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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Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Vice President Kamala Harris met at the White House and jointly reaffirmed the strong and deep relationship between the United States and New Zealand, based on shared values, people-to-people ties, and cooperation across a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global challenges.
The Prime Minister and the Vice President welcomed the completion of negotiations on the bilateral Space Framework Agreement, which will be the foundation of our already robust civil space cooperation in the years ahead. The Framework will underpin the two nations’ cooperation including in: space science, earth science, sustainability, education, and technology. The Prime Minister and the Vice President reviewed the growing space partnership between the United States and New Zealand, including in supporting space exploration and taking action on climate change. They looked forward to future exchanges between the two countries.
The Prime Minister and the Vice President agreed on the importance of establishing and upholding international rules and norms to promote the peaceful, sustainable, and responsible use of outer space. They agreed that our two nations will work together to uphold and strengthen a rules-based international order for space and that we will work constructively with commercial industry, allies, and partners, and through multilateral fora to support the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities.
The Prime Minister and the Vice President discussed mutual efforts to combat violent extremism and radicalisation. They condemned recent mass shootings in the United States, including in Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde, and agreed that we all must stand up against hate and violence.
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
New Zealand and California have signed a cooperation deal on climate change, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced in San Francisco today.
The Memorandum of Cooperation, signed during a meeting with California Governor Gavin Newsom, will facilitate the sharing of information, experiences and research in reducing emissions as well as working together on projects that are good for the climate.
“Taking action on climate will secure our environment and our economy, so it makes sense to partner with allies in this shared problem,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“We both aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. This agreement means we’ll work together to share expertise and experience and collaborate on projects that help meet each other’s targets.
“As the fifth largest economy in the world California will be a significant player in the global low-emissions transition and an important partner in our efforts.
“We each have comparable broad-based plans to emissions reduction, and know it will take every sectors of our economies playing their part.
“As a result we both have ambitious policies for zero-emission transportation on land and sea, energy innovation, clean power generation, nature-based solutions and zero waste initiatives.
“The agreement provides a framework for cooperation across a range of sectors including on zero emissions vehicles, energy storage and smart grids, emissions trading schemes, and climate smart agriculture.
“Transport is California’s largest source of emissions and New Zealand's second largest, so this is an area where there is the potential for real gains from cooperation.
“Likewise agriculture plays a significant role in each of our economies and emissions profiles. Gains here can be both good for business and the planet.
“No country is immune from the impacts of climate changes, so it’s just common sense to collaborate with likeminded partners to meet mutual goals,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“This month, Aotearoa New Zealand launched its first Emissions Reduction Plan - a blueprint for a climate-friendly future. International engagement, like this agreement with California, will play a key role in driving domestic decarbonisation and achieving our climate targets,” Minister for Climate Change James Shaw said.
“Just as New Zealand will need access to new technologies, New Zealand businesses will find new opportunities in a net-zero world and this agreement also unlocks the potential for private sector innovation and collaboration.
“In Aotearoa New Zealand we intend to continue leading by example, but the fight against climate change is a truly global effort, and only through cooperation will we deliver our shared goals and build a safer, better future for everyone,” James Shaw said.
Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
After three failed attempts at staging the 2021 AmCham - DHL Express Success & Innovation Awards due to COVID lockdowns, AmCham was able to celebrate some amazing success stories with the USA at an event last night in Auckland.
Despite all the supply chain issues over the last year, exports of goods to the USA were up 8.5% at $7.02 billion and imports were up 22.9% to $6.36 billion.
Exports of technology and services continue to grow with more than half the entries for the awards coming from tech companies. On top of this we have seen over $17 billion of new US investment in New Zealand in announced in the last year, most of it in the tech sector.
Commenting on the 2021 AmCham-DHL Express Success & Innovation Awards, Mark Foy, Managing Director, New Zealand & Pacific Islands, DHL Express, said “As a leading innovator in the tech industry, Seequent has established itself with successful growth into the USA market. With focus on continuous improvement and market research, it is great to see their success and DHL congratulates them on this award.”
