Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of Bede Corry as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States.
“Mr Corry is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most senior diplomats. His appointment reflects the importance New Zealand places on our engagement with the United States,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
“Last month the Prime Minister and President Biden met at the White House to reaffirm our shared commitment to work together, and with others, in pursuit of peace and stability and in defence of the international rules-based order. The leaders released a statement that mapped out ways to further advance our 21st-Century Partnership.
“The United States is a critically important partner in the Pacific. It is a Dialogue Partner for the Pacific Islands Forum, and we have pledged to work together to build resilience to climate change in the region.
“This year marks 80 years of formal diplomatic relations with the US and the anniversary of our first envoy, Walter Nash, presenting his credentials to President Roosevelt. The relationship has benefitted both countries and our region,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
Bede Corry is currently New Zealand’s High Commissioner to London. He previously served on the Ministry’s Senior Leadership Team for six years, as Deputy Chief Executive Policy, and as Deputy Secretary for the Australia, Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Europe Group.
Mr Corry was also New Zealand’s Ambassador to Thailand and has served in Canberra, Washington, and London, and as a Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Corry will take up his role in September 2022.
Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
A new initiative for more effective and efficient cooperation in support of Pacific Island priorities
The Pacific Islands region is home to nearly a fifth of the Earth’s surface and many of its most urgent challenges, from the climate crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic to growing pressure on the rules-based free and open international order. It was in this context that the Pacific Islands Forum, the premier driver of regional action, committed to organize its members “as one collective if we are to address our increasingly common challenges.” As our countries—Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States—continue to support prosperity, resilience, and security in the Pacific, we too must harness our collective strength through closer cooperation. To that end, our governments dispatched high-level officials to Washington, D.C. on June 23 and 24 for consultations with Pacific Heads of Mission and other partners, including France, as well as the European Union in its observing capacity. These meetings followed discussions with Pacific partners, including with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat; they remain ongoing, including with other partners engaged in the region. Today, our five countries launched an inclusive, informal mechanism to support Pacific priorities more effectively and efficiently: thePartners in the Blue Pacific (PBP). This new initiative builds on our longstanding commitment to the region. Australia and New Zealand are of the region and members of the Pacific Islands Forum; Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States are founding Dialogue Partners. Our countries maintain close people-to-people ties to and are longstanding development partners with the Pacific Islands, reflected in our combined $2.1 billion in development assistance for the region. We are united in our shared determination to support a region that benefits the peoples of the Pacific. We are also united in how we realize this vision—according to principles of Pacific regionalism, sovereignty, transparency, accountability, and most of all, led and guided by the Pacific Islands. With these principles at its core, the Partners in the Blue Pacific aims to:
At every stage, we will be led and guided by the Pacific Islands. We will seek Pacific guidance on the PBP’s selection of its lines of effort and its flagship projects. In meetings in Washington, including at Blair House, our governments and Pacific Heads of Mission discussed diverse areas in which to deepen cooperation, including the climate crisis, connectivity and transportation, maritime security and protection, health, prosperity, and education. We commit to continuing to engage with Pacific governments as well as with Pacific-led regional institutions, particularly the Pacific Islands Forum; we will align our work with outcomes from the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Suva, Fiji. Later this year the United States intends to invite Partner countries’ foreign ministers to convene and review our progress. Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
Nelson Eddyline Brewery has called in a carbon capture expert from the US to address both a shortage of CO2 plaguing New Zealand as well as improving its sustainability credentials.
The family-owned business is investing “hundreds of thousands” of dollars to install the technology developed by Earthly Labs, which will allow it to capture and reuse its carbon dioxide CO2 emissions.
It will be the first craft brewer in New Zealand to import the system, which is more commonly used in the US.
Although the original driver was to minimise Eddyline’s carbon footprint, the closure of the Marsden Point refinery in March and subsequent squeeze on domestic CO2 supply was the catalyst required to get the deal over the line, Eddyline’s market expansion manager Adam Tristram told the Ticker.
“This gives us a competitive advantage by reducing our carbon, but it also shores up continuity of supply for CO2 which is the lifeblood of the industry,” Tristram said.
Typical breweries produce excess CO2 during fermentation that is not captured but rather vented into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. Then they will buy fossil-fuel-derived CO2 for their production and packaging needs, venting this again into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.
Earthly Labs’ technology captures waste CO2, refines it and makes it ready to reuse in brewing and packaging processes.
