A New Zealand-based agritech company is showcasing its autonomous, multi-use, hybrid vehicle in the United States this week.
Robotics Plus was at FIRA USA, a three-day event for autonomous farming and agricultural robotics solutions, held in Woodland - Sacramento, California.
The agritech company was there to promote Prospr, a vehicle designed to carry out a variety of orchard and vineyard crop tasks more efficiently and sustainably while reducing reliance on labour.
Prospr was launched last year at FIRA and Robotics Plus said it was already transforming orchard and vineyard operations in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Steve Saunders, co-founder and chief executive officer at Robotics Plus, said the challenge for growers globally was how to produce more food sustainably while reducing their environmental impact.
“That’s why we developed Prospr, a robust autonomous vehicle with unique modular architecture and all-day running that empowers growers to adapt to the jobs they need to do in an ever-evolving agricultural landscape.”
Saunders said Prospr’s design centred on utilisation and flexibility, adapting to different tools for various crop types, growing formats and heights, and applications year-round.
He said Prospr decreased emissions, lowering fuel consumption by 70% with its hybrid diesel-electric system, and also reduced inputs, which enhanced environmental sustainability, cost, and reliance on “increasingly hard-to-find” machine operators.
“It’s great to see Prospr already working in orchards and vineyards globally to elevate operations.”
More about Prospr
Intelligent and targeted spraying
Saunders said Prospr included automated intelligent spraying.
This allows growers to deploy a range of spray configurations, with tower sprayers for grapes, apples, or tree crops already available.
Spray rates and air speed are dynamic and controlled in zones or by individual fans to maximise spray efficacy and enable a more targeted application than traditional sprayers.
The fine mist and turbulent air produced by the sprayers put spray on the backs of leaves; all of this results in superior droplet formation and spray deposition.
Robitics Plus said other attachments were under development and would be released over time.
AI-powered navigation, safety and precision
Prospr houses an advanced AI (artificial intelligence) system, to maximise efficiency, safety, and operational uptime in demanding orchard and vineyard environments.
It has a collision avoidance system, integrating light detection and ranging, (LiDAR) and cameras to detect and identify obstacles.
This allows Prospr to autonomously adjust its speed, avoid obstacles, and stop when necessary, maintaining high operational speeds while ensuring safety.
Intuitive user interface (UI)
Prospr’s intuitive user interface (UI) lets operators manage and monitor tasks remotely and efficiently.
Operators can manage and organise the day’s jobs for multiple machines from a single location, track job status in real-time, remotely and maintain a detailed record of active and completed jobs.
Prospr also has safety and environmental controls, and vehicle stats allow operators to monitor what is happening.
The vehicle can also switch between manual and autonomous functions.
Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Deel, the leading all-in-one payroll and HR platform for global teams, announces the expansion of its immigration support services. Effective immediately, Deel's visa assistance will be available to everyone, not just current customers. This includes individuals seeking digital nomad visas and workers hired by companies through their own entities.
With this expansion, companies can now manage visa support for all their workers—whether employed through Deel or their own entities—on a single, intuitive platform. This streamlined approach simplifies immigration processes between global offices, offering a user-friendly experience refined through processing thousands of visas for clients' employees.
"For many people, securing a visa and moving countries is a life-changing experience. It can be complicated, stressful, and even scary. We want to make that process simpler, and to help connect talent with opportunity, no matter where it is," said Todd Heine, Founder of Legalpad (now Deel Immigration).
"Deel is committed to breaking down barriers to global employment. By expanding our immigration support services, we're making it easier for individuals and companies to navigate complex visa processes, fostering a more connected and mobile workforce."
Global Visa Support
Deel Immigration now supports digital nomad visas in nine countries: Portugal, Spain, Greece, Canada, Japan, Argentina, Colombia, Italy, and the UAE. Additionally, options for permanent residency are available, including the R Visa in Colombia and EB-1A and EB-2 NIW visas in the US.
Key Features
Expert guidance: Access Deel's in-house immigration team, available 24/7 to assist at every step.
Comprehensive documentation: Centralize all required documents on one platform, ensuring applications are complete and accurate.
Real-time updates: Track visa progress with live updates and notes from a dedicated case manager.
