Author Archives: Damon Harvey

About Damon Harvey

Damon is the editor and publisher of The Profit. Damon has over 20 years experience as a journalist, content developer, marketer and public relations specialist. Damon is a huge advocate for Hawke's Bay businesses and The Profit was created as a platform to celebrate HB businesses and business people. Damon is also a director of Attn! marketing pr - www.attn.co.nz alongside wife Anna Lorck. He is also a Hastings District Councillor and chairman of Sport Hawke's Bay. In his spare time he loves surfing, mountain biking, crossfit and spending time with his family, which includes five girls! If you've got a great story contact Damon on 021 2886 772 or damon@theprofit.co.nz

Hawke’s Bay Airport takes brave steps toward brighter horizon

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Fortune favours the brave, and Hawke’s Bay Airports’ bold new net-zero emissions target is just part of the larger plan to be New Zealand’s most sustainable airport.

Hawke’s Bay Airport Chief Executive, Stuart Ainslie, says the organisation is keen to do what it can to reduce the impacts of climate change and is confident it can reach its goal through a decarbonisation plan.

“We’ve identified nearly 40 initiatives that will make a concrete difference to our emissions. We’ve already introduced electric and hybrid vehicles into our operational fleet, we’re opening a bicycle hub on-site, and we’ve switched to 100% renewable carboNZero-certified energy from Ecotricity,” Mr Ainslie says.

There are also big plans for the future, including upgrading carpark lighting to LED or solar lighting, installing EV charging stations, and incorporating a range of energy-efficient fittings into the new terminal building. As well as working hard to integrate sustainable solutions across the airport’s operations, Mr Ainslie is looking further afield to meet climate change challenges, for example with investigations into the feasibility of a solar farm.

For now, Hawke’s Bay Airport has already taken steps in the right direction and is the proud recipient of a Level 2 certification under the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, the international gold standard for airport sustainability. As the first regional airport in New Zealand to reach this milestone,
Mr Ainslie is pleased to see the company is well on its way.

“There’s a lot more to be done before we can reach that zero target, but we have a unique opportunity to set the tone now for any future developments and to entrench sustainability in everything we do.”

Achieving all of this through a new terminal build has been no mean feat for the airport team, and although there have been hold-ups and global supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, the airport’s central terminal is almost complete.

“Just like our regular passengers, who have had to put up with the disruption caused by construction, the Hawke’s Bay Airport team is very keen to get the building finished.”

A miraculous recovery with domestic travel, the opening of borders to Australia and the region hosting the largest number of entries for the Hawke’s Bay Marathon has seen the busiest May on record for Hawke’s Bay Airport.

And, while it would have been great to have a spacious new terminal for the current surge in passengers, all arrivals and departures were capably managed within the temporary terminal arrangements by the dedicated on-ground team.

So when will the new terminal open?  With some of the final vital building materials still yet to arrive, it’s hard to put an exact date on when the terminal will be open to the public. However, Mr Ainslie promises the new terminal will be worth the wait – which may be just another few weeks.

“We’re now seeing the final design elements coming together that will make Hawke’s Bay Airport a stunning gateway to welcome and farewell our manuhiri (visitors) in a distinctly Hawke’s Bay way.”

Hawke’s Bay Airport will be revealing more as the opening of the terminal nears, but you can experience what the new terminal will look like by watching a 3D fly-through on Hawke’s Bay Airport’s website.

https://www.hawkesbay-airport.co.nz/about/airport-expansion/

App technology sets to clean up the competition

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The increased spotlight on hygiene and cleaning standards has led to a Hawke’s Bay based commercial cleaning business launching a world-first cleaning app.

Following two years of development and trials, The Clean Crew has launched an app guides its cleaning team through a job, with photography and video evidence verified by supervisors and available for the client.

The Clean Crew managing director Gary Singh said as the world grapples with a pandemic, there has been a increases spotlight on cleaning and hygiene standards and the app acts is a new tool that provides peace of mind for clients, their employees and customers.

The Clean Crew offers commercial cleaning services across Hawke’s Bay, Palmerston North and Nelson and has plans to expand into new regions in 2021.

Gary says the app, developed by Hamilton-based app developer Black Quadrant Technologies (BQT), has increased the consistency of cleaning tasks and vastly enhanced client retention.

A customer survey found that 93 percent rated their cleaning service highly and that any complaints are resolved within an hour.

