1 Nov -  Suntory Beverage & Food (SBF) has entered into an agreement to sell its Cerebos Food & Instant Coffee business in Australia and New Zealand and its Asian Home Gourmet Singapore business to US giant The Kraft Heinz Company for a total of AU$290 million.  Cerebos’s Food & Instant Coffee business includes iconic food brands in Australia and New Zealand such as Fountain, Gravox, Saxa, Foster Clark’s, Gregg’s, Bisto, Raro and Asian Home Gourmet. These cover a range of products including sauces, gravies, herbs and spices, salt, condiments, Asian sauces, desserts and cooking ingredients.

However, SBF will retain its Cerebos Fresh Coffee business in Australia/New Zealand led by Terry Svenson, CEO of Cerebos Australia and New Zealand. The new business unit, called ‘Suntory Coffee’, will target the rapidly growing global fresh coffee market.

Although Svenson stated that the manufacturing efficiency of the Food & Instant Coffee business has significantly progressed in 2017, he explained the reasons behind the decision to sell it.

“Food & Instant Coffee is not a core focus category for SBF and we believe this business can be maximised under different ownership. The Food & Instant Coffee business will now have opportunities to leverage Kraft Heinz’s operations to grow the business further,” he said. “In the meantime, the transaction also enables our Fresh Coffee business to benefit from SBF’s continued investment and focus on its beverage portfolio, so we can capitalise on our market-leading positions to maximise growth opportunities.”

The acquisition of Cerebos Food & Instant Coffee marks Kraft Heinz’s aim to expand its already well-established platform in Australia and New Zealand. As the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world, it possesses several well-known brands including Heinz, Kraft, Wattie’s, Eta and Golden Circle, which sell beans and spaghetti, sauces, soups and dressings.

Bruno Lino, CEO of Kraft Heinz Australia and New Zealand, said: “The transaction provides an exciting opportunity for Kraft Heinz to expand its portfolio into complementary categories, stretching the footprint of Cerebos’s brands into new categories and markets.

“In addition to the iconic local brands, Cerebos has a strong team that will play an important role in our future growth. This transaction reinforces our commitment and long-term plan to the Australia and New Zealand markets in addition to our significant investment in the Kraft brand for 2018. We will continue investing in our brands, factories and our employees to meet consumer needs and expectations,” he said.

The combined businesses will be led by Lino. The sale is expected to be completed in early 2018, subject to regulatory approval.

Read more: http://foodprocessing.com.au/content/business-solutions/news/kraft-heinz-acquires-cerebos-anz-assets-for-290-million-573165650#ixzz4x8dwzT8S

|A FoodProcessing release  ||  November 1,  2017   |||

31 Oct:  Building consents for new homes fell in September 2017, following a recent run of increases, Stats NZ said today. “The seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented fell 2.3 percent in September compared with August, after rising in each of the previous four months,” prices, accommodation, and construction senior manager Jason Attewell said. “Home consents have trended upwards recently, and are at a level last seen in 2004.”Some 2,770 new homes were consented in September 2017, up 6.0 percent compared with the same month in 2016.

On an annual basis, 30,892 new homes were consented in the September 2017 year – up 3.0 percent compared with the September 2016 year, despite a large fall in Canterbury. The national increase was driven by townhouses and apartments, with slight falls for retirement village units and houses.

The regions consenting the most new homes in the September 2017 year were:

Auckland – 10,317 new homes (up 2.9 percent from the September 2016 year) Canterbury – 5,122 new homes (down 18 percent as the post-quake rebuild continues to wind down, but still at a historically high level) Waikato – 3,596 new homes (up 1.7 percent) Bay of Plenty – 2,596 new homes (up 4.8 percent).

Note: We have improved the way we calculate the seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented. We now include an adjustment for the timing of Easter. As a result, the seasonally adjusted increase in the number of new homes consented in August 2017 has been revised down from 10 percent to 5.9 percent. For more information, see Building consents issued seasonal adjustment and trend changes in September 2017 on DataInfo+.

| A SyaysNZ release  ||  October 31,  2017   |||

31 Oct:  Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler Australia has welcomed its global parent company’s acquisition of Autinity Systems, an IT company that specialises in machine data recording and evaluation.

Condition monitoring of machinery and equipment as well as digital networking in production are of great interest to both Schaeffler’s internal and external customers throughout Australia and New Zealand, said Mark Ciechanowicz, Industrial Services Manager, Schaeffler Australia.

These include key Schaeffler Australia markets, among them bulk materials handling; mining and energy production; food, beverage and primary processing; and broader industrial and road and rail machinery systems.

