staff requires us to take an all-of-industry approach.”

Aaron Muir, a LookSee Build NZ spokesman and construction consultant, said he did not think the free experiences such as fishing and surfing would by themselves persuade people to make the move. “What it will do is give them a genuine taste of the lifestyle that is on offer in New Zealand,” he said.

The recruitment schemes come as the Labour party also promises to cut net migration to New Zealand by between 20,000 and 30,000 people.

|  A TheGuardian release  ||  November 3,  2017   |||

3 Nov -  Chinese Mayors representing around 80 million citizens will gather in Wellington on 3-4 December for talks with their Kiwi counterparts.  Fifteen Chinese mayors and vice-mayors from mid and large-sized cities will visit for the second New Zealand China Mayoral Forum to further strengthen relationships between regions of both countries.  They will be joined by 33 mayors from across New Zealand, from our biggest city Auckland to some of our smaller regional centres.

The Forum, hosted by Local Government New Zealand and Wellington City Council, is the second time Mayors from China and New Zealand will meet, following the inaugural 2015 Forum in Xiamen.

Trade and investment opportunities in tourism, education and primary industries will be central to discussions at this year’s Forum. China is New Zealand’s largest source of foreign students, with 34,000 in 2016, second largest source of tourists, with over 400,000 visitors in 2016, and in 2016 took $9.4 billion of export goods with primary products top of the list.

A business forum and matching session will also provide an opportunity for businesses from both countries to engage in discussions on future trade and investment opportunities.

LGNZ President Dave Cull says the Forum is an excellent opportunity for both the country as a whole and the regions to enhance relationships with New Zealand’s largest trading partner.

“There is much to be gained for our communities in developing a greater understanding and appreciation of how China operates,” Mr Cull says. “Face to face meetings at the sub-national level provide the opportunity for the representatives of our cities, districts and regions to engage directly and look for mutually-beneficial economic development opportunities.”

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester says the capital is proud to be hosting the event, and he will be looking to share the Wellington story with the visiting contingent.

“China is a hugely important partner and destination for Wellington business. I’m very excited that such a major forum is being hosted in the capital,” Mr Lester says. “This will be a great opportunity to show off what we love about Wellington to an important international audience.”

The Forum is supported by platinum sponsor the China Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand and the Bank of China, with additional support from sponsors Huawei, the University of Otago, the University of Auckland’s Centre for Asia-Pacific Excellence, Victoria University of Wellington, Silver Fern Express Ltd, China Travel Services Ltd and the New Zealand China Council.

The talks will include mayors, vice mayors and officials from the following Chinese cities: Xiamen City, Beijing City, Guangzhou City, Shenzhen City, Hohhot City, Guilin City, Dunhuang City, Baoji City, Qingyuan City, Huaibei City, Liaoyang City, Heihe City and Qingdao City. Attendance from another two cities from Ningxia Hui People's Autonomous Region and Hebei Province will shortly be confirmed.

The talks will include mayors and officials from the following New Zealand towns, cities and districts: Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Rotorua, Hastings, Whanganui, Rangitikei, Timaru, Taupo, Matamata-Piako, Central Otago, Nelson, Gisborne, Clutha, Tararua, Manawatu, Central Hawke’s Bay, Hurunui, Hauraki, Porirua, Marlborough, Gore, Selwyn, Kawerau, Opotiki, Kapiti, Ashburton, Invercargill, Upper Hutt and Hutt City.

| A LGNZ release  |  November 3,  2017   |||

2 Nov[] The increasing interconnection of devices and vast flows of data between machines are transforming factory floors around the world.  From robots that work alongside humans to tracking components throughout the logistics system, the internet of things (IoT) is reshaping the way products are designed and made — and changing the role of humans in manufacturing.

CobotsUnlike traditional industrial robots hidden behind cages, like those that weld car bodies, collaborative robots — or cobots — work alongside humans and have been spreading across production lines.

They are typically smaller, flexible and mobile, as well as being cheaper than their heavy-duty cousins. They are also slower, but cobots are highly adaptable and can be assigned to different tasks.

“[Cobots] can learn by imitation. They tend to have cameras with vision recognition software. You can move the hand of the robot, you do a task and after a few minutes the robot is programmed,” says Jonathan Cohen, portfolio manager of the $90m RoboCap UCITS Fund. This compares with 50 to 200 hours to program larger industrial robots, he adds.

One of the biggest cobot manufacturers is Universal Robots of Denmark, which was acquired for $285m in 2015 by Teradyne, a US supplier of automation equipment. Uses of its machines include putting confectionery in boxes, polishing objects and screwdriving.