Centralized information: Easily access all related application information—from form submission and costs to timelines and case manager updates—in one place. Schedule meetings with the case manager in one click, ensuring support is always just minutes away. Once the visa is approved, securely store it on the platform for easy access and stay compliant with automated renewal reminders.
Immigration support for employees hired through companies’ own entities
Having successfully processed thousands of visas across 50 countries, including recent expansions into India, Argentina, and Uruguay, Deel is now extending its immigration services to support employees hired directly through companies’ own entities (not just Deel’s) in 20 countries. This expansion enables Deel clients using Deel HR or Deel Global Payroll products to manage their team’s relocation across all entities on a single, unified platform, providing a seamless experience for their global workforce.
End-to-end US visa applications, now digitally streamlined on the Deel platform
Until now, applying for a US visa has been manual, requiring multiple touchpoints and off-platform interactions. Deel has integrated the Legalpad app and process into its native platform, adding over 10 US visas and creating the most comprehensive HR, payroll, and immigration software solution available. With this integration, the entire US visa journey is now fully digital and managed within the Deel platform, from eligibility checks to application tracking.
Introducing new mobility partnerships with Heart Relocation and The Build Fellowship
Deel believes that the immigration journey doesn’t end with a visa. The relocation process can be complex and stressful for employees, so Deel has partnered with Heart Relocation to offer a comprehensive solution. With global coverage in over 110 countries, Heart Relocation helps manage every stage of the move—from furniture and home search to school placement and tax support.
The US H-1B lottery has become more competitive in recent years. In 2024, the success rate on the March H-1B lottery dropped to just 11%, making securing visas for skilled international talent harder. To address this, Deel is partnering with The Build Fellowship to offer a cap-exempt H-1B program with a 99% approval rate. This allows new hires to start within 8-12 weeks, smoothly transitioning into full-time roles quickly.
For more information about Deel's expanded immigration support services, visit deel.com/immigration.
About Deel
Deel is the leading global payroll and compliance platform. With Deel, businesses can hire anyone, anywhere, in a simple and compliant manner. Deel's platform offers unmatched payroll, benefits, and compliance capabilities in over 150 countries, providing a seamless and enjoyable experience for both businesses and their international teams.
After several years commercializing its technology, Australia-based hydrometallurgical processing company Mint Innovation is getting ready to build its first U.S. facility, which will provide an outlet for various grades of circuit boards.
Will Barker, CEO and co-founder, launched the company in 2016 with a goal to recover gold and other metals from waste streams or mining residues, not through smelting but through the use of various solvents.
“Very quickly, we realized that applied quite nicely to e-waste in particular and so started scaling the technology with that in mind,” Barker said.
It began proving out its concept with a pilot plant, which raised the capital to fund a demonstration plant in Auckland, New Zealand, that opened in 2019. That, in turn, raised enough capital to build a commercial prototype plant in Sydney, Australia, which completed construction and was commissioned last year.
Mint has been ramping up production there throughout 2024, currently at 3,000 metric tons per year of capacity, and now it’s gearing up for North America.
“We’ve learned a lot of lessons needed to start deploying that elsewhere,” Barker said. “And we are now ready to pull the trigger on the next deployment, which is going to be the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.”
Process produces ‘low-carbon metals’
Mint employs a hydrometallurgical process with a solvent that can go into a dissolved metal solution and act as a sort of sponge, Barker said, to selectively concentrate gold from waste streams that contain many different metals.
“The whole point of the technology is that we are able to downscale to the size where we can actually deploy regionally,” Barker said. He envisions small Mint facilities capable of serving a region of 300 to 600 miles, providing a small-footprint alternative to shipping materials out of the country for commodity recovery.
“What that enables is you’re able to serve businesses locally, you’re able to return metals back into the local economy, so proper, actual circularity,” Barker said. “And you’re able to compete with the smelters in a transparent and local way.”
Mint’s hydrometallurgical process would take in the same materials that would otherwise go for smelting. It dissolves the metals, uses a patented biotechnology to recover the gold and other precious metals, and uses conventional electrochemical processing to recover copper, tin, silver and other base metals.
At its current plant in Sydney, Mint sells the output metals locally. Barker noted one selling point for Mint’s metals is that they are processed with low-carbon technology.