However Gary wanted to raise the bar and believed that a mobile technology based audit tool was the answer.

“Never has it been so important that hygiene standards are a priority for businesses, to keep staff and the public safe.

“The commercial cleaning sector struggles to retain customers, and I wanted to ensure that we can stand by the quality of our work and the app offers us a way of showing our clients that the job has been done to their expectation time and again.

“It’s time technology is introduced to the cleaning sector for the labour component of the service. There’s a steady flow of new equipment and cleaning products but this is a world-first.

The bespoke app, called Convoy, gives instructions of each cleaning job, pre-programmed instructions, special requests, arrival and departure times and client feedback.

The cleaner takes photos of specific areas as they clean which are uploaded into the system in real time, providing visual proof that they have completed the job.

Gary says the next step will be to introduce image recognition powered Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that will enable the cleaner to audit their work in real time.

The cleaner will be able to scan the area, clicking pictures and recording video, that will be inputted to an AI engine, which analyses the cleanliness of the premise in real time.

Once the cleanliness is above a certain threshold, the job will be marked completed, with an update is sent to a quality supervisor for a visual test. A report of the clean is sent to the client.

“It will revolutionise the sector, eliminating any human error.

The Clean Crew client base includes health providers, food processors, schools and businesses that have significant contact with the public and is New Zealand’s first carbon zero certified cleaning company.

“We promise in our motto to bring quality and this is what we are there for – anyone can pick up a vacuum cleaner and clean but it is the quality of the service that goes along with it that is the important part.”

A recent study by Microsoft, in partnership with IDC Asia/Pacific reported that AI technology will allow the rate of innovation in New Zealand to double and employee productivity gains are also expected to increase 1.5 times.

Only 51 percent of organisations in New Zealand have embarked on AI journeys, a move that will double their competitiveness in 2021.

The Clean Crew took out the innovation category at Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in December 2020 with the judges commenting how the app has transformed how decisions are made within the business.

www.thecleancrew.co.nz

Watties invest in pet food plant in revamp in Hastings

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Wattie’s has completed a multi-million dollar upgrade of its Hastings pet food manufacturing site, positioning itself for future growth in the petfood industry.

The pet food manufacturing facility in Tomoana, Hastings produces one of New Zealand’s leading household cat food brands Chef® as well as its other pet food brands Gourmet®, Champ® and a range of pet food products for export.

The main focus of the upgrade was an investment in a new canning retort capability designed to increase reliability and productivity through state-of-the-art equipment that will underpin growth within the category by providing the means and space to substantially scale-up production.

Neil Heffer, Managing Director of Heinz Wattie’s Limited says the Tomoana facility upgrade is a reflection of a commitment to champion New Zealand made products and the benefits this brings to the local economy.

“Chef® is a pioneering brand that has been loved by Kiwis and their pets for more than 50 years. We are proud of the heritage of the Chef® brand and this significant investment in its future to know we will continue producing pet food for Kiwi cats and dogs for many years to come.”

The new $20 million facility increases the pet food manufacturing footprint by nearly 1650 square metres, with the ability to thermally process more than 15,000 cans an hour.

Over 10 main contractors and many more sub-contractors, design consultants and engineering experts local to Hawke’s Bay were engaged to complete the upgrade.  The range of local businesses involved included those in building construction, lighting, fire protection, and equipment design, installation, and commissioning.

The facility is a positive step for Wattie’s pet food manufacturing in Hastings. On a wider scale these types of investments help to provide a continuity of projects for local businesses within Hawke’s Bay.

According to information published by the New Zealand Petfood Manufacturers Association, ‘64% of households own at least one companion animal, with a total pet population of 4.35 million. This is the second highest rate of pet ownership in the world.’

The upgrade to the Tomoana facility marks a new era of pet food production for Wattie’s which comes at a time when there are shortages of pet food, mainly due to global shipping delays, clearly impacting New Zealand.

The facility was officially opened by Hastings’ Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst on June 1, signifying the Council’s ongoing support of the facility and the future of pet food manufacturing in Hastings.

The significant investment supports the Council’s ambitions to help facilitate the growth of other businesses in Hawke’s Bay, bringing employment opportunities and further investment to the region.

3,2,1 blast off for Rockit

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Rockit Global is using technology and innovations in other sectors such as the kiwifruit sector and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) to combat the major growth trajectory of the miniature-sized apple.

