Latest news with #Autex
Otago Daily Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Excitement builds for community centre
The residents of a small Canterbury township are getting excited as their promised $5.3m community centre development draws closer. The community centre in Pegasus has been in the pipeline for several years. It is now on track for a November 2026 opening. The Waimakariri District Council has completed its detailed design and plans to go out for tender next month. Pegasus Residents' Group Inc chairperson Matt James said the community has been waiting for a purpose-built centre for a number of years. ''There are metrics for when a community needs a community centre and I'm told we are well past that. ''We are really exciting about it.'' A temporary community centre was established in 2017, with the council leasing a building in Tahuna St. The Pegasus Residents Group Inc has been operating the centre under a memorandum of understanding with the district council. James said the landlord has been flexible in allowing the council to have a month-by-month extension on the lease, which is allowing the community to use the building until the new centre is built. ''This building is no longer fit for purpose because we can't have bigger crowds.'' The centre is serving a growing community, with the North Canterbury town now home to more than 4700 residents, including a number from overseas, he said. ''I'm told the majority of people at citizenship ceremonies in Waimakariri are from Pegasus, so we could hold ceremonies in the new centre.'' The proposed new multi-use facility will be built in an idyllic location on the Pegasus lakefront, with the council negotiating with the developer, Templeton Group, to buy the land. The new build will be almost 400 square metres, including space for multiple events, functions or meetings. The entry, accessible from Pegasus Main Street, will open into a spacious reception area. The design allows for an open-plan kitchen, which opens to a foyer area, a small meeting room and a formal boardroom with a kitchenette. Following consultation earlier this year council staff have refined the design, adding in Autex wall coverings for improved acoustics, with back supports and armrests, and sliding doors to the function rooms to improve the indoor/outdoor flow. The contract is set to out for tender next month, with the aim of awarding the contract in October, a district council spokesperson said. The $5.3m budget includes $1.1m for the land purchase and the balance for the build and landscaping. By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Autex Leads The Industrial Re-Evolution With The Launch Of The Regenerative Autex Future Lab
Press Release – Autex Future Lab With a 58-year history in New Zealand, Autex now has a global presence, supplying a diverse and sophisticated range of products to the architecture, design, and building industries. Autex, market-leading producer of modern acoustic panels and insulation products, has unveiled its groundbreaking Autex Future Lab (AFL) – a new home for research and development (R&D) that provides a clear pathway to developing high-performance materials, products and solutions that respect and preserve our natural resources. With a 58-year history in New Zealand, Autex now has a global presence, supplying a diverse and sophisticated range of products to the architecture, design, and building industries. AFL will serve as a revolutionary new platform to progress the adaptation and innovation that have been hard-baked into Autex's culture from the very beginning. With firmly backed science and revolutionary new manufacturing and agriculture systems, Autex is leading an industrial re-evolution from the front. Jonathan Mountfort, Creative Director at Autex, says, 'From our inception, we've been driven by a commitment to leaving our planet better than we found it. Our PET products, which are staple in the market, already have carefully considered systems around them to close the technical loop and reduce waste – because at the end of the day, a material can't be sustainable on its own, it's the systems that surround it. 'That's why we're so excited to unveil AFL and apply this philosophy to natural fibres, creating the blueprint for how we work in partnership with the natural world to responsibly use both biological and technical resources – something that the industry has struggled to do for a long time.' All innovations emerging from AFL strive to move beyond Carbon Zero and achieve NaturePositive+ Certification, by creating products that enrich biodiversity, and benefit the health of generations to come. They are walking the walk, with tangible metrics to reach these ambitious sustainability goals. 'NaturePositive+' is a world-first benchmark for environmental standards by the world's most trusted and widely recognised eco-label – Global GreenTag International. Collaboration to drive industry-wide change Autex is collaborating with scientists, primary producers, product designers, architects, advocacy groups, government and industry representatives to bring AFL to life. Making fundamental and transformational change takes committed collaboration, and this has the potential to push multiple industries forward while also enhancing New Zealand's reputation for leading-edge innovation. AFL was officially launched at an event on Wednesday night where a room of key partners, industry representatives, designers, and architects heard about AFL's vision for the future. Hon. Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities and Associate Minister of Agriculture, spoke at the evening about how AFL can lead the way for a more sustainable Aotearoa. 'When it comes to our country's agriculture industry, we must set ambitious targets for the future to ensure future generations can thrive. It's encouraging to see companies like Autex pushing forward with innovative solutions that recognise the power of working together across industries to drive real change for our farming and manufacturing sectors.' Wool product as the first proof point of AFL The first innovation to emerge from AFL is Autex's very first wool-fibre product, Embrace – an architectural surface that combines tactile warmth with all the high-performance qualities Autex is known for. In line with AFL's philosophy, Embrace considers every part of the closed loop system to ensure it's truly regenerative, and this includes the farming practices. This was conducted with the support of key collaborator, Rubisco. Guy Wills, CEO of Rubisco, says 'We've been working in partnership with Autex for 4 years, delivering the New Zealand strong wool used in the Embrace product system from a single-source farm, we take the fleece from farm to yarn. We are incredibly proud of our accomplishments to date and have some exciting developments on the way. Rubisco is a next-generation natural fibre innovation company, and we believe deeply in natural materials done right. We see Autex Future Lab as an exciting step forward.' And this is just the beginning. AFL is set to continue growing and paving the way for more innovations that enrich biodiversity, store carbon and provide other benefits crucial to the health of generations to come.
