Kia Ora , 

This week, It is with great pleasure that we extend a warm welcome to Forsyth Barr as a Bronze Partner of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce.  

I am delighted to welcome Forsyth Barr as a partner to our Chamber. We are looking forward to their continued involvement in the Hutt Valley business community. Forsyth Barr brings with them a legacy of trust and expertise, and we believe their participation will be an invaluable asset to our members.

Forsyth Barr Lower Hutt opened in the late 1980s; they’ve been Chamber members since 1993. They have been helping New Zealand investors for over 85 years. Since 1936 New Zealanders have put their trust in their ability to help them grow and manage their wealth. They are proud of what they have achieved for their clients during that time and remain a NZ and staff-owned, independent business.

Let’s make the most of this incredible opportunity!

It’s great to have you on board as a Bronze Partner Forsyth Barr.

A Huge Thank you to all our Partners for your continued support.

In this edition of the Hutt Valley Business Weekly:

• Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (Delivering RiverLink) Updates
• National News
• Regional News 
• Hutt Valley Manufacturing & Innovation News
• Featured Events

• Member News

• Member Offers

• Employment Opportunities

First sod turned on Te Awa Kairangi/Melling!

Last week Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi – Delivering RiverLink celebrated the start of the Mills St stopbank construction upgrade between Melling Link Bridge and just north of Mills Street. 
 
A sod turning was held on site, with Infrastructure Minister and Hutt South MP Chris Bishop, Daran Ponter, Chair of Greater Wellington, Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry, representatives from iwi Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Greater Wellington, Hutt City Council, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, AECOM, Fletcher Construction, and local residents in attendance.
 
The construction of the Mills Street stopbank is an important milestone, as the existing stopbank in this location currently has the lowest level of flood protection in the area. Construction work will commence this week (from Monday 26th February) through to early October 2024.
 
To ensure the safety of the community during construction, the Hutt River Trail and recreational area will be closed between Melling Link Bridge and Kennedy Good Bridge. The shared path on the other side of the river (western side) is still open in its entirety. 
 
The existing stopbank between the Melling Link Bridge and Mills Street currently has the lowest level of flood protection in the area, for a 1 in 65-year flood event protection (in any year there’s a 1.5% chance of a flood that size happening). The upgraded stopbank will be largely in the same location as the existing stopbank but will be approximately 1.5m higher, allowing more water to pass safely during floods. It will also provide flood protection during the subsequent construction of the new bridges as part of the wider Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi project. This construction and other ongoing enabling works (geotechnical and site utilities investigations), make sense to deliver early where possible.
 
When all of the works under Te Awa Kairangi programme are complete, the Hutt Valley will be protected from a 2,800m3/s flood or a 1 in 440-year flood event including for future climate change (with a 0.2% chance of a flood that size in any year).
 
Within the construction area of the stopbank and in the vicinity of the Connelly Street Substation is where Maraenuku pā once existed. It is important that we recognise the history of the area and acknowledge the significance of Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River to iwi Taranaki ki Te Ūpoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. The river is a taonga and treasured ancestral river, central to the life of Māori and the people of the Hutt Valley. 
 
The project continues to move forward in the Interim Project Alliance Agreement  (IPAA) phase. This phase involves a detailed review of the consented design, and improving it where feasible, to allow the partners and the Alliance to progress an affordable project, that represents good value for money. As part of this phase, they’re reviewing design, scope and cost. The team are currently undertaking a value engineering exercise and looking for cost benefits, this is not unusual for this stage of such a large and complex project. This phase has been extended to enable every aspect of design and scope to be considered.

To find out more, please visit the project website, https://teawakairangi.co.nz/our-projects/our-projects/mills-st-stopbank, follow the project Facebook page or subscribe to their eNewsletter.

National News

The following news is provided to keep our business leaders up to date. 

Government to address business payment practice

The Government will repeal the Business Payment Practices Act 2023, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly announced today.

“There is a major problem with large market players imposing long payment terms and routinely paying invoices late.

“However, the Business Payment Practices Act is not an effective solution and would impose unnecessary compliance costs to over 3000 businesses upgrading their ICT systems."

“Furthermore, small businesses can already find out which companies are late payers through a credit agency at minimal cost.

“The Government will be requiring government agencies to adopt faster payment times, including for eInvoices, which will support business cashflow and encourage the growth of eInvoicing.

“We will also work with BusinessNZ to create an industry-led voluntary code to ensure small businesses are paid on a more timely basis.

“As a Government we are committed to supporting businesses and getting the economy growing faster.”

Regional News

Hutt Valley Manufacturing & Innovation News

Leading the way in water storage for a manufacturing business

Leda, based in Upper Hutt, is one of Australasia’s most experienced manufacturers and suppliers of extruded plastic product to industry. Their products are used by customers from around the world.
 
Sustainability and the environment are a key part of their business and Leda take this seriously not only because it is the right thing to do, but also it makes business sense to. There focus on the environment includes involving their staff in designing processes that ensure their plastic materials are managed effectively, and recycled material is used where they can. 
 
Leda have aligned with “Operation Cleansweep” which is a Plastics NZ (and International) initiative to limit any plastics entering our waterways and marine environment. 
 
Water is a key part of the Leda manufacturing process. As the possibility of water restrictions become a real possibility Leda are grateful they installed two large water tanks at their site to store rain water that can be used in their manufacturing process.
 
‘We installed the tanks as part of our business continuity planning’ said Richard Latta, Managing Director of Leda. ‘We were able to get a sustainability grant that was available from the Upper Hutt City Council at the time that helped with the costs. But actually, the tanks have paid for themselves very quickly. The ROI was about 2 years from the savings we made on our water rates.’
 
Libby Clout, General Manager and responsible for the day to day running of the Leda business says that ‘the tanks fill up really quickly during rain even though we are only collecting water from about one quarter of our roof space. They are an invaluable part of our manufacturing, and certainly our water costs would be much higher without them.’
 
Leda still use city water for helping to cool the tank water, particularly in the summer months. They also rely on the city water for their food grade manufacturing. 
Whilst the water tanks are a key part of the environmental and sustainability focus for Leda it is not they only focus areas. Libby leads the team to:

• Ensuring we source environmentally suitable materials for our processing that match our finished product application.
• Ensuring all materials we use can be recycled via our internal recycling program. Mich of this is used in further manufacturing.
• Working with staff to ensure our plastic materials are managed effectively and are disposed of without entering our national waterways.
• Ensuring that we are energy efficient with our machinery and supporting infrastructure.
• Implementing a regular maintenance program and audits to identify and resolve environmental waste, such as air leaks, heat loss and electrical inefficiencies.
• Utilising external recycling services for paper, cardboard and packaging to reduce waste going to landfill.
• Working with the team to educate, develop and maintain a culture of sustainability.

Leda always welcome questions about what they do. You can connect with Libby on 04 528 3020

Featured Events

Member News

Myriad Engineering is Under New Ownership

Exactly 19 years to the day that Mark and Fiona Wilson assumed ownership of Myriad Engineering, the reins have now been passed to local couple, Jayden and Ashley Jessup.

While this marks the end of the Wilson era, it is the beginning of Myriad Engineering’s next chapter, with some exciting innovations in the works by these new owner/operators.

Member Offers

For More Offers:

EMPLOYMENT

Are You Hiring?

If you have a job suitable for a student, get in touch with our Education to Employment Coordinator at Hera@hvchamber.org.nz or call 04 9399821.

Thank you to all our Partners

As always, special thanks to all our Members and Partners for your ongoing support.