It has miniaturised the carbon capture technology that has long been reserved for large-scale brewers, making it affordable for craft players like Eddyline, which produces around 200,000 litres of beer a year from the former Pic’s peanut butter building in Stoke, where it is based.
The brewery, which was started by US ex-pats Mic and Molley Heynekamp in 2018 and now employs a further five people, has around 20 different beers in production and is sold in on-premise and off-premise channels across the country.
Its single 440ml cans and four-packs are sold in liquor stores including Liquorland, Super Liquor and Henry’s as well as around 50% – 60% of Foodstuffs stores in the North and South Island.
It added Countdown in September last year, starting with its core range of three single SKUs and in May this year launched its four-packs to now have distribution in around 103 out of 187 Countdowns.
Eddyline founder Mic Heynekamp said the investment, along with a centrifuge process to reduce its water use and soon-to-be installed solar panels, would ensure the company’s carbon footprint is as minimal as possible.
Source: https://www.foodticker.co.nz/
A California connection has New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) leaders positive they can top the more than $105 million in sales this year.
The company has formed a partnership with a Silicon Valley technology platform called Actual to tap into some of its smartest innovation and technology brains.
This will be woven into NZM’s model of long-term contracts, "storytelling" and premiums through its ZQRX programme with brand partners such as Smartwool, Allbirds icebreaker and Reda.
The aims include creating more value for farmers from their carbon responsibilities and to help shoppers buy woollen garments that last longer.
The joint venture was launched earlier this month at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and California Governor Gavin Newsom under a pohutakawa tree in San Francisco.
NZ Merino executive John Brakenridge was a delegate in the prime minister’s trade mission to the United States.
He said Silicon Valley tech companies were masters of machine learning and Actual’s input could be in the form of predictive models on farms that might show a need for more planting or shifting stock.
The positive environmental impact from these tools to monitor and measure their carbon footprint would help brand partners gain higher premiums from the marketplace. This would incentivise farmers to lower their carbon emissions and increase their biodiversity, he said.
He said woollen garments showing substance, traceability and low impact were in tune with the United States where environmental, social and corporate governance was now written into legislation, he said.
"We are super excited about the whole interest in agriculture and technology and getting some of the smartest people to lean in and support our farmer group.
"Farmers are coming under increased pressure for compliance and so forth and overlay that with carbon, so this is a way to bring this together that is a real use to growers."
Mr Brakenridge said much of the carbon approach to farming was through compliance and a "taxation mindset", but the joint venture would work to create opportunities.
He said more value would be added from differentiating the joint venture partners’ brands from others in the marketplace.
"I’m determined to [improve] the sales of our brand partners running with ZQRX of over $105 million and we are investing in it.
"We think this is the way of the future and will continue to seek substantial growth not only for fine wool but mid-micron and strong wool."
Actual co-founder Karthik Balakrishnan said the initiative would provide steps so farmers and their brands could improve their sustainability and impact on the planet.
New Zealand Merino’s network of fine wool, mid-micron and strong wool farmers now owns a land base of 2million hectares — just under 15% of New Zealand’s pastoral farmland.
Mr Brakenridge said Californians appreciated the scale of this land area and also believed the way of the future was not through an adversarial approach.
There was a movement towards slow fashion and natural fibres, he said.
"People are coming out of this [Covid-19] period and are being far more considerate in their purchasing within the United States. "
On average, garments were only worn seven times. Globally, textiles were the second largest polluter behind oil and gas.
"Buying garments, and a huge amount is synthetics, and throwing it away after seven uses with all these microplastics is not the way forward," Mr Brakenridge said.
Shoppers would be better off by buying fewer low-impact garments and wearing them more often.
New Zealand Merino says its wool accounts for about 15% of the country’s supply, but is worth 43% of the value of this country’s wool clip.
Source: https://www.odt.co.nz/
Facilitating greater economic connectivity between the United States and the Indo-Pacific has never been more important. In this pandemic era, with a rapidly developing digital landscape, geostrategic risks on the rise and with the forces of integration on the retreat, building concrete means to benefit our domestic economies through international collaboration with other high trust economic and political ecosystems should be at the top of our agenda. Commercial interests are inseparable from strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, and the United States needs a forward-leaning economic approach in a region that is home to 60% of humanity and nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy. While participation in the IPEF does not preclude or replace membership in regional trade architectures like the CPTPP, for the IPEF to be most effective we urge the United States and other IPEF members to put all incentives on the table – including those that may require closer consultation with Congress. That is the best way to achieve the most meaningful benefits for American businesses, workers, and consumers.