Seequent is a New Zealand success story, having grown from one employee in 2004 to 173 New Zealand staff and a total of 430 globally by mid-2021. The Judges were impressed with the level of technological brilliance and dedication shown by the team of this Christchurch based tech company.
The company’s rapid growth culminated in its sale for around NZ$1.5bn to US company, Bentley Systems in 2021. This sale makes Seequent one of the latest billion dollar “unicorn” to emerge from the New Zealand high tech sector – hopefully a precursor of many more to come.
The winners were:
Exporter of the Year – under NZ$1m – Auror Ltd Exporter of the Year – NZ$1m to NZ$10m - TRG Natural Pharmaceuticals Ltd Exporter of the Year – over NZ$10m – Seequent Ltd
Investor of the Year to or from the US – Bentley Systems Inc, for their investment in Seequent Ltd Bilateral Service Award with the USA – Media Design School
US Company of the Year – Microsoft New Zealand Ltd
The AmCham Women’s Chapter Committee of Sarah Weersing (Chair), Jeanne Cheesman, Jo Finer, Katie Sleeman and Cynthia O’Neill won the 2021 AmCham Supporter of the Year award.
In addition to AmCham’s lead awards sponsor DHL-Express, the awards are also supported by ANZ Bank, Ironside McDonald Intellectual Property, media partner The Business and wine supporter Constellation Brands.
At the event AmCham launched the 2022 AmCham-DHL Express Success & Innovation Awards.
American will return to New Zealand in October with daily service between Auckland and the airline's largest hub in Dallas/Fort Worth.
After more than two years of suspended service, American Airlines is returning to New Zealand in October with a daily flight between Auckland Airport (AKL) and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
The seasonal service launches on October 29 and will operate until March 25, 2023 and will sharpen competition across the Pacifics.
"We are thrilled to relaunch service to New Zealand in October, connecting Auckland with our Dallas/Fort Worth hub and offering our customers an unmatched network in the US and beyond," said José A. Freig, American's vice-president for international.
"With Auckland returning to our network, we continue to strengthen American's Asia-Pacific footprint."
The return of American boosts New Zealand's links to North America and is part of a strong recovery in airline activity.
Air New Zealand is restoring its US services and in September starting a new one from Auckland to New York, Air Canada is returning over summer and from July Hawaiian Airlines will relaunch services between Auckland and Honolulu.
American Airlines has an alliance with Qantas and will provide added competition for Air NZ across the Pacific.
The American Airlines service will operate with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Before suspending service in March 2020, American operated a seasonal service between Auckland and Los Angeles.
American is one of the world's biggest airlines and through Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) provides access to more than 235 destinations around the world.
This northern summer, the airline will offer more than 800 peak daily departures from DFW, including service to all of American's other hubs and dozens of other popular destinations in the US, Europe and Latin America.
Auckland Airport's general manager aeronautical commercial Scott Tasker said the confirmation that American Airlines, in partnership with Qantas, will restore its New Zealand link means five airlines are offering connections from Auckland Airport to eight non-stop destinations across North America over the summer period.
"Not only is this great news for New Zealand travellers but also provides an excellent option for North Americans looking to spend time in New Zealand. Many US households have travel at the top of their lists for a post-Covid splurge and are seeking out destinations that connect them with nature, offer meaningful travel experiences, and have managed well through the pandemic. New Zealand ticks all those boxes," Tasker said.
Besides moves by Air New Zealand and the return of Air Canada and Hawaiian Airlines, LATAM is back providing the only link between South America and Australia and New Zealand.
"It's been a couple of years since we've seen some of these tails lined up outside the international terminal, so it is wonderful to begin welcoming them back," Tasker said.
He said the connections were important for New Zealand's prosperity.
