SouthMACH Manufacturing and Electronics Exhibition

28 - 29 May 2025

Wednesday 28th 9am-6pm
Thursday 29th 9am-4pm

Wolfbrook Arena Christchurch

Exhibitor Enquiry

Visitor

Information

Exhibiting

Information

Register

Now

MakeNZ
Christchurch NZ
NZ Manufacturer
University of Canterbury
Callaghan Innovation
Beca
EMA
Maintenance Engineering Societ
Engineering News
Canterbury Employers Chamber o
Canterbury Tech
MakeNZ
Christchurch NZ
NZ Manufacturer
University of Canterbury
Callaghan Innovation
Beca
EMA
Maintenance Engineering Societ
Engineering News
Canterbury Employers Chamber o
Canterbury Tech

Greater focus on maintenance needed

With our roads, water pipes and other essential infrastructure wearing out, New Zealand needs to spend around 60% of its infrastructure investment to look after what we already have, rather than building more.

This is a key finding of a new report from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga, which provides the first comprehensive assessment of the value of New Zealand’s infrastructure.

“Using data from Statistics New Zealand, we found that our infrastructure assets, excluding land, were valued at $287 billion in 2022. Nearly three-quarters of our infrastructure assets are publicly owned through central and local government and over one-quarter are commercially or privately owned,” says Peter Nunns, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s Director of Economics.

“Infrastructure assets can have huge benefits for society, but they must be maintained, renewed, and repaired to ensure that they continue to provide those benefits – and that costs money.

“The question is: are we currently investing enough on renewals? In some areas, like electricity distribution, the data suggests that assets are being renewed at about the right rate. But in other areas, like state highways, local roads, and water infrastructure, renewal investment seems to be too low to ensure our assets are maintained for the long term. If this trend continues, the condition of our infrastructure will decline,” Nunns says.

“What’s even more concerning is that in some sectors, like education, health, and justice infrastructure, we couldn’t find good data on maintenance and renewal spending. This is because central government, which owns most of these assets, does not compile and publicly report this data.

The New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2052 recommends that central government infrastructure providers should be required to undertake and publish long-term investment plans and asset management plans. This information is needed to help ensure that infrastructure assets are managed sustainably for future generations.

“This research is an important step in helping us better understand trends in investment and depreciation across all of New Zealand’s infrastructure sectors. We expect it to help infrastructure providers plan and invest for today and tomorrow,” Nunns says.

Key points are as follows:

  • Around 60% of investment needs to go to renewing existing assets, not building more. Between 2013 and 2022, depreciation costs for infrastructure were equal to 58% of new capital investment. For every $10 we spent on new infrastructure, almost $6 of existing infrastructure wore out. If we want to maintain our existing infrastructure for future generations, that’s roughly how much we need to spend on renewal. That leaves $4 out of every $10 of investment available for new or improved infrastructure.
  • The value of our infrastructure assets is rising over time. The inflation-adjusted value of New Zealand’s infrastructure assets rose from $32,900 per person in 1990 to $55,800 per person in 2022. In 2022, our infrastructure assets, excluding land, were valued at $287 billion. 45% of this infrastructure is owned by central government, 26% is owned by local government, and 29% is commercially or privately owned.
  • Current investment rates signal likely future investment levels. Between 2003 and 2022, infrastructure investment averaged 5.8% of GDP. We spent an average of 3.4% of GDP on horizontal infrastructure such as transport, electricity, water and telecommunications networks. We spent 2.4% on vertical infrastructure such as education, hospitals, social housing, and defence infrastructure. Sustaining higher investment would require us to increase taxes, rates, or user charges, while lower investment would require us to accept less or lower-quality infrastructure.

Two offers for warehouse logistics

With the LogiDrive solution space, Nord offers its warehouse logistics customers two industry-optimised drive concepts. LogiDrive Advanced and LogiDrive Basic feature low weight and compact installation space. In addition, they are optimised for different factors.

Chain and roller conveyors, belt and pallet conveyors, container and overhead conveyors: In warehouse logistics, they all require reliable drives with sufficient power for the corresponding application. This is guaranteed by both solutions from the drive specialist NORD. Furthermore, both feature maximum user friendliness, easy wiring, low weight and compact installation space. What sets them apart is LogiDrive Advanced was optimised for energy efficiency and LogiDrive Basic with regards to costs.