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Autex Leads The Industrial Re-Evolution With The Launch Of The Regenerative Autex Future Lab
Autex, market-leading producer of modern acoustic panels and insulation products, has unveiled its groundbreaking Autex Future Lab (AFL) - a new home for research and development (R&D) that provides a clear pathway to developing high-performance materials, products and solutions that respect and preserve our natural resources. With a 58-year history in New Zealand, Autex now has a global presence, supplying a diverse and sophisticated range of products to the architecture, design, and building industries. AFL will serve as a revolutionary new platform to progress the adaptation and innovation that have been hard-baked into Autex's culture from the very beginning. With firmly backed science and revolutionary new manufacturing and agriculture systems, Autex is leading an industrial re-evolution from the front. Jonathan Mountfort, Creative Director at Autex, says, "From our inception, we've been driven by a commitment to leaving our planet better than we found it. Our PET products, which are staple in the market, already have carefully considered systems around them to close the technical loop and reduce waste – because at the end of the day, a material can't be sustainable on its own, it's the systems that surround it. 'That's why we're so excited to unveil AFL and apply this philosophy to natural fibres, creating the blueprint for how we work in partnership with the natural world to responsibly use both biological and technical resources – something that the industry has struggled to do for a long time.' All innovations emerging from AFL strive to move beyond Carbon Zero and achieve NaturePositive+ Certification, by creating products that enrich biodiversity, and benefit the health of generations to come. They are walking the walk, with tangible metrics to reach these ambitious sustainability goals. "NaturePositive+" is a world-first benchmark for environmental standards by the world's most trusted and widely recognised eco-label - Global GreenTag International. Collaboration to drive industry-wide change Autex is collaborating with scientists, primary producers, product designers, architects, advocacy groups, government and industry representatives to bring AFL to life. Making fundamental and transformational change takes committed collaboration, and this has the potential to push multiple industries forward while also enhancing New Zealand's reputation for leading-edge innovation. AFL was officially launched at an event on Wednesday night where a room of key partners, industry representatives, designers, and architects heard about AFL's vision for the future. Hon. Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities and Associate Minister of Agriculture, spoke at the evening about how AFL can lead the way for a more sustainable Aotearoa. 'When it comes to our country's agriculture industry, we must set ambitious targets for the future to ensure future generations can thrive. It's encouraging to see companies like Autex pushing forward with innovative solutions that recognise the power of working together across industries to drive real change for our farming and manufacturing sectors.' Wool product as the first proof point of AFL The first innovation to emerge from AFL is Autex's very first wool-fibre product, Embrace – an architectural surface that combines tactile warmth with all the high-performance qualities Autex is known for. In line with AFL's philosophy, Embrace considers every part of the closed loop system to ensure it's truly regenerative, and this includes the farming practices. This was conducted with the support of key collaborator, Rubisco. Guy Wills, CEO of Rubisco, says 'We've been working in partnership with Autex for 4 years, delivering the New Zealand strong wool used in the Embrace product system from a single-source farm, we take the fleece from farm to yarn. We are incredibly proud of our accomplishments to date and have some exciting developments on the way. Rubisco is a next-generation natural fibre innovation company, and we believe deeply in natural materials done right. We see Autex Future Lab as an exciting step forward.' And this is just the beginning. AFL is set to continue growing and paving the way for more innovations that enrich biodiversity, store carbon and provide other benefits crucial to the health of generations to come.