“There is potential for selling them at a premium,” he said. “Our vision is that they are truly circular, so they are going back into the same electronics from whence they came. We’re working with a number of OEMs as to how to get them back into their supply chains.”
Multiple US facilities planned in near future
Barker anticipates building multiple U.S. plants that are similar or slightly larger in scale compared to the Sydney facility, at 4,000 or 5,000 tons per year, since “it’s a bigger market,” he said.
Barker likened the appearance of a Mint facility to a microbrewery, with various holding tanks, pumps, pipes and filter presses throughout. A 4,000-ton-per-year plant will be housed in a roughly 50,000- to 60,000-square-foot warehouse, he said. That small footprint is important given the company’s goal to do local processing.
“The waste streams are produced in urban environments, so we want to slide our plants into those same urban environments and recover the value locally,” he said. “That means you basically have to slide it into an existing warehouse in a city.”
Location details are not finalized yet, but he floated the possibility of building three to five U.S. facilities “in the near term.” Barker said he hopes to announce the first U.S. location before the end of this year, to develop that facility throughout next year, and to have it be operational by the end of 2025.
As part of the growth strategy, Mint in August hired Jason Price as chief operating officer. Price brings significant experience in the e-scrap and ITAD sectors, previously holding positions at Sims and Synergy Electronics Recycling, as well as at Camston Wrather, a company also working on hydrometallurgical e-scrap metals recovery.
In an interview, Price said several points about Mint’s process drew him to the company, including the traceability inherent to Mint’s technology. The company processes circuit boards in 3,000- to 4,000-pound batches, he explained, and Mint can trace the gold from those boards to that specific batch.
“So if a manufacturer says, ‘Here’s X number of boards,’ that gold from that particular batch can go back to that company,” he said.
Mint will not be dismantling devices itself and instead will be looking to buy circuit boards from e-scrap firms. The company can take in a variety of board grades but will shy away from the lower-grade boards found in TVs, for example.
“P4 motherboard and above is where we want to be on the precious metals, the gold content,” Price said. “We can take in any level above that.”
Source: https://resource-recycling.com/
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today issued the following statement on the October 14, 2024, passing of former Chamber CEO Thomas J. Donohue:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American business community, and our nation mourn the passing of Thomas J. Donohue. Throughout his extraordinary life, Tom was many things—friend, mentor, statesman, storyteller, fighter, advocate, and patriot. Above all else, he was a dedicated family man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.
As a business leader, Tom was a towering figure, and across his decades-long career, his Irish toughness, combined with his genuine compassion, made him a unique and impactful voice in Washington and around the world. He gave business a seat at the table and a voice in the debate in a way it never had before.
In 1997, after 13 years leading the American Trucking Associations, Tom took the wheel of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is no exaggeration to say he resurrected the Chamber, taking the institution from good to great and from productive to powerful—and standing up for business from the nation’s capital to every corner of the globe. He never backed down from a fight that was necessary for a cause he believed in, leading the American business community and building the Chamber into the largest and most effective business organization in the world. He did it with high energy and absolute integrity, always keeping his promises and keeping his word. Tom’s mantra was simple: ‘If you can, you must.’
By his own admission, ‘retirement’ was never a word in Tom’s lexicon, and even after he stepped down from his storied career as CEO of the Chamber, he continued to be driven by intellectual curiosity and patriotic duty. Through the work of The Donohue Group, Tom remained engaged on the topics he thought most important to the future of our nation. He generously gave his time and service to the boards of the U.S. Chamber, the Hudson Institute, the Center for International Private Enterprise, and Marymount University.
Tom would often say that to serve the business community was to serve our country, and he did it with distinction. Like Tom himself, the spirit of enterprise is strong, it is fearless, and it is enduring—bigger than any of us, and yet a reflection of the best in all of us. Tom Donohue will be deeply missed, but his legacy lives on as we carry that spirit forward.
About Thomas J. Donohue: Donohue took the helm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1997, after 13 years leading the American Trucking Associations. He retired in 2021 but continued to serve on the U.S. Chamber Board of Directors. Earlier in his career, he was deputy assistant postmaster general of the United States and vice president of development at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
Born in New York City, Donohue earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and a master’s degree in business administration from Adelphi University.
