The engineering and metals industries’ top innovators were recognised at the HERA Future Forum Nation Dinner at the Auckland Museum Events Centre on 21 February 2020. The awards were presented to those who have demonstrated considerable achievements in export and innovation contributing to success within their respective industries.
Amongst the winners, a theme of sustainability shone through, with the Innovation Award going to Dr Chris Bumby and his team at Victoria University of Wellington for their zero-carbon iron production discovery. Their research has been looking exclusively at hydrogen reduction of iron ores and has produced positive results. They have uncovered an entirely new, zero-carbon way to make iron and it works especially well with New Zealand iron sand. On average, the production of one tonne of steel emits 1.8 tonnes of CO2. Finding a new way to make iron – one that could eliminate the use of coal – could be a significant step towards New Zealand’s climate targets.
For the first time HERA introduced a new, future-focussed leader category, The Leading Metalhead Award, recognising the person who is the greatest exemplar, in the current market, of the combination of quality BAU leadership with a practical but bold and ambitious vision for the future.
The Leading Metalhead Award was presented to Scott Morrison, Marketing and Innovation Manager at Fletcher Steel, for his leadership in sustainability both within his company and across the industry. Notably, the development and delivery of the Colorcote Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for the New Zealand and Australian markets. These documents are the only EPDs for prepainted metal roofing that includes all the stages of manufacture from ore extraction, steel making across multiple mills in Asia Pacific, through to painting and roll forming, ready for delivery to site. This means industry professionals can use the published environmental data directly, without having to make further assumptions regarding the impact of other processes, leading to the opportunity for more better design solutions.
The most celebrated award of the evening, the Keith Smith Memorial Award, honours founding chairman Keith Smith and his endowment left to the HERA Foundation. Because this award inherently rewards renowned and outstanding service, it’s not always possible to find a suitable candidate. This year HERA did.
Warwick Downing, CEO of RAM3D,(pictured) is this year’s recipient of the distinguished award. His service to the metals industry, although modest, has not gone unnoticed. Downing was nominated for the award by fellow director Barry Robinson who says, “Warwick has been the single major contributor and driver of creating a metal additive-manufacturing (3D printing) industry in New Zealand. Warwick has been the main driver and leader of all this, and certainly spearheaded this enabling technology for New Zealand. Because of his efforts New Zealand is now world-class if not world-leading in this technology. Without exception other manufacturers and users of this technology around the world always are amazed at what products Warwick and his team at RAM3D have created – his example products always cause a gasp or exclamation of amazement when seen and handled.”
Troy Coyle, HERA’s CEO, says, “I would like to congratulate the winners and finalists of this year’s Innovation Awards. The calibre of entries we received was overwhelming and clearly shows the innovation being implemented within our industry. By acknowledging and rewarding this future-focussed leadership we are setting the bar for others to push innovation in their own companies and specialist areas.”
Starting this year, the HERA Industry Awards will be every three years to recognise who has significantly contributed to the industry’s success. These were previously presented as part of the Metals NZ conference’s Industry Gala Dinner. HERA is now shaking things up and aligning the awards with the new Future Forum series, which is about building a tribe of metalheads and casting a collective gaze to the future so the industry can prepare for disruption.
