Manufacturing in Christchurch
Christchurch has a thriving and dynamic manufacturing sector. Christchurch is the second largest
manufacturing centre in New Zealand behind Auckland, and the sector is the second largest contributor to the
Canterbury regional economy.
If one thing defines the sector’s competitive advantage it is its specialisation: a focus on developing products
for global niche markets combined with a relentless pursuit of innovation and product development, quality and
value-for-money.
Collectively, the sector supplies a broad range of national and international markets that include:

food processing

marine

communications

commercial

refrigeration

agriculture/primary sector

mass transport

medical devices

power management

horizontal infrastructure

construction

defence

domestic and commercial electrical
Meet some of the players
Local iconic firms and now global leaders

Hamilton Jet

Tait Communications

SKOPE Industries

Dynamic Controls

AuCom

Skellerup
Blue-chip multinationals

Pratt & Whitney

Schneider Electrical

TE Connectivity

Moffat

General Cable

Eaton
Supporting these larger organisations is a sophisticated supply chain of local component manufacturers that
includes sheet-metal fabrication and heavy engineering, plastics, rubber and composite materials, electronics
and electrical equipment, as well as companies supplying sub-assemblies, components, and parts to a diverse
range of industrial markets.
Electronics & Electrical
Christchurch’s electronics and electrical equipment manufacturers collectively contribute about 30% of New
Zealand’s total electronics output.
Meet some of the electronics players
Dominating the local sector is Tait Communications, New Zealand’s fourth largest manufacturing company and
employs over 800 people worldwide. It produces mission critical radio communications systems and networks,
and exports about 95% of its products from its Christchurch manufacturing base.
Other export-orientated companies include:

Enatel and its subsidiary Enasolar design and manufacture standby power solutions used in the global
telecommunications, networking, wireless and industrial industries, as well as grid-tied solar inverters and
motive power chargers.

AuCom manufactures industrial soft starters for the pumping, mining, forestry, marine, waste
processing and power generation sectors in Europe and Asia.

Eaton

Dynamic Controls

Trimble Navigation
Also servicing global niche markets from Christchurch are:

DesignA Electronics, which produces custom hardware solutions for clients in the aerospace, defence,
telecommunications and medical industries.

Salcom Technologies, which manufactures and distributes radio paging transmitters, receivers and
transceivers.
Supporting industry research
While companies such as Tait, AuCom and Enatel have based their manufacturing operations in Christchurch,
multinationals such as Trimble, Dynamic Controls and Eaton have research and development facilities in
Christchurch.
In this, they are supported by a healthy research hub based around the University of Canterbury and NZi3, the
national information and communication technology innovation institute based at the university.
Meet some of the electrical equipment players
Global multinationals with substantial manufacturing presences in Christchurch include:

TE Connectivity produces harnessing, cable, and wiring products and accessories.

General Cable is a Fortune 500 company with Christchurch as its Oceania headquarters, also
produces harnessing, cable, and wiring products and accessories.

Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy management, produces electrical equipment and
accessories for the domestic and industrial markets from its Christchurch operations.
The sector is supported by an elaborate local supply chain of component and contract manufacturers, which
includes sheet-metal fabricators and plastics companies, as well as:
Dedicated contract manufacturers

