SUCCESS STORIES FROM OUR COMMUNITY

CONTENTS

Access Automation ��������������������������������4

Acma Industries ����������������������������������������5

AROTEC Diagnostics ����������������������������6

Booker-Spalding ��������������������������������������7

Callaghan Innovation ��������������������������8

Contherm Scientific ������������������������������9

Dulux ��������������������������������������������������������������10

ESG Asia-Pacific �����������������������������������11

Eurofins ��������������������������������������������������������12

Fraser Engineering ����������������������������13

GlycoSyn ����������������������������������������������������14

GNS Science ��������������������������������������������15

Groenz �����������������������������������������������������������16

HTS-110 �������������������������������������������������������17

Im-Able ���������������������������������������������������������18

Label and Litho ��������������������������������������19

Macaulay Metals ����������������������������������20

Open Polytechnic ���������������������������������21

Pertronic Industries ����������������������������22

Racetech ������������������������������������������������������23

Rembrandt �������������������������������������������������24

Resene ����������������������������������������������������������25

Robinson Seismic ��������������������������������26

RPS Switchgear �����������������������������������27

Steel & Tube ���������������������������������������������28

Tekron ������������������������������������������������������������29

Times-7 ���������������������������������������������������������30

WelTec �����������������������������������������������������������31

Woolyarns ��������������������������������������������������32

“We need to instil an awareness of our remarkable successes and our capacity to do a whole lot more.”Sir Paul Callaghan

Contherm Scientific

Arotec Diagnostics

Eurofins ESG Asia Pacific

Macaulay Metals

Steel & Tube

Groenz

Im-Able

GNS Science

Dulux

Tekron

GNS Science (National Isotope Centre)

HTS-110

GlycosynCallaghan Innovation

RPS Switchgear

WelTec

Booker-Spalding

Label & Litho

Access Automation

Open Polytechnic

UPPER HUTT

LOWER HUTT

TAITA

WINGATE

AVALON

NAENAE

GRACEFIELD

SEAVIEW

HUTT CENTRAL

SH2

Hutt River

To WellingtonPETONE

Resene

Rembrandt

Robinson Seismic

Racetech

Times 7

Acma Industries

Fraser Engineering

Woolyarns

Pertronic

As at April 2014

Fresh Thinkers is a celebration of science, engineering and technology in the Hutt Valley. It tells the stories of some of the Hutt’s innovation and high tech manufacturing champions.

These innovators give many reasons for making the Hutt Valley home-base: the central geographic location; the availability of a skilled and entrepreneurial workforce; the access to raw materials; the proximity of the transport hubs for effective national and international distribution; as well as family roots and opportunities for a great outdoor lifestyle.

City leaders are committed to transforming the Hutt Valley into one of New Zealand’s leading export and economic growth centres, based on science, engineering and technology. Whilst acknowledging the proud history of industry in the Hutt Valley

spanning nearly a century, our Fresh Thinkers demonstrate the transformation that has occurred in New Zealand’s manufacturing sector – in what we make, and where we sell it to.

We hope that the diverse range of organisations and businesses profiled here will create awareness amongst existing businesses of the many success stories right here on our doorstep, encourage future businesses to make the Hutt Valley their location of choice and inspire our young people to consider science, engineering and technology as a career.

Ray Wallace Mayor

FRESH THINKERS

3

3,900+FULL TIME EMPLOYEES IN 826 LOWER HUTT

BUSINESSES IN THE HIGH-TECH SECTOR

115HEACTARES ZONED

INDUSTRIAL-COMMERCIAL

115HEACTARES ZONED

INDUSTRIAL-COMMERCIAL

5CROWN RESEARCH INSTITUTES,

2 RESEARCH CAMPUSES, AND 2 TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

ZERODEVELOPMENT FEES (CONDITIONS APPLY)

$473MOF GDP ACCOUNTED FOR IN

HIGH-TECH SECTOR BUSINESS

4THLARGEST IN NEW ZEALAND FOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE EMPLOYED IN MEDIUM-HIGH TECH MANUFACTURING

Ask Mark Galvin if he can design something to get your guests up a 150-metre cliff and he’ll say yes without a second thought. That’s because he knows his team will find a way. Access Automation began designing cable car systems for Wellington houses in chalk on their workshop floor and are now renowned throughout Asia-Pacific for projects no one else will touch.

Simple mechanics lies behind their success. A patented self-levelling design ensures that no matter how steep the slope, the car will stay level. “No one else has done this as far as we know. Others have levelling systems that use pumps and hydraulics, all of which can fail.” Likewise, the fail-safe braking system uses a mix of physics and gravity. “Most cable car companies change the landscape to suit the cars. Our cars follow the landscape, so we’ve got cable cars that turn and self-level.

It’s a much softer way of travelling. ”Such differences landed them projects such as the Bulgari Resort in Bali, where guests are delivered up a nearly vertical cliff. “We stood on a plateau 150 metres above the Indian Ocean and they said ‘we’re going to need a cable car to get our guests down to the sea – can you do that?’ And you say, yes, I can do that – and you go back to New Zealand and say how am I going to do this? But you find a way.”

And they will continue doing it from the Hutt. “All our suppliers are here. You really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s cheaper to have your manufacturing base where all the engineering is, in a cluster.”

ACCESS AUTOMATIONaccessauto�co�nz

Mark Galvin Director

ACMA INDUSTRIESacma�co�nz

Elderly people around the world may soon be thanking an invention by Acma for helping keep them free from injury. The company produces moulded polyurethane foam components – chair bodies, seat cushioning, tackle bags, bike seats, even props for movie sets. Their biggest lines are in healthcare, including producing 6,000 liners a day for sleep apnea masks for the US, and transportation, where their flame resistant graphite foam train seats are in demand in Australia, Europe, the US and China.