Done correctly, the IPEF presents a significant opportunity to forge more resilient global supply chains, high-standard digital rules of the road, and energy transition outcomes that will drive prosperity on both sides of the Pacific. Small and medium-sized enterprises especially stand to benefit from trade facilitation commitments that will increase the ease of doing business across borders in the region, particularly in the digital space. Global crises continue to illustrate how business disruptions can drive up costs and securing supply chains at critical Indo-Pacific hubs can preemptively shield consumers from these price shocks. A robust framework that addresses these issues, many of which have come into sharp relief in the past six years, can stand on its own as an important contribution to regional economic integration. American Chamber of Commerce in Australia American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia American Chamber of Commerce in Japan American Chamber of Commerce in Korea American Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam US-ASEAN Business Council US Chamber of Commerce US-India Business Council US-Korea Business Council US-Japan Business Council
Adding feature-rich sales CRM to its suite of PropTech solutions
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND – 16 June 2022 – Global PropTech leader, MRI Software, has entered into an agreement to acquire New Zealand-based PropertySuite, an innovative, cloud-based PropTech solution that integrates relationship management, print and digital media and marketing management, and transaction and financial management into one platform for real estate agencies.
Nearly two decades since its founding, PropertySuite’s single, comprehensive platform is now used by more than 4,000 residential, commercial, rural and project marketing real estate professionals across Australasia to consolidate disparate systems, reduce duplicative efforts, and automate manual processes. The company’s long cultivated client base includes some of New Zealand’s largest and most well-established agencies.
David Bowie, Managing Director and Senior Vice President (Asia Pacific) for MRI Software says the intent to acquire PropertySuite highlights MRI’s driving dedication to making life easier for modern real estate agencies grappling with extraordinary change.
“There’s definite demand from real estate agencies in this region to digitise and take advantage of the promises of web-enabled automation. The beauty of PropertySuite is it was designed and built specifically for the New Zealand market, so it has a long legacy of delivering the value clients in this market expect.
“Our goal is to offer powerful, easy-to-use tools that agencies of any size, sector, or location – be it city or rural – can access to unlock growth. The innovation embedded within PropertySuite is world-class, particularly its media publishing, marketing tools, and full website design solutions. It’s remarkably easy to use, mobile friendly, and intuitive, which our clients will love,” Bowie said.
Michael Graves, Managing Director for PropertySuite says, “MRI’s open and connected ecosystem resonates deeply with our own philosophy. In fact, PropertySuite already integrates with more than 250 third-party solutions, helping deliver increased scalability, operational simplicity and ease-of-use for agencies. Our industry-specific solutions and market strength will only be enhanced with MRI’s 50 years’ experience in real estate software and innovation. It’s an absolute coup for our clients and team to have this opportunity to join our best-in-class solutions with MRI’s global development, customer service and support resources to accelerate our product innovation throughout the region.”
MRI also acquired Palace and WhosOnLocation, leading providers of New Zealand property management and workplace management solutions respectively, in March of last year. Today’s announcement further demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to delivering tailored solutions and increasing value for clients of all sizes in the growing market.
Palace and PropertySuite clients will immediately benefit from the existing integration. The acquisition is expected to be finalised later this month.
Source: https://www.mrisoftware.com/
Company-X is acknowledged as one of the Top Tech Companies of 2022 by ExportNZ. Co-founder and director Jeremy Hughes was presented with the award at the 50th anniversary celebration of ExportNZ at Zealong Tea Estate, Hamilton, on June 9, by ExportNZ director of advocacy Catherine Beard and Employers and Manufacturers Association board member Colin Birch.
Company-X was nominated by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise because of its growth through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Company-X supplied software and hardware that enabled clients teams to work from home and provide remote assistance to team members or clients still in the field.
During the pandemic Company-X won a Reseller News Innovation Award for Voxcoda, a software as a service solution that turns text into humanlike voices, and the Best Professional Service Innovation Award at the Hamilton Central Business Association CBD Awards.
Members of the Company-X team won the Women in ICT Awards during the pandemic and the Microsoft Most Valued Professional Global Skills Challenge.
"I’m honoured Company-X was recognised with this award and feel extremely proud," Hughes said.
"For me it’s confirmation of our amazing team and the fantastic work they've been doing."
Company-X co-founder and director David Hallett added: "Our team has successfully navigated the headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic, winning awards and achieving growth. It’s wonderful to be recognised for this."