LogiDrive Advanced:

  • Highly efficient IE5+ synchronous motor
  • Decentralised Nordac On+ frequency inverter, which was specially designed for combination with the IE5+
  • A gear unit from the Nord portfolio

LogiDrive Basic:

  • IE3 asynchronous motor
  • Decentralised Nordac On frequency inverter
  • A gear unit from the Nord portfolio

“The LogiDrive Advanced drive solution ensures maximum energy efficiency and thus achieves high savings in CO2 emissions. It achieves its very high efficiency via large speed and load ranges, and allows for a variant reduction. This is particularly attractive for large systems with numerous drives: Fewer drive variants in a system result in streamlined logistics, warehouse and service processes and thus in reduced administrative costs.”

The components of the LogiDrive Basic are perfectly matched. They meet all essential warehouse application standards and impress with a large adjustment range. This drive solution does not offer maximum efficiency but features low investment costs.

Whether LogiDrive advanced or LogiDrive basic, the decision is determined by the specific application requirements. Either way, the user receives a perfectly industry-optimised solution, including a frequency inverter with integrated multi-protocol Ethernet interface. Furthermore, both solutions are equipped with all international certifications and can thus be used worldwide, which is important for globally active companies.

Bonfiglioli solutions help industry mitigate against water scarcity

Australia and parts of New Zealand face an escalating water crisis, with droughts expected to become more frequent and severe (especially as the weather transitions from La Niña to El Niño conditions). Meanwhile, the growing demand for water is putting local water systems under greater pressure.

According to Martin Broglia, MD of Bonfiglioli Australia and New Zealand, “The local manufacturing and mining sectors, which are responsible for about 20% of all the water consumed, are increasingly seeking out reliable solutions for water and wastewater processes, that will help them mitigate against water scarcity, while also meeting SDG targets”.

Bonfiglio’s portfolio of products and solutions for the water and wastewater sector offers efficient solutions for a variety of applications, including desalination, dewatering, mixing and purification. “Our heavy-duty products meet the complex demands of a range of processes and applications, and are especially effective in handling high radial, axial and torque loads,” adds Broglia.

The customisable, flexible and powerful HDP Series parallel shaft gearboxes, HDO Series bevel helical gearboxes and 300 M Series planetary gearboxes offer low maintenance, versatility, and reliability. “By offering reliable speed control and flexibility of transmissible power, these versatile gearboxes enable energy efficient operation of pumps, mixers, aerators, clarifiers, filters and water screens which are key applications in the water industry,” says Broglia. “Paired with Bonfiglioli’s range of accessories, such as cooling and lubrication solutions, these gearboxes offer extensive functionality.”

Effectively reducing costs

Noting that energy consumption is responsible for about one third of operational costs, Broglia believes that optimising energy use using advanced and integrated mechatronic solutions is key in managing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of installations.

“Electronic controls also minimise the stress on electro-mechanical components, resulting in reduced maintenance over time,” says Broglia.

“The integration of our heavy-duty gearboxes with our innovative mechatronic solutions and human machine interfaces (HMIs) enables the automation of water and wastewater treatment processes, driving enhanced efficiency and improved equipment maintenance, while reducing labour requirements,” he says.

Ensuring high quality, fast delivery and maximum uptime

Key to Bonfiglioli’s business strategy is its commitment to international safety and quality standards. The company’s production and assembly plant quality systems are TÜV and DNV certified. “Our goal is to develop solutions that enhance system efficiencies, while lowering operating costs,” says Broglia.

Bonfiglioli offers customers large stockholding as well as local assembly and comprehensive support capabilities. In addition, it delivers customised options that extend the useful life of equipment. “Our local team of engineering specialists ensures customers achieve maximum uptime and productivity,” concludes Broglia.

Keeping people engaged in workplace health and safety

By Craig Carlyle, certified machinery safety expert (TÜV Nord), HasTrak

As passionate as health and safety managers may be in their role, keeping workers engaged in health and safety in the long term is an onerous task requiring skill sets and techniques that are not learnt in the classroom. A recent conversation with an industry peer centred around the difficulty of keeping small business and franchise owners focused on health and safety.

