Bay of Plenty Business News September/October 2019

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14 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2019 Scientists team up for war on stink bug Kiwi and Italian scientists are working on ways to stop the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) rampage through one of Europe’s major fruit bowls. By RICHARD RENNIE Fruit damage caused by the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). Meanwhile, a Summer campaign to raise public awareness in New Zealand is ramping up. Professor Max Suckling, Plant and Food Research, and an Auckland University senior scientist, has spent this summer working alongside his Italian peers in Trento, northern Italy helping better understand how to control the BMSB, which has already decimated that country’s Eu300 million pear industry. Bay of Plenty based-Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) has been at the sharp end of a joint awareness campaign benefiting from horticulture’s Government-Industry Agreement. This was designed to get better alignment between government and the sector over dealing with biosecurity risks. KVH communications advisor Lisa Gibbison said the campaign has also worked as closely with those in the shipping and logistics sector, as it has increasing wider public understanding of the bug’s possible impact on New Zealand’s $5.5 billion horticultural export sector. Professors Claudio Ioriatti and Max Suckling: Collaborating on major threat. Photos/Richard Rennie Last season’s campaign generated a healthy 930 calls on the 0800 number from public concerned they had identified a BMSB - double the year before. There were also over 6 million online impressions on the website. But for the scientists in Italy this Summer, the battle is more immediate and time-sensitive. Insect and biological control expert Professor Claudio Ioriatti of Fondazione Edmund Mach visited New Zealand in June, and is working alongside Suckling. Ioriatti first identified the bug only three years ago, and within a year the first impact on crops was being noticed. Today the bug is poised to penetrate Trento’s 10,000 ha of apple orchards, which supply 70 percent of Italy’s crop, and 15 percent of the European Union’s. The bug injects an enzyme into fruit before it is ripe, discolouring its flesh, causing it to fall early or making it unsalable. Up to 70 percent of kiwifruit on vines can be affected and spraying is proving less than 50 percent effective. Netting over orchards helps reduce numbers, but juvenile bugs are able to penetrate these. And even covered orchards require spraying. So far New Zealand has dodged any major incursions. But isolated detections of bugs have been made, putting biosecurity officials and orchardists on high alert. Last November a car-carrying ship was refused entry due to numbers of BMSBs being detected on board before berthing. Suckling told Bay of Plenty Business News that the lessons learned from his work this summer for New Zealand from Italy are very real, and the bug’s impact is chilling. “We have learnt that BMSB is not limiting itself to fruit,” he said. “It is drawn to maize as soon as cobs start to tassel, and then crosses to mulberry trees, and onto soy beans too if they are there.” That highlighted how vulnerable regions with pastoral and horticultural production like Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay and Nelson would be to it establishing here, he said. Pastoral and horticultural risks “This is definitely not just a horticultural risk for New Zealand - it’s a pastoral sector risk as well. So any approach in trying to deal with it involves a broad, area wide approach, well beyond any one crop or localised area.” He has had experience dealing with similar type outbreaks, managing the successful response to the painted apple moth outbreak in Auckland in 1999. More recently, he and his colleagues have used drones to drop sterilised male codling moths around Hawke’s Bay to successfully reduce moth populations 10-fold on apple orchards there. Suckling’s work is also focusing upon trapping methods that may prove effective, including pheromone trapping and the relatively new trapping We have learnt that BMSB is not limiting itself to fruit.” - Max Suckling science of biotremology. This involves using synthesised insect mating calls transmitted as a vibration through orchards to draw insects of one sex to the false call, and into a trap. While it is early days yet, Suckling is optimistic about the technology and is hoping to gain Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment funding to continue the research work started in Italy through the New Zealand summer. After a career spent researching and dealing to pest incursions, Suckling said he had a grudging respect for the BMSB. “I have seen a lot, and this is definitely one of the worst. It has such a broad and rapid impact on crops, and we need all the time we can get to try and deal with it.”
BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2019 15 Jenkins Group takes 50 percent stake in CR Automation Leading fresh fruit labelling and packing innovator Jenkins Group - which has a significant presence in the Bay’s horticulture sector - has taken a 50 percent stake in Hawkes Bay-based CR Automation (CRA), an award-winning automation and control systems manufacturer. By DAVID PORTER The two companies say they are coming together to deliver a range of automation services to post-harvest operators across Australasia who want to enhance efficiency, meet compliance needs and overcome labour shortages. Jenkins Group and CRA have collaborated on a number of projects in the past. Managing director of Jenkins Group, Tony Sayle, said the combination of skills, products and services that the two organisations will now provide will be game-changing for the horticultural industry. Jenkins Group is a key industry player throughout Australasia’s horticulture post-harvest industry with subsidiaries in New Zealand and Australia (Tauranga-based Jenkins Freshpac Systems Ltd and NSW-based J-Tech Systems PTY). The group provides an extensive range of labelling, packaging and handling systems to the fruit and vegetable industry across both countries. “The Internet of Things (IoT) and automation are clear requirements for our horticulture sector to excel and thrive in a global economy and soar through its ambitious target of being a $10 billion industry by 2020,” said Sayle. “Jenkins Group Ltd has a long history of innovation and we have decided to invest in CRA to bring together our existing pack-line automation solutions with the cutting-edge integration and line management capability that CRA are renowned for delivering across Australasia and around the world. Labour and compliance challenges Sayle said the new partnership would provide industry-leading produce handling capability to a post-harvest industry screaming out for efficiencies and solutions to its labour supply woes and escalating compliance needs. Product security, authenticity and traceability are becoming vital elements of the supply chain, he said. “CR Automation are a world- class developer and provider of automation and control systems,” said Sayle. “We’re impressed by their engineering capacity, and