The company noted that the purchase of 100 per cent of Autinity shares, completed this month, is an important step in implementing Schaeffler’s global and local digital agenda, with Autinity specialising in digital condition monitoring and machine data recording.

“Schaeffler has been using software solutions by Autinity for many years now,” said Ciechanowicz. “The acquisition of this company will help us to intensify our collaboration and accelerate further developments in the fields of machine data recording and condition monitoring. Both topics are essential elements of Schaeffler’s digital agenda, which are in strong demand both from internal and external customers.”

| A L&MH release  ||  October 31,  2017   |||

31 Oct: "One bump, anything could've made that collapse", Tony Black told Radio NZ having being called out to fix a shopping canopy in an Auckland shopping area.  The alarming thing is that this is not an isolated case that the company have been called out to fix with the item raising a number of concerning factors.

Continue here to read the full article   || October 31,  2017   |||

30 Oct:  New Zealand’s top carpentry apprentices are getting ready to battle it out for the title of Registered Master Builders CARTERS 2017 Apprentice of the Year on Friday 3 November.  After winning their respective regional competitions the 10 apprentices will compete for the top prize at the national competition, which takes place this Thursdayand Friday in Auckland. The finalists include Seddon-based Olivia Ward who took out the Upper South Island Apprentice of the Year to become the first female apprentice since 2013 to compete in the national final.

To win the national competition, the industry’s future leaders must impress the judging panel over a two-day event. This includes undergoing a 45-minute interview and a six-hour practical challenge. The practical challenge takes place at The ASB Showgrounds in Auckland on Friday 3 November and is open to the public from 8am till 1pm.

This year the competition is taking place alongside the Auckland Build Expo, which brings together industry professionals and leaders from across the construction sector.

Registered Master Builders chief executive David Kelly says Apprentice of the Year not only promotes the fantastic career opportunities in the industry for apprentices, but also encourages more employers to take them on.

“The rate of carpentry apprentices in training is increasing at a much greater rate than the number of employers taking them on. Between June 2016 and June 2017, the number of apprentices increased by 1007, yet the number of employers training them only increased by 421*,” he says.

“With the growth in apprentice numbers comes the need for more employers to provide them with the opportunities they need to succeed and make their mark on the industry.

“Apprentice of the Year showcases the skills and abilities of our apprentices who will go on to become the industry’s future leaders. It also celebrates the employers who invest in them to future-proof their businesses and the construction pipeline,” says David.

The winner of the Registered Master Builders CARTERS 2017 Apprentice of the Year will be announced at an awards dinner after the practical challenge has been completed on Fridayevening.

The national winner will receive prizes including the use of a Ford Ranger Ute for a year, a $5000 grant courtesy of CARTERS and a range of quality tools as well as an iPad, courtesy of MBIE. All ten finalists will also attend a specially designed Outward Bound course and the Registered Master Builders House of the Year National Gala on 25 November.

“We wish all the finalists good luck as they embark on the beginning of a fantastic career in the industry as Master Builders,” adds David.

Apprentices, employers and young people aspiring to be a part of the construction industry are encouraged to join the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuilders

For more information, visit www.apprenticeoftheyear.co.nz

The Registered Master Builders Apprentice of the Year competition is made possible thanks to principal sponsor CARTERS, the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO), and supporting sponsors the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and APL through their Altherm, First and Vantage brands.

*Statistics from the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO)

30 Oct:  The blockchain is becoming popular and useful not only in fintech and related industries. Decentralized and distributed ledgers are also now being used in ensuring security and fair trade in industries like energy, which now enables communities to achieve better energy efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, and even the potential to earn from their real properties/assets.

Individual power generatorsOff-grid energy generation is a concept that is continually growing both in popularity and capacity. In some cases, individuals or household owners who generate more energy than they consume can actually sell such surplus to power companies.

The growth of the private power generation ecosystem is also encouraged by the increasing awareness of renewable energy. Hence, owners of power generation systems like solar panels or windmills can store the generated energy when not in use as credits. These credits can be used when needed or sold to power companies when there is a surplus.

This industry is growing rapidly and the transaction processes are becoming more cumbersome and complicated. For instance, there is a growing push to make it harder for folks who generate renewable energy to sell it back to the grid. Opponents of net metering argue that people who generate their own electricity should pay the utility company for the privilege of using the grid.

These emerging bottlenecks, coupled with other technical issues qualifies the encroachment of the blockchain into this sector as a timely intervention.

Blockchain is enhancing energy tradingBlockchain applications are now being made available in the energy trading marketplace.

The inherent qualities of the blockchain such as transparency, security, immutability and most especially, its decentralized nature which allows for peer-to-peer transactions, makes it very suitable for a market such as power trading.