Company-X offers world-leading software savvy delivered with a can-do attitude.
Founded in 2012 by software specialists David Hallett and Jeremy Hughes, Company-X immediately won contracts with New Zealand government departments and a US multinational.
The team has grown to more than 50 New Zealand-based software specialists, with only the best and brightest passing the Company-X interview and assessment process.
The Company-X team prides itself on experience in a wide range of technologies and languages and loves challenging problems.
Company-X ranked on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ Asia Pacific, a list of the fastest-growing technology companies in the Asia Pacific region, in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
About Company-X
Alimetry, a medical device and digital healthcare company, today announced it has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for Gastric Alimetry, a pioneering non-invasive medical device for aiding the diagnosis gastric disorders. Alimetry also announced today the launch of Alimetry Inc., a subsidiary based in Minneapolis, MN, that will market and distribute Gastric Alimetry in the United States.
“Gastric Alimetry is an industry-first and genuine breakthrough in gut diagnostics.” said CEO Greg O’Grady, a Professor of Surgery and co-founder of Alimetry. “Alimetry’s unique technology harnesses the power of stretchable electronics, wearables, digital health, and cloud-based analytics to deliver a completely non-invasive solution. We are thrilled to announce FDA’s clearance of Gastric Alimetry, making this new test available to millions of Americans suffering from chronic gastric symptoms”.
The Gastric Alimetry test is performed in a clinical setting. Recordings are taken before and after a meal, while patients simultaneously log their symptoms into the Gastric Alimetry App. The system performs a high-resolution recording of digestive patterns from the skin surface and delivers clinical reports via the cloud to inform the diagnosis of gastric diseases and support personalized therapy.
The system is indicated for common stomach disorders including nausea and vomiting, gastroparesis, and functional dyspepsia, affecting over 8% of the world’s population, and costing billions of dollars in healthcare expenses.1,2 The test is also currently available in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
“Diagnosing gastric symptoms has been a deeply challenging clinical problem.” Dr. O’Grady said. “Existing tests are frequently unreliable and inconclusive, and patients may undergo months or even years of testing – often costly, invasive, or involving radiation – only to end in confusion and trial-and-error care. Gastric Alimetry is a game-changing tool that will bring improved clarity to field, enabling enhanced clinical outcomes, and safer, more accessible, and less-invasive care.”
Gastric Alimetry is the result of a decade of world-leading science and innovation by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, engineers, designers and scientists.
“FDA clearance of Gastric Alimetry cements Alimetry’s path to leadership in gastrointestinal wearables and non-invasive diagnostics.” Dr. O’Grady said. “Alimetry has an outstanding pipeline of innovation and this is the first plank in a series of innovative new features and products that stand to transform care in disorders of gastrointestinal function”.
Gastric Alimetry will be available commercially from July 2022.
For more information on Gastric Alimetry visit www.alimetry.com
TOLEDO, Ohio & GISBORNE, New Zealand (BUSINESS WIRE) Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) and Pultron Composites announced today that they have signed an agreement to create a joint venture to manufacture industry-leading fiberglass rebar.
This agreement solidifies the companies’ commitment to provide more sustainable product solutions and higher performance concrete reinforcement products. It also increases market access to PINKBAR®+ Fiberglas Rebar used for flatwork and residential applications, and MATEENBAR™ Fiberglas™ Rebar used for heavy-load structural applications. Both products carry ACI, ASTM, ICC-ES, and CSA Grade III code compliance and are a suitable replacement for steel rebar.
Over the past 20 years, Pultron Composites has developed a leading fiberglass rebar production process, enabling the execution of substantial fiberglass projects.
“As we continue to pivot our Composites business to focus on higher-value material solutions, we expect growth in fiberglass rebar to be an important contributor to our strategic direction,” said Marcio Sandri, Owens Corning Composites President. “Joining forces with Pultron Composites combines our core glass-fiber material technology, expansive channel access, and extensive industry experience with Pultron’s manufacturing expertise and process efficiency. This significantly expands our market opportunities, providing additional capacity and exceptional service in the market.”
Over the past 20 years, Pultron Composites has developed a leading fiberglass rebar production process, enabling the execution of substantial fiberglass projects. Fiberglass products are playing an increasingly important role in the concrete reinforcement market and have the potential to transform the industry. Fiberglass rebar is up to seven times lighter than steel, driving greater shipping and labor efficiency, and is a proven corrosion-resistant reinforcement, extending the life of concrete which is particularly important when construction materials are exposed to the elements, such as in coastal areas.
