Got business news? Email carmen.hall@nzme.co.nz or zoe.hunter@nzme.co.nz. Photo / Getty Images
Got business news? Email carmen.hall@nzme.co.nz or zoe.hunter@nzme.co.nz
Classic Group has released a visual campaign acknowledging the struggles Kiwis are facing getting onto the property ladder and promotes the journey to home ownership takes true grit.
Classic's national Grit campaign carries a "keep going and don't give up" message
and, in
line with Classic Builders branding, touches on building dreams that create
a future.
It tracks the stories of three hard-working families/individuals whose varied
scenarios depict the constantly striving nature of Kiwis.
All show moments of hard grind culminating in a sense of reward – be it a hard-earned business or project success or ... returning to the peace and security of your own home at the end of a gruelling day.
The digital campaign has been created by the Tauranga-based building company in collaboration with design and marketing agency We Are Society, and film director Chris Clark.
Classic Group managing director Matt Lagerberg said while owning a home
should be possible for everyone, it now requires more effort and grit than ever
before.
"Having built over 6500 homes now, we see how hard it is and that makes the part
we play even more significant. We have to make all the hard work worth it.
"The building industry here in New Zealand has intertwining issues that require critical attention, from legislation and vital infrastructure through to innovation and recycling.
"Classic is investing time and capital into helping drive change and address these issues, but this will take time and funny enough, a whole lot of grit."
Tauranga's CBD to host Manawa Energy's new national head office
Trustpower's power generation business will soon become Manawa Energy following the expected sale of their retail business to Mercury.
Last week marked another step forward for the company as the site of its new head office in Cameron Rd was blessed.
Representatives from Trustpower, co-tenants NZ Blood Service, I-Line Construction, Wingate Architects and Wallace Properties attended a small blessing ceremony on January 27 to prepare the site for foundation works.
Ngāi Tamarāwaho kaumatua, Tamati Tata led the blessing supported by Koro Nicholas of Ngāti Hangarau.
Trustpower chief executive David Prentice said the name Manawa, meaning heart, was gifted to them by Ngāti Hangarau.
"It speaks to the heart of our operations, the Kaimai Power scheme; and is a nod to our shared whakapapa with Ngāti Hangarau to the Omanawa River.
"We are committed to increasing our company's connection to Te Ao Māori and are working with local hapū to incorporate Māori design elements into the new building."
Both Manawa Energy and NZ Blood Service expect to move into the new building in the first quarter of 2023. While the build is being completed, Manawa Energy will lease space in the Trustpower Durham St office it opened six years ago.
Business Park vision takes major step forward
An empty site in Te Puna is set to be developed as part of a planned business park in the area to support the region's fast-growing primary sector.
The site at 297 Te Puna Station Rd is to be developed by Te Puna Industrial Limited, a partnership of local investors and ContainerCo.
Te Puna Industrial spokesman and ContainerCo managing director Ken Harris said it was time to realise the former owners' 2004 vision of creating a staged "green" business park in Te Puna to service the Bay's rural sector and economy in the next five to 15 years.
In 2005, the Environment Court approved a private plan change moving the zoning from rural to industrial to enable the creation of the Te Puna Business Park.
Provisions of the plan change process include bespoke mitigation measures to ensure a lower level of impact and adverse environmental effects on the surrounding area.
Since then, there has been noticeable growth in commercial, industrial and residential development in the Te Puna area.
There has also been investment in local infrastructure to better service the area including an upgrade of the Te Puna Road-State Highway 2 roundabout, and works have also begun on stage one of the new 6.8km four-lane motorway connecting SH29 Takitimu Drive through to SH2 west of Te Puna.
"The business park concept was initiated 18 years ago to meet growth in sectors such as kiwifruit across Bay of Plenty and it's now more important than ever as exports have increased and as has growth at the Port of Tauranga, which is now the largest in New Zealand," Harris said.
Resource consents have been sought to give effect to the Te Puna Business Park industrial zoning provisions applying to the site.
The long-term goal was to accommodate businesses, including specialised workshops, machinery outlets, and offices predominantly focused on supporting the rural sector and related exports, incorporating ContainerCo operations.
It is proposed to develop the site in three stages. Stage one will include landscaping and environmental enhancement work such as bunds and setbacks from road frontage, as well as ponds and other features.
"We expect that landscaping work and water management on site will enhance the surrounding area and be based on the re-establishment of indigenous vegetation and indigenous fauna. Our goal in this regard is to support the general, social and cultural wellbeing of the community and the environment."
Harris said moving low-intensity specialist support businesses to Te Puna enables ContainerCo to better support local produce exporters and capacity issues at its Mount Maunganui sites.
