bib_Sarah Ramsay

PodcastsAugust 13, 2020

Business Is Boring: The Dunedin company growing NZ’s high-tech manufacturing sector

Business is Boring host
bib_Sarah Ramsay

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Sarah Ramsay, CEO of United Machinists.

Not that long ago in the scheme of things New Zealand did a lot of its own manufacturing. While some of the industries we used to have wouldn’t make much sense to restart now, there’s always room for specialists, no matter how small your home market. There’s a new generation of high-tech manufacturers thriving in New Zealand right now, and this week’s guest is one of the best examples.

Sarah Ramsay’s company United Machinists recently expanded its Dunedin HQ, taking over another section of land and building a state-of-the-art temperature-controlled facility with millions of dollars of new machinery. It allowed them to make more high-tech components and assemblies for things as diverse as camera mounts and prosthetic hands.

Sarah has a background in investment and marketing and came to the family-owned business through her husband, and in moving to the CEO role has led their growth into a company set up for another few generations of business. She has also been a driving force in the local Dunedin start-up scene and created a body helping lead the renaissance of engineering in the region, now serving as director of the Southern Otago Regional Engineering Collective, SOREC.

More Reading

    To talk about high-tech business, manufacturing, growth and the journey, Sarah Ramsay, CEO of United Machinists joined Business is Boring for a chat.

    Download now, subscribe through Apple Podcasts, or visit Business is Boring on Acast or Spotify

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    A podcast in the grips of Mervmania (Image: Tina Tiller)
    A podcast in the grips of Mervmania (Image: Tina Tiller)

    PoliticsAugust 11, 2020

    Politics podcast: Mervmania hits the 2020 election campaign

    A broadcast for iPods
    A podcast in the grips of Mervmania (Image: Tina Tiller)
    A podcast in the grips of Mervmania (Image: Tina Tiller)

    Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020.

    With 39 days to go until New Zealand goes to the polls, talkback caller “Merv” has lit up the election campaign, delivering a deeply unmellow curtain-raiser to the National Party’s Auckland Central candidate selection. That’s top of the agenda for this week’s Gone By Lunchtime, which also includes:

    • Just how rapturous was the Labour Party launch at the Auckland Town Hall?
    • Did National Party board member Roger Bridge put on a voice, call himself “Merv”, and phone up Newstalk ZB to sow disharmony in the Auckland Central selection process?
    • Is Emma Mellow going to beat Helen White and Chlöe Swarbrick to win Auckland Central?
    • Will Labour take the plunge this week and push up the top tax rate?
    • If Labour has called it a “Covid election”, what kind of election will Judith Collins christen at this weekend’s National launch?
    • What is Gerry Brownlee doing?
    • Does the dire poll result for Shane Jones in Northland sound the death knell for New Zealand First?

    All this, and more, on Merv By Lunchtime.

    Download now, subscribe through Apple Podcasts, or visit Gone By Lunchtime on Acast or Spotify