Bay of Plenty Business News April/May 2017

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4 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2017 Robots to help harvest booming crop volumes With SunGold kiwifruit volumes set to double by 2021, chances are that by then growers struggling to find pickers for a timely harvest will be reaching for a robotic solution. By RICHARD RENNIE Dr Alistair Scarfe and his colleagues at Robotics Plus based at Te Puna’s Newnham Park Innovation Centre are well down the track developing a robotic kiwifruit picker that should arrive on the market as kiwifruit volumes start to ramp up strongly. But rather than putting hundreds of humans out of work, it is more likely to help boost skill levels and deliver a more timely harvest of high quality fruit. After five years’ development, Dr Scarfe is optimistic the project will go commercial in two years. This coincides well with an anticipated massive boost in SunGold fruit volumes expected to match Green’s 80 million trays within five years. “The challenges for the sector are getting that big volume of crop off in time, to meet strict quality parameters, and also early enough to earn premiums that a late harvested crop does not. “There is also going to be a greater challenge there with Green and Gold harvest periods starting to overlap, increasing the harvest volume load even more.” A looming labour shortage for the primary sector comes despite a lift in the number of workers capable of being employed under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme to 10,500 from 9500 in 2016. Last year a Ministry for Primary Industries report estimated the booming horticultural sector needed nearly 8000 more skilled workers by 2025 to cope with predicted rises in production. Primary ITO general manager Alister Shennan said then that changing horticultural demands required more skilled workers over and above seasonal workers. Dr Scarfe’s company also has work underway developing robotic apple packers for RoboticPlus director and engineer Alistair Scarfe (left) and chief operating office Bram Smith with the autonomous platform developed for kiwifruit picking. an industry that has grown 10 percent a year in the past five years. He describes the robotic picker as a result of a meeting of minds between himself and fellow Robotics Plus owner Steve Saunders. Steve had already established a sound reputation in the industry with 30 years’ experience in orchard management with GroPlus, and more recently as an angel investor. The technology is based off a ground-up design ultimately aiming to have a multipurpose application, capable of switching between spraying, pollination, pruning and harvesting work. “The key focus at this stage though, where industry sees the most immediate gains, is using it for harvesting. The other applications will come along over time,” says Dr Scarfe. Its ground-up design distinguishes it from the current wave of standard tractors that have been converted to driverless vehicles. A hybrid petrol-electric power system drives the machine while GPS, 3D camera technology and sensors help it determine where it is and its route of travel. Latest camera detectors identify ripe fruit that is delicately plucked by servo driven arms, placing them in the integrated bin. The machine is ultimately capable of performing the work of four pickers and can operate day and night, having to stop harvesting only when dewpoint levels are risky. Perhaps surprisingly the design holds only a few patents, but chief operating officer Dr Bram Smith said much of the “smarts” for the company lie in the small army of robotics and mechatronic graduates the company recruits from Auckland and Waikato universities. The university involvement is augmented with funding to those institutions from Ministry for Business, Innovation and Enterprise, with funding from Steve Saunders, along with Zespri. Dr Scarfe says some of the project’s challenges have included getting the machine capable of recognising ripe fruit across all light conditions, with bursts of sunlight or darkness changing the image of a ripe fruit. “It also has to be capable of handling that one percent of exceptions, like the branch that drops down in front of it unexpectedly. It is no good requiring perfect conditions for it to operate successfully.” The developers have also worked to a strong commercial brief to keep the machine viable with the industry. “Plenty of machines are developed that have had a heap of money thrown at them, but we took a view from the start on how much such a machine should cost, and worked back from there.” He anticipates the robots will be leased out. And Dr Scarfe is confident the machine will help meet the industry’s need for more skilled staff, rather than reduce opportunities. “The robot will harvest eighty percent of the crop, dealing with the high volume, stressful fruit load, with sweeper crews coming through to pick whatever other fruit has been missed. “It also means there is a place for upskilling people capable of running this equipment and diverting them away from the tough seasonal work to develop more skills around orchard management.” New editor for Bay of Plenty Business News Experienced senior journalist David Porter will be taking over the role of editor of Bay of Plenty Business News this month. Tauranga-based since his return from abroad in late 2010 for family reasons, David has an extensive international background reporting on and analysing business, trade and politics. He recently spent three-and-half years as the daily business writer for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post newspapers. “I’ve been very impressed since coming to live in the Bay by the creativity, collaborative approach and energy of the local business community,” says David. “I’m excited about the potential of Bay of Plenty Business News to provide detailed coverage of the key business issues.” Geoff Taylor, who has edited Bay of Plenty Business News since its launch in June last year, says he is delighted to be handing the reins over to a journalist of David’s calibre. David’s career highlights include serving as: • The Asia Communications Consultant to Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, a global law firm, advising on business-to-business communications and media relations for the firm’s four Asian offices, based in Hong Kong. • A special advisor on media to Mike Moore during his term as Director General of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. He also helped draft, and edited, Mr Moore’s book, A World Without Walls: Freedom, Development, Free Trade and Global Governance. • The spokesman for the World Health Organisation’s non-communicable diseases group in Geneva, and for the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. • An account director with Acumen Group public relations, based in Wellington. Bay of plenty David Porter EDITOR David Porter David first worked in Asia as a staff correspondent for the New Zealand Press Association based in Hong Kong covering business, trade and political stories throughout the region. He subsequently held senior editorial roles at a number of weekly and monthly publications, including Asian Venture Capital Journal (Managing Editor), Readers Digest Asia (Managing Editor), and the Far Eastern Economic Review (Asst. Regional Editor). 