“The reason we can move like we are is that we look beyond the apple industry. We look at what other FMCG companies are doing, the likes of Heineken, which is at the forefront of automation and technology to improve productivity,” says Rockit Global’s Innovation team leader Stuart Dykes.

“It’s a journey and if we could compare ourselves to vehicles, we’ve gone from being a MINI to a Lexus and we’ll end up being a Ferrari.”

As more and more Rockit trees are planted in Hawke’s Bay and beyond, the business had to look at how innovations such as automation could reduce the reliance on manual labour across all parts of the supply chain.

With Rockit outgrowing its small packing facility in Havelock North, the board made the call to invest in a 20,600 m2 purpose-built post-harvest facility, Te Ipu, on land within the Irongate industrial zone in Hastings.

Stuart and his small team were charged with identifying production bottlenecks at every step of the journey for a Rockit apple, from orchard to consumer.

An engineer with a PhD in Food Science, Stuart has a background of working in the oil and gas sector and the wine sector, with a special interest in automation.

They identified that the single biggest barrier would be the ongoing lack of labour resources that impacts across all parts of the production process and that automation would be the answer.

“There’s a term in automation called ‘lights-out’, where you have no one in the facility, you turn the lights out and it just keeps going. That’s the ultimate goal.”

It seemed obvious for Stuart and his team to firstly look at the bottlenecks inside the facility.

One of the unique but challenging points of difference for Rockit apples is that they’re not packed into 20-kilogram cardboard boxes and sent offshore. Instead, they’re packed into consumer-ready packaging, in plastic tubes of varying sizes and quantity.

The facility is also a one variety facility, which means that the harvest season is more condensed and the facility is not used for other varieties.

To counter this, Rockit has a long chilled shelf life, with apples grown in New Zealand lasting for up to six months in cool stores.

The first bottleneck Stuart looked to automate was the packing of apples in tubes which would take a manual packer a minute to fill seven tubes, totalling just 35 apples.

Stuart also drew on local automation expertise from the likes of Hastings firms H & C Automated Solutions  (a division of MHM Automation) and CR Automation, with overarching guidance from the local branch of global engineering firm Worleys.

He also looked at innovation within the kiwifruit sector, which has also experienced rapid growth.

“We took a lot of inspiration from kiwifruit, with its rate of growth and expansion, and asked questions about design, phasing the build, and how we think about building something that is going to be 10 times the size in 10 years.”

“We have a significant advantage in Hawke’s Bay in that we have some unbelievable talent within some high-tech businesses such as H & C Automated Solutions and CR Automation.

MHM Automation, a world leader in automating food processing systems with its centre of excellence for packaging and reverse packaging in Hastings, designed a customised robotic solution to pack the tubes.

MHM Automation global sales manager Nathan King says its four H & C tube-filling machines has enabled a three-fold increase in packing to 20 tubes and 100 apples a minute.

“The H&C tube-filling machines are a bespoke design to meet Rockit’s packing needs and include a vision system that identifies the height of each apple to allow the robots to select the right-sized apples to perfectly fill each tube,” Nathan says.

Stuart says overall, the facility is working well and is a vast improvement from Havelock North.

He’s full of praise for the many local businesses that went the extra mile to meet a deadline of mid-February when the first apples arrived from the orchards, including lead construction firm MCL Construction, engineering design consultants Strata Group and structural steel firm Red Steel and Kinetic Electrical.

“Every business that was involved stepped up from the early engagement with Strata and MCL through to the many engineering fabricator firms that pitched in along the way.

“There is a really good food network here, businesses that have expertise in food processing such as engineers, fabricators and automation, and they have excellent support networks of firms that also assisted.

“The end result is that we have a ‘great playbook’ for future facility development across the world.

Stuart and his team have now turned their automation thinking to the orchard. As more and more trees are planted, they know that they have to automate processes on-orchard.

“On-orchard is the next low-hanging fruit but automation is not quite ready at the moment; however, we can set up the orchards so that there is a better chance automated pruning and picking can take place in the future.

Rockit – small but packing a mighty punch

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t may only be 100 grams in size, but the world’s smallest commercial apple is packing one big punch across the world.

With over 100 million apples packed in 2021 and forecasted growth of over 400 million apples packed by 2025, it doesn’t take rocket science to work out that Rockit Global Limited needed a multimillion-dollar purpose-built, automated post-harvest facility to keep up with consumer demand.