Such blockchain platforms allow for units of electricity to be tracked from the point of generation to the point of consumption. This process protects the interests of both energy generators and consumers by offering a transparent process where the actual value is delivered and paid for.

The current blockchain systems still depend on the existing energy grids that store the originally generated electricity before distribution to consumers, hence despite the decentralized nature of the blockchain, for now it is becoming part of the answer to updating and improving centralized, legacy systems with a distributed hybrid system made up of a patchwork of both large power plants and microgrids powered by distributed energy resources such as solar power. Such a decentralized energy system would be capable of delivering efficient, reliable, and, in many cases, renewable energy.

The future is hereHowever, it is predicted that in the near future, the Internet of Things (IoT) will enable billions of smart devices to sense, respond, communicate and share data. Those things will also have the ability to generate, buy and sell their own electricity.

The Internet of Things (IoT), which refers to smart machines, especially everyday appliances that can communicate with each other and fulfill tasks, appears to be the desired and impending future of the energy trading industry.

Considering the poor outlook ahead for the existing system, factors such as the aging grids, increasing load on the grids, wastage of power through the wholesale broadcast from the grid to homes and not targeted appliances, it becomes desirable for a time when smart appliances will take over and disrupt such systems.

Total decentralization will be achieved when equipment and appliances employ peer-to-peer interactions within the ecosystem, albeit in automated processes. This will eliminate the need for third parties, improve efficiency and avoid wasting energy by supplying to redundant appliances.

Challenges still need to be overcomeA future of smart machines and blockchain efficiency resembles the perfect description of bliss. However, despite the inherent security of the blockchain, there still exists the risk of individual nodes or users being hacked, especially with the nature of IoT, wherein each individual device can become a security risk.

Think for instance of a user holding a private key, but keeping it secure under weak passwords or a weak infrastructure. This could lead to the entire system — or at least that user’s assets — being compromised.

Hence there is a need to follow security best practices, which will include protecting critical infrastructures with firewalls and reverse proxies, as well as other measures like continuity/redundancy tools, adequate power supply, and a reliable network connection. Take note that as a distributed ledger mechanism, blockchains require the unanimous confirmation of all nodes to achieve consensus. Protecting blockchain, therefore means minimizing risks of the numerous attack vectors that include social engineering, brute force attacks, denial of service, scripting, and other similar threats.

Blockchain tech is now everywhereThis is evident in the springing up of smart cities around the globe like we are seeing in New York and Singapore. Even Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos is on its way to hosting Africa’s first smart city as its government earlier this year signed an investment deal with Dubai, the United Arab Emirates to build the city.

Apparently, blockchain in its own way is gradually encroaching into every aspect of human existence and changing the way we do things. From financial transactions to energy distribution, we continue to see how increasingly necessary and reliable the technology is becoming. Even in our eco/environmental sector, tracking the basic elements of nature such as trees and animals nearing extinction is a data management sector where the blockchain will definitely play an important role in sustaining the planet.

Blockchains may not appear like the perfect solution for mankind, but it surely broadcasts the hope for a brighter tomorrow.

| A NewsBTC release  ||  october 30,  2017   |||

Ben Niven was one of the first graduates of the Youth Guarantee (YG) programme at Ara, Institute of Canterbury, and he was back on campus this week to tell the story of how YG gave him the start he needed in the engineering trades industry. 

His speech inspired the audience of 15 to 19 year-old students and over 500 family members at the annual Ara Youth Showcase awards.

“I was working fulltime at Hell Pizza. School had not worked out for me,” Ben said. “I did the Youth Guarantee programme in automotive. It taught me a base foundation of everything in my career that I am doing at the moment.”

Ben had high praise for his tutors. “Everything they told me was wonderful and I tried to retain every sentence. I couldn’t stop listening.”

Youth Guarantee gave Ben the opportunity to try different trades and to gain his pre-trade qualification in engineering trades, fees-free. He then worked in an engineering workshop, “doing what I was told”, and was offered the chance to be a contractor at 18, which led to two years of work in Darfield in the dairy industry. A period of subcontracting on projects around town followed. “Driving past things, I could say ‘helped with that’ and it was an exciting feeling.”

“I’m 25 so I guess you could say I’ve done an apprenticeship - seven years of solid learning, solid work, learning on the job.”

The future looks bright. “I have just secured a lease on a reasonable size workshop in Hornby. And to be honest, it was one of the proudest moments of my entire life. I can’t tell you how much it means to me and I’m sure that all of you have the potential to do the same thing if you put your heads to it.”

