Helen Paul-Smith - Ōku | Building a Māori-Owned Wellness Brand from Native Plants | Ep 11

How do you build a $100 million-plus engineering business by solving problems others consider impossible?

What happens to soft plastic, food and beverage cartons and other packaging that is difficult to recycle? Paul Charteris founder of saveBOARD explains how the company turns this waste into high-performance building materials used throughout New Zealand and Australia. Paul shares the difficult journey of raising around $5 million to establish the New Zealand operation, overcoming resistance to a new construction product, expanding into Australia, and building sustainability into a commercially competitive business model. It’s a practical story about innovation, persistence, circular manufacturing, and creating demand for something that did not previously exist.

What if one of the most labour-intensive parts of building a house could be digitised and largely automated? Chris Staal from EC8 explains how his Hamilton team developed its own measuring technology, software, robotics and delivery systems to pre-cut plasterboard before it reaches site. From roughly 50 measuring-tool prototypes to robotic heads crashing into each other and a rubber mat solving a stubborn dust problem, this episode is a practical look at what real-world innovation actually takes.

Intellectual property can be far more than a defensive legal tool. IP strategist Kate Wilson from James & Wells explains how innovative New Zealand businesses can use patents, trademarks, designs, competitive intelligence and collaboration to build an edge in global markets. Kate shares stories involving acquisitions, competitor research, overseas manufacturing, employee risk and some expensive IP mistakes, along with practical advice for businesses developing products, technology or other innovations they do not want competitors copying.

What started with a panel beater building a better horse float for his daughter has grown into a specialty vehicle manufacturer approaching 100 staff. Alyssa Wade, Managing Director of Wade Group, shares how the family business moved from luxury equine coaches into motorsport transporters, prisoner vehicles and the national New Zealand Police contract, while building new technology and expanding into Australia. It is a story about succession, manufacturing, calculated growth and continually finding new problems worth solving.