During the last month, HERA asked members to endorse or reject a draft policy statement that “all critical building work independent of building material should be required to have reliable third party verification enforced by the MBIE-driven regulatory framework”. With the support of SCNZ, HERA described a pathway for a joint journey to get to…
In response to recent media coverage involving allegations that some building products are unfit for purpose or non-compliant with the Building Code, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has established a dedicated email address to collect product complaints for analysis and investigation. Even though a number of concerns have been raised in the…
We work in an industry based on well-established and traditional materials. Metals have been fabricated for millennia. Applications have historically ranged from warfare, tooling, building and construction and are now evolving into emerging applications such as geothermal energy extraction and biomedical technologies. Metals, such as steel, are known for their high strength, ductility, and formability.…
Engineering’s top achievers were recognised last month at the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand’s (IPENZ) 2016 Fellows’ and Achievers’ Awards in Wellington. HERA sponsored one of the awards and notes with pride how many of the winners have strong HERA affiliations. The awards, attended by more than 300 people, were an opportunity to celebrate…
The Ministry of Business Inovation and Employment (MBIE) and Commerce Commission announcement that some concrete reinforcing steel mesh supplied into the New Zealand construction market doesn’t comply with New Zealand standards has caused considerable concern. Resulting in HERA staff recently being the target of extensive media attention with varying degrees of accuracy in being quoted.…
On the 7th April 2016, Arrium Limited announced that Voluntary Administrators have been appointed to oversee the affairs of the company. Staff from Grant Thornton have been appointed to act as Voluntary Administrators for each of the relevant companies including OneSteel. HERA understands since this announcement that the administrators have changed to KordaMentha and Grant…
Over the past few years, there has been a growing body of anecdotal reports by business about the availability and use of Non-Conforming Products (NCP) in the New Zealand market across many product groups, including steel. Background to building conformance issues The March 2016 MBIE and Commerce Commission announcement that some concrete reinforcing steel mesh supplied into the New…
As members of the steel fabrication chain, we are all aware of the current worldwide steel oversupply situation, leading to steel prices here in New Zealand being at their lowest for some 14 years and virtually unchanged since the HERA steel import statistics started in 2000. This low steel price helps the steel users to…
When our Director Wolfgang Scholz, advised me it was time for another year’s review, it felt like it was just a short while ago that last year’s review was delivered. The pace has been relentless and it has been another year full of action for our industry and for HERA. The 12 monthly rolling total…
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…
The NZ Geothermal Workshop, held in Taupo this year, had a higher attendance and number of presentations than in the past, and presented a very positive vibe for the geothermal industry overall. A number of delegates from the AGGAT team also attended this conference from both HERA and University of Auckland. The AGGAT team members…
Research aim 1-2 materials knowledge base research and 1-3 geothermal scaling and corrosion The AGGAT Materials Research Group has successfully completed a Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Study on the Materials Test Rig scheduled to go onsite in December 2015. The meeting had all its key stakeholders present which was a very fruitful outcome, considering the complexity…