Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
The Balex System solving common pain points felt with loading and unloading boats into the water through technology at a push of a button.
Elly Strang in her article for Idealog quite rightly wrote that anyone who's owned a boat or been out for a ride on one knows it's a bit of an awkward process actually getting a vessel into the water. But last year, Balex set out to change that with its invention of an hydraulically-powered automated boat loader that helps launch and retrieve boats from the water with the click of a button, while being three times as fast as an electric winch.
Automated boat loading company Balex went into liquidation earlier this year, but two Kiwi expat businessmen, Daniel Given and Reon Oak, have come to the rescue. They've relaunched the brand and are rolling out plans to take it global, solving common pain points felt with loading and unloading boats into the water through technology.
Continue here to the full article on Idealog || October 24, 2017 |||
ConnecTire is a sensor-based smart wheel which enables data sharing at multiple levels, reducing the risk of tire slippage on the rim. It allows farmers to leverage the Internet of Things for safer and more efficient operations.
Operating key farm machinery at the lowest safe pressure is a key challenge – being in control of this maintains the safety both of machine and operator as well as ensuring minimum impact on topsoil. During operations tire pressure can change due to a number of factors including ambient and soil temperatures, as well as the intensity of task being performed and the configuration of the machine itself.
ConnecTire constantly monitors two key variables – tire pressure and temperature – which it relays to both tractor and farm mainframes via Bluetooth and wireless connectivity. Operators set their target tire pressure and can then monitor how tire pressure deviates from that target and act accordingly. Should corrective action be required, ConnecTire automatically sends an alert via its App, ensuring minimum disruption and maximum machine safety.
Piero Mancinelli, R&D Director at Trelleborg Wheel Systems, commented: “ConnecTire is about ensuring efficiency and sustainability; tires are required to work intelligently and to be at the right pressure at all times. Farm machinery is exposed to many variables throughout a working day, all of which can impact upon efficiency – ambient temperature, humidity and soil conditions. Being able to be in control of these allows farming operations to reduce inefficiencies. The alert via App capability is an essential feature of ConnecTire; changing conditions can require immediate action in order to maintain maximum efficiency and prevent rim slippage. ConnecTire’s communications functions enables fingertip control.”
Beyond tire monitoring, ConnecTire delivers further advantages: An inbuilt GPS capability identifies the live position of the tractor helping to keep lone workers safe and even safeguarding the tires and machine against risk of theft. In addition, with the help of precision farming software, farm managers are able to track the number of machine passes over every square centimetre of land, helping to limit soil compaction and erosion as much as possible.
Mancinelli, continues: “Repeatedly driving over the same ground at different stages of the crop cycle has a long term impact on yield. With ConnecTire, we saw an opportunity to help reduce this effect by providing the data that allows farms to identify at risk areas and mitigate this. Efficient use of land is essential and by reducing the number of machine passes, ConnecTire helps soil to rapidly recover fertility and yield potential.”
ConnecTire will be on display at Agritechnica 2017, November 12 to 18 in Hannover, Germany. Further information will be available at Trelleborg’s Agritechnica Press Conference on Monday November 13th 2017.
| A Trelleborg release || October 19, 2017 |||
World Top Exports founder Daniel Workman takes a look at the Global sales from kiwifruit exports by country which sees New Zealand rated No 1.
Global sales from kiwifruit exports by country amounted to US$2.5 billion in 2016. Overall, the value of kiwifruit exports were up by an average 20.1% for all exporting countries since 2012 when kiwifruit shipments were valued at $2.1 billion. Year over year, the value of global kiwifruit exports appreciated by 8.7% from 2015 to 2016.
Among continents, Oceanian countries (mainly New Zealand) accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported kiwifruit during 2016 with shipments valued at $1.2 billion or 47.4% of global kiwifruit exports. In second place were European exporters at 40% while 7.1% of worldwide kiwifruit shipments originated from Latin America (excluding Mexico) and the Caribbean. Smaller percentages were sent from kiwifruit exporters in Asia (4.2%), North America (0.9%) and Africa (0.3%).
