How many global brands can you think of that are made in New Zealand? One that I didn't know about is Sistema Plastics. I saw that it has been sold to a US company for US$470 million. I have a daughter at school and she says that everyone she knows has a Sistema lunch box, while my wife informs me she buys Sistema because it is made in New Zealand. Well I never!
Read about the Sistema sale here; http://www.wsj.com/articles/newell-to-buy-sistema-woodwick-for-a-combined-570-million-1481547345
One brand made in New Zealand that I am fully aware of is the Barmac crusher. A Barmac vertical shaft impactor (VSI) can be found in 60% of the world's quarries. From Matamata to the world. The company is now owned by Metso, the Finnish giant.
How about Swazi wet weather and outdoor gear made in Levin: http://www.swazi.co.nz/about-swazi/
How about Tracgrip and Trackback, Kiwi engineering for getting your track-type tractor on the go up hills and for getting those tracks that skip off, put back on http://trackgrip.co.nz and trackback.co.nz/trackback/
How about Cavotec MoorMaster in Christchurch. They manufacture giant suction cups to hold ships in place alongside the dock, it really does work!! It's a surprise when you first see the suction cups lock on, it goes THUD: http://www.moormaster.com
Then Brightwater Engineering (yes, that's little Brightwater near Nelson in the South Island) manufacture Yarders, see their biggest machine: http://www.brightwater.co.nz/assets/Uploads/BE85-Yarder-Spec-Sheet-Web-Version3.pdf
You'd think with all this innovation and enterprise going on that the government would be a bit more supportive, eh. But NZ has a grandstanding attention seeking sound bite set of politicians who probably have never heard of any of the companies listed here, with the exception of Sistema (maybe not even then). New Zealand has to grow up and realise the rest of the world only pays lip service to free trade, they do not actually practise it and to compete NZ has to get real and tilt the playing field in its favour when it suits.
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