Sure, it should be fundamentally obvious that health and safety is a core function of the business viability, but the reality is different for some. Thinking you can change that reality by creating rules and imposing penalties to change human behaviour is misguided enthusiasm.

Three similar but separately unique workplaces are departmental work groups, small branch operations and micro businesses. Each of these have different management structures and require a different understanding of the working reality and the management tools required to assure compliance. Don’t wait until WorkSafe investigates to admit that you have got it wrong.

For micro business owner operator personalities, the health and safety managers Teutonic go-to of quoting rules and regulations verbatim and fear-based rules, penalties and horrific accident photos are like water off a ducks’ back. Even when provided with online and mobile tools, the hardy annual excuses for non-performance are easily rolled out (fat fingers, too busy, negative H&S PR etc). In these situations, waving CYA (cover your backside) pieces of paper will not elicit change. These operators do it tough in a world where you must justify every action and cost.

A head in the sand attitude easily prevails and it takes an experienced health and safety advisor to disentangle the H&S bs to allay ingrained resistance and fear. You must focus on keeping health and safety a simple and natural component of running the business, like paying wages and sending invoices. I have adopted sneakier man management tools such as asking the owners partner how the household would cope with a dead worker or a $300k-okus fine.

Instant attitude adjustment.

Reframing your approach into how to keep the worker alive and what tools he/she needs to stay alive is your best opportunity to reset the individual’s approach to the topic. We start our training with a body bag. Amazing what happens when we take it personally.

For small branch operations (such as retail/franchise chains), the management solution is about structuring your reporting base into manageable segments, ensuring transparent management through Cloud based systems and then committing to a cycle of measure, report, communicate, feedback, shoe leather, rinse, and repeat.

Sadly, there is no golden bullet, but start with getting alongside the workers to recalibrate your approach. We took the opportunity with a well-known national brand to explore the differences between the “good” and the “bad” branches. What we found was the “good” operators accepted that h&s was simply a part of the business, so you may as well get good at it. This epiphany was translated into the “make it simple” philosophy we have trained and espoused for the last 20 years. It has certainly helped us help our clients.

Pioneering Seismic Research in New Zealand: ‘In Conversation with an Expert’

By Dr Troy Coyle, CEO, HERA

In the latest episode of the Stirring the Pot podcast, Rebecca Symonds spoke to Shahab Ramhormozian, an Associate Professor in structural and earthquake engineering at Auckland University of Technology, about his research of steel structures and low-damage seismic resistance systems. Shahab received the Innov8 impact award at the 2023 HERA Future Forum Industry Awards.

The work that led to the award stemmed from the MBIE-funded, five-year, $9.47 million Endeavour research project, whose collaborators include HERA, the University of Auckland, and the University of Canterbury, and other industry and academic organisations and figures locally and globally.

Naturally Shahab describes the project as “highly collaborative” work: “It is something of a continuation of what I did in my PhD years ago, on a new generation of seismic resistance systems which, unlike traditional systems, are designed to be low-damage, friction-sliding, or repairable. After a severe earthquake the structure can be ideally in no need to repair, or easily repaired, not closed or demolished. New Zealand is an earthquake-prone country and our recent experience in Christchurch proved the critical importance of low-damage design.

“But where the PhD was focused on one type of structural system, in the Endeavour research we expanded that successful concept to a much wider range of buildings and structural systems, with the main aim being to improve and revolutionise the current design procedures to achieve that low-damage system very broadly.

“How it works is that instead of using traditional connectors to connect beams and columns and braces, we use friction sliders. The benefit of that is that during a severe earthquake, the energy is dissipated, and the force generated in the structural components is limited,” says Shahab.

“New Zealand is pioneering this area of building design and is at the forefront of innovation in this field. Other countries are doing the research, but to the best of my knowledge we have been the most successful country in implementing these systems in practice. The positive economic impact of not having to demolish and rebuild is huge, and it’s a global trend.