While many fear that robots will steal people’s jobs, proponents say cobots can improve health and safety conditions for humans by performing repetitive tasks that require uncomfortable movements such as twisting or lifting heavy objects.Additive manufacturingThis is also known as 3D printing, because it involves building objects layer by layer out of substrates such as polymer or metal. Complex patterns based on digital designs that may not be possible with traditional manufacturing techniques can be made with less material and fewer process steps.

Additive manufacturing has existed for more than three decades but has been limited by its expense and slowness. However, more real-world applications are emerging.

Continue here to read full article on Financila Times  ||  November 2,  2017   |||

1 Nov  ΞGuangzhou, China — Chinese manufacturers of the humble plastic pipe — used to carry drinking water, irrigation water, sewage, electricity and gas — are increasingly looking globally.  While China's domestic market is growing as Beijing focuses on building infrastructure, some companies in China's large domestic industry were using this fall's Canton Fair in Guangzhou to cast about for overseas business.

The rush is fueled by projections of continued growth in global plastics pipe markets. A July report from research firm Persistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd., for example, estimates that worldwide plastic pipe sales will grow from about $30 billion this year to $44 billion by 2024.

However, a hodgepodge of standards worldwide is spurring Chinese processors to follow contrasting strategies.

Different regions and countries favor slightly different internal diameters and different materials, said Alina Chen, manager at Taizhou Zhuoxin Plastics Co. Ltd.

"Some countries like [chlorinated] CPVC. Other countries like PVC," Chen said.

Under its Sam-UK brand, Taizhou Zhuoxin manufactures both pipes and pipe fittings. Unusually for a Chinese manufacturer, it sells nothing domestically.

"We do all exports," Chen said.  The 11-year-old company focuses on South America and Africa, with sales offices throughout Africa. Last year, it opened a sales office and warehouse in Peru.

Sales for 2016 totaled 70 million yuan, up 20 percent from the previous year, Chen said. The company, which has 100 staff, has already bought land to build a 7,200-square-meter factory, double the size of its present one, Chen said.

"Business is good," Chen said.

Taizhou, Zhejiang province-based Yonggao Co. Ltd., the country's second-biggest pipe maker, has a factory near company headquarters dedicated to serving the international market, said Esther Tao, vice international sales director.

"Because products are different for international and domestic markets. Not just the size and standards, but the also the popular items are quite different," Tao said.

Yonggao is publicly listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange. Sales for the six months ending June 30 were 1.85 billion yuan ($280 million), up 24.4 percent from the year-before period.

But profit edged down 8.8 percent on the rising resin costs and competition, the company reported.

The company produced 452 million pounds of pipe, up 22.3 percent from the year-before period. Yonggao has seven factories across China, and claims to be China's largest exporter of plastic pipe.

Currently, the company's biggest challenge is from aggressive price-cutting from Chinese rivals, Tao said.

Exhibitors at the three-week, three-phase Canton Fair, one of the world's biggest trade shows, offer everything from clocks to industrial-strength juicers. The mega-fair typically draws about 200,000 buyers and 25,000 exhibitors.

On the equipment side, extrusion specialist Foshan City Kebeln Plastic Machinery Co. Ltd. plans to double its production capacity by building a new 17,000-square-meter factory near its current one, General Manager Conghua Gao said in a telephone interview after the fair.

The 12-year-old company will double its headcount from the current 70 when the new factory opens, Gao said.

After a moderate 5 percent increase last year, sales are up a sharp 30 percent this year due to one big order for 30 production lines, Gao reported.

One player struggling in the current environment is Shenyang-based Ginde Plastic Pipe Industry Group. Founded in 1999, Ginde has more than 10,000 workers and nine factories in China. Exports comprise about 30 percent of Ginde's sales, said Shi Haifeng, manager of overseas sales.

Key markets are Cyprus, New Zealand and Australia, Shi said. "Mongolia is our largest overseas client," he said.

But with sales off in recent years, Ginde is now in the midst of reorganizing its overseas sales effort to focus on Southeast Asia and Africa, Shi said.

China Lesso Group Holdings Ltd. the country's largest plastic pipe maker, is also eager to crack the overseas market, although exports accounted for only 3.5 percent of its first half 2017 sales of 8.977 billion yuan ($1.237 billion).

In recent years, Lesso has richly benefited from Beijing's push to upgrade infrastructure for water supplies, sewage, drainage and flood control, but its big Canton Fair booth highlighted an effort to go global. The company has a plant in Los Angeles to make pipe fittings.

| A PlasticNews release  ||  November 2,  2017   |||