KEY POINTS:
Global video-conferencing company Tandberg's foray into New Zealand seems, at least so far, a useful example of how New Zealand can play the international technology enterprise game.
Oslo-based Tandberg, which had global sales last year of US$420 million, ($578 million) reportedly paid $10 million for Ectus, a Hamilton-based
start-up specialising in video streaming technology.
Shareholders were Waikato University, venture capital company Endeavour Capital, and Ectus staffers, former Waikato University researchers who had identified the potential of the technology they had developed in their university work.
While such a takeover can all too easily result in valuable kiwi intellectual property being sucked into a global corporate ether, that hasn't been the case with this acquisition.
Tandberg has remained true to its 2005 promise to keep the Hamilton business running as a research and development centre. It has increased technical staff in Hamilton and will open a sales office in Auckland.
In charge is Oslo-based global vice-president for technology and innovation, Snorre Kjesbu.
While business cynics could argue it would make financial sense to site the Hamilton lab's functions in Norway, Kjesbu is upbeat about the Waikato centre's future.
"We've been able to attract well-educated, highly motivated staff that are well paid and are a resource in the local community far beyond Tandberg," he said.
"We would very much like to stay here and want to attract more talent down to the Waikato region."
Some Aucklanders may scoff, but the Waikato lifestyle has obvious appeal for researchers.
Tandberg is based at Waikato Innovation Park, a cosy technology incubation centre nestled on the leafy fringes of the sprawling Ruakura research campus. Last time I was there you could get a good coffee and a panini without leaving the building.
The work coming out of Tandberg Hamilton is world-leading.
The lab was involved in developing streaming technology for Microsoft's new Zune media player, a project which involved Tandberg Hamilton staff travelling to Microsoft's headquarters in the US.
Video calls between Hamilton and Oslo are a regular part of the working day - or night, depending on which lab chooses the time to make the call.
"What it has allowed us to do - taking our own medicine - is to acquire the best technology on the planet, even if that was in Hamilton, New Zealand, which is actually as far as you can get on the planet from where I live," says Kjesbu.
Having labs on opposite sides of the world also allows the company to work on research around the clock, with one lab passing over ongoing jobs to the other at the end of the day.
Then there is the allure of Tandberg's internal "cultural exchange programme" which Kjesbu says has meant a steady stream moving between Hamilton and Oslo.
"We see that there are a lot of similarities between the Norwegian and the New Zealand cultures. There are very similar attitudes, and very similar senses of humour."
Tandberg has only 14 high-tech staff in Hamilton but Kjesbu says he has budgeted to increase numbers by a quarter over the next year.
As part of New Zealand's quest to sell itself on the global stage as an exporter of high-margin technological innovation, stories like Ectus/Tandberg scratching away at a growing international niche market are encouraging.
Arguably it is a shame a multinational has pounced on an asset like Ectus and is now sweeping the profits back to Norway. But Tandberg's enthusiasm to keep the lab local, and to grow its presence on the world stage, is a good outcome, particularly for Hamilton.