Global Cinnamon Roll brand, Cinnabon® has confirmed that it will be bringing its famed sweet treats to New Zealand soon.
The well-loved brand that believes ‘Life needs frosting’, and aims to deliver just that, says that preparations are well underway for the opening of its first New Zealand store in Auckland’s Westfield Newmarket.
A Cinnabon spokesperson says, “We’re thrilled to introduce Cinnabon to Aotearoa. It’s been incredibly successful in international markets, including Australia, and we’re excited that Kiwis will soon be able to experience the ooey-gooey deliciousness that has won hearts worldwide.”
Cinnabon NZ are confident now is the right time to invest in New Zealand and position the brand for growth, as the economic outlook improves. In recent years, New Zealand has seen a surge of international brands launch here successfully and many New Zealanders will already be familiar with Cinnabon from overseas trips.
“New Zealand is such a promising market for Cinnabon and this is an amazing opportunity to create even more memorable experiences for new and returning customers” said Steven Yang, Senior Vice President, APAC at GoTo Foods International. “Our portfolio of brands offers more than just a business opportunity; it’s a chance to become a part of the daily routines and lifestyles of this community.”
Westfield Newmarket was selected as Cinnabon’s first store location in New Zealand because of its prime position, bustling foot traffic and close proximity to businesses, shopping and transportation hubs.
The Newmarket menu will feature classic Cinnabon treats including:
• The Classic Roll: The world-famous cinnamon roll combining warm dough, legendary Makara cinnamon and the signature Cinnabon cream cheese frosting.
• Caramel PecanBon®: The Classic Roll but even more decadent, with caramel and pecans for the perfect crunch.
• ChocoBon™: The one for the chocolate lovers, with chocolate spread and a rich chocolate drizzle.
They will also be available as the smaller MiniBon® for when you’re in the mood for a more petite treat and in perfect for sharing CinnaPacks™. You’ll be able to pair your Cinnabon with great coffee or a Chillatta®, the Cinnabon blended frozen masterpiece, available in Mango, Strawberry, Cookies and Cream, Caramel Latte and, of course, Cinnamon Roll flavours.
Kathan Parikh, the Director of Cinnabon NZ is excited to be leading the expansion into New Zealand and is looking forward to growing the brand here. The New Zealand launch will increase the number of countries where Cinnabon operates to 54 and will add to the almost 2,000 Bakery-Cafes worldwide including 16 sites in Australia. The aim is to open 10-15 stores across New Zealand, with the potential for more if there’s demand.
More details of the opening will be released soon.
To stay up to date follow Cinnabon New Zealand on Instagram @cinnabonnz or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cinnabonnz.
Source: https://www.fmcgbusiness.co.nz/
Chitogel Limited, a New Zealand-owned and Wellington-based medical device company, has announced to its shareholders the signing of a major investment contract with a US-based organisation, McGeever, LLC, headquartered in North Carolina. This investment, made through McGeever’s subsidiary, LCO Capital, LLC and totalling US$6.58 million over 3 years, will be used to establish a dedicated medical sales team across the United States through McGeever’s commercial execution arm, SalesForce4Hire, LLC. The investment is aimed at driving the expansion and growth of Chitogel’s first-to-market hydrogel product for post-operative use following endoscopic sinus surgery.
In addition to this major investment, Chitogel Limited is launching a Series A Capital Raise of NZ$8m. This funding will be instrumental in delivering their second-to-market Otologic Kit for middle ear corrective surgery; advancing new product developments for laminectomy and abdominal surgery; relocating their manufacturing plant to increase capacity; and ensuring sufficient working capital.
Chitogel Limited CEO, Edward Lamb, expressed his enthusiasm for the milestone, stating, “This is a great moment for a NZ owned and based company to establish its own medical sales team in the biggest global market, the United States.” He further added, “Chitogel has been distributed in the US since 2019, so this is a natural progression to enable expansion of customer use. I would like to personally thank Chitogel staff and the investors who have patiently supported us on this journey.”
McGeever, LLC invests in a portfolio of companies aligned to the core purpose of improving the value of their investments through commercial execution. It is a highly experienced medical device commercialisation group with a proven track record of successfully launching and driving rapid sales growth for multinational companies and startups in the US market over the past 20 years.
