Mainfreight's $40 million facility officially opens
Mainfreight's founder and chairman Bruce Plested at the official opening. Photo / George Novak
Global logistics company Mainfreight's new $40 million freight facility has been officially opened.
Spanning 6.1ha on Mangatawa land parallel to Tauranga's Eastern Link, the 18,200sq m freight terminal is the largest transport branch for the company's New Zealand network.
On October 3, the facilitywas officially opened with formalities including a powhiri and special haka on behalf of Mangatawa.
James Tapiata's large whale carving depicting a Māori legend of the arrival of a family of whales known as Mangatawa, Hikurangi and Kopukairoa, which stretches as tall as the ceiling in the entrance of the new facility, was also unveiled.
Mainfreight's founder and chairman Bruce Plested said he was proud to officially open the facility.
"It is just fabulous. It has got everything that we know and ever learned over 42 years that should be in a depot."
That included solar panels that lined the roof, a truck wash station that recycles 80 per cent of its water, and electric vehicle car parking stations.
"We are just getting better and better at what we do. It's all a team effort."
The words "Special people, special company" are printed on the building's exterior - something Plested says was a statement they came up with back in 1988.
Plested said opening a multimillion-dollar global facility, the largest in its New Zealand network, in Tauranga was important.
"Tauranga is a growing place and it has become New Zealand's largest port. Of course, we do sea and air freight, warehousing, domestic transport by rail and road and in Tauranga we have about 22 truckloads a day of freight coming through here.
New training partnership
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt. Photo / Supplied
Priority One is teaming up with the University of Waikato's Management School to offer a new training course that aims to boost innovation capability among businesses in the Bay of Plenty
The new training course, "Design Thinking for Business Impact", will launch this November in Tauranga, with further intakes offered in March 2021.
The course is 50 hours over three weeks. It is aimed at teams or individuals who want to quickly master design thinking skills in a practical, hands-on way, and immediately apply those skills to a real project in their own organisation.
"In times of change and disruption, it's essential for organisations to have the capability to adapt and pivot," Matt Bolger, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the University of Waikato's management school, said.
"Design thinking is increasingly being recognised as a core capability for business success, due to its proven impact in lifting the performance of leading companies across the globe, such as Apple, Nike and Google."
Design thinking offers a fresh, human-centred approach to solving some of the complex problems that businesses face today. It is a process of continuous experimentation that can be used to quickly test out new ideas, challenge assumptions and develop innovative new products or services that benefit people's lives.
"For this course, we've secured a team of four expert coaches who all have extensive industry experience in doing and teaching design thinking across a wide range of sectors, including technology, manufacturing, public sector, education and marketing," Bolger said.
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt said there was a growing demand for high-quality training that enables businesses to quickly upskill their teams, so they can adapt and survive in the post-pandemic economy.
"Our purpose at Priority One is to support innovation and build a vibrant economy that attracts talented, skilled and creative people to work in the Bay of Plenty region.
"By partnering with the University of Waikato's Management School to offer this course, we're ensuring that people can access world-class professional development training right here in Tauranga."
"This kind of partnership between a regional economic development organisation and a university is unique in New Zealand. We're excited about our plans to make additional training courses available in the near future."
For more information, visit www.tauranga-innovation.com
New law firm opens in Te Puke
Mackenzie Elvin Law has opened an office at Te Puke. No more fighting the traffic to get to our Brown St office in the CBD from Pāpāmoa or Te Puke – we're right on your doorstep.
If you're looking for legal advice, we specialise in horticulture, employment, relationship property, commercial and residential property, litigation and trusts. '
You'll find us at 29 Commerce Lane, a few doors down from the Daily Cafe.
Check out our website, www.mackenzie-elvin.com, and give us a call on (07)578-5033.
New art gallery celebrates local partnership
Mangatawa Pāpāmoa Blocks Incorporated chairman Kevin Haua, executive manager Paula Werohia, Generus Living Group director Graham Wilkinson at the new Mangatawa Gallery. Photo / Supplied
Portraits of local Māori are among the taonga (treasures) in a new art gallery at The Beach House at Pacific Coast Village in Mount Maunganui.
Generus Living Group and Mangatawa Pāpāmoa Blocks Incorporated (MPBI) formed a unique partnership in the development of both the Pacific Coast and Pacific Lakes retirement villages and the gallery is a further celebration of that.
"The inspiration for the Mangatawa Gallery was to create a space that captures the stories of the whenua [land] and its people, providing insight and meaning into the cultural heritage and whakapapa [genealogy] of the land on which our villages are built," Generus Living Group director Graham Wilkinson said.
The portraits – created by Soldiers Road Portraits – are intergenerational and feature whānau dressed in traditional Māori dress.
In addition to the portraits of past and present members of Ngā Potiki, the gallery shares the legend of Mangatawa and includes a permanent exhibition of taonga including the shell middens and other artefacts from the archaeological excavations that took place as part of the village development.
The opening of the gallery follows the addition last year of a new pouwhenua (sculpted post) by prominent local artist Kereama Taepa at the start of the 250m beach boardwalk on Maranui St opposite the village.
The Generus and MPBI partnership has also launched an annual scholarship for a Mangatawa student to train as a primary school teacher.
The Ebba Te Tua Scholarship recognises respected teacher and kuia Ebba Te Tua who taught at Arataki School in Mount Maunganui for nearly 30 years.
She was instrumental in establishing the bilingual/Māori immersion unit at the school and was an inspiration to other Māori teachers.
"Ebba attended several functions at Pacific Coast Village before her passing in 2018 and was given a front row seat at the opening of The Beach House," Graham said.
"At that function, I made a promise to her and the other Mangatawa kaumatua who were present that Generus would always respect the land, deal with Mangatawa transparently and with respect, and would do its best to maximise the outcome for both parties."
Comvita, a world market leader in mānuka honey, has launched its inaugural apprenticeship programme in beekeeping.
Established in 1974, Comvita has enjoyed a long and successful history in the industry but recognise these are challenging times for many New Zealanders, and believes the creation of jobs is key to long-term economic and social recovery.
"During these unprecedented times, consumers all over the world are turning to natural health products," chief executive David Banfield said.
The scheme, Banfield said, allowed the company to train a new generation of beekeepers.
Speaking at the programme launch in Paengaroa this month, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Andrew Little said in the Bay of Plenty honeybee pollination was central to the success of the country's $2 billion kiwifruit crop.
"The launch of the beekeeping apprenticeship is timely for an exciting growth industry that can scale in the regions where jobs are needed."
Manager Trevor Clarke will oversee the programme and said the scheme would ensure that "we have more talented beekeepers available in the future to further enhance our global leadership."
There will be up to 12 apprentice roles in the 2020 intake. Each will follow a three-year development framework and all placements will be targeted regionally.
Comvita is hoping to attract a diverse range of skills and experiences to the industry, and permanent employment is guaranteed to those who successfully complete the programme.