“One of the main goals of this current research is to implement these practices worldwide. A major reason for inviting in our international collaborators is so we can answer all questions with evidence, to create a clear system that is exportable and used globally. We have received interest from China and Italy, where such systems are being tested, and we have a goal to codify this and get these research outcomes into building standards.

“Another objective is to have a system that is future-proof so the building can be finetuned or modified if standards change. The most important thing is that in the event of a more severe earthquake than a building was designed for, there is the capacity to avoid structural damage. That is valuable in any country.”

As a collaborator, HERA is contributing across a range of its core areas of expertise to this research, with the welding team delivering expertise on steel welding and bolted connections, and the Structural Systems team developing design guides, related training, finite element analysis and PhD supervision to influence and benefit the design and build process of various projects using steel.

Listen to the full podcast episode in conversation with Associate Professor Shahab Ramhormozian at https://www.hera.org.nz/stp-ep104-pioneering-seismic-research-in-aotearoa/.

Dr Troy Coyle brings more than 20 years’ experience in innovation management across a range of industries including materials science, medical radiation physics, biotechnology, sustainable building products, renewable energy and steel. She is a scientist with a PhD (University of NSW) with training in journalism and communications.

Callaghan Innovation extends Industry 4.0 demonstration network  

Callaghan Innovation has announced the expansion of the Industry 4.0 nationwide showcase, with the addition of the LMAC Group as partner.

The LMAC Group has built a new mobile showcase experience focused on digital technologies designed to help New Zealand companies harness the opportunity to become more productive and profitable. 

Industry 4.0 is now in its third year, with over 4,500 people and 200-plus events held so far to showcase to New Zealand businesses the power and potential of Industry 4.0 – the fourth industrial revolution.  

Sean Doherty, Callaghan Innovation product manager – Industry 4.0 says, “We are excited to bring a new mobile showcase experience on stream to further demystify what is Industry 4.0, and show New Zealand manufactures that it’s not just about the tech, but how the tech enables greater productivity and New Zealand’s businesses to be more productive, internationally competitive, and relevant in the future economic environment.

“Our aim with the Industry 4.0 project is to help New Zealand manufacturers to transform, and increase their resilience and competitiveness through the adoption of new technologies.  

“Just as businesses 150-years ago had to adapt to electricity enabling mass production, today’s enterprises face the challenge of embracing smart technologies (such as robotics and artificial intelligence) and data to drive intelligent action in the physical world,” he says. 

Building on the success of the first mobile showcase led by partners BECA and the Employers and Manufacturers Association, this second mobile showcase will focus on how manufacturers can utilise the very best digital tools across a range of manufacturing scenarios, and how to practically incorporate them into their businesses.

LMAC Group Advanced Manufacturing manager Frank Phillips says, “We’re thrilled to apply our deep knowledge of Industry 4.0 and SME manufacturing in New Zealand to what will be a unique experience. Alongside our technology partners NZ Controls and Wyreframe we are creating an interactive, gamified session for manufacturers to attend in person around the country. 

“Targeting appropriate technology adoption by SMEs, we’ll be demonstrating beginner, intermediate and advanced solutions for challenges throughout manufacturing value chains, whilst enabling attendees to capture personalised information to take back to their operations to enable them to take their next step.”

Clinical Engineering Technician

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi. Engari, he toa takitini.

Success is not the work of one, but the work of many.

Location: Hawke’s Bay Hospital

Service: Procurement, Supply Chain, and Health Technology Management

Contract: Permanent, Full-time 80 hours per fortnight (1 FTE)

Korero mō te tūranga- About the role

This is a full-time role, responsible for providing services relating to the full lifecycle of medical equipment, from repair and maintenance, to safety and performance testing and technical calibration. You will be expected to meet diverse customer requirements and collaborate with them, problem-solving their queries and technical complaints.

Medical equipment advances rapidly in terms of functionality and sophistication, so you’ll need to be willing to undergo ongoing technical training as provided, with our support. As much of our equipment is becoming networked, you will also need to have good general IT knowledge and the ability to broaden this knowledge as required. You will be a focused person who is process-driven, able to use your initiative, and with excellent attention to detail. The functionality of our equipment is obviously critical to our ability to continue to provide excellent service to our community, so you will need to be reliable and know what good teamwork means.