021 884 858 david@bopbusinessnews.co.nz www.bopbusinessnews.co.nz Publisher Alan Neben Ph: (07) 838 1333 Mob: 021 733 536 Email: alan@wbn.co.nz Sales director Deidre Morris Ph: (07) 838 1333 Mob: 027 228 8442 Email: deidre@wbn.co.nz Editor David Porter Mob: 021 884 858 Email: david@bopbusinessnews.co.nz Production Manager Tania Hogg Ph: (07) 838 1333 Email: production@wbn.co.nz ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Please contact: Sales manager Jody Anderson Ph: (07) 838 1333 Mob: 027 236 7912 Email: jody@bopbusinessnews.co.nz Account manager Maxine Parker Mob: 021 116 6525 Email: maxine@bopbusinessnews.co.nz ELECTRONIC FORWARDING Editorial: News releases/Photos/Letters: geoff@wbn.co.nz Production: Copy/Proofs: production@wbn.co.nz Subscriptions: kim@wbn.co.nz Waikato Business Publications Ltd specialises in business publishing, advertising, design and print media services. Bay of Plenty Business News has a circulation of 8000, distributed throughout the Bay of Plenty between Waihi and Opotiki including Rotorua and Taupo, and to a subscription base. WaikatoBusiness PUBLICATIONS 12 Mill Street, Hamilton PO Box 1425, Hamilton, 3240. Ph: (07) 838 1333 Fax: (07) 838 2807 | www.wbp.net.nz www.bopbusinessnews.co.nz
BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2017 5 Gold kiwifruit orchard investment oversubscribed Investors have snapped up the opportunity to own a stake in a gold Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchard offered by rural investment specialist, MyFarm. MyFarm was seeking $6.3 million from investors to purchase Expressway Orchard, a 16 hectare property at Paengaroa, the eastern end of the Tauranga Eastern Link. Expressway Orchard will be leased and managed by current owner DMS under a 10-year contract. DMS is one of NZ’s largest kiwifruit and avocado management companies with more than 100 orchards in the region under its management. MyFarm chief executive, Andrew Watters says when the investment opportunity closed Friday, March 31 it was oversubscribed by more than $500,000. The minimum investment level was $100,000. A third of the 28 investors who took up the opportunity are Bay of Plenty based and half have other investments in MyFarm managed orchards, Expressway Orchard. dairy farms or vineyards. The average investment level was $225,000. Andrew says the competitive orchard market meant it had taken two years for MyFarm to secure a quality gold kiwifruit orchard with the key attributes investors are looking for. The hunt has already begun for another kiwifruit orchard to meet investor demand. “There’s no doubt investors want access to the kiwifruit sector,” said Andrew. “They want a slice of the export action created by Bid for research institute goes to business case stage Zespri’s strategic investment in plant variety rights and careful management of global supply.” Expressway Orchard Limited Partnership is the third kiwifruit orchard syndicate to be established by MyFarm in the past two years. CUSTOMER PREMIER MOTORS LTD PUBLISHING 13/04/17 SALES REP MANISH.KHETARPAL PUBLICATION MOTORTIMES WKT The establishment of a new lion available to develop new, region’s strengths in horticulture to support growing technol- Plus PROOFED Group 11/04/2017 Horticulture, 1:11:52needs a.m. and pipeline, spanning SIZE 26.2X18 first two stages of the process, with Trimax Mowing Systems, ly aligned to their innovation The proposal has passed the research AD ID institute AU-7622096AC in Bay (100%) private research institutes DESIGNER in OUTSOURCER of Plenty has taken a step regional New Zealand. ogy and exporting companies. Zespri, Eurofins, BlueLab, research, technology and capability MUST building. BE FINALISED BY pitch OUR to judges MATERIAL in Wellington, DEADLIN having been shortlisted for a closer after the PLEASE region’s bid APPROVE has Shane THIS Stuart, ADthe ASinnova- SOONIt AS will POSSIBLE. also have a translational NOTE THAT GPS-it, ANY Waka ALTERATIONS Digital, The been selected to go to the stage tion manager jointly for Priority role, with a strong emphasis on University of Waikato and “As Bluelab transitions and then being selected to go of developing a business case. Over the last four months Priority One has been working with local stakeholders to develop a response to the second round of the government initiative, with $35.5 mil- One and the University of Waikato, says the institutes aim to support scientific research relevant to particular regions. “Our proposal focuses on technology, research and innovation that will leverage the accelerating innovation across the region.” With a working name of the Centre for Design, Innovation and Technology relating to horticulture (CDITH), the bid has been developed in partnership Priority One. The ambition for CDITH is to be a world leader in the application of technology to horticultural value chains. Greg Jarvis, of Bluelab, says the vision of CDITH is perfect- from a pure hardware company to a hardware, software and data business, having access to world-class innovation output and capability building will accelerate our growth path on a global stage,” he says. through into the third round where a business case will be developed. It is expected the business case will be finalised in May, with final decisions announced in June/July 2017. RANGE ROVER SPORT DIVIDE AND CONQUER. PAY 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 AT 1.9%. landrover.co.nz HIT THE ROAD NOW WITH 1/3 DEPOSIT. PAY THE REST DOWN THE TRACK. This is it –your chance to get behind the wheel of the most agile, dynamic and responsive Range Rover ever. For alimited time, pay 1/3 deposit, then 1/3 in ayear and the final 1/3 in2019, at an incredibly low 1.9% p.a*. 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Bay of Plenty Business News April/May 2017

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