Recent clinical studies have shown that severe chronic rhinosinusitis patients treated with Chitogel demonstrated significantly lower rates of revision surgery (Barber 2024). Chitogel also promotes a healthy microbiome which decreases postoperative infections (Megow 2022), whilst it is also rapidly haemostatic immediately after surgery and prevents adhesion formation, addressing two of the most common complications of sinus surgery (Valentine 2010).
Chitogel offers unique patient benefits by promoting healthy bacteria in the sinuses leading to improved sinus health and helping patients feel better and stay healthier over the long term. With a trend of reduced health system costs and increase efficiencies, Chitogel has shown a clear reduction in the need for follow up consults and revision surgeries. Given these flow-on benefits and cost savings, Chitogel is viewed as an investment, with the long-term cost-savings and improvements to patient welfare far outweighing the initial cost of the product.
Source: Scoop Media
Unveils leadership and integration plans for unified business in Australia and New Zealand, offering more choice for customers.
Australia and New Zealand, 1 October 2024
Experian, the world’s leading data and technology company, has today announced the successful completion of its A$820 million acquisition of consumer and commercial credit bureau, illion, in Australia and New Zealand.
The acquisition and integration of illion’s 500 strong team, data, software and intellectual property into Experian will create a unified business that brings together complementary capabilities, assets, people and customers. The combined organisation is set to enhance market choice and deliver powerful, data-driven solutions for businesses and consumers across the region.
Malin Holmberg, CEO Experian EMEA and Asia Pacific region, said: “having successfully led the Australia and New Zealand business for the past seven years, Andrew Black, will take leadership of the combined organisation, overseeing the strategic integration and growth plans, leveraging our global innovations.
Experian A/NZ CEO Andrew Black said Experian’s five-year strategic plan will quickly unlock value of the combined team and capabilities, with the first phase balancing speed and service continuity for customers.
“This is a historic day for our business, our people and our customers - and it’s just the beginning,” Black said. “Through this acquisition we aim to continue our growth trajectory in Australia and New Zealand, significantly expand our market and bring new capabilities to redefine what a data-driven technology business can be.”
“illion has built an impressive product portfolio, data assets and customer base that are diverse and complementary to Experian’s strengths and we have a robust integration plan that will enable our customers to quickly realise the benefits of the combined entities.”
“One of the big wins here is the combined data assets which will provide more choice for our customers. This is going to supercharge our product and service capabilities, in alignment with Experian’s global strategy, in a way that simply hasn’t been possible before.”
Black confirmed that the new combined entity will be rebranded to Experian, likely within the next 12 months, although some of the illion product names that have gained credible market awareness will continue.
“Our people are our greatest competitive differentiator, which is not only recognised by our customers but also leading workplace authorities such as Great Place to Work and Work180. The integration will foster a culture of collaboration, bringing together our best talent to create a unified, empowered and high-performing team,” Black said.
illion CEO steps down
Experian confirmed that John Banfield, CEO of illion, will be stepping down following the successful completion of the acquisition. Banfield played a pivotal role in transforming illion’s performance and culture, culminating in the company’s acquisition by Experian.
Source: https://www.experianplc.com/
United Airlines will resume its summer route between San Francisco and Christchurch in December. Some of United’s top brass sat down with Stuff Travel in Auckland to discuss the airline’s future plans.
In December 2023, United Airlines opened up the US to the South Island - and vice versa.
Launching direct flights between Christchurch and San Francisco, the seasonal service is the only one that allows South Islanders to fly direct to the US.
Coming back for a second season in December, the airline will fly the route three times a week, in addition to the daily service to San Francisco from Auckland from October 27, meaning it will operate 10 flights a week to the US hub. United has more combined flights between the US and New Zealand/Australia than any other carrier in the world.
“There’s a lot of interest particularly on the west coast of the US, folks wanting to travel here and see different places so it’s been very positive for us ,” said Doreen Burse, United’s SVP of Worldwide Sales.
“The great thing about San Francisco being one of our biggest hubs is the connectivity we have in getting folks to San Francisco, and then travelling onwards. There’s no particular state off the top of my head that comes to mind but in particular in the west, the western side of the US tends to be the most popular.”