"The site will provide a base for our container refurbishment and hire and sales teams".
"Large numbers of containers are not envisaged but we expect to hold a small supply of containers for kiwifruit growers and packers to cope with summer harvest demands and in the long term the site may well serve as a depot for our Electric Vehicle (EV) container shuttle fleet including fast charging points".
ContainerCo is a Tauranga-based business employing about 100 staff in the city across sites at Mount Maunganui and Sulphur Point.
Tauranga developers look forward to busy 2022
Members of local advocacy group Urban Task Force have initiated regular meetings with the Tauranga City Council building and environmental planning teams to discuss problems and recommend solutions to help improve efficiencies for those applying for building consents.
The UTF initially identified 19 areas of concern and corresponding recommended solutions that were raised at their first meeting late last year.
The council's general manager of regulatory and compliance, Barbara Dempsey, said the meeting was a success.
"Planning teams have met with UTF, and we really appreciate the collaborative approach between the parties.
"Balancing the objectives and requirements of both parties can be challenging at times but working together will result in better outcomes for the developer, the council and the community of Tauranga.
"We look forward to growing this relationship over the coming years."
UTF chairman Scott Adams said the meeting was a major step forward in aligning the interests of the building community with the city's regulators.
"Tauranga's housing crisis isn't going away. We need to increase capacity quickly and efficiently which requires an effort from both the Council and the building community.
"The initial 19 points we raised with the council's regulatory teams have all either been addressed or are in the process of being resolved in such a way that we have every confidence our concerns were heard, and significant progress is underway."
Issues identified in the first meeting between the parties include inconsistencies with the processing of consents, communication breakdowns, possible efficiencies with building inspections and the need for system changes to prioritise large-scale housing projects over single dwelling consents.
"We had some really positive discussions with council that confirmed our collective goal of addressing the shortage of homes in the city," Adams said.
"It was encouraging to hear that TCC were already working on software to improve processing systems which will speed up consenting and open up the lines of communication and co-operation."
UTF has already booked in a second meeting and both parties have agreed to schedule bi-monthly catch-ups to monitor progress.
"UTF want progress for our city and our members. We know that proactive, positive working relationships built on solid foundations of collaboration and working for the greater good, will achieve results and UTF is committed to advocating for the benefit of all the people of Tauranga," said Adams.
Taupo's Huka Lodge named world's 6th most romantic hotel
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, Big 7 Travel has officially released The 50 Most Romantic Hotels for 2022.
This is the fourth year that Big 7 Travel has released the Most Romantic Hotels.
Hotel inclusions were ranked based on several factors, including properties with high Tripadvisor review scores from couples, unique "romantic" experiences, destination, room facilities and luxury.
Longitude 131º in Australia topped the list last year while Adare Manor in Ireland came in at No.1 in 2020 and Taj Lake Palace in India was No.1 in 2019.
The Huka Lodge in Taupo was named the 6th Most Romantic Hotel in the World for 2022.
MITO joins Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning whānau
Aotearoa New Zealand's vocational educational journey has accelerated as Te Pūkenga formally welcomed MITO into the whānau with a virtual whakatau.
On January 1, MITO transferred to Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning Limited (WBL), a subsidiary of Te Pūkenga.
MITO supports on-the-job learning for people working in the automotive, commercial road transport, drilling, gas, mining and quarrying, passenger services and ports and stevedoring industries.
MITO supports more than 4000 learners and 3000 employers and maintains more than 70 training programmes for the industries it serves.
A virtual whakatau was held in place of an in-person pōwhiri as Te Pūkenga continues to respond to Covid-19 restrictions.
A total of 120 people came together to celebrate the next step in its journey, including representatives from Te Pūkenga, MITO's employees and a number of industry stakeholders.
MITO director Verna Niao said the whakatau was a particularly special occasion for its team, to be officially welcomed into Te Pūkenga.
"It's also a significant milestone for our learners, employers and industry representatives to be joining Te Pūkenga and its wider network of training providers. We look forward to continuing to work together to reimagine vocational education for Aotearoa."
WBL chief executive Toby Beaglehole said MITO joins a group of 700 like-minded colleagues committed to providing quality on-the-job training to learners and employers alike.
"With their support we can not only continue but expand this important mahi for the benefit of Aotearoa."
MITO's standard-setting and qualification development functions transferred to Hanga-Aro-Rau Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics Workforce Development Council on October 4, with the exception of the gas industry which transferred to Waihanga Ara Rau Construction and Infrastructure Workforce Development Council.
MITO is now a business division of Te Pūkenga WBL alongside BCITO, Connexis and Competenz.
The council has also been served with judicial review proceedings.