Feedback received from the attendees of the 2011 Metals New Zealand conference was overwhelmingly positive. The conference theme of “ Driving Productivity and Innovation” was covered by topical presentations allowing attendees to go home with a large number of leads to seriously improve business performance.

Metals New Zealand was launched with the explicit recognition by the Minister for Economic Development Hon David Carter, that our industry is important and on the right track, and the Industry Awards Gala dinner under the outstanding MC–man-ship of Jim Hopkins, had everyone curled up with laughter and in a celebratory mood for the industry awards along with the winners.

This conference was a great demonstration of the importance of our industry and an expression of being future-focused and forward-looking.

The following articles are a summary of the conference highlights. Our thanks are due to all those who participated but especially our Sponsors, who demonstrated their continued strong support especially at a time where economic performance is subdued.

Opening Ceremony and the Official Launch of Metals New Zealand   
These photos say it all – the Opening Ceremony was about uniting our industry under one voice and the MC Jim Hopkins visibly managed to unite the ‘women and men of metals’ of New Zealand.

In her welcoming address, the Mayor of Wellington Celia Wade-Brown pointed out how important our industry is to the Wellington region through her highlighting of recent significant structural steel projects such as Wellington Airport’s ‘The Rock” and the new multi-purpose sport arena.

The theme of industry importance and the need to advocate for this industry was continued by the Chairman of Metals New Zealand, Noel Davies in his launch speech of Metals New Zealand. That speech is available  HERE.

The industry’s importance was echoed also by the Opening Address of the Minister of Economic Development Hon David Carter, whose full speech can be viewed  HERE.

The strategic link between New Zealand’s prosperity and our industry’s performance requirements was outlined in Dr Rick Boven’s keynote address.

His explanation of New Zealand’s relative poor economic performance and the practical advice given to our industry leaders to lift our performance was clear and encouraging. His presentation can be downloaded HERE.

The concluding presentation in the Opening Ceremony came from Simon Linge, the President of New Zealand Steel who also represented the key sponsor of the Conference New Zealand Steel.

Simon, who spent several years in China and Malaysia, gave an inside view into the internal economic development of China, where as a result of the huge requirements to satisfy local demand the economy of scale inevitable meant cost effective production of goods and services leading to increased exports.

However the key message was not to get bogged down in the export thread but to focus on the huge opportunities offered to us in niche markets and export where we naturally are competitive.

Two main Plenary Sessions followed the Opening Session, one on Metals Manufacturing and one on Steel Construction. The Manufacturing session focussed on productivity and innovation, and included Competenz CEO John Blakey, HERA Director Dr Wolfgang Scholz and Prof Shaun Coffey from IRL. All main speakers’ presentations can be found  HERE.

Metals Industry Awards Gala Dinner Highlight of the Conference   
The metals engineering industry celebrated the achievements of individuals and companies that performed exceptional and noteworthy work at the prestigious Metals NZ Industry Awards Gala Dinner held in the Ballroom of the Amora Hotel. The Master of Ceremony, TV celebrity and Herald Columnist Jim Hopkins, had everyone in stitches with his rapier sharp wit - no one was safe!

It was a most memorable occasion for winners and those celebrating with them. During the course of the dinner, the following HERA Awards were presented:

Keith Smith Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to the NZ Metals Industry  Nick Calavrias

   
Nick Calavrias best known in his role as CEO of publicly-listed Steel & Tube and for becoming an Officer of the Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2011 New Year Honours, received this prestigious award and the associated prize money of $2,000 for his countless contributions to the New Zealand Metals Industry. In his speech, Nick donated his prize money multiplied by a contribution from D&H construction back to the Heavy Engineering Educational and Research Foundation (HEERF) with instructions to see this as part of a student award.

NZ Metals Engineering Exporter of the Year  A & G Price  
   

NZ Metals Innovation Engineering Company  Howick Engineering