But it’s a radical floor tile, developed in conjunction with Otago University, which could be about to take the world by storm. The patented cellular internal core of the “Kradal” tile has been proven in trials in Swedish rest-homes to absorb 70% of the impact of a fall. Founder/director Alan Bowmar explains: “In a facility there, half the rest-home had Kradal and half had vinyl. They had perhaps 30 or 40 falls on each.

On the vinyl there were broken bones and soft-tissue injuries. On the Kradal tiles there were no broken bones and no tissue injuries. At $20,000 to $30,000 for a hip operation, you don’t have to have many people to fall over to save quite a bit of money. And people do fall over a lot. We expect to make big numbers of this product.”

The Hutt is home: “For us, being in the Hutt is about having the port quite close – most of our exports go by sea. And we don’t have too much trouble getting technical staff here. We tend to get a certain number of people from Massey. And Callaghan Innovation works with us on projects.”

Alan Bowmar Director

5

It would be a fair bet that AROTEC Diagnostics have more PhD’s, Master’s and Honours degrees per square metre than most other commercial laboratories in New Zealand. These detectives of the scientific world work to precise and demanding specifications to extract and purify protein antigens which are used to identify auto-immune diseases in humans.

The process starts with the gathering of raw materials such as animal tissue, primarily bobby calf sweetbreads and pig meat, and discarded white cells from human blood. Using a range of separation techniques to ensure the very highest purity, proteins specific to each disease are then extracted and packed into dry ice. Some 99% of the final product is exported to the US, Germany, Japan, and China for including in test kits for diagnostic laboratories, which use it to target and identify “complex” diseases whose symptoms often overlap – including thyroid, lupus, Crohn’s, inflammatory bowel, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular.

At $1,000 per milligram it’s valuable stuff. “A lot of it is trial and error,” says CEO Neil Cook. “It’s a bit like creating a recipe, baking a cake – and then getting all the steps right, all the ingredients right. Antigens have to have certain specifications that are really important. They have to be highly reactive and very pure. The specs are very demanding and there is a lot of process control so we can produce large amounts at very high quality.”

Being in Petone is ideal. “We interact with Victoria University about technologies and techniques that we use. We need to know we’re doing it right. And having the airport so close is vital. Our products go exclusively by air.”

AROTEC DIAGNOSTICSarodia�com

Neil Cook Chief Executive

It’s a long way from the lights of Paris and the catwalks of Milan to Hutt Road, but for Booker-Spalding the drive to produce only the best-designed quality clothing is no less than the big labels demand. The designer, manufacturer, and distributor of branded high-end corporate wear provides prototype garments for trial on their own version of a catwalk before production begins; either in-house, for made-to-measure wear, or in China.

They service both the New Zealand and Australian markets locally, with Australia being a growing part of the business. Quality is a vital part of the business with Booker-Spalding's in-house design team producing bespoke client ranges as well as working with guest designers and brands to provide even more differentiated offerings. CEO John Maurice says “every client is looking for a point of difference and often this starts with design.”

Technology is the company’s backbone, from design, to pattern cutting, to client ordering. An in-house web team builds websites so clients’ staff can order from their desktops, making selection, sizing, and repeat ordering a breeze.

Business is growing in Australia and Asia.“We’ll always be here because it’s central. Being here is better than being in Christchurch or Auckland because we can service the whole country and Australia from one place.” A two-way relationship with the council helps. “They are accessible. This is a different scale to a bigger city. “They know we’re here.”

BOOKER-SPALDINGbookerspalding�co�nz

7

John Maurice Chief Executive

CALLAGHAN INNOVATIONcallaghaninnovation�govt�nz

Mary Quin Chief Executive

The formation in 2013 of Callaghan Innovation, which incorporated the former Industrial Research Ltd and its Gracefield campus, is taking shape as one of New Zealand’s most significant recent innovations. The Crown entity accelerates the commercialisation of innovation by businesses in New Zealand, especially focusing on the growth of high-value manufacturing and services companies. It is becoming a one-stop-shop of talent, resources, knowledge, and connections to help businesses turn ideas into internationally marketable products and services faster and more successfully.

It does this by providing research and technical services, awarding $140 million of R&D grants each year, funding internships, coordinating networks to connect businesses with New Zealand’s and the world’s best minds, helping companies develop skills to take ideas to market, and fostering a culture of innovation. Chief Executive Dr Mary Quin: “We want to get as many technology-intensive firms as possible growing faster, and that means linking them up to any R&D capability and commercialisation help that exists in New Zealand.

We also have a role to get more people excited about starting new companies and growing the companies we have.”

Change has been rapid. Partnerships are being formed with other innovation-focused organisations, while appointments are being made to coordinate national technology networks in fields such as information and communications, advanced materials, and sensing technologies. The campus, which houses not only Callaghan Innovation’s labs but more than a dozen companies and two research institutes of Victoria University, is ideal for innovation with its “real, live entrepreneurs” to test ideas on.

“We are thinking through what might attract even more companies to avail themselves of the advanced R&D resources that are available here, and link the campus to other innovation and education initiatives around the country.”

