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What’s Been Happening in our MAKE│NZ Community
• Last night we took our Fireside Chat on the road to Hamilton Jet. There we were able to listen to Andy Wells from Sunergry and Steve Lockhart from Hamilton Jet, as they walked us through the process of installing solar on their newest building. With power prices the way they’ve been, and with the way they’re looking to go, understandably alternative and easy access power is something that’s starting to become front of mind to some. While it was great to hear from the Sunergy team about what the process has looked like from their end and what it looks like as an end result, one of the particularly interesting parts of the evening was something people rarely want to talk about.
What lessons they learned – what was harder than it needed to be, what could’ve been done differently, and what would be the plan when doing this again.
Lucky for us, Steve values sharing knowledge among manufacturers and doesn’t mind sharing the nitty gritty from time to time. In fact, he was willing to share with us a whole power point slide of lessons learned:
A key take away, that relates to a lot of the above, was contractors. Accepting that some things can be done in house, but some you need an expert. As Steve said, “We build jet engines, we don’t build buildings”. Of course, you can never be certain who you get, even if you ask around, so the trick is not only getting in contractors but making sure to keep up with everyone involved. Keeping up with different parties – especially as many as are needed to build a whole new factory building and install solar on it – is a lot like juggling. It’s important to keep each ball moving to make way for the next ball, and you definitely can’t expect the balls to start flying in the air without staying involved yourself.
2 weeks… will we see you in Auckland?
We’re helping kick off EMEX 2026 with our full day conference.
Delving into AI, Industry 4.0 integration, robotics and human‑robot collaboration, future‑ready skills, and workforce upskilling, we’re covering a range of presentations and case studies.
Hear from range of presenters such as:
- Dr Jan Polzer (Faculty of Engineering and Design, Auckland University) running an interactive workshop on Industry 4.0
- Scott Adams (Argon & Co) presenting on human robot collaboration
- Dion Orbell (Buckley Systems), Nathan Hay (Argus Manutech), Kayne Mulcahy (Mulcahy Engineering) on the human capital challenge, with an interactive workshop
- Natalia Galin (Galin Engine) Charlie North (Dawn Aerospace) Josh Down (ENI Manufacturing) working through Start Ups
- Dean Boston (FEWORX) running a Q&A on matching capital and opportunity
- Richard Rookes (MHM Automation, Wyma Solutions) Philip Benson (AW Fraser) presenting an interactive workshop on amalgamation and agglomeration
You can find the programme, special discounts, and more HERE
News From The World of Manufacturing
•In the Prime Minister’s interview with John Camplell on RNZ yesterday (Monday) morning, the Prime Minister said the following: “We are putting more support behind trades training, which is important because we think there is lots of good programmes that we think are working well for us …” This was in connection with the decision to scrap the Fees Free scheme which meant that “Eligible tertiary learners can receive up to $12,000 towards their final year of study or final two years of work-based learning. Fees Free aims to motivate learners to complete their qualification or programme and reduce the overall cost of their study or work-based learning.” The removal of the support scheme in the FY2027 budget means that that students completing their tertiary studies this year will be the last ones eligible for Fees Free.
It will be great to hear more about the increased support for trades training the Prime Minister mentioned – hopefully to be announced shortly in the FY2027/28 Budget. The only other thing we could find that would support the PM’s claim was the decision – announced in November 2024 – to extend the Apprenticeship Boost programme to 2028; that programme covers apprenticeships in trades relevant to manufacturing.
•You may remember that a while back (Tuesday Top-UP #70) we reported on the fate of an SME in Southern Germany, Mayer & Cie, specialising in the manufacture of high-performing circular knitting machines for the global garment industry. The company couldn’t compete any longer with lower-priced offers, especially from China, and decided to fold. Now the company has been rescued last-minute by a takeover from one of its Chinese competitors, Huixing Machine Co., Ltd in Shishi, Fujian Province, China.
As the story goes, Xu Hongjie, 32, a member of the family behind the Huixing group, learned about the fate of Mayer & Cie during a business trip to Italy in December last year. Being in the same line of business – circular knitting machines -he had been well aware of Mayer & Cie and their high-quality machines. He changed his travel plans and went straight to Germany, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Production will be resumed in May, albeit with much-reduced staffing levels, starting at 130 employees, down from 300 previously. Nor will these employees enjoy the same terms and conditions as before. Wages will stay on the same levels as before, but weekly hours will increase from 35 to 40, and there will no longer be additional holiday and Christmas allowances. On the other hand, a company that was definitely going to disappear altogether from a small town in Germany where it was a major employer, will now be up and running again.
When German Chancellor Friedrich März in February this year demanded that German workers needed to work longer hours and have fewer holidays in order to improve productivity in the German economy, his comments were received with strong protest … and that’s not because Mr März got his facts wrong – one doesn’t improve (labour) productivity – usually measured in GDP per hour worked – by working more hours, you just increase output.
The acquisition itself was met with a mixed response locally. According to a report in the FAZ, a Leading German newspaper, the local mayor quoted misgivings and suspicions in the local population: “Do the Chinese just want to get hold of superior German technology before they then shut the business down for good?” The mayor himself said that after meetings with Mr Xu, which he went into “with a mix of curiosity and without any prejudices” he felt (cautiously) optimistic about a secure future for the business in the long run.