It’s been a meteoric rise for Rockit Global since entrepreneur Phil Alison had a great idea in 2002 to position the miniature apple as a completely unique, healthy, nutritious and fun snack option that could sit alongside chocolate bars and chips.

Instead of the apple being a commodity, Phil decided to put a small quantity of apples into a plastic tube and position it as a fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) products.

Phil sold the business to investors in 2019 and with two over-subscribed capital-raising processes that secured new money from existing investors – growers, Ngai Tahu, Punchbowl Investments and Pioneer Capital – the new post-harvest facility, new branding and eco-friendly packaging, the business has hit the afterburners.

New chief executive Mark O’Donnell is heading mission control and along with a team of over 100 permanent staff, they are introducing the miniature apple with new cheeky character ‘Rocki’ to new international markets, anticipating huge demand, especially in Asia.

Up until now, growing and packing Rockit apples has been labour intensive, so major investment has gone into innovating within the supply chain, with a focus on automating many parts of the business.

The new 20,600 m2 post-harvest facility, named Te Ipu, by Ngati Kahungunu, on six hectares within Irongate’s industrial zone is part one of a multifaceted strategy to make sure the business keeps up with demand.

Currently 500 hectares of trees are planted in New Zealand, and a further 1.7 million trees planted around the globe, with another 150 hectares to be planted this year and 250 hectares in 2022.

“We are on a very exciting, very steep growth trajectory and we anticipated the requirement for this facility some years ago, as we were quickly outgrowing Cooper Street, but it was always planned for 2021,” says Mark.

The new facility was up and running for the 2021 harvest, in early February, thanks to a project construction team predominantly made up of local businesses such as MCL Construction, Strata Group, CR Automation and Kinetic Electrical, as well as global leaders with local offices such as MHM Automation (locally known as H & C Automated Solutions) and Worleys.

“There is a broad team of contractors and suppliers that have supported Rockit since the beginning, most of which are based in Hawke’s Bay. We’d also like to think that we have supported them off the back of our growth.

“The rate at which we have expanded in the last few years has tested the capacity of many of the local contractors, and we’ve engaged additional firms in order to be able to execute our development in time for the following season.

“In terms of our new facility at Irongate, we have been pleased to partner with a number of companies that have been committed to delivering the project. While I can give credit to all those we’ve been working alongside, Strata and MCL are two local businesses that have performed extremely well. Kinetic Electrical have also repeatedly delivered across several work fronts, and CR Automation – who were the main plant integrators – worked very hard to hand over a plant that worked from day one under a tight schedule.

“We have also invested in state-of-the-art automation through local firm MHM Automation in a two-year collaborative project that delivers our packed fruit at a much higher rate with fewer people involved.

“While there were many challenges throughout the project – the most significant being Covid19 – all of our partners remained committed to delivering on schedule, and were collaborative and innovative in coming up with ways of dealing with any challenges that arose.

With Stage 1 complete planning for Stage Two is underway, with land capacity at the back of the current facility.

“The next stage is expected to commence in 2023, when we will add more processing technology to provide further capacity for production through to 2030 and beyond.”

As well as launching a new facility, the company has also refreshed its brand to appeal to the growing global market. Rockit is presently sold in more than 30 countries, including the US, China, India, Vietnam, Japan and the Middle East, and was launched into India last season.

General manager of global marketing Julian Smith says the new brand has been updated following global consumer feedback that showed a significant opportunity to develop a more contemporary and appealing brand for Rockit.

“The new brand reflects our unique personality and our approach to doing things differently.

“We involved the entire company in the process to develop a new story and position in the market, focused on standing out as the brand with attitude, personality and fun,” Julian says.

A new logo, packaging and design will be launched in global markets on 1 July starting with a big campaign with Rocki and PAC MAN to celebrate International Children’s Day in Greater China.

“We are excited to partner with TAMCO and the PAC MAN brand to bring something special and showcase Rockit for the first time on the global stage with another branded consumer icon, PAC MAN.

“Our new brand represents our personality – brave, innovative and a little bit cheeky and has tested extremely high in all global markets so far,” says Julian.

Rockit turns to Worley to deliver project to tight deadline

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Developing a best-in-class, post-harvest facility has many moving parts and a high level of complexity. It relies on the lead project manager making sure it’s up and running in time for the ripe apple to be picked and packed, which is an unmovable deadline.