GPC

Assembly Specialists
World-class electronic design and consultancy services

Aiotec

ELMG

Brush Technology
Fostering innovation and collaboration
Christchurch has a well-connected and active technology community. There are regular meet-ups, supportive
industry organisations and a dedicated home base for high-tech entrepreneurs in the heart of the city.
Click here to find out more.
Looking for a vacancy?
Christchurch technology companies are hiring now. Click here for a list of relevant job sites and recruitment
companies.
Roles in the electronic sector in Christchurch generally reflect the specialist activity of the different companies.
They range from assembler, technician and test analyst to more specialist engineering roles involved in
embedded software, systems, control, signal processing, hardware and power management.
Food & Beverage
With its temperate climate, high rainfall and fertile land, Canterbury is the food basket of New Zealand. It
provides a rich palette of produce from the famous chardonnays and sauvignon blancs of the north to
aquaculture and seafood, grains, dairy products and vegetables.
The Canterbury region produces $1.5 billion of primary products each year and more than $4.5 billion of
primary products are exported via Christchurch annually.
Not surprisingly, food and beverage is the largest manufacturing sub-sector in Christchurch by both number of
companies and number of employees. There are more than 270 companies employing nearly 5000 people –
ranging from small artisan producers supplying the local market to large processing factories operating on the
global stage.
Almost 80% of food produced in New Zealand is exported, and as a whole the industry has been growing at an
annual compounded growth rate of 8.3% over the last 16 years.
As the New Zealand’s primary sector has shifted away from its traditional base of producing commodities, one
of the fastest growing sectors is processed and packaged foods such as baked goods, processed meats,
beverages, nutrition bars & confectionary, condiments, pet foods, and savouries. Some segments within
processed foods are growing at 30% annually.
Dominating the export sector is dairy – New Zealand controls over a third of the global export dairy trade and is
a leading producer of high-value ingredients such as powdered milk products, casein, whey, UHT milk, lactose
and colostrum.
Meet some of the players

Synlait is one of New Zealand’s most innovative dairy producers, producing infant and adult nutritional
formulations and functional food ingredients for the burgeoning Chinese market.

Coupland’s is one of New Zealand’s largest bakeries, employing 400 staff with 27 stores nationwide
serviced by its manufacturing bases in Christchurch and Hamilton.

Baker Boys is a wholesale baked goods manufacturer supplying the Australasian markets.

Rangiora Bakery is another wholesale manufacturer with a diverse product mix supplying customers
that include multi-national companies, airlines, supermarkets and restaurants.

Cookie Time is a category leader, employing nearly 100 staff, servicing 600 outlets nationwide.

Hellers is the largest small goods producer in New Zealand with more than 400 staff producing 500
tonnes of sausages, bacon, ham and delicatessen meats a week from its Christchurch and Auckland
factories.

Barker’s is based in the small Canterbury country town of Geraldine, where it produces jams, sauces,
syrups, cake and pie fillings, processing over 1000 tons of berries and stone fruit each year.
Heavy Engineering & Fabrication
Supporting the wider manufacturing sector in Christchurch is a sophisticated supply chain of more than 350
sheet-metal fabrication and heavy engineering companies supplying sub-assemblies, components and parts to
local, national and international customers in a wide range of industrial markets.
Many of these companies have built their competitive advantage through an early engagement with their
customers during the design process combined with flexible manufacturing systems to respond quickly to
customer demands while controlling costs and quality. Others have built their strategy on a continued
investment in technology such as laser profile cutting, CNC machining and tooling, M Press robotics, and
powder coating.
Meet some of the heavy engineering players

Mace Engineering is one of New Zealand’s largest heavy precision engineering companies. Its
facilities include a non-ferrous foundry and machine shop with high-speed five-axis machining and large
vertical and horizontal milling to service the defence, energy, aviation and automotive markets.

Lyttelton Engineering is based at the Port of Lyttelton where it specialises in ship repairs, steam boiler
manufacture, heavy steel fabrication & machining and industrial site work.

John Jones Steel is structural steel fabricator and erector servicing the commercial and industrial
construction sectors.

Pegasus Engineering is another structural steel fabricator and erector and a major player in the
Christchurch rebuild.
Meet some of the sheet-metal fabrication players

Steel & Tube, which manufactures long-run roofing steel.

B&D Doors is New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of proprietary garage doors.

Spanbild is headquartered in Christchurch and one of New Zealand’s largest manufacturers and
builders of residential, commercial and rural buildings.

Shape Technology is a contract manufacturer whose product range includes broadband rack array
cabinets and electronic parking meters.

ENI Engineering is a major manufacturer of metal components for the domestic electricity sector.

Carlton Taylor Industries — with facilities that include sheetmetal fabrication and aluminium die-
casting, it services a range of sectors including rail, electronics, mining, construction, telecommunications,
and medical devices.

