KEY POINTS:
Norwegian company Navico has chosen to make Auckland its international hub for research and development.
Navico, headquartered in Oslo's Lysaker, has made the North Shore division of its international business its largest innovation division, going on a global recruiting drive to employ 50 more staff in manufacturing and support in the past year.
Last March, Navico bought the marine division of the internationally renowned Navman, the electronics business started in Auckland by Peter Maire.
Maire sold the company he formed in his garage in 1986 to American marine and leisure products giant Brunswick in 2004 for $108 million.
When Navico bought the electronics marine business from Brunswick the division was suffering from low morale and a staff exodus.
Maire told the Business Herald that Brunswick had grown sales to about $450 million but got cold feet and stopped spending.
"I guess that's a real lesson to me ... don't believe in big corporate America." .
But the Norwegians saw big prospects in Auckland and have since turned the business around.
While several meat companies and manufacturers have announced closures throughout New Zealand this year, the Norwegians have picked this country as a relatively low-cost world leader in innovation, product design and manufacturing.
Jens-Thomas Pietralla, Navico's chief executive and president from Lysaker, was in Auckland yesterday and he said the Albany-based research and development division was now bigger than equivalent arms Navico runs in Norway, Britain, the United States or Mexico.
Navico has not only expanded its staff with 240 at its Northcote manufacturing plant and 60 people in Omega St at Albany, but it has also just reached a sales milestone.
Pietralla came here to present staff with awards for making US$1 million a day of product which is then exported worldwide from the factory in Northcote's Kawana St.
Renee Mead, Navico's PR executive, said each of the three months to May were a record for Navico in New Zealand, with the marine business exporting the highest number of goods in that period.
That milestone was the best achieved for any period, whether the division was branded Navman, Brunswick or Navico, she said.
Pietralla worked on the Northcote production line yesterday to find out more about the New Zealand manufacturing business. He praised the company's Auckland staff, saying they were world leaders in their fields.
Navico's chief operating officer for Asia/Pacific John Scott - an Auckland University engineering graduate - said yesterday the business was heading in the opposite direction to many others here.
The Norwegians had recognised the expertise in the workforce, he said, and strengthened it.
Scott has been responsible for employing the extra 50 people, recruiting computer scientists, hardware and mechanical engineers, electronics and software specialists mainly from Britain, Asia, Europe, the US, South Africa and Australia. Even behavioural experts have been employed.
But Scott has only been able to employ a handful of New Zealanders for the highly skilled jobs and said the business was continuing to expand.
He is now considering applying for Government assistance, either as a grant or tax relief, to further strengthen the research and development division.
Pietralla said New Zealand was the best place for his firm's research and development because the workforce was highly skilled but costs were still relatively low.
Scott said the falling New Zealand dollar was helping Navico in New Zealand considerably and every 1 cent fall just helped the business even more.
Pietralla praised New Zealand's free trade agreement with China, saying Asia was one of Navico's main targets and the deal could be extremely beneficial to the Auckland business. And in a call-centre trend reverse, Scott said some of Australia's Navico customer calls were answered from Albany.
This year, the Navman brand name is gradually being phased out of the marine electronics sector worldwide and replaced with another Navico brand, Northstar, Pietralla said.
On the weekend, Scott and Pietralla were on the Waitemata Harbour, testing the marine electronics system on their latest prototype.
Pietralla leaves today.
NAVMAN
* 1986 - Navigation technology company Navman is founded by Peter Maire in his Auckland garage.
* 2004 - Maire sold the company to American marine and leisure products giant Brunswick for $108 million.
* 2006 - Brunswick put its New Technologies division, including Navman, up for sale.
* 2007 - Navman is broken up by its US owners to be sold off in pieces.
* 2007 - Norwegian company Navico International buys the marine electronics operations including the Navman marine brand.
NAVICO
* Based in Norway.
* Specialises in marine electronics.
* Has a presence in more than 100 countries.
* Global sales of US$330 million.
* Employs 2500 people worldwide.
* Now employs 300 in New Zealand.
