Not such a great month last month according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ PMI, with BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel indicating the results could be hinting at outright slow growth in the manufacturing sector.

It appears to be a good time to investigate what the future of manufacturing might look like.

Victoria University of Wellington is doing just that with a series of expert led workshops, events and exhibitions under the banner "Manufacturing Our Future".

They will explore what that future might be and the role that Victoria University of Wellington is playing in empowering a design-led high-value manufacturing region. See more on this below.

Catherine Beard

027 463 3212 or cbeard@businessnz.org.nz

New Zealand's manufacturing expansion continued its downward trend, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for July was 51.2. This was 1.5 points lower than June, and the third consecutive month where expansion has weakened.

The July result produced a few red flags in terms of where the manufacturing sector currently sits.

Production (49.0) experienced its lowest level of contraction since May 2015, while the unadjusted PMI was in slight contraction for the first time since January 2017.  While employment (51.2) rose above the no change mark after two months of decline, new orders (52.6) displayed only minor to moderate expansion.

BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel said that "at this level, the PMI is hinting at more than just a slowdown in the manufacturing sector but outright slow growth". More...

Taking your exports to the next level requires strong relationships in local markets, a distributor model you can actually rely on and an investment strategy that isn't just a pipe dream.

Go Global 2018 will put you in the room with the most innovative exporters who will share their stories. You will hear the latest on international trade trends and the achievements of award-winning exporters, from fast growing little tech companies through to the big end of town.

Hear from those who are knee-deep in exporting:

• Snowball Effect - Crowdfunding, simplifying investment and building towards the snowball effect
• Movac - Investing in greatness - getting in the trenches to bull-dozing through key growth phases
• Syft Technologies - 70 staff, 20 countries, $100 million - mapping growth and taking NZ to the world
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare - Life-changing R&D innovation and the pathway to their $1billion story
• New Zealand Trade and Enterprise - Bigger, better, faster, together - exporters are collaborating to go global.

View Programme->>

Register individuals->>

Register a Group of 3+ >>

New Zealand is well known for its nautical prowess, and this runs into exports of a particular kind of boat, designed and manufactured right here in Milton NZ, and sought around the globe.

Steve McLay, managing director of McLay Boats Ltd and boat builder of 31 years, explains how these unique aluminium fishing and trailer boats have become so aspirational.

“Going back 20 years, we were sending boat building kit sets to Australia,” says Steve. “But in the last 10 years, we started exporting fully finished boats in response to demand from dealers in Australia.

“It started with one dealer in particular in Northern Queensland, who had previously bought kit sets. Word soon spread, and McLay became more and more well known as a brand.”

They’ve since grown their dealer network to five Australian dealers, and also send boats to New Caledonia and as far away as Sweden. More...

C Beard

It's never too early to save the date in today's busy diaries. MaD2019: The Third National Conference for Innovation in Manufacturing and Design is happening on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 May 2019, at the Cordis in Auckland.

The previous conferences in 2017 and 2018 were very successful in building a national network of researchers and industry stakeholders and initiating valuable new connections and projects. At MaD2019 you'll be able to engage in this cross-disciplinary industry and researcher network, focused on New Zealand’s manufacturing economy of the future. 

More...

What will manufacturing look like in the future and how can we prosper and participate in high-value manufacturing in regional, national and international arenas?

Manufacturing & Design NZ partners at Victoria University of Wellington are holding an exciting series of events and exhibitions, Manufacturing Our Future, in Wellington from 4-30 September 2018.

4D Printing, Intelligent Design, Renewable Systems, Tikanga and Technology… 

You're invited to explore what that future might be and the role that Victoria University of Wellington is playing in empowering a design-led high-value manufacturing region.

Manufacturing our Future includes a series of public and invitational events. Check out the speakers here.

There will be two exhibitions, which will provide a framework for a series of public lectures and workshops for Victoria University participants, industry, policy makers and other research organisations to galvanise relevant areas of cross-disciplinary research capability in collaboration with external partners. More...

Food and beverage exporters will benefit from taking a look at these reports done by Lincoln University. They look into consumer preferences in various markets for various food products. Some of the findings can probably be extrapolated to other food products too. 

Check out the reports here->>

A new online resource will enable small businesses to create health and wellbeing policies quickly and easily, through the business.govt.nz website.

“The online Workplace Policy Builder makes it easy for small businesses to tailor policies to the individual circumstances of their workplaces,” says Small Business Minister Stuart Nash.

“Small businesses who lack in-house expertise can avoid the hassle of drawing up a policy from scratch by using this new online tool. It offers them the assurance that their policies will comply with current law.

“We created the Health and Wellbeing policy to help small businesses create a healthy, safe and positive working environment for their staff.

“A good working environment is good for business. Workplaces are more likely to have higher productivity and sales, more creativity and improved customer satisfaction. More...

Don’t forget to check out our contract manufacturers directory if you are looking for contract manufacturing support or you are wanting to advertise your services! 

There are some great resources - see here->>

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