Rockit Global Limited turned to Worley, a global leader in energy, chemicals and resources, which has a specialist engineering and project management team based in Hastings Street, Hastings.

“The local team has been delivering projects to heavy industrial infrastructure, FMCG and food and beverage clients mostly in Hawke’s Bay, central north island, Bay of Plenty, Marlborough and the East Coast,” says Roger Hawken, Hawke’s Bay Division Manager, Worley.

“A single point of overall project reporting to Rockit and other stakeholders was essential for Rockit management to get one coherent update of progress, cost, risk and schedule.”

Worley has been involved in this project since 2018, but was more recently engaged in a formal project management capacity in 2019. Ferdie Enslin, Senior Project Engineer, became involved in the project in early 2020 and took over as Project Manager several months later.

“One of the reasons the project was such a success was the fact we were able to work with Rockit from the early stages,” says Ferdie. “This helped define the scopes of work and the commercial mechanisms. It also allowed us to tailor the skills and expertise of each party that would be involved in the project delivery.

“We have found through working in the local market over the years what the particular strengths of each party are, we try not to put scope onto a contractor that is not in their sweet spot.”

Although Rockit grows apples, it is more like an FMCG business because the product – a Rockit™ apple – is sent from the facility in consumer packaging similar to a chocolate or muesli bar.

Worley’s project team involved several local project engineers and a cost controller, all of who required lots of face time with Rockit and the contractors.

Roger says COVID-19 brought some real challenges to the project.

“These were mitigated in part because we were able to revert to working from home quickly, and because the various contracting entities worked together as one team to progress the project.

“This was a really interesting project for us. We are proud to be part of this great success story for Rockit. Having a hand in the plant starting up on time and on budget was very satisfying.”

Worley delivering both globally but locally

Worley delivers project and asset services for the energy, chemicals and resources sectors in New Zealand and around the world. It also provides expertise in engineering, procurement and construction, as well as consulting services.

Worley has been operating in New Zealand for more than 40 years (previously as Transfield Worley and WorleyParsons) with customers in the infrastructure, food and beverage, industrial, minerals, metals, chemicals and hydrocarbons sectors.

Nationally, Worley has a team of more than 1,000, comprising 350 employees and 700 contractors operating from six offices throughout New Zealand.

In Hawke’s Bay, Worley has been developing, maintaining and building manufacturing and processing plants for over 20 years. These projects have included wineries, food processing, pet food, pulp, lumber, fertiliser and bottling plants, and wastewater treatment, biofuel and infrastructure facilities.

“We often get involved in projects at the concept stage when our customers have an idea but need help to develop the scope, cost estimate and schedule, and to identify and manage risks to progress the project to a viable business case,” says Roger.

“We focus on plant, equipment and machinery, from concept through to construction and commissioning, integrating specialised equipment into production processes. Our projects often involve buildings, however our core strength is in complex manufacturing and processing industries, and end-to-end project management.

“We are backed by the world-class expertise, systems and processes of Worley’s global business.”

When describing design and build, Roger says it’s a “unique offering where we take on full responsibility for a project before the detailed design has even been completed. This is often under a commercial environment where profit is shared based on our performance – be it cost, schedule, safety or plant performance.

“We often find our clients prefer this model over traditional lump sum or straight reimbursable,” he adds. “This is because the risks and rewards are shared between us and the customer. And a successful outcome for the customer means a good outcome for us.”

Leaders in Automation for food procesing

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MHM Automation designs and supplies automated systems for food processing. They understand the challenges processors face and develop solutions to deliver better quality product with improved food safety and reduced reliance on manual labour.

The company is recognised as a technology leader, with its equipment installed for some of the world’s most prominent names in dairy and meat processing.

For primary processors of cheese, MHM Automation provides complete line automation from the cheese tower to palletising, including the BetaVac vacuum packing system and Milmeq cheese cooling tunnel, renowned for its reliability and simplicity of operation.

For primary processors of meat and fresh produce, they offer complete line automation from packing to palletising. Equipment includes AiCo carton erectors, lidders and closers, and Milmeq chilling and freezing tunnels or Milmeq plate freezers for fast, energy-efficient freezing.

For secondary processors, the H&C reverse packaging system is the only one of its kind, providing complete process automation at the front end of the processing line. Functions include de-palletising, de-cartoning, de-bagging and defect detection. Integrated vision systems allow for variability in product shape and size.