It’s a world away from the laboratories of the world’s universities and testbeds of the multinational companies to the end of Cornish Street, but that is of little consequence to Contherm Scientific. Their laboratory ovens, incubators, and environmental chambers remain in demand some 50 years after the early models were built in a converted garage. They use the latest in computerised technology and production techniques to design and manufacture the cabinets to control temperature, light, humidity, movement, and sound. Probes ensure an even distribution of temperature throughout, in a range between minus 40o C and plus 300oC.

The ovens and incubators are used in universities to propagate seeds and grow plants, and by public and private research laboratories for a wide range of applications.

The environmental chambers are used to test the shelf life of products – by programming a cycle to switch between a range of temperatures and humidities, major international pharmaceutical companies can test the entire age of a product over a period of two months. Some 75% of production is exported to the Asia-Pacific region, and lately to India and the Middle East.

General Manager Nathan Reynolds says they rely a lot on the expertise available in the Hutt Valley for their development work. “We work very closely with local tertiary institutes. They’ve been brilliant. Having access to their knowledge is very handy. We use local industry extensively. The valley is full of people who have a lot of knowledge. There are many industries in a very small radius, so that is definitely an advantage.”

CONTHERM SCIENTIFICcontherm�co�nz

Nathan Reynolds General Manager

9

You know the world has changed when one of New Zealand’s biggest paint manufacturers spends almost as much time worrying about what happens when the brushes are washed as it does developing the paint itself. It’s called environmental responsibility, and Dulux NZ prides itself in its advances in this area. But seeking improvements in its paints is core business. Its laboratories are constantly producing new variations, including anti-mould and waterbased paints that perform as well as solvent-based, on the back of a continued consumer trend away from solvent based paints. They are also actively looking to extend reach into speciality coatings for the infrastructure and engineering markets.

General Manager Richard Hansen is proud of both these advances and the award-winning environmental side of the business. This includes development of low-odour paints, providing a service which accepts left-over paint for recycling, re-use, or safe disposal, and portable

wastewater treatment systems that allow trade painters to remove contaminants from brushes, rollers and tins.

“We are always focused on protecting the environment, in terms of the types of paints we make, the way we make them, and the way consumers dispose of the waste.”

Dulux have spent $30 million on a plant upgrade in 2011. “The board was very supportive of our investing in the future in New Zealand and strengthening our presence here. Being here is central. It allows us to maintain an efficient distribution and supply chain. We’ve got a really good system for getting our product to the South Island and up to Auckland. We’re very happy with where we are here. We also have access to a skilled workforce.”

DULUXdulux�co�nz

Richard Hansen General Manager

When Ernest Sime formed his company in 1923, little could he have imagined his descendants would be at the forefront of a world-leading renewable energy solution. Firsts are nothing new at ESG Asia Pacific, having introduced car seat belts, mag wheels, air horns, and quartz halogen bulbs to New Zealand. A raft of “green washroom” products are now their bread and butter – soaps, Purel hand sanitizer, and toilet tissue plus paper towels made out of recycled paper with unique dispenser systems.

Their reach recently moved beyond Australia into Asia, but the real glint in the eye of Chairman Malcolm Sime comes from the HyLink System which produces hydrogen gas from water for heating and cooking, developed by scientists at Callaghan Innovation. Hylink has been incorporated into the Green Energy Pod, a portable shipping container energy power station which uses a wind turbine and solar panels to provide electricity and produce the hydrogen.

Since ESG became the project’s business partner, the scientists have made a breakthrough in the hydrogen technology that will see improved performance for the HyLink System when available in NZ and exported to remote communities, such as in the Pacific and at ESG’s multipurpose complex in Uganda, within a few years. “Using sun,wind or micro hydro, and less than 1 1⁄2 litres of water will fire a two-burner BBQ full bore for over three hours, so there’s huge potential”.

This all fits neatly into ESG’s philosophy of “making our planet a better place to live”, and their success will be the Hutt’s: “We are here because we are a local family, plus many of the freighting companies have hubs here, enabling us to provide effective national and international distribution from the Hutt”.

ESG ASIA PACIFICesgasiapacific�com

11

Malcolm Sime Chairman

Babies born with a rare genetic deficiency will soon have the expertise of Lower Hutt scientists to thank for giving them a chance at life. The world-leading “chemistry providers” at GlycoSyn, the discovery, development, and pilot manufacturing arm of Callaghan Innovation, are at the forefront of drug development. They design therapeutics for debilitating and life-threatening diseases and disorders such as gout, MS, Parkinson’s, psoriasis, HIV and cancers – like the ingredient recently synthesised for a trial melanoma vaccine for the Malaghan Institute. The work is highly complex, demanding utmost purity, safety and consistency as they develop targeted drugs on behalf of drug companies before they go to clinical trials for testing for safety and efficacy in humans.

With a high level of attrition – probably just one in 10,000 of discovery leads make it to full use by humans – successes such as making a treatment to combat a genetic deficiency in babies are most satisfying.

General Manager Dr Paul Benjes: “This is an hereditary disease where if the babies are not given this drug they will die within months of being born. A biologically-derived version of the drug has been shown to work, and we were asked to synthesise it. We were the only organisation in the world they were able to find to successfully do this. It took us two years – it was very difficult material to make. We do difficult chemistry that no one else really wants to tackle.”

Being on the Callaghan Innovation campus is essential. “GlycoSyn couldn’t really function if it wasn’t here, because we are very dependent on a lot of the infrastructure and fantastic intellectual nous here.”