Earlier this year United suspended its Auckland to Los Angeles route, which it had launched at the end of October 2023 with three weekly flights. Now it remains focused on the San Francisco routes to Auckland and Christchurch. Burse said looking ahead to summer, demand on the Christchurch service is “solid”.
“We were happy with the first season performance and are excited to be returning for a second season, with strong bookings trending,” said Burse.
Since the pandemic, United has grown its connections in the Asia Pacific region and is now 10% bigger than in 2019. Burse said New Zealand remains a key market for them.
“Even when you look at New Zealand and Australia together, we’re over 30% larger than in 2019. The region is very exciting if you consider that China hasn’t come all the way back. We’re the largest US carrier transpacifically. It's an incredibly important market to us and we’re going to continue to evaluate where is the demand, where are the places we can travel to that actually help folks, through our Star Alliance partners, get to other places beyond too.”
United’s country manager for Australia, NZ and Tahiti Tim Wallis said NZ’s great outdoors tends to be the key drawcard for Americans travelling here.
“Our peak season for capacity is our summer and that's the season for vineyards, for hiking, for water sports, so all of those activities they've been the reason for people to come down and will continue to be so I think.”
Wallis said while the recent increase to the tourist tax for visitors to NZ is high, it won’t be a deterrent for most US travellers.
“That’s a significant cost of course, but I think New Zealand has so many wonderful experiences and choices for passengers and I think it will always be a bucket list destination.
“And I think a cost like that gets packaged into that total cost of journey, and the reason people are coming down here is the great outdoors, the vineyards, the hiking, the list goes on and I know that that won’t stop them from visiting.”
The San Francisco routes will be flown with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. United expects to take delivery of about 100 new planes every year for the next five years as part of their United Next growth plan - that’s a new aircraft roughly every three days. Those new aircraft will be about 20% more fuel efficient.
United is the largest purchaser of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and was one of the first airlines to commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
This month the airline announced an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed wi-fi to the airline’s mainline and regional aircraft fleet for free. That means passengers will be able to stream video while in the sky, watch live TV, download/upload documents and play live games.
Testing begins in early 2025 with the first passenger flights expected later that year. It’ll be available on passengers’ seat back screens, as the airline plans to retrofit existing aircraft to include a 10-inch screen in every economy seat, or 16-inch HD touch screen in every business class seat.
The new interiors will also include Bluetooth, power and plugs in every seat, bigger overhead bins, and LED lighting.
Burse said they’re always thinking about the traveller experience and how to remove friction from travel.
“It’ll be a gamechanger, I can’t imagine being able to stream and being able to do the things I can currently do at home in the air.”
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/
DENVER - The City and County of Denver and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s GridAKL, Auckland's startup hub fostering technology, innovation and entrepreneurship communities, have signed a City2City agreement. This partnership paves the way for business exchange and collaborative innovation between the two cities, positioning Denver as a prominent technology hub on the global stage.
“Denver businesses are the best in the world and deserve avenues to expand and thrive at home while also leading on the global stage,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “This new partnership will benefit both cities for years to come by supporting companies as they explore exciting global opportunities, connecting our entrepreneurial ecosystems, fostering innovation, and creating lasting benefits for Denver and Auckland businesses and communities alike."
This City2City agreement was established through Denver Economic Development & Opportunity’s (DEDO) Global Business Development. Under this agreement, eligible businesses from both Denver and Auckland will receive support, including connections to local networks and access to free or discounted workspaces for up to 90 days. Companies looking to scale will benefit from the resources needed to expand successfully, gaining access to co-working spaces, talent, incentives, events, and grants in both markets. These agreements also pave the way for expanded foreign direct investment opportunities.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited is Auckland’s economic and cultural agency and Chief Executive Nick Hill said this agreement “will help technology businesses explore opportunities in both Auckland and Denver, helping them expand their market reach, and get greater access to local resources.”
Denver has signed City2City agreements with London; Brest, France; the State of New South Wales, Australia; Guadalajara, Mexico and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Through these partnerships, Denver is strengthening its position as an innovative leader in a global network that is creating supportive environments for companies to find success in foreign markets.