Every Boeing 787 Dreamliner touching down daily on average contributes $157 million in tourist spending a year and carries $500 million worth of freight over a 12-month period.
A total of five airlines flying to/from Auckland from/to North America will offer 60 flights a week over the summer period.
Auckland will be connected to eight non-stop destinations to North America during summer 2022/2023; Dallas Fort Worth DFW, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York, Honolulu and Vancouver YVR.
Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Multi-billion dollar US food delivery service DoorDash has chosen “New Zealand’s foodie capital” Wellington as its entry point into the country’s growing last-mile delivery market.
The e-commerce operator has gone live offering deliveries from a range of vendors, including local and national food outlets, and has also lined up convenience and speciality stores for the platform with more categories “coming soon”.
DoorDash was offering companies 0% commission for the first 30 days, but in general, pricing could range from anywhere between 10% and 30% commission depending on the service provided.
The company said it was operating in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt from today with Porirua and Johnsonville soon to follow.
Local Wellington food and beverage merchants signed include Mama Brown, The Ramen Shop, 1154 Pastaria, A Taste of Home, Zany Zeus, and Boneface Brewing, with national brands including Hell Pizza, Nando’s, Subway, Tank Juice, Taco Bell and Burger Wisconsin.
The company, which had a valuation of US$60.2bn when it listed on the US Stock Exchange in 2020, followed other aggregators into the New Zealand market including Uber Eats, Delivereasy and Menulog, which is the local arm of Dutch giant Just Eat Takeaway.
Menulog launched in New Zealand with a commission rate of 14% per delivery on the self-delivery service, rising to 30% for the full order and delivery service.
Supermarket delivery services are also competing for delivery dollars, with Foodstuffs teaming up with Uber Eats and Geezy Go crossing the ditch from Australia to set up in Auckland.
“We can’t wait to bring DoorDash to more places in New Zealand as we strive to connect more communities one doorstep at a time,” DoorDash general manager of Australia and New Zealand Rebecca Burrows said.
“We’re thrilled to offer locals unprecedented access to the restaurants, cafes and food spots they love, not to mention a growing number of retailers offering groceries and convenience items – everything from hair products to pet food.”
DoorDash entered Australia in 2019 and said it now operated across 85% of Australia with more than 40,000 local drivers.
Source: https://www.foodticker.co.nz/
On the eve of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trade mission to the United States, New Zealand has joined with partner governments from across the Indo-Pacific region to begin the next phase of discussions towards an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).
The Framework, initially proposed by US President Biden in October 2021, aims to deepen regional economic integration and boost economic cooperation to create a more prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific.
“New Zealand and the wider region will benefit from deepened economic engagement by the US, and I’m pleased that President Biden has driven this initiative forward,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“As the world recovers from COVID-19 it is critical that trade and economic links are opened up and structures are put in place to provide greater security against future shocks.
“The Indo-Pacific region is of the utmost importance for New Zealand’s strategic and economic interests. We see this Framework as an opportunity to enhance our strong partnerships with major regional economies as we continue to reconnect with the world.
“This initiative, as a non-traditional agreement, will provide new channels of collaboration in ways not limited to trade. In particular it will support collaboration on climate action, and will be designed with a focus on sustainability and inclusivity, principles that are fundamental for New Zealanders.
“This work sits alongside our comprehensive trade and growth strategy, that includes unlocking the full benefits of the CPTPP, securing a free trade deal with the European Union and supporting businesses to grow exports across markets,” Jacinda Ardern said.
Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O’Connor said “I’m pleased to see that some of the most pressing issues facing the global economy will be discussed further between IPEF partners, including harnessing the digital economy, decarbonising our economies, making our supply chains more resilient, among others”.
Further discussions amongst participating economies will take place in due course to flesh out the details of the Framework.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework statement launched by participating leaders can be found here.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is leading a trade mission to the United States this week as part of the Government’s reconnection strategy to support export growth and the return of tourists post COVID-19.
