Happy New Year, 

I hope you all had a fantastic start to 2023. We are in for a big year, and with an election nearing, we will be taking the opportunity to engage with you all in person to hear your views and develop our election manifesto, so keep an eye out for more details. We will also be hosting a procurement seminar. These seminars will be an opportunity to connect with Government procurement managers and hear about the upcoming pipeline of work as well as what these managers are looking for. The date is likely to be the 10 and 11th of May, but we will keep you posted with more details as they come!

Ngā mihi,
Josh

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector saw the same level of contraction in December that it experienced the previous month, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for December was 47.2 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was the same as November, and meant the last quarter of 2022 ended in contraction for all three months.

BusinessNZ’s Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that the December result showed little in the way of a move towards expansion, and again mirrored offshore movements. New Zealand manufacturers may need to brace for a challenging 2023 ahead.

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Beauty clinic chain Caci has brought manufacturing of its skincare brand Skinsmiths back to New Zealand after a tumultuous few years of international supply chain disruption.

Skinsmiths was originally made in New Zealand but in 2017 moved manufacturing of half its products to South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland.

But after striking logistical issues getting product here, Caci began returning all manufacturing back to Auckland in November.

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Come along to this sense-making workshop to hear from New Zealand’s award winning and leading expert on work-related mental wellbeing, Dr Hillary Bennett, from Leading Safety. This invite-only workshop is a practical, applied and manufacturing specific opportunity to unpack:

* What mental wellbeing really is
* What that means for businesses and their leaders
* The benefits of improving mental well-being for your workers and your business performance (as well as the consequences of not)

We will also cover practical steps to support you to improve the mental wellbeing of your people – whether starting or continuing your current journey.

Read more ->>

Cyberattacks are on the rise, with major data breaches making the news here in New Zealand and worldwide.

But well-covered incidents involving corporations, medical facilities, and government agencies are only part of the story. Small businesses are also facing increasing cybersecurity risks.

“Small businesses are often more vulnerable to a cyberattack than they realise,” says Sean Craigen, Head of Distribution for SME insurance platform BizCover.

“You often hear, ‘I’m too small for hackers to care about,’ but that’s unfortunately not true. Businesses of all sizes are targeted by billing scams, viruses and other malicious events that can seriously impact their operations—and possibly even put them out of business.”

Read more ->>

The EMA is pleased the Government has dedicated another $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by recently flooding.

Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says the upper North Island where the worst of the damage is exactly where its 7,100 business members are.

"Our business members and community find themselves in a terrible situation where unprecedented weather conditions have endangered lives and destroyed property, livelihoods and infrastructure."

"They need all the help they can get, and it makes sense to provide local communities with funding to help with the clean-up work in the first instance," he says.

Read more ->>

For updates on BusinessNZ advocacy and for the latest Advocacy Update, BusinessNZ's advocacy newsletter, have a look at the new advocacy the website here.

Don’t forget to check out our contract manufacturers directory if you are looking for contract manufacturing support or you are wanting to advertise your services.

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