GLYCOSYNglycosyn�com

Dr Paul Benjes General Manager

Rob Deacon wishes for lots of zeros. Not the kind associated with dollar signs, but ones that tell him that the 105,000 samples his staff test each year are clear of E. Coli, salmonella, listeria, legionella, heavy metals, algal bloom and other deadly nasties. Eurofins Scientific help ensure our manufactured food, pharmaceuticals, community drinking water, and swimming water are safe from contaminants, effluent is safe to discharge into waterways, air conditioning cooling towers are free from bugs, and meat and poultry meet export standards.

Every day several hundred samples arrive at their lab and go through a rigorous testing and reporting process. New food products and batches are tested before sale as a check on companies’ manufacturing processes, while shelf-life experiments are conducted to ensure claims are accurate. Human blood serum and urine are checked for heavy metals for the health and safety industry.

“What we see in the lab is lots of zeros – zero bacteria, zero pathogens – just lots of zeros,” says Managing Director Rob Deacon.

“But when we do get a positive listeria, everything goes on to high alert. The factory comes to see us to make sure our processes have been correct and we visit their factory to identify the source of the problem. In the meantime they can’t sell their food.” Being in the Hutt has many advantages. “We grew up here, but we’ve been able to grow up because it’s central. We can get samples from anywhere in the country within prescribed time frames. We get them in from the Chatham Islands, deepest darkest Central Otago at St Bathans – and we can get them north within the time frame.”

EUROFINSeurofins�co�nz

Rob Deacon Managing Director

Martin Simpson and his staff are living every boy’s dream – they play with fire engines. Lots of them. They are also living every man’s dream by taking on the world and winning. Fraser Engineering uses the latest in lathe and laser-cutting technology in one of New Zealand’s biggest privately owned machine shops to produce metal components of all types for industry. They have done work for Weta Workshop and made components for generators, aircraft engines, and missile launching systems. But their flagship is the fire engine and rescue vehicle brand which they export and which is about to go bigger with a push into Europe.

Using 3D printing and modelling software which cuts development time from six months to six days they can print actual working parts not just prototypes, and manufacture every component except the chassis and cab. They are now the biggest fire engine manufacturer in Australasia, and are renowned for reducing

whole-of-life costs for their customers due to the high-quality equipment designed to the different requirements of each client fire service.

CEO Martin Simpson says they can make anything they want. “We can compete with anyone in the world. We can compete with the Chinese, no problem. Our intention is to become a billion-dollar company and we are heading towards that.” On being in the Hutt, “There’s a real advantage to being where we are – the fishing’s great! There are good people here. The Hutt Valley has a history of engineering and a fundamental understanding of making things. We take graduates out of Massey and Vic and Weltec, and we’re looking to expand collaboration with them to further develop our products.”

FRASER ENGINEERINGfraser�org�nz

Martin Simpson Chief Executive

14Raewyn Fraser Company Director

If GNS Science didn’t write the geosciences textbook, it should have. The Crown company provides basic research and advice through to product development on a wide range of subjects related to the earth’s crust and its impact on New Zealand’s economy and society. Strategy General Manager Dr Des Darby explains: “Our research ranges from the atomic to the planetary scale, and we apply our knowledge of natural Earth system processes and resources to create wealth, protect the environment, and improve people’s safety.

The organisation’s most visible role is probably operating GeoNet to monitor earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami, landslides, and tectonic deformation on behalf of EQC. These data are used for research that flows directly into natural hazard assessment and risk modelling. Lesser known work is the analysis of geological structures using seismic and other geophysical surveys to provide government and industry with two and three dimensional maps of likely oil and

gas, geothermal, groundwater and mineral resources. The materials side of the business uses nuclear isotopes to identify and trace natural processes, and ion-beams to modify surface properties of natural materials for a variety of industries. These include identification of food content, control of corrosion, and development of low-cost sensors.

GNS Science obtains about half of its revenue from government sources and about half from commercial contracts within New Zealand and from overseas. It sees their location as ideal. “Real estate for science companies is affordable in the valley. Companies can afford to operate here, whatever the size of their footprint. We have all the facilities we need to run our business, we enjoy all the recreational, educational and health amenities we need for our families, and it’s only a 15 minute drive to Wellington, with beautiful views of the harbour and the Matiu/Somes Island nature reserve.”

GNS SCIENCEgns�cri�nz

15

Des Darby Strategy General Manager

Groenz Ltd has gained something of a hero status among many top chefs and restaurants, cafés, hotels, hospitals, and fast-food outlets throughout the Asia-Pacific. That’s because they make easy some of the fiddliest jobs in any busy kitchen – everything from sauces, dressings, spices, and seasonings, to marinades, mayonnaise, mustards, and gravies. And they do so in a special way: their three branded lines, French Maid, Kiwi Style and In House Systems, are designed and refined by their own chefs in their in-house test kitchen, resulting in high-quality base products that chefs can either add their own touch to, or use straight from the bottle or sachet.

Groenz also make products to order, including for large quick-services restuarants. Their custom-made production plant enables them to manufacture low and high-volume runs 24 hours a day with more than 165 variants at any one time.

They can make volumes as small as 250 litres for special orders, as well as large batch sizes of 1,000 litres. Managing Director Fred Groen says they have a policy of buying locally. “I always give the local guy the first hit-out.” And local suppliers can expect that to continue. “The big market is in Auckland but the advantage of being in the Hutt is freight – here, we’re right in the middle of the country. There would be a commercial advantage for us to have our plant there, but it’s not overwhelming. We’re here because we like living here.”