The Prime Minister departs Monday evening and will be accompanied by Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor and business leaders from technology and tourism firms as well as innovative food companies Silver Fern Farms, Fonterra and Zespri.
“New Zealand’s relationship with the United States is one of our most enduring and significant. This mission will feature political and security engagement as well as tourism and trade promotion,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“A big focus of the trip will be supporting business linkages and technology partnerships with US innovators that have the potential to accelerate New Zealand’s sustainable economic recovery.
“The United States is our third largest trading partner and is our largest market for services. US firms are planning multi-billion dollar investments in cloud computing capability in New Zealand which will unlock big growth opportunities for digital exports to the world and we want to see more of that.
“We’ve seen very positive growth in our exports to the United States, with an emphasis on high value products, such as digital services.
“The United States is a sophisticated market where New Zealand’s clean, green and sustainable brand attracts a premium, both for our food and beverage products, but also our technology and innovation services.
“The US was our third largest tourist market for arrivals pre COVID-19, and with travellers planning their visits months before coming in the New Zealand summer now is the right time to be visible in the US market letting American’s know we are open for business and travel.
“The United States relationship is fundamental to us in political and security terms too. In a world of increasing challenges, we need to work closely with friends who share our values, so this is an important trip to be making right now,” Jacinda Ardern said.
The Prime Minister will visit New York, Washington DC, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle.
In New York, the Prime Minister will call on the United Nations Secretary General. She will meet editors of leading tourism publications, meet with investors hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce and attend a launch event for sustainable meat exports.
In Washington the Prime Minister will meet senior members of the Senate.
In Boston the Prime Minister will be the commencement address at the 371st Harvard Commencement ceremony.
In San Francisco, the Prime Minister will meet the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.
“California is world leader in green technology. This technology will be essential to New Zealand’s ability to meet our carbon emissions reduction targets. My meeting with Governor Newsom will be an opportunity to discuss ways in which we can work closely together on combating climate change.
The Prime Minister will also meet top technology executives from Twitter, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft to discuss investment, skills development for New Zealanders in the tech industries, digital cooperation and to further Christchurch Call objectives.
The Prime Minister will depart New Zealand on the evening of Monday 23 May.
Over the last 6-8 weeks a team of Villanova University (PA) students have been working on a research report - Digital Free Trade Between the USA and New Zealand.
Their recommendations were: Given the considerations laid out above, our analysis has indicated that New Zealand should sign onto the IPEF modules once released in order to facilitate and prioritize a digital trade agreement between New Zealand and the United States. The priorities of both parties seem to align under a non-traditional trade agreement, which eases the passage process significantly, while also allowing both parties to benefit from an extended range of stakeholders. IPEF marks US leadership on a rapidly developing trade issue, especially within the Indo-Pacific region in which it wants to expand relations to counter China’s active role. As the United States is not currently participating in the current trade frameworks operating within this area such as RCEP, CPTPP, and DEPA, it appears paramount to advance a timely and comprehensive agreement such as IPEF to ensure continued US presence in the area.
For New Zealand, the IPEF seems to cover the areas of trade, particularly in the digital realm, that our findings demonstrate the need and desire for. Given the increasing role that digital trade will play in a more technologically enabled global economy, the IPEF format ensures flexibility in an evolving area as characterized by “partnership” trade arrangements. Additionally, with a digital focus envisioned to be embedded within each module, reflective of the far-reaching role it has for trade relations, it also benefits New Zealand as areas such as labor and the environment will be specifically addressed. The Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors Acts, better known as the Kiwi Act was signed into law in 2018, eases visa challenges for NZ workers traveling to the US to work. As such, being a member of IPEF and other US led agreements would deepen both diplomatic and trade ties between the countries if NZ wanted to pursue an even more extensive bilateral digital free trade agreement in the future.
The read the full report Digital Free Trade Between the USA and New Zealand
Our thanks to all who contributed to the report.
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