our horticultural clients will certainly benefit from their services and products. Together we intend to lead the field across post-harvest produce handling, FMCG production automation and municipal asset monitoring.” CRA’s services encompass the food and beverage industry, water and wastewater, materials handling, cool storage, meat and wool processing and general manufacturing. Their capabilities range from machine safety through to electrical and software engineering, industrial IT, robotics and project management. Earlier this year they won the “Most Innovative Solution” award for ABB robotics at Jenkins Group’s Tony Sayle (top) and CRA’s Peter Richards (above): Partnering to enhance efficiencies. Photos/Supplied. the ASIA Value Provider Conference 2019. CRA managing director Peter Richards said the 18 yearold tech company had experienced exponential growth over the past three years and was looking for an equity partner who could help sustain that growth and ensure longevity. “We wanted a partner founded on similar ideals who could also provide market access beyond our existing client base,” said Richards. He noted that Jenkins Group was a family-owned company with 136 years of success behind it. “They are very client-focused and trade with a high level of integrity. The Internet of Things (IoT) and automation are clear requirements for our horticulture sector to excel and thrive in a global economy and soar through its ambitious target of being a $10 billion industry by 2020.” - Tony Sayle We wanted a partner founded on similar ideals who could also provide market access beyond our existing client base.” - Peter Richards “Jenkins are across the industry challenges and want to provide solutions by extending their service offering, so CR Automation will be delighted to help them do just that. “We’re excited about what the future holds as the potential of both companies is realised through this new equity partnership.” Cloud giants The Instillery and Origin merge Leading cloud company The Instillery and nationally renowned managed IT and security services provider Origin have agreed to merge. By DAVID PORTER The Instillery established a presence in the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato last year. The merger with Origin was aimed at creating a unique, future-focused provider of cloud, automation, connectivity and security professional and managed services for Kiwi midmarket, enterprise, local and central government organisations, the companies said. The combined organisation will retain The Instillery brand, with 200 staff across the country, is was expected to deliver more than $40 million in revenue. Mike Jenkins, chief executive officer and founder of The Instillery, will continue to lead the newly formed company. Origin’s chief executive officer and founder Michael Russell will join the executive team of The Instillery as chief sales officer. The company founders said the merger represented one of the most significant M&A events for the kiwi tech sector in a decade and would establish The Instillery as a genuine Tier 1 ICT provider. The merger was a statement of intent to lead in the cloud revolution, which had well-documented benefits of cloud technologies, while also ensuring the security and protection of critical data, said Jenkins. Disruption and opportunities Emerging technologies led by cloud and automation continued to disrupt and create new opportunities, he said. “The tech sector here has been screaming for change and a genuine alternative option to partner with. Trust and confidence - information security - have never been more critical to our clients as they embark on their cloud journey.” The Instillery and Origin both come from humble beginnings. The Instillery was founded by Jenkins six years ago, from a co-working space in Parnell. Jenkins grew up in the Computerland era and honed his skills through a 14-year career working for Logical, IBM and Cisco on both sides of the Tasman. The Instillery merged with Vo2 in July last year, which brought in extensive Modern Workplace, managed services and support capability. The Instillery is known for its public cloud and DevOps capability. Origin was established in a West Auckland garage 20 years ago. The company has brought further depth to The Instillery stable with its managed services, private cloud and network experience. In recent years Origin has built one of New Zealand’s largest cybersecurity practices, providing a fully managed threat prevention, detection and response service to enterprise businesses. Origin also has recent M&A experience following its Trust and confidence - information security - have never been more critical to our clients as they embark on their cloud journey.” - Mike Jenkins acquisition of Optinet in 2015. Jenkins said the merger meant the company could focus on growing in the right area. “The merger is an exciting opportunity to take another step towards where our customers need us to be with the growth of cloud, leveraging the unrivalled experience The Instillery has in this area.” Kotahi’s head of operation excellence Wayne Bloem said that, as an Origin customer, he was excited about the merger. “The two companies combined will provide Kotahi with a key strategic partner that can not only support its environments and protect it through its security practices, but they can also now further challenge us on our cloud journey,” he said. “We look for partners that can push us and drive us beyond our current capabilities. And with this merger, we now will have a partner that has a global reach in this space and can further drive Kotahi’s cloud priorities.” According to Jenkins, most enterprises today utilised a hybrid, multi-cloud approach. “Origin’s strength in security, network design and optimisation, combined with our agnostic approach to cloud, means that customers will get the proven formula, tailored for their business, irrespective of where they are on their cloud journey.” Hamish Archer, GM Technology - TSB, said The Instillery had worked with TSB from the start of its cloud journey, helping build its first Mike Jenkins and Michael Russell: merging to build cloud operations. Photo/Supplied production systems, then automating their deployment. “Keeping security in front of mind and having local skills is very important to us and has been a key part of the engagement with The Instillery,” said Archer. “The access to further depth and capability through the merger with Origin opens up further opportunities to grow what we do together.” Jenkins said the newly formed company would address largely unmet demand in the enterprise arena. “We know that large businesses, including enterprise, local government and central government agencies, are looking for a fresh, agile approach that allows them to move faster. ‘ “We’re excited about the immediate opportunity to scale to up to help more businesses innovate and realise the well-documented benefits of cloud.” The new company will have offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Napier, Wellington and Christchurch. The Instillery also delivers services for several Trans-Tasman and global clients and is eyeing expansion into Australia in the near future.
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