Being in New Zealand, it is easy to sometimes think that we are alone in the world – cut off from the mainstream and doing things our own way. And to some extent that is true, we are geographically isolated, we don’t have a multitude of large corporations driving innovation and pulling our smaller companies…
Steel volumes being processed through industry are on the rise, which is a good indicator of activity. The statistics show us that after an almost 40% fall due to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) volumes have reached the peak before last which was in 2005 and are close to reaching pre-GFC levels. The impact of…
Following the establishment of the New Zealand National Group of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), Structural Systems General Manager Dr Stephen Hicks attended the IABSE Conference in Geneva in September 2015. The conference objective was ‘Providing Solutions to Global Challenges’, which was underpinned by following global themes: Climate Change and the…
As a past reviewer, Dr Stephen Hicks was invited to author a paper for the flagship journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Civil Engineering. Following its recent publication, details of the paper are given below. Eurocodes – Overcoming the Barriers to Global Adoption, by Dr Stephen Hicks In 2010 the Eurocodes replaced the equivalent…
The first ever Global Conference on Above Ground Geothermal and Allied Technologies (AGGAT) was held on 30th April 2015 in Auckland. Around 60 delegates registered for this conference covering a mix of industry, academia, field experts and government. The conference was divided into the following research themes, which also form the basis of the AGGAT…
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Those words were said by President John F Kennedy at his inauguration in 1961, and were designed to galvanize a nation to action through personal responsibility. After four years of effort and support by a lot of different people…
As part of the AGGAT program, the Heavy Engineering Education and Research Foundation (HEERF) offers scholarships to prospective university students undertaking postgraduate research related to the Heavy Engineering Sector. The AGGAT Program offers such opportunities through its research objectives in Clean Energy. This has often been a pathway of growth for our scholars into our…
Strattera, New Zealand’s voice of the minerals industry, keeps careful tabs on what’s happening globally in the industry, including reference to Deloitte’s “Tracking the Trends 2015” that identifies the top ten issues mining companies will face this year, some of which provide some useful insights for the New Zealand metals industry. One of these insights…
For the first time in New Zealand, the Above Ground Geothermal and Allied Technologies (AGGAT) program will be presented on an international scale. The date and venue for this conference will be on the 30th April at the Sky City Convention Centre in Auckland. The Conference focuses on above ground geothermal engineering, with an emphasis…
The Tiwa Point aluminium smelter operates if they can buy energy they need cheaply enough. That’s what it comes down to in a world of global competition and it’s the same here in New Zealand as elsewhere. Industry operates where it gets the best deal and the price of energy is often part of the…