Warm Christmas Greetings to Exportersblog Readers

Christmas Greetings to all readers of this blog wherever you are.  Since most of you are in the northern hemisphere I thought some pictures of warm flowers which we have flowering this Christmas might 'export' some warmth into your reading.
Thank you for continuing to read the posts I put up. On Thursday last I listened to a radio interview with the developer of the Read Write Web blog, Richard McManus.  For those who may not be aware this blog was developed in Petone, New Zealand - Richard is a New Zealander - and has just been sold for ca US$5 million.   Richard said that he was getting 5 million hits a month whereas Exportersblog is getting just over 800.  Although paltry in comparison, it very worthwhile for me, and hopefully for those interested in international trade.  I trust you will continue to dip in and see what I am thinking about and maybe in 2012 make a comment.
Certainly in New Zealand with all our political parties in the newly elected Parliament promising to grow the economy with 'export-led growth' - we can  expect  some new and exciting things to happen!?
I know that one of my presents this year is a Kindle - thank you to our American friends who have exported this e-reading technology around the world.  At the moment it is tantalisingly wrapped and awaiting Christmas morning.   It will be a Christmas of discovery for me - importing titles, getting used to the way it works, almost certainly sharing it with family for the first few days.  In one of my early posts for 2012 I will let you know how I have been getting on.
In the meantime try to keep warm and enjoy these summer flowers from my garden in Palmerston North.  Before Web 2.0 this kind of exporting was  much less frequent  - aren't we blessed with technological advances.
Best wishes to you all.

Chairs from Lower Hutt

What do the ZAF chair, the LIFE chair, and the Be chair have in common?   They have all been designed by New Zealand exporting company Formway which is based in Lower Hutt.

The New Zealand School of Export's file on Formway makes very interesting reading with three newspaper articles and one magazine article covering 2008-2011.  In the earliest article the furniture maker had just been awarded the Outstanding Individual Award at the Design in Business Awards.   The company had made a ZAF chair for Prince Philip and a LIFE chair for both Steve Jobs and President Bill Clinton.
The next year 2009 seems to have been a roller-coaster year for Formway with the Be chair winning the Gold Award at the Neo-Con trade show in Chicago.   But just a month later the newspaper article from 1 August reports that the Unemployment axe falls on Lower Hutt companies.  Formway was forced to shed 50 staff but decided to retain its design team.
This year in a survey article on 'design thinking' published in the New Zealand Listener (June 4), Formway features alongwith key NZ companies such as Gallagher, Pacific Aerospace, Howard Wright and Zeacom.   The author Rebecca Macfie reports that Formway's Be chair has generated $60 million in international sales since it was launched in 2009.
So what is this design thinking that had been so crucial to the success of these NZ companies?

The guru of design thinking is Tim Brown (Change by Design) and it is about using intensive observation - of customers and potential customers, work and social patterns, and global trends - to uncover latent needs, and applying teamwork, experimentation and expertise to figure out ways to meet them.

Creative design is becoming a key feature of New Zealand's export products and this blog has earlier posted on the innovatove lighting firm David Trubridge Ltd.

Formway's website is at: http://www.formway.com/ and is well worth looking at with two fascinating case studies.

The Be or Knoll Chair -  Image source: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/136/in-the-hot-seat.html

Export Bank for New Zealand?

In the latest issue of the Exporter (November/December 2011), the Director of the New Zealand School of Export, Dr Romuald Rudzki floats the idea of an export bank for New Zealand.  He says:
'What we need is a comprehensive economic plan founded on an export-based economy.  One which includes all the essentials such as the use of the Superannuation Fund to invest in New Zealand export companies..., an Export Bank that has a different view than the ludicrously high interest rates of the Reserve Bank, more funding for NZTE both here and abroad, and major tax breaks for income earned overseas.' (p.43)

Dr Rudzki says that many countries have an export bank which specialises in support for the exporter.  Four  examples of countries that have an export bank are:
Turkey - Turk Eximbank at: http://www.eximbank.gov.tr/eng/
Malaysia - EXIM Bank of Malaysia at: http://www.exim.com.my/
USA - Export-Impport Bank of the the United States at: http://www.exim.gov
Vietnam - Vietnam EXimbank at:  http://www.eximbank.com.vn/

Since the private sector banks in New Zealand don't see a role for themselves in this area, Dr Rudzki suggests that Kiwibank could become the bank for exporters.   Food for thought for both government and the banking industry here in New Zealand....

IATTO Forum Chengdu, China 2011 - more

 Pandas at Chengdu – Photo by Dr Romuald Rudzki November 5, 2011.  A visit to the Pandas at the Panda Breeding Center was a lighter but enjoyable moment for participants in the IATTO Forum in Chengdu, China.

The Forum was very successful and the Chinese hosts at the Nordic International Management Institute ensured that the event was enjoyed by all (including the five banquet meals and displays of dancing).

Dr Rudzki found the programme very stimulating and when pressed for a highlight opted for the paper by Anu-Mall Naarits of the Estonian Marketing Institute entitled How to revolutionize exports? The case of Estonia.

