Studying ‘mood
systems’ in Vanuatu’s
many languages.
Moody words
Earthquake explorers
Pre-schoolers in
Christchurch talking
and playing quakes.
Māori are
reacquainting with
the celestial realm.
Māori astronomy
Page 6
Page 11
Page 3
New apps for
medicine and
bedtime stories
win accolades.
Page 8
Imagine that!
SMART RECYCLING: Dr Johan Verbeek (front) and Darren Harpur, acting CEO of Aduro Polymers, with some of the University of Waikato
students working on the Novotein project and some of the bioplastic products they’ve manufactured.
ANY source of plastic that doesn’t rely on
petroleum but works as well or better has got
to be good.
It’s even better if the source is a by-
product from a different process – bloodmeal
from meat processing for example.
At the University of Waikato, chemical
and biological engineer Dr Johan Verbeek
has been leading a project that takes red meat
industry co-products and transforms them
into useful and non-polluting plastics.
Novatein is a bioplastic material that
uses by-products from the red meat industry.
Its bioplastic granules can be modified and
optimised to suit a chosen product’s attributes.
The granules can be manufactured into
injection moulded or extruded products using
industry-standard equipment.
Novatein has been in development
since 2007, through spin-out company
Novatein Limited formed by the university’s
commercial arm WaikatoLink. In its early
days it received investment and support
from KiwiNet’s PreSeed Accelerator Fund
from the Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment, WaikatoLink, and from
Venture Capital firm Endeavour Capital to
develop prototype products.
“For me, the most gratifying thing is being
able to use low-value sustainable materials to
create a high-value product that breaks down
without polluting the environment,” says
Dr Verbeek. “The material we produce has a
strength comparable to polyethylene, used in
milk bottles and plastic supermarket bags, but
it’s fully compostable. Of course it’s unlikely
Novatein would be used in these applications,
and it’s important to note that we’re not
claiming Novatein is a direct replacement
for polyethelyne.”
Dr Verbeek says that the development of
Novatein into a commercially useful material
has come with many challenges. “There have
been 23 students involved in researching
and developing Novatein since 2007, and
it hasn’t been easy maintaining consistent
progress across a wide range of research
topics. When you’re developing a material like
Novatein, there are many factors to consider,
such as processability, material properties
and characteristics, the anticipated cost of
manufacturing the material, and importantly,
what particular use will the material have
that would excite an end user or a product
manufacturer.” Many of these challenges have
been overcome, but the job is not over yet,
says Dr Verbeek.
“We’ve run a number of product
manufacturing trials including weedmat, pegs,
pots and measuring spoons, and it’s even possible
for Novatein to be blended with conventional
plastics to reduce the petroleum load.”
WaikatoLink recently announced
investment by Wallace Corporation into a
new entity called Aduro Biopolymers. Aduro
will continue the development of Novatein
and develop and market a range of other
materials and biopolymers for use in the
manufacturing sector. Wallace Corporation
is by volume New Zealand’s largest service
rendering business, and Sir James Wallace and
Wallace CEO Graham Shortland have joined
the Aduro board.
Darren Harpur, Acting CEO of Aduro
Biopolymers, says Aduro is working with
commercial partners in New Zealand and
Australia to develop Novatein for a range of
product lines. The company is also looking to
work with New Zealand research organisations
to develop new and novel materials from other
natural resource polymers.
jverbeek@waikato.ac.nz
RECENT high profile company failures have
highlighted the need for good governance. For
a long time, various commentators have talked
about New Zealand needing more directors,
better directors with appropriate experience,
and increasing the gender and ethnicity mix
on our boards.
Aware of the demand for smarter
governance, the University of Waikato is now
offering a new postgraduate qualification,
targeted at directors of New Zealand
companies. The Governance and Leadership
Programme was designed in conjunction with
the Institute of Directors (IoD) and launched by
Prime Minister John Key.
Associate Professor Jens Mueller, one of
the lecturers on the programme, led one of
the largest reviews of corporate governance
ever undertaken in New Zealand in 2006.
“In that survey we found most directors had
little formal training and their main source
of advice and training was informal and from
within the firm.”
Dr Mueller says without a doubt we can
trace corporate failures directly back to poor
governance. “Either decisions made too late,
not at all or poorly supported are the most
common reasons for firms to decline beyond
repair. In most businesses where trading
conditions deteriorate, many of the original
strategies are salvageable when the board and
senior management understand the need to
quickly re-position their approach.”
He says boards need to monitor
performance and support management
through clear and concise directions.
“Especially in New Zealand with its many small
and mid-size businesses, effective governance
through a competent board is essential to
harvest values and set up a business for
sustainable success.”
The Institute of Directors President Stuart
McLauchlan says directors need to be seen as
professionals. “The Waikato programme and
its aims are consistent with the IoD’s vision
of directors being professionals in their own
right. It seeks to provide a solid foundation
in the fundamentals of governance. This
contributes to the goal of ensuring that the
next generation have the knowledge and
skills to be professional, ethical and effective
directors in organisations of all types which is
vital for the success of our economy.”
www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/school%20
publications/download/2013pgdipgov.pdf
A demand for smarter governance
Novatein
fantastic
is plastic
W I N T E R 2 0 1 3
:
R E S E A R C H , I NNOVAT I ON AND E N T R E P R E N E U R S H I P AT T H E UN I V E R S I T Y O F WA I K ATO
www.waikato.ac .nz