The annual Ara Youth Showcase awards are testament to the impact youth pathway programmes have on young people. Young people from a range of schools and backgrounds spoke about their experiences in the programme. They had left school and enrolled in YG, or remained at school to complete NCEA credits while also completing Canterbury Tertiary College at Ara.

Held on 26 October in the Whareora, the event gave voice to young people from a range of subject areas including trades, TOA sports, business administration, retail, cooking, health and hairdressing. Some of the speakers said they would not have had the confidence to stand up in front of a large crowd before coming to Ara. All of them thanked their tutors for their extraordinary dedication and care.

| An ARA release  ||  October 27,  2017   |||

26 Oct:  New dairy nutrition innovator, manufacturer and exporter Winston Nutritional formally enters the New Zealand market today with its sponsorship of the Infant Nutrition Council’s Feeding the Future Conference in Auckland.

Winston Nutritional will present to potential suppliers, partners, local and national government agencies and market participants about its product suite, its state-of-the-art technology, its vision for the New Zealand nutrition market and the company’s role in advancing the industry’s innovative capability.

Winston Nutritional General Manager Leon Fung, who was previously Deputy General Manager at Yashili NZ Dairy Company and directed the development of their Pokeno plant, said the company sponsorship of the conference signals that the new operation is open for business.

"Our investment in the modernisation of the manufacturing facilities at our Mt Wellington site has been substantial, as is our investment in our people," says Mr Fung. "We have state-of-the-art technology capable of processing and packaging 20,000 metric tonnes a year but without the best people in place you can’t hope to be the best and we want to be better than our peers," he says.

"We have experienced technical experts in research and development, who have a strong innovation track record and previously worked at Fonterra and Danone ," Mr Fung says. "Product development and innovation is a core function at Winston Nutritional and will help drive our expansion plans here and overseas."

The company’s research and development will also help drive innovation across the nutritional sector, he says, increasing New Zealand’s capability by raising the bar.

"I am a proud New Zealander producing innovative New Zealand nutritional products for a global audience and I want Winston Nutritional to be at the forefront of our sector as it reaches out to the rest of the world with new products and new ways of doing business," he comments.

To ensure Winston Nutritional can achieve its ambition, the company has a clear strategic vision.

"Our focus is first on quality, then teamwork and workplace culture," Mr Fung explains. "Culture and teamwork are incredibly important if you truly want to produce the highest quality nutritional products in the world and we do."

Winston Nutritional will also be looking at partnership opportunities at the Feeding the Future Conference and Mr Fung says his company has a lot to offer suppliers, producers and exporters.

"We can certainly help those companies who have a strong China focus and need guidance and assistance to better understand the commercial landscape" he says. "But it’s important to note that we have a wider market focus than just China - Winston Nutritional will be an exporter to the world."

Mr Fung says the company will be making further significant investments in the nutritional sector and there will be an announcement about additional development soon.

| Winston Nutritional release  ||  October 26,  2017   |||

26 Oct:  The German industrial giant Siemens plans to merge its rail business with the French train equipment maker Alstom, the companies said Tuesday, creating a behemoth that can compete with the Chinese-state backed China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation. The combined company, Siemens Alstom, would make systems and equipment for two of Europe’s high-speed rail lines, Germany’s ICE and France’s TGV, which can zip between cities at about 185 m.p.h.

“We are creating a new European champion in the rail industry for the long term,” said Joe Kaeser, the chief executive of Siemens. “This will give our customers around the world a more innovative and more competitive portfolio.”

The European rail industry faces pressure from China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, which has been making an aggressive push to expand around the globe, including in the United States. It is part of China’s larger economic and geopolitical agenda that encourages its technology and infrastructure companies to seek foreign markets, refashioning the global economic order to draw countries and companies more tightly into the country’s orbit.

Continue here to read the full article published in the NYT September 27,  2017   |||

The Angle-Rite® clamping system from Meridian Stainless helps reduce shrinkage distortion that commonly occurs during tube and pipe welding. The system is designed to allow complete setup, cutting, and welding while the clamp is attached, so the angle and rotation of tube and pipe are maintained throughout the entire process.

The system comprises a primary clamp that prebends the intersected tube before welding. The secondary clamp holds the intersecting tube or pipe in a precise angle to be miter cut using the reciprocating saw attachment or notched using the abrasive or hole saw notcher. Following cutting, the secondary clamp holding its tube or pipe is rejoined with the primary clamp and its attached tube or pipe. The angle and rotational alignment of the tubes or pipes are retained throughout the entire process.

With the system clamping the primary and intersecting tube or pipe in place, the welder can weld the joint without requiring a third hand. The primary clamp’s bending force compensates for weld stress distortion during the welding process.

| Source: theFabricator  ||  October 25,  2017   |||