GROENZgroenz�co�nz

Fred Groen Managing Director

HTS-110 make pickaxes — but not like any you have ever seen. Theirs are powerful electro magnets which help customers ‘push the envelope’ in high-tech research and development. The key to this world-leading magnet technology is high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire. This wire conducts 250 amps of electrical current with no loss and is less than 1mm thick. HTS wire operates below minus 163˚C, compared with minus 269˚C of standard superconductors, allowing very compact, very high magnetic field instruments. Primarily because of their size, HTS-110 magnets have a range of unique usages, including measurement instruments for beam lines and neutron sources, similar to the Large Hadron Collider which found the so-called ‘God’ particle; quality control equipment in hard drive manufacturing for the computer industry; and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers which allow companies such as Pfizer to look at chemical fingerprints in the search for the next cancer or retroviral drug.

CEO Tye Husheer describes it as “cutting-edge, micro, micro science” which enables companies to do science that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. “Our customers are like gold miners – they’re the researchers looking to make the next scientific, technological, or industrial breakthrough. We make and sell pickaxes to these gold miners.”

HTS technology was discovered in the Hutt at Callaghan Innovation “The great thing about being on the Callaghan campus is that there are world-leading experts in all sorts of fields here – we have materials design questions that pop up all the time – having them right here makes our job easier.” And that number in the title? 110 degrees Kelvin (-163˚C) is the temperature at which the HTS wire in the magnets becomes superconducting.

HTS-110hts-110�com

Tye Husheer CEO

17

From a modest office, Im-Able Ltd is taking on the world and changing people’s lives dramatically. Their unique rehabilitation system is designed to help accelerate recovery for people with arm disorders caused by strokes and head trauma, as well as early stage dementia and ADD.

The main tool is the Able-X, which consists of fun exercise computer games using a hand-held steering-wheel-type controller. By stimulating the part of the brain that has been damaged to learn new ways of doing things, the Able-X helps improve arm movement and brain engagement.

It was invented by Marcus King at Callaghan Innovation and further improved by Sunil Vather and his team four years ago with help from health professionals and scientists, and till recently has been sold by word of mouth. But it is now starting to sell in many countries.

“We know we have the right product, and we know it makes a significant difference to people’s lives, and we know there’s a massive market out there for us.”

And they intend doing it from the Hutt. “This is an amazing place to do business. Everything is so close, and if you want to get something done you just have to pick up the phone and ask. It’s much easier to do things here, I would say, than in a lot of other parts of the country. It’s like a small village and people are ready to help each other. There’s no such thing as ‘I’m too busy’. You ask for a coffee meeting and people will come and give you the time. It’s a lovely place to work.”

IM-ABLEim-able�com

18

Sunil Vather CEO

Examples of Label and Litho’s expertise are seen every day in many countries around the world – but you would never know it. The high-tech printing company produces labels for manufacturers of some our best-known food, beverage, and pharmaceutical products. Camilla Welch and her brothers, Hamish and Angus Kincaid, pride themselves as being at the leading edge of printing technology. They recently imported the first machine in New Zealand capable of inserting radio frequency tags under labels to prevent product theft, and they remain the only label printer which offers that technology.

They also pride themselves in solving customers’ problems, such as trialling fluorescent inks for a client who wanted a black label for his beer that can be read only under UV light. “We don’t say no – we think about how we can do it,” says Camilla Welch.

“We understand that the label on a product is often the closest a customer gets to a brand – it’s the first point of contact between them and the item they’ve taken off the shelf – so it needs to be right every time.”

And, despite most of their customers being outside the Wellington region, the Hutt will always be home. “Auckland people would see being based in the Hutt as a disadvantage. The reality is it’s not, because in Auckland you overnight courier, and down here we overnight courier to Auckland. It’s just educating people. They still buy their undies from China so what’s the difference. If they’re prepared to buy from China, why can’t they buy from here? We love the lifestyle in the Hutt. It’s a much better lifestyle than we would have in Auckland.”

LABEL AND LITHOlabel�co�nz

Camilla Welch Managing Director

Angus Kincaid Director and Operations Manager

Hamish Kincaid Director and Factory Manager

19

MACAULAY METALSmacaulaymetals�co�nz

Macaulay Metals is not your traditional run-of-the-mill metal recycling company. Because not only do they gather, process, and export almost any metal on the periodic table, they are also delving into the fast-moving world of IT. From their headquarters in the Hutt, and branch depots in Palmerston North, Rotorua, Kawerau, Whakatane, and Gisborne, they export 2,200 containers of scrap each year to Asian countries and the Netherlands.

A big part of the collection process involves providing bins for companies to fill with scrap, which Macaulay Metals then buys. But they were losing track of the 2,000-something bins. So, working with a local IT company, they developed a software tracking system which they called Retreva, which drivers use on their mobile phones to scan special barcodes stamped on the sides of bins. This information is then relayed back to head office where the bins are tracked and decisions made about when they need to be dispatched.

Managing Director, Jeff Harris says Macaulay Metals are now looking at what else they can do with the software. “We took it to a trade show in Florida this year and there was pretty positive interest in it. We’re now looking at where to go from here. It’ll work in any industry – that was the whole aim of it. It was always in the back of our heads that we could do something more with it.”

And the advantages of being based in the Hutt? It’s a big resource for scrap, and “it’s as close to the port as we can be without land costs being too high.”

Jeff Harris Managing Director

Making sure your 34,000 students are taken care of is a massive job in anyone’s language, but when more than 95% of them rate that service highly then you know you’re doing something right. The Open Polytechnic is New Zealand’s biggest provider of vocational distance and flexible learning and a major educator of the country’s workforce. The majority of students are adults combining study with work, but include those under contract arrangements through schools, industry training organisations or sector organisations.