Mō tō mātou rōpū – About our team

Our Clinical Engineering team is on the lookout for an experienced Clinical Engineering or Electronics Technician to service and maintain a wide variety of medical equipment. From Vital Signs monitors and Defibrillators to Infusion pumps and Dialysis Machines, the diversity of devices we look after will keep you challenged and on your toes!

Moū – About you

We are looking for someone with a tertiary qualification in electronics or related discipline, and minimum current registration as a ‘Registered Electrical Appliance Serviceperson’ (as required by the Electrical Workers Registration Board). You will need to have a good level of physical fitness due to the nature of the work and a current driver’s licence. Previous experience in the challenging field of Clinical Engineering would be a significant advantage.

If this sounds like you, review the position profile HERE and apply now!

Ngā hua – Benefits:

  • Study support and opportunities for formal and informal CPD
  • Professional supervision and mentoring to support career development and growth
  • Excellent access to infrastructure to strengthen personal and professional networks
  • Feel rewarded working with and as part of an extremely supportive team of health professionals

Hawke’s Bay offers excellent work-life balance, sun, beaches, exceptional outdoor adventures, great schools, mountains and skiing close by, wonderful food and stunning wineries, vibrant cities and plenty more to boast about, check out Hawke’s Bay Tourism

Why should you choose us?

Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand, Te Matau a Maui, Hawke’s Bay in general encourages a workforce that is innovative, eager to learn and enhance their skills and is passionate about caring for our community. As part of our team we will support, encourage and help you to develop your career with us.

We are committed to delivering and living our Te Whatu Ora values of He kauanuanu – Respect, Ākina – Improvement, Rāranga te tira – Teamwork and Tauwhiro – Care. You should be someone who has similar personal values.

We are proud of our team’s diversity. We know the strength of Ngā hua a diverse and inclusive workforce helps us achieve the best outcomes for our patients and the communities in which we operate and serve.

Me pēhea te tuku tono – How to apply

Click the apply now button to send your application directly to us. For further information on this role please emailvacancies@hbdhb.govt.nz and indicate the job title and job reference number in the subject line.

APPLY NOW

Applications close on Monday, 12 February 2024.

CAPITALISING ON UNTAPPED ENGINEERING POTENTIAL

Lauren Neal is an award-winning chartered engineer, consultant and author whose strategies can help organisations foster a culture where people from all backgrounds are in positions where they can develop, where they are engaged, and where they are enabled to showcase their skills and talents.

“There are potentially many, many competent people who have so much more to give than they can because of workplace cultures or bias or any number of things that are just getting in the way,” Neal said in a recent interview. “I strive to spread the message that people should be able to show the world what they’ve got to offer and to be given the opportunity to do that.”

In her timely new book, ‘Valued at work: Shining a light on bias to engage, enable, and retain women in STEM’, Neal draws from her own experiences, compelling research and numerous real-world examples to provide what she calls tried-and-tested approaches to help male-dominated organisations create and maintain more inclusive workplace cultures.

AndNeal uses a unique approach to get her message across: The book is structured as a conversation between two male managers genuinely trying to improve the retention of women in their respective organizations. Readers get to be “flies on the wall” as these two men discuss the problems that women face within the patriarchal system — using concrete examples — and actively try to understand the challenges and find ways to course correct the company’s inclusion efforts.

They get it right, and they get it wrong.

“This fictional approach to a real business problem allows readers to empathize with these male organisational leaders in their own struggles, as well as with the women in theirs, with less judgement than is typical when discussing this topic,” Neal added.

Inspired by real-life stories, Valued at Work includes top tips for both organisations and women in STEM to equip all readers with strategies for driving real change. To purchase the book visit www.amazon.com/Valued-Work-Shining-Engage-Enable/dp/1788604687/

LASER CUTTING QUOTING SOFTWARE SLICES THROUGH WASTAGE

Laser cutting businesses often decide to use spreadsheets to develop and provide quotes, as a way to save money on specialised software.

But does the maths stack up? In Bruce Thomas’ experience, product executive for Tempus Tools, it’s actually costing more than it’s saving – and here’s why.