“As a city, we aim to both attract foreign companies to establish their U.S. operations in our vibrant city and create resources and pathways for Denver’s local businesses and economy to thrive, making this City2City collaboration invaluable in positioning Denver as a global city,” said Adeeb Khan, Executive Director of DEDO. “Denver was recently recognized by ADP Research as having the top job market in the nation, out of 55 metro areas. We are proud to be an entrepreneurial and innovation hub for businesses to access assistance, programs, and networking opportunities.”
In addition to the City2City agreement, Denver is home to a stellar and growing community of New Zealand businesses and government representatives that contribute to the local economy. Through this bilateral agreement, Denver hopes to further support and expand this community, while also showcasing Auckland and its region as an exciting market for Denver companies to explore.
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About Denver Economic Development & Opportunity Denver Economic Development & Opportunity is creating an economy that works for everyone. Learn more at denvergov.org/economicdevelopment.
About Tātaki Auckland UnlimitedTātaki Auckland Unlimited is Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s economic and cultural agency committed to making the region a desirable place to live, work, visit, invest and do business. Learn more at www.aucklandunlimited.com
New Zealand’s Lanaco has signed a major deal with Unilever-owned air purifier manufacturer Blueair for its world-leading New Zealand, natural, renewable woollen air filter.
The company has hailed the new partnership as a truly significant step in the commercialisation of its Ecostatic® wool filters and a boost for the air purifier market that has previously relied on synthetic air filters.
Lanaco’s Ecostatic® wool filters have made it into outer space on NASA rockets for Moon and Mars missions, and were part of the facemasks that kept the New Zealand team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics free of COVID. Now they have found a home on Earth.
Lanaco founder and chief executive Nick Davenport says the new partnership with Blueair, a leading Swedish air wellness pioneer, represents a step-change in the global air filtration market. Blueair is the first to integrate Lanaco’s natural, renewable New Zealand wool fibre-based EcoStatic® technology into its range of portable air purifiers.
“Blueair's dedication to innovation, sustainability and quality resonates with our core values at Lanaco,” Nick Davenport says.
“Our company has developed wool-based filter media because wool provides both the basis for true performance and the best sustainability credentials. We are thrilled that our partnership with Blueair captures this capability whilst also recognising the environmental benefits of woollen filters as well.
“Just as Icebreaker did for wool clothing, Lanaco is bringing its branded New Zealand wool technology to the global filtration market by partnering with one of Europe’s greatest consumer goods companies.”
Blueair chief executive Andy Lu says partnering with Lanaco to produce the industry's first woollen, biodegradable filter is not just a milestone for Blueair, “but a transformative moment for the entire air purification industry”.
Lanaco’s EcoStatic® electrostatic filter technology is uniquely supported by the established Ovis Global™ Astino® sheep breeding programme, which , which is pivotal in its success as wool with superior filtration performance is being bred for. This initiative presents a long-term growth opportunity for the farming sector, with thousands of tonnes of New Zealand wool potentially benefiting from this scientifically sophisticated application of wool as a novel biomaterial.
Targeting a global filter media market valued at over $US8 billion, Lanaco says the Unilever partnership is the first of several high volume market opportunities that Lanaco is presently progressing to full commercialisation.
About Lanaco
Lanaco is an Auckland-based, predominantly New Zealand-owned company that manufactures woollen-based, natural and renewable materials for use in air filtration. Focused on the principles of sustainability, performance and innovation, Lanaco’s Ecostatic® product range provides superior, natural solutions for use in air conditioning, appliance safety and healthcare products, which all share the principal function of delivering clean air for people to breathe.
The technology is underpinned by extensive wool science and a bespoke New Zealand sheep breeding programme called Astino®, providing the unique data and knowledge of fibre performance, which make its output wool increasingly relevant to Lanaco’s customer needs.
EcoStatic® is a non-woven, natural, wool-rich fibre material which possesses a strong electrostatic charge enabling it to remove the tiniest particles from the air. Filters from this are being used in space by NASA in its trials of vehicles to go to the Moon and Mars.
About Blueair
Founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996, Blueair is a world-leading producer of air purification solutions for home and professional use., Blueair delivers innovative, best-in-class, energy-efficient products and services sold in more than 60 countries. The company became a part of the Unilever family of brands in 2016.
www.lanaco.co.nz
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