A Kiwi Original

What do you spray on a natural crop to keep the pests away? That has been a local source of frustration in New Zealand for hort and pest control…because many are toxic.

New Zealand and Australia are big markets for Pelgar and food producers and growers are demanding less toxic or less harmful products according to Pelgar's Asia Pac Manager Gerwyn Jones.

"We’ve seen a change with people looking for NZ Grown and NZ Made products and we thought, ‘why not’ there’s a demand for it.”

“With Covid, we’ve got issues with supply chains, I think everyone has, trying to get products into the country. Shipping products from the UK, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand is taking longer.”

“I thought why not produce a locally grown product in Hawke’s Bay with natural pyrethrum for the pest control and horticulture industry.”

Natural pyrethrum is the answer, yet until two years ago, a New Zealand Grown source wasn't available.

Now it is, thanks to Greg Duncan at Pyrethrum New Zealand in Hawke's Bay, and Pelgar is meeting the demand with NZ Grown pyrethrum that isn't at risk from costly shipping via international and variable supply chains.

Horticulture and pest control now have a locally grown pyrethrum sources thanks to Pelgar. New Zealand Grown chrysanthemum has some magical properties that Gerwyn Jones from PelGar International spotted could make it an ideal natural alternative to some of the existing in-market options.Ryan Jennings speaks with Asia Pacific Business Manager Gerwyn Jones about the company and the possibilities this new insecticide will bring for New Zealand horticulture and agriculture sectors.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Chris Holt talks about moving into starting his own business after 21 years and what happened next. Office furniture was one of many product ranges in the 90's and when they realised this could be a solid line of business they began to specialise.

You may not have heard of Accent because they've never sold direct and only sold branded product from 2012. 1,800 desks and cabinetry supplied. Accent has serious skill.

In the second half of the episode, Ronnie Holt shares what he's working on with the team to bond the operations team with the sales team including an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) that helps with alignment. They also talk about how they give back to people in need via the Rapid Relief Team where Police are going into difficult situations and are able to give back thanks to Accent.

There’s some excellent lessons in here about commitment to client, getting internal alignment and keeping deadlines.

KEY TIMESTAMPS

01:45 Chris Holt – The origin of Accent

05:59 A shift in the company's focus

10:06 The relationship with the reseller

12:36 The right attitude

16:04 What the future holds for Accent

17:17 Ronnie Holt – A typical week at Accent

19:15 The vision for Accent

23:04 The process

30:23 Adapting to a post-pandemic market

33:38 Giving back to the community

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Closing the doors on concerts worldwide, was a fiasco that a company called Fiasco felt first-hand in 2020. In a heartbeat... they had to decide... what business are we in now?

Joe tells us about Fiasco’s early days then goes in depth on how he dealt with the pandemic shifting from event cases to working from home desks…and the steps he took to keep his company alive.

Watch The Interview

Show Notes

01:03 The origins of Fiasco

03:51 Splitting manufacturing between local and offshore

07:49 Increasing productivity through standardisation

10:58 The effects of the pandemic on the industry

16:14 Adjusting to a post-pandemic world

23:21 Going forward: Applying lessons learned in the pandemic

28:55 The future is in NZ manufacturing

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

This week I'm joined by Phil Rasmussen from Kiwiherb, a Phytomed company brand. Phil is an experienced herbalist with more qualifications than letters in the alphabet. His decade as a pharmacist led him towards the magical world of plants where Phytomed have been making a range of herbal medicines for health practitioners since the late 90's.

We also talk about the export barriers that New Zealand's absence of world class regulations causes and why Phytomed works actively with achieving certifications recognised overseas.

"I've been a huge advocate for better regulations in New Zealand for the natural health product industry, since I got involved more than 25 years ago because you need regulations that are globally recognised, if you want to create a vibrant and lucrative export based industry."

Listen to the story to hear why New Zealand might have an advantage in growing herbs, what Phil learned growing up on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

Show notes:

01:19 Growing medicinal plants in New Zealand

04:51 The uses and benefits of Kawakawa

10:31 How Phil became interested in medicinal plants

15:12 Barriers to export

18:42 Embracing Regulation

22:29 Biotechnology vs natural health products

27:35 What makes a great herbalist

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

A must watch for home renovators! Plastercraft is New Zealand's largest producer of fibrous plaster products for the building industry. This interview takes place at their Auckland manufacturing HQ where they handcraft specialist fibrous mouldings for projects such as Sylvia Park, The Langham Hotel, Auckland Art Gallery, The Supreme Court in Wellington.

In the first part of the interview, Shaun discusses the Plastercraft’s focus on quality and customer satisfaction and their capability to build and customised fibrous plaster solutions for nationwide installation.

