Dieter Adam Dieter Adam has been leading the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) since May 2015. He is renowned for using his experience, skill and knowledge of innovation to support members in a volatile economic climate. He underscores that one of the ways the association has greatly assisted its members is through arranging peerto peer support opportunities. “A lot of what we do comprises facilitating member discussions on operational matters,” says Adam. “This noticeably improves the running of businesses. “Our Factory Floor workshops have been hugely successful in that respect.” Adam explains that, as an example, two workshops from the NZMEA’s ‘factory floor’ series were held on robotics and automation in Auckland and Christchurch in April and July. “They transferred knowledge effectively as to how to make use of latest robotic and automation technology to improve business productivity,” he says. “This success was evident in the excellent feedback the workshops received from NZMEA’s members.” Adam hails from Germany where he gained a PhD in plant biotechnology. He left Germany in 1986 to take up an academic position at the University of Waikato. He left academia for the commercial world 1994, flourishing in senior management positions with a focus on innovation and business development. He also acted as an innovation consultant in the biotechnology and agritech fields. More recently he worked in various roles at the NZTE, concentrating on international business development and food WHO'S WHO Eryn Kwon Eryn Kwon is a mechanical engineering PhD student in her final year at the University of Auckland. Her chosen area of research is forensic industry simulation models to aid forensic investigators as a result of the prevalence of violent shootings taking place around the world. This, she believes, will enable fatal gunshots to be investigated more effectively and efficiently. She points out that, to date, forensic scientists have primarily used animal models in their investigations; however, this hampers accuracy as animals have a different physiology to humans. “In view of this, I’m developing a computational model based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that simulates a gunshot on a human head.” Kwon explains that MRI is a diagnostic technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a detailed image of the body’s soft tissue and bones. “I believe my model will result in more accurate and reliable investigative conclusions as well as being more economical and efficient than prior models as everything required is processed in the computer, eliminating the need to manufacture or conduct experiments,” she says. She emphasises that her ideal in this regard is based on justice for victims. She says that since she can remember she’s had an interest in problem solving, leading naturally to an interest in forensics. “Add to that a lot of luck to stumble onto an engineering project of this calibre.” www.engineeringnews.co.nz 19 Derek Robertson Derek Robertson is the chief executive of Holmes Fire’s New Zealand business. After completing his studies at the University of Canterbury he practised as a fire engineer for almost two decades at Holmes Fire in projects spanning prisons, hospitals, and premium listed heritage restoration projects. He is currently involved in Christchurch city’s ‘anchor’ projects. He has also provided fire engineering consulting on major public assembly buildings in New York and the Middle East. In this role he became renowned for his breadth of experience in fire engineering, which is a relatively young discipline. This, in conjunction with his insight in identifying the real fire safety challenges of any given project, means that Holmes Fire is able to deliver innovative conceptual advice at the earliest possible stage, often well before formal plans are even drafted. It is this quality of input that make the company a trusted partner to building designers, owners and developers throughout New Zealand. During his eight-year tenure as chief executive, Holmes Fire has - while contending with a global financial crisis - achieved ambitious strategic growth to cement itself as the largest fire engineering firm in New Zealand. As an international business, the company has grown to be among the top five providers of fire engineering consulting in the world. Dick Borrett Dick Borrett joined HamiltonJet in 1992 whereupon he took responsibility for developing its in-house capability in the design and manufacture of electronic waterjet controls. In this role he played a pivotal role in the development of several generations of these products. His passion for the sea and wide experience in a range of marine topics has been fundamental to the success of these products. Borrett is a qualified skipper who has logged many hours on the company’s research and development test boat. During more recent years, he has dedicated his efforts to development work on a range of ‘advanced controls’ that extend and enhance the waterjet’s inherent advantages around low speed manoeuvring. This work has culminated in the 2015 release of the JETanchor system which uses an advanced control module together with a GPS/compass and inertial sensors to dynamically position a vessel, holding it at a fixed location and heading using only the main propulsion waterjets. JETanchor achieves the same functionality as dynamic positioning systems used in the offshore industry, but at a significantly lower cost for the customer, meaning that it can be very cost-effective - even in vessels from 10m in length. JETanchor provides benefits for operations such as surveillance, firefighting and deployment of underwater vehicles, crew boats and pilot boats compared to manual control as a result of improved station keeping accuracy and safety as well as reduced fuel consumption, cost and skipper workloads. Eugene Robson and beverage manufacturers. Deta Consulting is all about its people. Capable, driven people like Eugene Robson. Robson works directly with many of Deta’s industrial clients like Goodman Fielder, Graymont and Oceania Dairy to identify and deliver optimisation projects and manage long-term energy management programmes across their sites. Deta is a long-term partner to these businesses, working to monitor utility consumption and look for opportunities to cut operating cost, directly improving their bottom line. "He’s the guy who can see the opportunity to optimise a process or reduce waste and put it in terms that management can understand and help get the Capex over the line. And then he’ll deliver it," says a company spokesperson. "Robson is effectively a pragmatic young engineer who just gets it." As a result of Robson’s competence and ability to converse with a range of stakeholders, he’ll relocate in January to open Deta’s new Tauranga office, enabling the firm to better serve its existing and new clients on the North Island. Deta is already working on the next round of new technology projects in the central North Island – screw expanders and micro turbine generators to name a few – and it looks forward to helping Robson improve the region's productivity.
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