Otago is one of the "hot beds" of New Zealand’s innovation sector, New Zealand Hi-Tech Trust chairman David Downs told those attending Dunedin’s first-ever NZ Hi-Tech Awards event yesterday.
More than 160 people attended the event, hosted on-site by United Machinists, where attendees were surrounded by autonomous machines manufacturing everything from prosthetics to aerospace components.
It coincided with the trust’s board meeting in the city.
Today, the finalists will be announced for this year’s Hi-Tech Awards, which will be held in Christchurch on June 23. The awards recognise the achievers in the hi-tech industry from the start-up and emerging categories through to the PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year, and there were a record number of entries from Otago, Mr Downs said.
Coming to a place like United Machinists made you appreciate how much technology had "leap-frogged" over the past 27 years the awards had been held, he said.
Animation Research founder Sir Ian Taylor, who is a board member of the Hi-Tech Trust, said the turnout at the event was "mind-boggling", and he made special mention of Bill Buckley, founder of Buckley Systems Limited (BSL) — the world’s leading supplier of precision electromagnets used in the manufacture of silicon chips, flat-panel screens, high-end medical machinery and particle accelerators — who had flown south especially for the function. Sir Ian described him as one of his heroes.
United Machinists chief executive Sarah Ramsay was excited about hosting the event, saying "we all knew Dunedin had an awesome tech scene and now the NZ Hi-Tech board does too".
The room in which the function was held was "world class" as far as hi-tech manufacturing went. It may not be the biggest but, as far as capability, it had one of the broadest ranges in New Zealand.
Building and improving on New Zealand’s advanced manufacturing capability was essential for a more productive and resilient society.
"Our industry is critical in our communities," she said.
Automation and robotics did not replace people and the skill required at United Machinists was "immense". The business was passionate about creating new opportunities for its people, she said.