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Owens Corning and leverage the respective strengths of both our companies to accelerate global adoption of fiberglass rebar,” said Jasper Holdsworth, Pultron Composites Chief Executive Officer. “This joint venture will enable us to obtain greater access to the global rebar market, including expansion in the United States.”
The North American rebar market is estimated to be approximately $9 billion, growing at an annual rate of about 4%.
Fiberglass rebar currently constitutes less than 1% of this market and has the potential to significantly grow over the coming years. Source: https://www.pultron.com/
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and US President Joe Biden met today in Washington DC where their discussions ranged from regional and global security, to trade and climate change.
“New Zealand’s relationship with the United States is one of our most enduring and significant. Today we re-affirmed this very very close relationship and our commitment to work together on a number of challenges our region and the world are facing,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“The meeting with President Biden came at a critical moment. We recommitted to working together, and alongside others, in the pursuit of peace and stability, and in defence of the international rules-based order.
“Personally it was a great pleasure to meet the President face to face despite the challenges Covid has presented on this trip. The determination from both sides to meet despite Covid’s curveballs reflects the strength of our relationship.
“Supporting Pacific resilience was high on the agenda, including the need to work with Pacific countries on climate change, Covid-19 economic recovery, and promoting peace and stability in the region. We welcome increased engagement by the United States in the Pacific, and together we will continue to respond to the Pacific’s own priorities.
“We also discussed the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). New Zealand is happy to join IPEF, but we do want it to be meaningful. We believe it can assist with the removal of non-tariff barriers and seed greater economic cooperation and integration.
“A key focus of the trip has been to reconnect New Zealand with the United States and to progress greater economic partnership for our businesses and exporters.
“While we recognises the domestic complexities in the US in terms of free trade agreements, I urged the President to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP).
“The CPTPP is the best way the United States can support the economic resilience of our region, so on that basis I encouraged the President to look at the CPTTP as more than a trade agreement.”
The leaders condemned Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, discussed the support that both countries have provided in response, and considered what further measures could be taken to bolster the diplomatic efforts.
“At a time when a UN Security Council member is violating the basic principles of international security, and the UN Charter, it is essential that New Zealand works with partners including the US to stand up to Russia’s aggression,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“New Zealand has made a significant contribution to the war effort. We will continue to support Ukraine in ways that best reflect our expertise.”
The Prime Minister also expressed her personal condolences to President Biden and to the American people for the tragedies in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.
“While in New Zealand we know we have more work to do on the issue of gun crime, we can share what we have learned through the changes we made to ensure the weapons most often used for mass killings, military style semi-automatic weapons, were quickly taken out of circulation,” Jacinda Ardern said.
The leaders pledged to continue their work alongside other governments, civil society, and the technology sector through the Christchurch Call to counter terrorist and violent extremist content online.
“The US is a critically important partner in this work and we look forward to demonstrating progress at the upcoming Christchurch Call Leaders’ Summit in September,” Jacinda Ardern said.
The leaders agreed to look for training and placement opportunities in both Aotearoa New Zealand and the US to support young practitioners in science and technology as part of our deepening digital technology partnership.
At the conclusion of the meeting the President and Prime Minister released a United States – Aotearoa New Zealand Joint Statement: A 21st century partnership for the Pacific, Indo-Pacific and the world. The Statement re-affirms and commits to advance the strategic partnership between the United States and Aotearoa New Zealand.
“With mounting challenges around the world; inflation and our Covid recovery, Ukraine, security in our region and climate change, this meeting has affirmed New Zealand and the US are of a like mind and there is significant scope for ongoing cooperation and collaboration that will benefit both countries and the world,” Jacinda Ardern said.
In a separate meeting with Vice President Harris, the Prime Minister and the Vice President welcomed the finalisation of negotiations of a Space Framework Agreement between the US and New Zealand.
“One of the most innovative developments in Aotearoa New Zealand has been the emergence of a world-leading space sector. In recent years, we have had the fourth highest number of launches, while New Zealand space companies and research institutes have made significant technology advances,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“We have the opportunity to further grow our cooperation with the US government as well as building other partnerships, such as with the Environmental Defence Fund in the MethaneSAT satellite mission for measuring methane emissions from space.
“We already have an exciting science, technology and education partnership with NASA. The Framework Agreement will pave the way to take this partnership to a new level,” Jacinda Ardern said.
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