Some 1,200 courses and 100 qualifications are offered, from certificate, diploma and degree level, to blended learning for industry. Subjects include early childhood education, business, humanities, social sciences, information studies, real estate, communication, trades training, psychology and health. Delivery ranges from ‘pure’ distance learning through to variations of blended learning, where the polytechnic works with other polytechnics or organisations to combine distance and face-to-face teaching.

At all times, industry is involved to ensure qualifications are relevant. In 2013 a survey of student satisfaction showed 96% believed their employers would consider their qualification valuable, and 90% rated tutor support in the range excellent to good. CEO Caroline Seelig: “The key for us is to design the appropriate learning solution and mix of delivery media and partners, where required, to best meet the needs of a specific industry or learner group.

Nearly 1% of New Zealand's population enrols with us. There are very few institutions in the world with that level of enrolment.”

She says Lower Hutt is an excellent base from which to deliver to every part of New Zealand. “We’re one of the Hutt’s biggest employers. We have international visitors constantly tell us what an attractive campus setting we have.”

OPEN POLYTECHNICopenpolytechnic�ac�nz

Caroline Seelig Chief Executive

21

PERTRONIC INDUSTRIESpertronic�co�nz

The operators of major complexes across New Zealand and Australia, and increasingly in Asia, have Pertronic Industries to thank for being able to sleep soundly at night. The company designs and manufactures microprocessor-controlled automatic fire alarm panels and control indicating and mapping systems. These range anywhere from off-the-shelf systems for smaller buildings, where conventional fire panels can report fire in a general area, to multi-level complexes where sophisticated and complex custom-made analogue addressable systems can narrow alarm information to a specific detector and report it to Pertronic’s FireMap graphics system – often remotely monitored using cell phone technology.

The list of sites the company has designed systems for is long and varied: from Hutt Hospital and Westfield Queensgate Mall just down the road, to power stations, shopping malls, high-rise office buildings, hotels, prisons, sports stadiums, and road tunnels across Australasia and China. It even

includes an ocean-going research ship. But while owner David Percy points to the complexity of many of those projects as some of his 90-strong team’s biggest challenges, an outsider would probably be most impressed that a system designed for Scott Base can be monitored 4,000km away in Christchurch. The future, though, lies in warmer climes, particularly the growing markets of Australia, which is served by five offices, and with distributors in Asia. “Our FireMap graphics display system is a world-leading product with its highly intuitive setup and operator capabilities.”

Being in the middle of the Hutt’s manufacturing base means easy sourcing of metalwork and plastics components. “Close proximity to that is important. We can also backload goods to Auckland at very good freight rates. The valley is good for manufacturing – and I prefer to live here than Auckland.”

David Percy Managing Director

Having the lives of thousands of drivers of the fastest touring, rally, drag, and speedway cars, and even offshore powerboats, in his hands is not something that seems to faze David Black. The former champion rally driver’s company, Racetech, make composite and carbon fibre race seats which are world renowned for their robustness and innovation. The company works with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) on development and testing projects, as well as refining seat standards, and is regularly consulted by national motorsport organisations over technical standards and safety issues.

One of Racetech’s first innovations, now adopted by other manufacturers, was a cooling system fitted into the seats. It takes air from outside the car and forces it onto a driver’s lower back where it evaporates moisture and creates cooling through latent heat transfer. Their latest innovation has the potential to go even further – they have developed a seat that is

mounted from the rear, as well as from the floor. This means there is less flex in the shoulder area, so the driver’s ‘feel’ of the car is enhanced, fatigue is reduced, and safety on impact improved. Racetech seats are endorsed and used by some of the world’s leading racing categories, including the FIA World Rally Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, Swedish Touring cars, USA World Challenge, and most teams in the Australia V8 Supercar series.

David Black sources many of the seat components locally. “I’ve always believed the Petone industrial area is a very good one. In fact, we buy raw materials from companies all over the valley – it’s got a lot of things going for it.”

RACETECHracetech�co�nz

23

David Black President/Managing Director

Rembrandt Suits will likely be following Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team in the NBA, but not because they make basketball gear. Nothing could be further from the lines of this designer and manufacturer of menswear, from smart jeans, jackets, shirts, and ties, up to the main product of top-end suits. And not just its own suits – Rembrandt have made them for almost every New Zealand retailer which sells suits.

Whatever the label, they are more than likely to have been made either at their Naenae factory, where most made-to-measure work is done, or under supervision by craftsmen in Asia. The Rembrandt-branded suits are sold through its 12 stores, as well as department stores and retailers in New Zealand and Australia. To keep pace with trends, Rembrandt’s designers visit stores in London, Paris, and Milan, and buy from Europe’s best fabric mills.

Managing Director David Lyford says the connection with Oklahoma comes via Steven Adams, who recently secured a contract there. “We heard an interview where someone said ‘make sure he gets a good-fitting suit’, and I got on the phone and said we would be delighted to make one. He was here within the hour. Getting clothes to fit for a guy of his size is a real challenge and we were delighted we could do something.

Excellent fitting, well-made garments using the best raw materials at an affordable price is what we stand for, and we were able to show that off in Steven’s suit. Being able to produce our own garments locally is hugely important to us. Our staff, knowledge, and skill-sets have been developed in the Hutt, and I wouldn’t like to try to create that somewhere else.”