Kiwifruit Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of kiwifruit during 2016:
The listed 15 countries shipped 98.4% of global kiwifruit exports in 2016 by value.
The listed 15 countries shipped 98.4% of global kiwifruit exports in 2016 by value.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing kiwifruit exporters since 2012 were: China (up 712.3%), Hong Kong (up 123.2%), Iran (up 99.2%) and New Zealand (up 41%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported kiwifruit sales were led by: Lithuania (down -62.7%), France (down -25.8%), Netherlands (down -20.9%), United States (down -14.4%) and Chile (down -13.2%).
| A Wtex release || October 23, 2017 |||
#6 - The millennialist panic was that all the world’s computer programming would freeze up as 1999 turned into 2000. This it was said would cause aeroplanes to fall out of the sky, and utilities such as electricity to switch off thus crippling transactions everywhere. This was based on a short-cut in the then tiresome business of writing programmes which had caused programmers simply to cut everything off at the end of the last century.The position nowNobody bothered to investigate non standard but widely used computer systems such as the Pick one which had actually expired by this time, yet continued to operate perfectly well beyond its nominal expiry date
| MSC Newswire Big Frights of Our Times Series #6 || Monday 23 October 2017 |||
Following others in the financial services industry, Mastercard unveiled its own blockchain distributed ledger for cross-border payments.
Mastercard is launching its own blockchain network to enable partner banks and merchants to make cross-border payments faster and more securely.
The Mastercard blockchain service can be used to clear credit card transactions, eliminate administration tasks using smart contract rules and thus, speed transaction settlement.
"By combining Mastercard blockchain technology with our settlement network and associated network rules, we have created a solution that is safe, secure, auditable and easy to scale," Ken Moore, executive vice president for Mastercard Labs said in a statement.
On Saturday, Mastercard will also sponsor the Money20/20 Hackathon, where the company will make the Mastercard Blockchain API available for participating developers.
Blockchain is a public electronic ledger – similar to a relational database – that can be openly shared among disparate users and that creates an unchangeable record of their transactions, each one time-stamped and linked to the previous one.
Mastercard's blockchain is a private, permissions-based network, meaning only those authorized to participate in transactions can see them.
The credit card giant is another among several financial services organizations that have deployed blockchain-based cross-border payment networks.
Earlier this week, IBM announced it had partnered with a Polynesian payments system provider and an open-source FinTech payment network to implement a new international exchange based on a blockchain electronic ledger.
A new blockchain solution from IBM and Maersk will help manage and track the paper trail of tens of millions of shipping containers across the world by digitizing the supply chain process.
Jeffrey Neuburger, partner with Proskauer Rose LLP, an international law firm specializing in corporate finance, characterized IBM's blockchain deployment as "a major milestone for implementation of blockchain in major financial institutions."
IBM partnered with KlickEx Group, a United Nations-funded, Pacific-region financial services company, and Stellar.org, a nonprofit organization that supports an open-source blockchain network for financial services, to create the new cross-border payments service.
That partnership is likely to be a "watermark event in the growth of blockchain and digital currencies," Neuburger said.
"A lot is riding on the success or failure if this. Particularly interesting because the participants created their own digital currency for this implementation, and it will be interesting to see how regulators, among others, will receive this," Neuberger said.
Mastercard's blockchain is integrated into the company's payment network that includes 22,000 financial institutions to move funds that have been committed on the blockchain.
Mastercard's financial services and merchant customers will be able to connect into its blockchain network using an API, alleviating them from having to build out their own distributed ledger server nodes. Once a part of the blockchain network, banks and retailers can add their own internal nodes to scale capacity, Mastercard said.