MHM Automation’s point of difference is their ability to develop custom solutions in response to each processor’s needs and integrate them within the existing production line. The partnership with Rockit is an example of this approach.

Tasked with increasing the throughput at the Rockit apple packing plant, MHM Automation reviewed the existing operations and identified tube filling as the first priority task to automate. A product development process followed, including design, prototyping, testing and proving and then fine-tuning before producing the final machines now installed at the plant. Their work with Rockit continues, with focus now turning to automating the orientation and placement of apples onto the infeed conveyor, prior to filling the tubes.

From its offices across New Zealand and Australia, MHM Automation supplies food processors around the world. The company has a significant presence in the Hawkes Bay, with its centre of excellence for packaging and reverse packaging systems in Hastings (historically Haden & Custance) employing 55 staff in the region.

Talk to one of their industry specialists about how automation could benefit your processing operation and get your plant future-ready.

CR Automation raises the bar in post-harvest performance

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CR Automation is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with as a post-harvest engineering specialist.

Founded in 2002 as an automation contracting company CR Automation has a track record of supporting local and international businesses in post-harvest produce handling, water & waste water, food & beverage, and manufacturing.

CR Automation director Peter Richards says in 2016 CR expanded into Turnkey Solutions with the establishment of a team comprising of mechanical design, project management, robotics, automation, electrical design and a dedicated team of highly skilled assembly engineers.

Since then CR has undertaken post-harvest food processing projects for Taylor Corp, Malbec, Mr Apple, Mt Erin and now Rockit Global.

CR was the principal contractor for the fit out of the just completed Rockit packhouse and responsible for engaging a range of trade based contracting companies as partners.

The team lead by John Mitchell CR’s Engineering Manager spent over 14,000 hours since May 2020 on the design and equipment fit out of a state-of-the-art apple sorting and packing facility, as well as software development and controls systems to automate the cool storage facility at Rockit.

“The new production facilities plant equipment layout was designed by our industry specialists. We relocated everything from the former packing facility in Cooper Street, Havelock North, refurbished and modified it as well as providing new equipment to the larger packing area footprint”.

“We then developed all the supporting control system software and other vendor equipment interfacing providing a user-friendly computer-based operator interface”.

The logistics team were challenged with overcoming the longer lead times for sourcing equipment and componentry due to COVID19.

However, no hurdle could get in the way of a commitment to the client of having the packing facility ready for the first Rockit apples to be picked in early February.

“The challenging timeline required a huge effort across the team which was well recognised by the client. Our management team kept moral high throughout the project under tight timelines which was excellent”.

“The team at Rockit, were excellent to deal with throughout the entirety project”.

Rockit Global chief executive Mark O’Donnell says as the main plant integrators “CR Automation worked very hard to hand over a plant that worked from day one under a tight schedule.”

Peter Richards says CR Automation is held in high regard for its automation expertise which has been complimented by assembling a team of industry experts providing confidence in undertaking a project of this significant scale.

In 2019 leading fresh fruit labelling and packing innovator Jenkins Group, which has a significant presence in the Bay’s horticulture sector, took a 50 percent stake in CR Automation.

Peter says the two companies, with the same family values came together to deliver a range of automation services to post-harvest operators across Australasia keen to enhance efficiency, meet compliance needs and overcome labour shortages.

Peter says the project tested CR’s talented team of multi-discipline engineers and designers, but it’s given them further confidence after its successful completion and added to their track record of taking on a project lead role.

“Our driver is to have close relationships with our customers and working with them to understand their business removing barriers to process automation so they can reduce cost, improve reliability, increase production capacity, and improve the health, safety and wellbeing of their workforce.”

To find out more about CR Automate visit
www.crautomation.nz

Think smart, Work Smart

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Think Smarter, Work Smarter is the call to arms at Kinetic Electrical and when it came to its role on the new Rockit post-harvest facility, this proved to be the case.

Kinetic Electrical managing director Darren Bambry went to the front line of the project to ensure the tight deadlines were met, stepping up as the lead electrical design and project manager.

Darren says it was all hands on deck as the team worked on three parts of the project simultaneously: as the electrical subcontractor for the cool store system install; as the general electrical installer of all the power, switchboards and lighting; and on the packhouse install alongside CR Automation.

In addition to this the Data, CCTV and Access Control solutions were provided in collaboration with the Kinetic Data and Communications franchise.