REMBRANDTrembrandt�co�nz

David Lyford Managing Director

Sending container loads of black goo to Nigeria and the Caribbean doesn’t sound like the sort of business a major paint company would get into, but it’s one example of how Resene Paints have diversified to stay ahead of the game. From being established when Ted Nightingale couldn’t find an alkali-resistant paint to cover concrete, Resene have expanded into manufacturing a huge range of paint and specialist coatings for residential and commercial buildings, marine, heavy industrial, road marking, automotive and agricultural use, and retail these from a network of 60 shops. A subsidiary company focuses on claddings and plaster-based top-coat systems which link colour from the outside to the inside of buildings, while another produces the black goo that helps waterproof roofs. But the core business is making their paint, which is big in Australia and the Pacific.

The founder’s grandson, Managing Director Nick Nightingale, says the environment is top of mind

as they constantly search for new ways of repelling light and making paint more durable. “We want to be the best. If you’re the best in New Zealand you’re probably the best in the world. The quality of the paint is better than anywhere else. That includes our competitors – we can’t let them get too far ahead.”

Despite having operations elsewhere, HQ is in the Hutt. “There’s quite a strong coatings community here. The coatings industry has been here for a long time. There’s been a lot of acceptance here. Being in the centre of the country is a bonus. I can’t imagine us being anywhere else. It’s a nice environment, it’s green, and you can see the hills.”

RESENEresene�co�nz

25

Nick Nightingale Managing Director

In the best traditions of Kiwi DIY, Chris Gannon works mostly alone with huge hydraulic machines to replicate the most powerful earthquakes. Robinson Seismic’s innovative protection base isolation devices have been leading the world since they were invented and perfected in the 1970s and 1980s. The rubber, steel, and lead-bearing devices appear in new buildings and as retrofits in countries such as Japan, Turkey, Iran, India, Indonesia, Europe, the US … and also in earthquake zones such as Christchurch and Wellington.

Their robustness, reliability, easy replacement, and simplicity, topped by the fact that they can absorb some 80% of the energy of an earthquake, ensures they are in high demand. In New Zealand, the isolators protect treasures such as Te Papa, Parliament Buildings, and the Old Supreme Court. Chris Gannon works with consulting engineers to custom-design for each site, and is continually working on advances in the technology.

The latest of these is a ‘slider’ which is under test for the Japanese market for small loads, such as houses, and which forms part of ‘Quakesurfer’ technology newly introduced to protect data storage systems.

It all happens at the Callaghan Innovation campus. “Being on the campus here works really well for me, because this place is used to developing new things. If I come up with a cunning plan this is just the ideal place for me to do it. Callaghan Innovation have helped me build up some really good and simple drive mechanisms for these test machines, as well as data logging and stuff. It works really well. We swap equipment. It’s a great place.”

ROBINSON SEISMICrobinsonseismic�com

Chris Gannon Development Engineer

Helping protect Singapore from flooding, ensuring Hong Kong International Airport can handle its 360,000 flight movements a year, and keeping a large chunk of the Sydney CDB alight is no mean feat. But it’s everyday stuff for RPS Switchgear. The company make customised medium-voltage switchgear – essentially giant power switches in sub-stations which distribute power to suburbs and big industrial complexes such as hospitals and mining sites.

The switchgear uses intelligent monitoring equipment to detect faults or surges in the 11,000-volt circuits and automatically opens and closes safety protection devices to prevent damage. The switchgear incorporates vacuum circuit-breaker technology which was introduced by RPS in the 1980s as a safer alternative to oil-filled breakers, and which is now in common use around the world. Some 75% of its business is overseas, and it frequently sends its own teams to do the installation work.

In addition to the massive responsibility behind keeping Hong Kong Airport operating and the Sydney CBD alight, one notable project is Singapore’s Marina Barrage, one of the world’s biggest pumping stations, where the switchgear is used to protect giant pumps that drain threatening storm waters away from downtown Singapore at the equivalent of an Olympic-size swimming pool each minute.

Managing Director Geoff Hay says people are the key to the business. “We’re a specialist company in a very niche part of the electricity industry and the people we’ve got here are not easily replaced. The main reason we are in the Hutt is because our people are here. The local suppliers we have got are great. They work really, really hard to meet some quite unusual and sometimes short lead-time demands, and we get great support from them.”

RPS SWITCHGEARrpsswitchgear�co�nz

Geoff Hay Managing Director

27

Being flexible is vital for any business to stay ahead of the game, and for Steel & Tube that is exemplified by its latest contribution to seismic engineering. The NZX top 50 company is an importer, distributor and manufacturer of a 30,000 steel product range – from nuts, bolts, nails, piping, roofing, and farm fencing, to residential and commercial construction, and steel for custom-made 50-tonne bridge beams.

Fitting neatly with a revamp which welded 11 divisions into a “One Company” philosophy and structure, is an enhanced capability of supplying total steel requirements for buildings – from reinforcing in the foundations, fire suppression systems, ventilation systems, and fastenings, up to the cladding. CEO Dave Taylor is upbeat about their new range of seismic reinforcing mesh, particularly in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes.

“Previously, reinforcing meshes in concrete plinths for floors were brittle, so they would sheer if there was movement. Our new mesh, developed to meet expectations around ductility following the Christchurch earthquakes, complies fully with all dimensional requirements of the New Zealand standard and boasts full quality traceability.”

The company has been happy in the Hutt for over 35 years. “I get asked a lot about when are we going to relocate to Auckland. One of the differences is we would be just another big organisation there. There are not many significant publicly listed companies in this region. Being one of just a handful puts us in a good position when it comes to recruiting people with the right competencies who want to work for a big company, and that is a key differentiation for us.”