"When it comes to payments, we want to provide choice and flexibility to our partners where they are able to seamlessly use both our existing and new payment rails based on the needs and requirements of their customers," Moore said.
| A ComputerWorld release || October 21, 2017 |||
Victim of Zavos Syndrome
New Zealand’s National Party slipped into reverse gear after winning its third mandate, one in which it did not require even any coalitions such was the scope of its victory.
The hand on this reverse gear was none other than prime minister John Key whose touch until then had been considered so sure that nobody questioned his judgment.
The first sign of this new and uncertain touch was Mr Key’s personal campaign to install a revised version of the New Zealand flag.
This had the effect off peeling off National Party adherents of the type that had fought under this same flag in foreign engagements
Mr Key was not finished though in dusting off the National Party’s thin blue line of older followers ..........
An impression was given that Mr Key’s knighthood was tied into his departure when he handed over the premiership to his successor Bill English MP.
Mr Key’s acceptance of the knighthood was far too soon, and should have been held off until after the election.
Older voters who still take these things seriously know that the allocations of the knighthoods are under a zero sum formula. This means that the one given to Mr Key meant that someone else couldn’t have one
Mr Key was still not done.
His sale of his high end Auckland properties for many, many millions of dollars prior to the general election was well publicised and considered again by this older category to be an example of the self- seeking, submerged, underside of the National Party
This demonstration of extravagance became compounded when it was bruited around that the only interests capable of funding the purchase were Chinese.
All this was cement also to the post-election coalition talks between Winston Peters’ New Zealand First and the Labour Party which dwelled on the perceived evils of unrestrained “capitalism.”
The syndrome in which the National Party in its third consecutive term starts to dismantle its hard core following was identified a generation ago by Australasian commentator Spiro Zavos (pictured.)
He codified the symptoms such as over-liberal distribution of knighthoods, and a tendency to override their loyalists in the hunt for more fashionable adherents.
In this last outbreak of the syndrome, there are signs that the National Party unquestioningly absorbed the counsel of overseas political consultants.
| From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk || Friday 20 October 2017 |||
Rocket Lab has won the supreme accolade at the New Zealand Innovation Awards in Auckland tonight. Rocket Lab, named the Bayer Supreme New Zealand Innovation for 2017, has pioneered a Kiwi space programme, with purpose-built rockets for regular commercial satellite launches. Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck was named most inspiring individual at the NZ Innovation Awards in 2014. To return three years on and receive the biggest honour of the evening is testament to the continued growth and success of Rocket Lab, says New Zealand Innovation Council interim chief executive Craig Cotton. “Rocket Lab plans regular small satellite launches from Mahia Peninsula near Gisborne, opening access to space for many companies around the world. “The Electron launch vehicle utilises 3D printing and ground-breaking technology to deliver satellites into orbit with high frequency. “Rocket Lab can disrupt this small satellite market that can offers crop monitoring, natural disaster prediction, improved weather and maritime reporting, and search and rescue services from space.” More than 700 people passionate about innovation attended the awards in Auckland tonight to celebrate the country’s most innovative organisations and individuals across all industries and specialties. The 22 winners and 14 highly-commended awards were across 12 industry categories and eight business disciplines. “Each year we convene these awards to help recognise and celebrate the amazing stories of innovation, impact, and success from all over Aotearoa. We also aim for the awards to help join the dots within the innovation ecosystem to stimulate further connection, collaboration and creation of opportunities for our entrants, finalists and winners,” Cotton says. Bayer New Zealand managing director Derek Bartlett congratulated all the winners. “We’re incredibly proud to be supporting Kiwi innovation through the awards for the seventh year. The future of New Zealand industries is in good hands with organisations like these leading their respective fields.” For further information contact NZ Innovation Council’s Craig Cotton on 021 714318 or Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188.
| A MakeLemonade release || October 19, 2017 |||
This year has seen a lot of significant changes for Rockit apples: new private equity investors, new board members and a new CEO writes Nicola Watson for FreshPlaza
"It has been quite a watershed year for us," explains new CEO, Austin Mortimer. "It was time for changes within the company, the board and the founder of Rockit had different views as to the direction that the company should go in. It was determined that one side would buy out the other. The shareholder group raised the funds by introducing private equity to buy out the founder."
