N E W S : I N D U S T R Y M A T T E R S
16 June 2018
Rugged
smartphone
protection
Caterpillar Inc, a leading manufacturer
of construction and mining equipment,
has announced the rollout of its range
of rugged smartphones, Cat phones,
across New Zealand. This tough and
durable smartphone range was purpose
built for those in the construction,
agriculture, security and vehicle repair
industries.
The range is led by Cat S60 model and
is the world’s only smartphone with an
integrated thermal camera. The Cat S60
is now available via Spark online and in
selected Spark stores, JA Russell and
Cat Gough dealerships, and will also be
available via PB Tech, and online at JB
Hi-Fi and Noel Leeming.
The leading features of the S60 include:
integrated thermal camera, powered by
FLIR, the global leader in thermal imaging
technology, which can pick up heat
and measure surface temperatures
from a distance of up to 30 metres.
The thermal camera can detect heat
loss around windows and doors; spot
moisture and missing insulation; identi-
Engineering
conference to
bring boost to
Hamilton
Engineering is one of the
Waikato’s most robust industries
so it’s apt that the regions two
largest educational providers
have joined forces to host the
Australasian Association for
Engineering Education’s (AAEE)
annual conference in December
this year.
Wintec and the University of
Waikato will host AAEE’s 29th
annual conference December
9-12. This is the first time the
conference has been held in the
Waikato.
The conference will be attended
by some 250 engineering
educators from universities,
institutes of technology, industry
training organisations, industry,
engineering professional bodies
and secondary schools from
throughout New Zealand and
Australia.
The conference theme is
‘Future Engineer: Accounting for
Diversity’ and the association
is now welcoming conference
submissions from those
interested in presenting at the
conference.
Construction
sector bottleneck
threatens growth
Bottlenecks in the booming
construction industry see weak
growth in residential house-building
over the next 12 months
and have forced the Treasury to
halve its forecast rate of progress
on the government’s KiwiBuild
affordable housing policy.
Where forecasts before
Christmas assumed around
$5 billion of KiwiBuild-induced
“additional nominal residential
investment” over the next five
years, the forecast is now for just
$2.5 billion over that period.
“A greater proportion is assumed
to occur outside the forecast
period," says commentary from
the Treasury in its Budget Fiscal
and Economic Update (BEFU),
which is published with the
Budget.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson
says there no change to the government’s
plan to build 100,000
affordable homes within a 10 year
period.
Winning vote heralds next gen engineers When Michael Barraclough of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare visited
EMEX he was envious of some of the “awesome kit” that
was on offer. He has been wanting to start “a number of projects”
at home but didn’t have the tools for the builds.
But after submitting a vote in the Great Kiwi Engineering Competition
his desires have been answer.
“I was in a state of shock when I got the call,” says Michael. “A
welder is the sort of thing you really want, but you know, you
have to put the cash down. I just thought (when entering the
competition) it would be just such a great thing to have.
“When Engineering News rang me up and told me I’d won
I was just blown away. Unfortunately now that means that
everything in the garage is going to be cut apart and projects
are going to be going on in every direction,” he laughs.
Michael goes to EMEX most years and, “really enjoyed it this
year,” with the welder capping off things immensely.
Michael won the WeldSkill 180 TradePack from Cigweld.
The WeldSkill 180 is a single-phase welding inverter with a user
friendly control panel, practical push button operation for
mode selection, clearly visible LED indicators and sturdy large
control knob. The TradePack included a carry bag, WeldSkill
belmet (blue), welding gloves, chipping hammer, wire brush,
1KG GP electrodes. The unit is affordable, compact and lightweight
and the WeldSkill 180 is a great addition to the shed
ensuring the ultimate portability for the home handyman,
tradesman, farmer or maintenance worker.
Michael will be taking the unit home to train up the next generation
of engineer (his sons).
fy overheating electrical appliances and
circuitry and see in complete darkness.
The Cat S60 is drop-proof up to 1.8 metres
and waterproof up to five metres for
up to one hour, making it the most waterproof
phone on the market.
The range also includes the Cat S31 and
Cat S41 models which will be available
through selected PB Tech stores and
online at JB Hifi and Noel Leeming.
MASSIVE
RESPONSE
VISITORS
VOTE
Michael Kingston, NZEN's new business manager (left), presents the new Cigweld welder to Michael Barraclough
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