STEEL & TUBEsteelandtube�co�nz

Dave Taylor Chief Executive

When you're preventing the electricity grid of the eastern seaboard of the US from closing down, you know you're doing something special. Working with time sync devices and GPS clocks doesn't sound like the most exciting job in the world, but the stakes are high when you're ensuring the data stream of millions of cell phones is uninterrupted. Tekron does just that by designing world-leading devices that ensure the power and the data keeps flowing in more than 60 countries. In the electricity industry, its devices in sub-stations talk to each other to improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis and ensure the grids are operating within their limits by synchronising equipment. Without these clocks there would be energy wastage and ultimately serious damage to the network, as happened in the disastrous power blackouts in the US and across Europe in 2003. In telecommunications, Tekron’s GPS clocks, which work to a 10 billionth of a second accuracy, synchronise the hand-over between cell towers of 4G data streaming to mobile devices, ensuring continuity of signal.

CEO Charles Norwood says synchronising time is becoming more and more best practice in today’s world, and transmission companies around the world are increasingly using his company’s clocks. “We’ve done very well for a small company. We have established relationships with some of the biggest players in the world – the billion-dollar companies.”

They are based in the Hutt because two of the owners live there, though that’s not the only reason. “It works being in the Hutt. We need to be in a place to attract the right people. We pride ourselves on having a very skilled team and we’ve managed to attract them.”

TEKRON tekron�com

Charles Norwood CEO

29

Times-7 takes its name from the number of times radio waves can travel around the world in one second. Now the company is in the midst of its own version of stellar travel by making a big push into some of the biggest markets on the planet. Times-7 makes UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) antennas which transfer data for automatic identification and tracking.

Its cutting-edge technology can record split-second times in mass finishes in sports events, read hundreds of items of industrial stock at a time, or keep track of luggage in airport baggage systems, resulting in fewer lost bags and faster check-in times. Key New Zealand customers include BCS Group, Glidepath, Skyline Enterprises and Barfoot & Thompson. But while the local market holds promise, the larger opportunites will always be overseas.

With fast growing interest from Asia, Europe, and the Americas, in its world-leading ultra-low-profile antennas, CEO Antony Dixon is confident and excited about technology manufacturing growth for the Hutt Valley. In particular, a breakthrough relationship with Motorola Solutions in the USA for ultra-thin shop-counter antennas that can price an item and make real-time adjustments to stock inventory – all without any contact. “Some of the potential orders are now very big numbers, and because of that we have moved to larger premises, in the Hutt. It’s important for us to have local expertise and supply. People are at the core of what we do, and we have established trusted relationships with our suppliers. There are some fantastic companies in the Hutt that help us to create and make these products.”

TIMES-7times-7�com

Antony Dixon Chief Executive

It’s a classic case of win-win in the Hutt Valley where companies join with students from WelTec to help each other break new ground.WelTec offers practical solutions to help businesses grow through the provision of R&D services, including technical advice, design, and prototyping in engineering, engine performance, construction, electrical, and IT, with students helping develop products or build, select, or install new equipment through to staff training.

WelTec specialises in working with businesses to assist their training needs which can be quite varied. From providing on the job workplace literacy training to employees by expert tutors through to advice on process efficiency, an ability to “speak the language” offers companies help with applications for government funding support. In many instances, third-year degree students work with a company’s team while being supervised by professionals. Projects on the go at any time can vary from in-house training of supervisors, and developing a technology platform using experimental applied research, to helping design specialised equipment for the food industry.

Chief Executive Linda Sissons says WelTec lines up students with industry needs. “The students come away with great learning, and industry comes away with a problem solved. WelTec gains knowledge from sunrise industries with special skill sets, and can inject that into its teaching.

We can build that knowledge into other sunrise industries. That’s the communication that’s going on. We’re not sitting in front of classes all the time. We’re out there and connecting. Later, we provide industry with a pool of talent.” They often have more projects than students to fill them.

“There’s a huge demand for the type of services we offer. That’s part of the fantastic story about the Hutt Valley. Manufacturing here is alive and well, so there’s a real ongoing need for help with product, skills, and process development systems.”

WELTECweltec�ac�nz

31

Linda Sissons Chief Executive

From high-fashion Paris label Hermes, to private jets, and the most luxurious of homes, Woolyarns fibre has clothed or carpeted it all. And now the company is poised to use those experiences to make a serious move into the United States market. Most of their fibre comes off the back of hardy South Island merino sheep and the much-maligned Brushtail possum. The “yarn engineers” use these fibres to supply high-end yarns to apparel, hosiery, and carpet makers, and weavers in Australia, the US, Asia, North Africa, and Europe. They even make their own brand of yarn for hand-knitting, which is making something of a comeback.

But it is their Perino mix of possum fur and merino or cashmere fibres where they are starting to really make their mark. Possum fur, which is 55% warmer than merino weight-for-weight, is plucked fresh by trappers up and down the country and scoured, dyed, carded, and mixed to order in combinations which can also include alpaca and mulberry silk.

Managing Director Neil Mackie says Woolyarns is probably the world’s biggest manufacturer of the wool/possum yarn, and demand for that and their INZpire carpet yarn has been phenomenal. “That’s where our future lies, and we are planning a big push next year into international markets.”

That will all be planned from their Wingate plant. “There’s a good steady labour force in the Hutt, and a lot of the employees we have had through here are inter-generational. I’ve lived in the Hutt Valley for over 40 years and it’s a lovely family-based environment. I travel a lot and always appreciate coming back.”

WOOLYARNSwoolyarns�co�nz

Neil Mackie Managing Director

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