Rockit has always been promoted as an innovative snack product, and is not to be confused with a commodity apple.
"We want to define our position in the market place more clearly. We see other channels available to us other than mass retail or grocery. Small convenience stores, for example, and the "grab'n go" section of small retailers where the shelf space is more and more being given to healthy snacks. We see our two or three count tubes sitting nicely in that space alongside the hard boiled eggs and muesli bars. The tube supports the idea of it being ready to eat and of course, being an apple, it is healthy."
Austin says that most of the sales just now are made with 3,4 and 5 count tubes, but they are trialling a two piece for vending machines and a one piece for airline and hotel services. He believes the packaging on the small apple will assure people that the apple is clean and fresh.
"Rockit is currently grown in 9 countries and we are considering whether to plant in South Africa and Chile," said Austin. "You need to look at which markets you would serve with the production in there. Apples are mainly grown for export in those countries, Chile exports to the US and South Africa to Europe and since we already have production in both there is not a big need to grow in Chile or South Africa, although Africa is a fast growing market."
80% of Rockit apples grown are within the standard size, there are a number of diameters which cater to the majority of a standard Rockit tree.
"The taste profile is also important and while there are differences between different growing regions, these are not insurmountable," according to Austin. "Most of the Rockit apples are grown for their domestic markets so consumers get a stable taste profile. It is different in markets in Asia, where we need to have several sources to get a year round supply, we hope that with strict quality control we can keep the taste as stable as possible."
In Europe and North America the number of licences issued to grow Rockit apples are for a certain number of trees and the licensees are close to the limit of what they can plant. In New Zealand it is different, according to Austin, the new private equity investors are quite bullish about the opportunity and it is his intention to plant quite a bit more trees.
"It is significant for New Zealand that private equity have bought into it a traditional business, particularly one which is considered high risk in terms of horticulture. They see that we are building a global brand its not just about selling apples. They obviously see a lot of potential, it just goes to show that you can add value to what was a commodity."
"We have no reason to doubt the market for the Rockit apple, we have sold out every year. In 2017 we sold out 10 weeks earlier than ever before, with 40% increase in volume."
The Rockit apple is on the shelves in around 29 different countries, and the next target market is Japan where they hope to start sending apples in 2018.
Austin reckons that the reason the Rockit apple is popular on the Asian market is because it is very sweet and people are happy to eat a smaller apple.
"The feedback we have had from our research in Japan, where you get some very big apples, and demographics tell us there are a big percentage of people who live on their own and also a lot of older people. These people do not want a big apple which they can't finish and just end up leaving most of it. Also our experience from the countries which we are already selling in, is that because it is red and very sweet and crunchy, size doesn't matter, in fact they're more accepting of the smaller apples."
| A FreshPlaza release || October 18, 2017 |||
New Zealand's top 200 technology companies now have combined revenues of more than $10 billion - and export receipts of $7.3 billion making the sector our third biggest earner of overseas income writes Tim Murphy for Newsroom.
A report prepared by the Technology Investment Network (TIN) released Tuesday night found the technology, high-tech manufacturing and biotechnology sectors now contribute about 10 percent of all New Zealand exports. The 8.5 percent increase in export revenues in the year came despite currency challenges resulting from a higher Kiwi dollar against all major trading nations.
The top two businesses, Datacom Group and Fisher & Paykel Appliances are billion dollar companies by revenue, with Datacom edging its rival to take top rank this year with $1.15 billion in revenue.
The rest of the top 10 are Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Xero Gallagher Group, Orion Health, Douglas Pharmaceuticals, Tait Communications, NDA Group, Temperzone Group and Magic Memories.
Datacom had the largest revenue growth, at $103 million this year ahead of Magic Memories at $89 m and Xero at $88 m, the report said.
| A Newsroom release || October 18, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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