“Based on data from millions of line items quoted, Tempus Tools calculates that the value of the average quote in the average job shop is about US$1,250. This varies depending on the business, with smaller-job businesses doing about US$500 on their average quote, and larger-job businesses doing about US$2,000 on their average quote,” says Thomas.

The average job shop using a 4-6 KW laser cutting machine produces 4,500 quotes each year, which means $US120,000 is being invested in responding to quotes, based on two employees.

He says that spreadsheets are brilliant tools for all sorts of elements of running and maintaining a healthy, profitable business – and they are not going away any time soon.

“But when it comes to laser cutting quotes, the consistency, accuracy, and tools of specialised software can provide a range of benefits that elevate a job shop to the next level.”

ToolBox, by Tempus Tools, is cloud-based laser cutting quoting software developed specifically for the laser cutting industry, and is designed to save job shops time, and make quoting more efficient, accurate, and consistent.

ToolBox will cost a job shop less than $US3,000 per year – around 0.1% of the $US2.8m total annual amount quoted with a 50% win/loss ratio. For that tiny percentage, is it really worth the risk to not use specialised software? Using spreadsheets, the time invested by valuable staff and the time taken to correct human error will quickly outweigh the saving from not purchasing specialist software.

Spreadsheets are great in their place – but laser cutting quoting demands software that’s designed for the task at hand.

ToolBox takes job shops to the next level

A typical workflow for a job shop using spreadsheets is for them to receive a DXF drawing and request from a customer, load this into a CAM system, and have the CAM operator calculate the machine time, which is then entered into the spreadsheet to calculate the price. This is often exported into an accounting programme or other desktop application to develop a professional quote.

Rather than using three different systems, ToolBox can perform all these tasks, and offer further benefits to give job shops the competitive edge in their industry. These include:

  • Simplicity of use. This saves the valuable CAM operator’s time because any person in the company can use ToolBox to develop a quote.
  • Reduced human errors. Anyone who has used a spreadsheet knows how easy it is for human error to create a cascading series of problems with the figures and calculations. When multiple people – often with different spreadsheet proficiency or different usage habits – use the same file, it only compounds the problem.
  • Increased professionalism. With ToolBox, the final quote document looks professional, branded with your company logo, and including an image of each part against its price. In contrast, getting thumbnails of parts into quotes made from spreadsheets is either not practical or not possible.
  • Hundreds of modules and features. Every job shop is different, and ToolBox has a huge range of features to suit different applications. Some examples include quoting secondary processes, an online shop for your website, the ability to turn a PDF into a quote, tube quoting, 3D model unfolding and quoting, customer part libraries, and more. The development team is constantly adding new features – including in response to customer feedback – to further enhance the value of ToolBox.

WAIKATO UNIVERSITY GETS INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION

The University of Waikato has received international accreditation, either full or provisional, for all eight of its Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) programmes by Engineering New Zealand on behalf of international accreditation body, The Washington Accord. 

Professor Mike Duke, Dean of the School of Engineering, says the accreditation underscores the quality of the education that students can expect to receive and the calibre of graduates that the industry can expect to see. 

“We are thrilled with the outcomes of the accreditation process. It reflects our ongoing dedication to providing students with world-class engineering education that prepares them for success on the global stage.” 

The civil engineering and environmental engineering programmes have received accreditation for the first time. Dr Megan Boston, programme leader for civil engineering says:  

“Achieving full accreditation is a testament to the expertise of our academic staff and commitment to delivering exceptional education in civil engineering.” 

Dr Graeme Glasgow, programme leader for environmental engineering, says the programme “features industry placements to prepare students for the workplace. These opportunities provide training across this important field of study across water treatment, solid waste management and sustainable energy systems to address national and international challenges.”  

Two newly established degrees, electrical and electronic engineering as well as mechatronics engineering, have been provisionally accredited. This is the first stage in the process and will be eligible for full accreditation in 2025. 

Mechanical engineering, chemical and biological engineering, software engineering and materials and processing engineering programmes retained their accreditation status. 

Newsletter

Sign up here and keep updated with what's going on in your industry!

+

Need more information?

Contact us now
© SouthMACH 2024 Privacy Policy