Metalcraft Engineering specialises in design and build metal work for the construction sector and is a
successful exporter of its proprietary glass racking solutions.
Machinery & Equipment
The heart of Christchurch’s manufacturing is its engineering sector and its machinery and equipment
manufacturers — engineering companies that have specialised in developing products for global niche
markets. Collectively they employ nearly 3500 staff.
Many evolved from servicing the rural hinterland and collectively they produce a diverse array of equipment
and machinery for the primary sector ranging from timber mill processing, grain stackers and bulk materials
handling, quarry and mining equipment, earth moving equipment through to post-harvest vegetable handling
equipment. Other companies have specialised in food and beverage processing and handling.
Whereas globalisation has seen mass production concentrated in Asia, what defines these companies’
competitive advantage is a relentless pursuit of innovative design and manufacturing combined with design
integrity, quality assurance and reliability, a high investment in equipment and machinery, and the adoption of
agile manufacturing systems to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling
costs and quality.
Meet some of the players

Hamilton Jet is a world leader in jet propulsion technology and 99% of its output is exported to the
Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Family-owned SKOPE Industries is one of Christchurch’s largest employers, manufacturing
commercial refrigeration to a wide range of clients in the food service industry.

Moffat is one of New Zealand’s leading exporters, manufacturing commercial gas and electric kitchen
appliances to the global market.

Publicly listed Scott Technology designs and manufactures automated production and process
systems for the global meat processing, appliance, mining and superconductor industries.

Wyma Engineering manufactures and distributes post-harvest vegetable handling equipment to over
50 countries worldwide.

Southern Cross Engineering manufactures and services bulk materials handling equipment used for
saw milling, wood reprocessing, grain handling, quarrying and mining.

Mercer Stainless designs and fabricates stainless steel equipment for the industrial, dairy, processing,
domestic and commercial sectors.

Angus Roberston is a specialist rollform design and build manufacturer whose machinery is used to
produce roofing, cladding, garage doors, and components for ovens and appliances.

Victor Hydaulics is a global leader in the design and manufacture of steel, stainless steel and
aluminium hydraulic cylinders.
Polymer & Rubber
There are around 100 plastics manufacturers in Christchurch, representing about 25% of all plastics
manufacturers in New Zealand. It is a dynamic industry with an annual national turnover in excess of $2 billion.
Unlike most countries, no polymer resins are manufactured in New Zealand —they are all imported.
The industry also produces a higher proportion of packaging products compared with other developed nations
due to the high proportion of food exports that the sector supports.
Meet some of the players

Skellerup Industries is the sector’s largest employer and makes a wide range of rubber products
mainly for the global dairy industry. It is part of the publicly listed Skellerup Holdings Group of companies,
which employs over 700 people worldwide.

EPL is at the forefront of extrusion technology in Australasia. Founded in 1974, it produces a range of
glazing gaskets, seals, rigid extrusions, silicone rubber profiles and high temperature cables for the
appliance, glazing, construction, health care, marine and primary industries. With a production plant in
Thailand, it exports much of its output to the Australia, South Africa, South-East Asia, the Middle East and
the USA. It is the only silicone rubber extruder in New Zealand and has developed significant IP around the
compounding of its raw materials.

Talbot Technologies is a leading player in the injection-moulding and thermoforming industry with a
global reputation for developing integrated assembly solutions that include plastic mouldings as well as
fasteners, foam inserts, PCB, LED and wiring looms.

Frank PKS is a leading producer of flexible, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping supplying the
rebuild of Christchurch’s horizontal infrastructure and large-scale irrigation schemes in the South Island.

Alto Plastics is New Zealand’s largest privately owned rigid plastics company, producing injection, blow
and injection stretch blow moulding (PET) packaging for the grocery industry.

Amcor is part of the Amcor Group, the world’s leading packaging company based in Singapore. From
its flexible packaging division in Christchurch, it services the grocery sector.