Within the German business community, where acquisitions of leading technology companies by Chinese competitors are not unknown (Kuka robotics, for example), there was more resentment in some corners, along the lines of “First they push them out of the market with the help of unfair trade practices, then they pick them up for a song ” – the price Huixing group paid for Mayer & Cie has not been disclosed publicly, by the way.
But there are other voices, too. The knitting machines that used to be manufactured by Mayer & Cie were highly sophisticated technically and of superior quality, but at a cost – €75,000 on average. Competing offers from China, among others from Huixing Machine Co., Ltd, are available on Alibaba for about 15% of the price last charged by Mayer & Cie. The argument is not that the two are technically equivalent, the question is about meeting market demands. Can companies that are in the ultra-low-price and ultra-fast-fashion garment business justify spending that much money on their knitting machines?
The argument is not that the two are technically equivalent, the question is about meeting market demands. Can companies that are in the ultra-low-price and ultra-fast-fashion garment business justify spending that much money on their knitting machines?
The products-not-fit-for-market lesson is one that has been equally painful for German car manufacturers in the Chinese market.
In that context, an interesting comment along similar lines from Andreas Mindt, Head of Design Volkswagen Brand, on the occasion of presenting the new VW ID ERA 9x at AUTO CHINA 2026:
“We are designing these cars with input from our Chinese engineers and we are learning lots in the process; we are learning to manufacture at lower cost. How can we focus our investment on design features that the customer actually notices. That’s the big topic for us. There are other design features where we used to ‘hide’ advanced design features that most customers will never become aware of. So, we need to transfer our investment focus from those features to the ones where it really matters. … This car will go on the market in China at a price of around €40,000, and we’ll still be making a profit at that price.” [an equivalent vehicle in the European market would be about €65,000].
So, no more “Vorsprung durc h Technik”, no high-tech suspension elements, more snazzy interiors for German cars designed for the Chinese market …
Other news of interest to manufacturers
•Just a brief note in case there is some confusion about this recent release by MFAT [Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]: “On 4 May 2026, New Zealand and Singapore signed the Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies (AOTES).
AOTES will be incorporated into our existing bilateral Free Trade Agreement with Singapore and will commit both countries to not imposing export restrictions on an agreed list of goods.” That – in itself – is clear enough.
However, the current concerns about supplies of diesel, petrol, and jet fuel, for which suppliers located in Singapore play an important role for New Zealand, may have contributed to misunderstandings that was nurtured further by less-than-clear communication from our government. The headline of the relevant release from the Prime Minister’s office reads: “NZ and Singapore agreement protects fuel supply.”
It does no such thing!
The correct statement follows immediately after that: “New Zealand and Singapore have today signed a major agreement to protect the movement of essential goods such as fuel and food.” Words do matter, and our politicians (should) know that. Protecting the movement of something that has already been released for supply is different from protecting [and implicitly guaranteeing] the supply itself.
As it stands, the government of Singapore has no control over the supply of fossil fuels and petrochemical products refined in the country. Singapore’s oil refining and petrochemical base is dominated by multinational firms such as ExxonMobil and Shell (now owned by the Chandra Asri-Glencore joint venture), and those companies operate major refining and chemicals assets in Singapore. The government-owned investment fund Temasek does have minority holdings in energy and chemicals through portfolio investments, but the industry is not organised as a government-run national oil sector in the way some other countries’ sectors are.
What the Singaporean government could do is impose restrictions on the export of fuels and/or petrochemical products to New Zealand. Why it would want to do that is another question, given that between 85 and 90% of the crude oil refined in Singapore is re-exported. However, the AOTES Agreement would prevent the imposition of such a restriction.
The situation is mirrored in New Zealand. Apart from Pamu, the government does not own any significant primary industry assets, and Pamu itself is a minor player in meat and dairy farming. And New Zealand exports the vast majority of its primary products, so why would it restrict its exports, in particular to a long-standing ally like Singapore?
The list of products covered by the AOTAS Agreement is comprehensive on both sides. For New Zealand, it’s pretty much everything produced by our primary industries, and for Singapore it’s all things hydrocarbon and a fairly comprehensive list of pharmaceutical products, machinery and equipment, etc. For details please refer to the appendix of the AOTAS Agreement
Fun Facts (some of them not so funny)
•Good news: On a recent road trip to Cromwell and back levels in the hydrolakes we passed appeared to be quite low – but the numbers tell a different story: all at or close to long-term average levels:
•More good news, at least for the US – as The Economist reports, Productivity Levels are going from strength to strength:
Labour productivity outside the farm business sector is consistently above long-term forecasts made by the Congressional Budget Office [CBO], and GDP growth correspondingly also exceeds those forecasts:
Growth in labour productivity has been consistent recently and started well before what could be associated with the impact of AI:
And an industry-by-industry analysis does show the highest growth rates for the information industry, which covers areas from software and telecoms to publishing and film-making, but that growth has been equally high well before the arrival of AI as it has been since 2019:
Note also the absence of growth in labour productivity in the manufacturing sector over the most recent period recorded. That corresponds to a decline in labour productivity in New Zealand for manufacturing overall of minus1.4% for the period 2020 to 2024. There is, however, significant heterogeneity in that data across sub-sectors that we’ll report on in more detail in next week’s Tuesday Top-Up.
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