Summit spawns local spin-off

By Karyn Scherer

Those who dismiss the Apec business summit in Auckland this weekend as nothing but pollution of good clean air should not waste their time conveying their views to Ernst & Young chairman Errol Clark.

Mr Clark, who has spearheaded a group aiming to encourage foreign investment in New Zealand, can cite at least one example of how networking at such forums can lead to positive spin-offs for local businesses.

It was a conversation with the head of a giant US corporation at the Apec summit in Vancouver in 1997, he claims, that eventually led to the company's investing in New Zealand.

The US corporation is one of the world's biggest infrastructure consultancies, Parsons Brinckerhoff. In May last year, it bought ECNZ's engineering design arm, Designpower, off the Government and renamed it PB Power.

PB Power's manager of business development services, Shanthi Chelliah, describes the deal as "tremendously positive" for local staff.

As part of ECNZ, Designpower was heavily reliant on Government projects for work, she says.

Becoming part of a global company with 250 offices worldwide has given staff invaluable overseas experience, with engineers seconded to projects in countries such as Zambia and Tanzania.

"We have people all over the place. It's just worked wonders."

The sale came at a difficult time, as it coincided with the Asian crisis. The company was restructuring and shedding staff. It has since recovered, she says, and in the past few months, has hired 10 new technical staff. It has also expanded into Sydney and Melbourne.

"Things are picking up and we are looking to do new business in Korea ... so things are really looking bright for us."

The company specialises in renewable energy such as wind and hydro generation. It engineered the Tararua wind farm in Palmerston North and is now doing a feasibility study for another project in China.

With renewable energy yet to take off in the US, the relationship with Parsons Brinckerhoff is mutually beneficial, she says.

"We are benefiting from their purchase and at the same time they have a lot to gain because they never had this expertise in-house before."

The company's US-based chairman, Bob Prieto, will be at the CEO summit again this year, and is taking the opportunity to meet local staff.