Sandra McKain - Plastercraft 2000 Managing Director

In the second part of the interview, Sandra Mckain shares a very personal story about have to run the business on her own this year. Sandra knows plaster craft like no other and talks through in detail about the manufacturing process, why Sandra is excited for the future and adding the New Zealand Made Kiwi trademark to their fibrous plaster products.

KEY TIMESTAMPS

01:03 Shaun Mckain – Applications for Fibrous Plaster.

02:15 Design options

03:10 Recent projects

07:03 Maintaining quality

08:10 Focusing on the clients' vision

09:38 Sandra Mckain – Residential clients and their needs

12:09 A typical week manufacturing fibrous plaster products.

15:00 The manufacturing process

17:20 The origin story of Plastercraft 2000 and the touching story Sandra taking over running the whole business.

21:08 What’s next for the company

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Anne-Marie talks about the ways in which Hally Labels interacts with their customers and discusses modern labelling solutions including the shift to intelligent labels, and enhanced environmental label standards.

“We are helping customers portray their brand, their passion and their product on the packaging. We get a chance to work with customers closely and share their enthusiasm and passion for their products. That’s a really good part of the job.” Anne-Marie Sutton - Hally Labels.

Anne-Marie knows her product specifications, label treatment types and when to use what packaging styles. Hally Labels has had production capability in New Zealand since 1965 and Australia since 1998. Our chat took place at Hally Express in Auckland - their specialist production site when a fast turnaround is critical to supporting New Zealand manufacturing.

KEY TIMESTAMPS

01:03 Hally Labels’ place in the industry

02:28 Collaboration with the customer

08:43 Trends within the industry

10:28 Facilitating product security through labelling

18:08 Hally Express & digital labelling solutions

23:05 Hally Labels' products in the wild

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Daryl talks about the first year of his steel fabrication business, Legacy Steel, and its place within Auckland’s building industry.

Watch the interview:

LINKS MENTIONED

Legacy Steel

KEY TIMESTAMPS

01:03 The origin of Legacy Steel

04:23 The first twelve months

07:17 How steel fabrication sits within a building project

10:26 The team behind Legacy Steel

13:41 Recognisable projects

17:11 Joining NZ Made

20:31 What the future holds for Legacy Steel

Kristy and Daryl at Legacy Steel.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Dustin talks about the family-owned business DZine Signs. From the birth of the company in 1997 through industry changes and into today’s sustainability-focused market.

We also talk about a key transport contract with Metlink Wellington, which has enabled dZine to create signs that work better with our built environment, help passengers get from A to B during disruption and shift dZine Signs into permanent signs with remote controlled messaging that can update at the press of a key.

Digital transformation is here and it’s affecting every industry and companies like dZine Signs are at the forefront.

Watch the interview.

LINKS MENTIONED

DZine Signs

KEY TIMESTAMPS

2:25 DZine Signs as a one stop shop

5:09 Transportation wayfinding signage

10:09 The birth of DZine Signs

10:48 Changes to the industry

11:55 Advice for businesses looking to re-brand

17:30 DZine Signs is a family-oriented business

19:50 Sustainable signage

23:05 Metlink signage

26:53 Joining NZ Made

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

We go beyond the well trodden farm fencing origin of Gallagher Group as Mark Junge Global GM Security shares his insights into the security and control systems that have become somewhat of a growth rocket-ship for the company.

We talk about the kinds of security solutions being exported around the world, what they’re used for, how they’ve thought deeply about the needs of specific industries and the products they’ve now rolled out for government agencies, universities, utility companies and high security locations and infrastructure.

LINKS MENTIONED:Gallagher SecurityCase StudiesKEY TIMESTAMPS:1.30    Gallagher’s origins and expansion into security and control systems4.05    Automation and Integration of systems5.15    University solutions9.06    Technology improvements for security guards11.01   R&D and Market strategies15.15   Compliance with Governments17.22   Internal management and business units20.22   Bidding and partnering on projects22.27   Global offices23.27   How many staff Gallagher have globally24.37   Fuel Vaper solutions25.42   Working for Gallagher27.39   Challenges, growth and priorities31.36   Plans for 2021

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Sophie discusses her business Ahhh Bodycare including what she's learnt after acquiring the manufacturing part of the business off of her employer. Sophie also shares the key insights her team taught her about how to make bath bombs, and the ways Sophie is getting Ahhh premium soaps out to market including going from contract manufacturing to direct to consumer with their own brand called Ahhh. We also discuss why she joined New Zealand made initially and the difference it’s made.

Love this chat with Sophie about what she loves doing and hope you will too.

LINKS MENTIONED Ahhh... BodycareKEY TIMESTAMPS3.39        What Sophie learnt about manufacturing8.02        The benefits of solid form moisturisers8.56        The secret to making a great Lip Balm8.58        Getting products out to market, getting sales and traction11.52     Why Sophie joined NZ Made14.38     Her advice for starting a business

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com