Despite losing 5 weeks install time due to COVID19 level 4 lockdown, the deadline of December 1 for the refrigerated cool store didn’t move as it needed to be ready in time for ripe apples.

Rockit Global chief executive Mark O’Donnell says, “Kinetic Electrical have repeatedly delivered across several work fronts to get the project completed to deadline.”

Kinetic Electrical – innovative but simply effective

Darren says the business provides solutions from design to completion that are innovative where it’s appropriate but always simply effective – electrical solutions that efficiently and successfully meet clients’ needs.

Kinetic Electrical has established systems of scheduling existing jobs, quoting for prospective work and maintaining customer relationships, combined with a local well-trained, knowledgeable team of qualified personnel that provides a responsive, value-for-money service.

‘We strive to add to clients’ projects by combining and contributing our experience and understanding of industry technology and applications across a broad range of electrical applications.

“To make our service even more efficient, our nationwide network of Kinetic Electrical businesses can provide comprehensive and quality service to a varied client base – commercial, industrial, rural and residential. This way, our clients can be assured of prompt attention, quality advice and practical, productive solutions.

In 2009 Darren created a franchise business model that now boasts a network of 27 businesses from Kaitaia to Gore. He says the aim is to grow to 35–40 franchises.

“I could see the benefits of building a stronger brand that provided new businesses owners to leverage our existing reputation.

“There’s also greater buying power and sharing of knowledge, and it gives electricians the opportunity to own businesses but tap into a range of support services including business administration and marketing.

“Some of us are very good electricians but that doesn’t always translate to being good at every area of operating a business. It’s also opened up opportunities for each franchisee to secure work that they might not have been able to secure.”

Each Kinetic Electrical franchise has the ability to draw on the individual and collective expertise within the group.

Darren points to recent water projects including the new pump station in Haumoana. The project was won via the Kinetic East Tamaki branch in Auckland, as it had a relationship with the lead contractor business, but the work was done by both East Tamaki and Hawke’s Bay.

Whether it’s collaboration within the group or with other local firms where there’s synergy, Darren is optimistic about the future.

Website: www.kinetic-electric.co.nz

The right structure for project success

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At Red Steel, it’s all about creating efficiencies to ensure deadlines and budgets are met.

Since 2002 Red Steel managing director Bob Hawley and his team have honed their processes and focussed on increasing production from their Pandora workshop.

Red Steel has developed streamlined processes within its supply chain, introduced smart software to track all projects, and invested in equipment that enables a turnkey project solution.

Red Steel started work on the project in August 2019 in the very early stages of the construction of the 20,600m2 post-harvest facility for Rockit Global.

The state of the art facility in Irongate was predominantly built of steel. In fact the building is made up of 33, 346 pieces of steel, which span a total of 57 kilometre and weighing 1012 tonne!

Red Steel managing director Bob Hawley says it’s been one of their major projects over the last year with the majority of the 39 strong workforce of detailers, fabricators and site crew involved in the project.

The steel was transported to the site and put together using 23,425 bolts. Working to a tight construction programme we staged our on-site activities to allow follow-on trades to commence work as we progressed down the building.

Bob says the Rockit project is the second largest food processing facility they’ve been involved with and he’s particularly proud that it was all done in house.

“We started on the project very early with our detailers working alongside the engineer consultants Strata Group, who did the design and by being involved early enabled us to tweak details, which made it more cost effective.”

“A job like this is about repetition. We love repetition as we get efficiencies going  that benefits all involved.

Detailing has been at the forefront of Red Steels quality procedures since it was brought in-house 15 years ago.

The business has gone to the next step introducing machinery on the shop floor that “talk” to the detailing software – parts are now cut, marked and drilled by machines that receive their instructions directly from software programmes removing the need to print drawings and risk human error when manually completing these tasks.

The latest machine is a PeddiWriter which adds layout marks on steel sections removing the need for fabricators to manually measure and mark out where items are to be welded together.

Only one other fabricator in New Zealand has a Peddiwriter, and they’re in the South Island.

Red Steel has some major projects on the go both in Hawke’s Bay and in Wellington.

Hawke’s Bay projects include the new large format retail centre in Taradale Road – The Crossing and a new multi-story apartment living and retail building in Ahuriri on the site of the former iconic NJ Price Building. Red Steel has also started on the HB Regional Aquatic Centre at Mire 10 Sports Park.

“There’s a lot of work in the pipeline and it’s exciting to be part of building landmark structures in the Bay.”