The latest developments in the fascinating and fast-moving world of artificial intelligence will be revealed and discussed in Auckland in 2020, when the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS) comes to New Zealand for the first time in its nearly 20-year history.

Eastland Port shifted three million tonnes of cargo in the financial year to the end of March 2018, breaking all previous records. In the year in question, 31,178 ships took away 3,002,369 tonnes of cargo from Eastland Port.

The Commerce Commission is set for a shake-up with a new law that would give it new powers to protect consumers from anti-competitive practices.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association have appointed Jeff Grant to support the red meat sector’s response to Brexit.  Mr Grant, who will be based in London, will work closely with B+LNZ’s Europe representative, the New Zealand Government and commercial interests to help strengthen the red meat sector’s ties with the United Kingdom and safeguard New Zealand’s exports to the key market.

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said it will incur extra costs and further disrupt services for airline customers as its carries out additional inspections on engines it builds for Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jet.

The checks will be made on a batch of 380 Trent 1000 turbines after testing indicated that more frequent scrutiny is required to cope with an existing durability issue, Rolls said in a statement Friday, barely a month after the London-based company suggested the problem was under control. The move will affect about a quarter of the 787 fleet, according to Boeing.

“The requirement for more regular inspections will lead to higher than previously guided cash costs being incurred during 2018,” Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Officer Warren East said in the release. “We are reprioritizing various items of discretionary spend to mitigate these incremental cash costs.”

The company maintained its estimate of 450 million pounds (US$641 million) for annual free cash flow, and East declined to say on a call how big the additional impact on cash will be. Durability problems with the Trent 1000 and an engine used on the Airbus SE A380 led to a 170 million-pound cash cost last year, and that figure was already set to double in 2018.Parts Redesign

The latest problem concerns a wear issue in the Trent 1000’s compressor that’s worse than expected, according to Rolls, which said the inspections will be accompanied by safety guidance to airlines issued by airworthiness authorities.Advertising, mouse over for audio

Even before today’s revelations Rolls-Royce had said a redesign of problem parts for the 787 wouldn’t be fully incorporated in the fleet until 2022. The snag has led to unscheduled shop visits for dozens of Boeing Co.’s 787s at carriers including Virgin Atlantic Ltd. and British Airways, costing Rolls more than 220 million pounds in charges last year.

Some 200 engines are due for maintenance in coming weeks, according to East, who didn’t say whether airline compensation is factored into the new guidance. The CEO added that Rolls had sought to make clear in March that the situation remained “dynamic.”

Targets for the discretionary spending cuts elsewhere will include company travel, IT upgrades and work on Rolls’s UltraFan engine and other next-generation programs, East said, though plans to compete on Boeing’s new middle-of-market aircraft -- or NMA -- won’t be affected. He said there’s been no discussion about pausing deliveries of the 787 engine.

Rolls-Royce shares fell as much as 2.5% and were trading 1.8% lower at 865.20 pence as of 10:24 a.m. in London. The company’s 750 million euros ($925 million) of bonds maturing in 2021 fell to around 106 euro cents, the lowest since March 2016, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

{ A IndustryWeek release  }  |  april 14, 2018   |||

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), still the prime gateway to the US for Australians, has taken a big step towards becoming “the most passenger-friendly airport in the world” in the form of the largest contract ever awarded in the history of Los Angeles.

Supersonic commercial travel, not offered since Concorde made its last flight 15 years ago, is once again on the horizon and likely to arrive faster than many people imagine.

Consultation for Napier’s Long Term Plan 2018-2028 is about to begin. Napier City Council formally adopted the Consultation Document and supporting documents to the Long Term Plan 2018-2028 (LTP) at its extraordinary meeting held today at the Napier Conference Centre in the Napier War Memorial Centre.

A New Zealand start-up company, RIP Global, is among eight companies to be selected for the next women-only Springboard Enterprises Australia (SBE) accelerator programme.

Smurfit Kappa is installing the new HP PageWide C500 digital press – HP’s most technologically advanced digital press for corrugated application.

The press will be installed in Smurfit Kappa’s Interwell plant in Austria, and is designed for greater customisation and flexibility of corrugated printing, the new industrial-scale press will be the first commercial HP single pass press in Europe.

The press will be installed in April and will support Smurfit Kappa’s extensive customer base in the FMCG sector.

With a fully integrated stack-to-stack workflow, the press combines digital simplicity with off-set replaceable print quality on both coated and uncoated paper.

The technology will provide brand owners with customised packaging solutions that can drive sales across both online and traditional sales channels.

Smurfit Kappa will sue the press in conjunction with its ShelfSmart and eSmart services.

The graphic flexibility and quality of the new HP PageWide C500 Press will further enhance the company’s service to drive brand recognition and provide fit-for-purpose packaging.

Furthermore, the HP water-based inks facilitate printing on both primary and secondary food packaging without an additional barrier which can comply with even the most stringent global food safety regulations.

| A PackagingNews release |  ||  April 10, 2018   |||