The changes made in Estonia included a new programme with a 12 month long export training – the first three months being intensive.   

The key success factors for the programme were:

·         Media support for the programme

·         Passionate participants: companies, candidates, mentors, providers, ITM, & Enterprise Estonia

·         Speed of recruitment

·         Sense of competition

·         Used innovative recruitment strategy which set high expectations and used innovative training methods

The paper presented by Dr Rudzki at the Forum and written by him with Graeme Siddle is available in pdf format from the New Zealand School of Export website at: http://www.export.ac.nz/publications.html  

A brief report with photos can also be found on the IATTO website at http://www.iatto.org/Default.aspx?ext=1&objectID=85

Koha - intellectual property

Koha is the name of the open-source library software developed by the Horowhenua Library Trust in Levin New Zealand.   It was given the name 'koha' because it was intended to be a 'gift' to any library or organisation that wanted to use it.  Koha is the Maori word for gift, donation or parting message.   This word is in common usage in New Zealand by both Maori and Pakeha and often it is used when we want to give a donation to help  fund an event being attended by the giver.  It is also used when staying on a marae or meeting-place to fund the expenses that have been incurred in the visit.
The essence of the word is that it is a gift - freely given and that is why it was chosen and used and also why it was not protected as a trademark.   The software has been exported and  is now used around the world.   In particular it has enabled libraries in developing countries to automate their collections and provide a better service to their people without the huge expense of other ILSs.
Now a US company Liblime has applied to register the word KOHA for computer software.  The Horowhenua Library Trust and other libraries like the New Zealand School of Export Library who use Koha face a battle to oppose this application.
There is a guest post on the Patentbuff blog which you can read here: http://www.patentbuff.com/2011/11/guest-post-how-koha-trade-mark-dispute.html  in which it is stated quite clearly that because the Horowhenua Library Trust has prior use of the trade mark KOHA in New Zealand , there is a good chance the Library Trust could successfully oppose the application.
You can also read Librarian Joann Ransom's plea for help here:  http://koha-community.org/plea-horowhenua-library-trust/
This is a classic case of Maori words being used in a way which is completely against the spirit or wairua of the word.   Of course it may also be regarded as a case of the ignorant exporter unwittingly giving away intellectual property because they haven't done their homework.
Let's hope that Liblime will try to understand this situation and like the American company which tried to market a beer called 'Maori King' will withdraw the application.   Colorado Brewery Funkwerks changed the name when they learned of the significance of their chosen name and the fact that there was indeed a Maori King.

Gilbert W. Ullrich - exporter

This year one of New Zealand’s premier exporting companies Ullrich Aluminium celebrates its 50^th anniversary.   The company operates 43 distribution centres across New Zealand and Australia and exports to 23 South Pacific island nations.  It has two aluminium extrusion plants – one if Hamilton and the other in the Hunter Valley, Australia, as well as a small foundry in Dunedin.

The company is lead by CEO Gilbert Ullrich who believes that we live in an age of aluminium. Mr Ullrich has been an outstanding export leader.   He was a founder member of the Export Institute of New Zealand and participated widely in their activities – for example in their event programme for 1997 where he spoke on  The $100,000,000 issue.

He is widely regarded as a New Zealand business leader and in 2007 Gilbert Ullrich was listed as an “influencer” by Unlimited Magazine.  As far back as 1988, business writers were both writing about Gilbert Ullrich and his company and consulting him on the export trade and the economy.   For example Tom Hyde wrote an article in Metro August 1988 entitled The exporters: secrets of the new order which profiled Gilbert Ullrich and others.

One of his outstanding contributions has been to encourage international trade between New Zealand and the South Pacific.   He and his company have planned and supported trade missions to Pacific countries on a regular basis – this year visiting Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.

He is the chairman of the NZ Pacific Business Council and his Annual Report can be read at: http://www.spasifikmag.com/nzpacificbusiness/  This gives an excellent summary of the kinds of trade activities he fosters.

This year he was appointed a member of the new Business Advisory Panel for the Auckland Council alongwith representatives of other export companies and business organisations.

 In acknowledging the company’s 50 years of success, he pays tribute to Ullrich’s 700 employees and mentions in particular the specialised export department which features multi-lingual staff. 

Photo: http://www.spasifikmag.com/nzpacificbusiness/

Sources: 

• Dominion October 29, 2011 p.B1
• Index New Zealand search (National Library of New Zealand) retrieved 22 November 2011
• http//:www.ullrich.co.nz             

              

Russia is (Just About) in the WTO

International Economic Law and Policy Blog: Russia is (Just About) in the WTO

The above post from the IELP blog highlights Russia's bid for membership of the WTO. It is worth remembering that countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada having all been members since 1995. New Zealand has embarked on negotiations for a free trade agreement with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and it will be interesting to see what effect Russia's membership of the WTO has on them. An update on those negotiations can be found at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website: http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Trade-and-Economic-Relations/2-Trade-Relationships-and-Agreements/Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan/index.php