Features - October 08

COVERSTORY John Key readies to push the button on manufacturing John Key, the Leader of the Opposition, outlines National's approach should they be successful. As noted previously: neither major party has a dedicated ministerial portfolio for manufacturing and engineering.read article

Engineering Workshop US manufacturers thriving and hooked on Rota-Rack The US banking and finance sector might be in crisis, but the biennial International Manufacturing Technology Show – IMTS 2008 "Connecting Global Technology" – has posted its strongest showing this century read article

Process Engineering Avoiding product recall Magnattack Magnetic Separators can remove magnetic or weakly magnetic contaminants from your product stream. The separators are used successfully in many food production and packing plants, to extract medium to large tramp iron, read article

Motors, Drives & Transmissions Linear motor X-Y base lowers the cost of building higher-throughput positioning systems A ready-engineered linear stepper X-Y positioning base is capable of dramatically increasing productivity in a wide range of machinery applications. read article

Pumps, valves & filters - High performance pumps for large particles Latest technology has given a range of industrial pumps the ability to handle recycled fluids with particles in suspension of up to 500 microns. read article

Plastics, Materials & Machinery - Dream it and scheme it Business ethics and a passion for perfection are what drives Active Plastics founder, Bart Engelsman, to deliver the best in products and services when it comes to the plastics industry in New Zealand. read article

Materials & Mechanical Handling - Productivity plus with overhead conveyor systems Incredibly powerful and efficient, overhead conveyors have applications in many industries – from simple paint-lines to complete on-line manufacturing and distribution centres. read article

Training, recruitment & apprenticeships - Global gypsies on the move Governments need to create better policy that maintains democracy yet balances sustainability, reduces/eliminates political correctness, welcomes creativity and reduces compromise read article

News - MPs endanger the nation with self-serving game of deception All the political parties are so
terrified at the mere thought of alienating the Green vote that they have outlawed any discussion, let alone debate, on anything to do with energy other than carefully green-laundered discussions read article

The Last Word - Recession-proof products will save the day in a downturn -John Cuddon : My advice to production engineering firms facing the kind of downturn that we faced in 1987; minimise overheads and cut back on borrowings. But if you wish to stay in business you have to do more than this.read article

News - What we want from the next NZ Government - We asked a cross section of industry decisionmakers to comment on areas that need addressing from the new Government.read article