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Retallick was invited to the College Auditorium to share his insights and assist in the presentation of this season’s kit to the 1st and 2nd XV players. His visit was coordinated by Dexion NZ who are proud supporters of rugby at Rosmini College.

Following Brodie’s introduction by College Principal Nixon Cooper, a question and answer session was facilitated by Deputy Principal and Sports Director, Paul Fordham.

Questions from both Mr Fordham and the floor not only focused on training tips and what it takes to succeed in the game but also touched on several more candid topics which prompted entertaining replies.

Retallick, who is famous for being one of New Zealand rugby’s hardest working players, emphasised the value of mental attitude and commitment and shared many inspirational insights on achieving at the highest level.

One younger player asked how to respond if you’re ever told you’re not good enough. Retallick’s advice was to “bear in mind that’s only one person’s opinion – and it’s up to you who you listen to. Work ethic and mental attitude trump natural attributes.

It’s not how big or how fast you are, but how hard you’re prepared to work. If you’ve got the motivation to turn up to training, you might as well push yourself every time.”

Sports bags containing this year’s rugby kit were then presented to each player by Derek Finnigan of Dexion’s new North Harbour Supply Centre followed by the presentation of a personalised, signed rugby ball and special photograph with Brodie.

“ The College needed to update its rugby uniforms and we were just rapt to be in a position to step forward and support the college” said Craig Landon, Regional GM of Dexion NZ. “We were pleased that the scheduled timing of the presentation worked in well with Brodie and enabled us to make it such a special day for the boys.

“Dexion’s own founder, Demetrius Comino, both through his foundation and in his everyday action was very much focused on creating a business platform that delivered innovation, excellence and integrity in outcome. Rosmini is a fine school and it’s fantastic that we can support a college that shares such similar values.”

Mr Nixon Cooper, College Principal expressed his sincere appreciation to both Dexion and Brodie Retallick for their support and for bringing such a memorable event to Rosmini College. “To have Brodie Retallick, a current All Black speak with and motivate our players at the beginning of the season was a very special privilege.”

And Brodie’s final words? “Work hard at training, listen to the coaches and do your homework around how they want you to prepare for the team you’re facing. Then put it into action on the pitch on Saturday, and have some fun.”

There have probably been millions, if not billions, of inventions since the dawn of time. It might have started with tools to kill animals for food, and moved on to equipment to construct buildings and machines for travel. Today, we are privileged to live in a world where many of the derivatives of these initial inventions help us in our daily lives.

Necessity really has been the mother of invention, whether it was the compass by the Chinese of the Han Dynasty for direction, the light bulb by Thomas Alva Edison who wanted to create an incandescent lamp, or the Dexion Slotted Angle by Demetrius Comino who wanted a smarter shelving system. Each invention was born of a need to make life better and improve on contemporary conditions. The great ones have even been disruptive.

When businessman, engineer, inventor and philanthropist Comino needed a better way to store paper and other consumables in 1939, he designed the slotted angle with holes punched along the length of the angled steel. It was named the Dexion Slotted Angle, after the company he founded in 1937.

Moved by the plight of the many who were displaced by an earthquake, he donated 20,000 feet of those Dexion Slotted Angles to the Ionian Islands in Greece in 1953. The Dexion product was used to build makeshift houses.

Disruptive technology? Yes, indeed. Along the way, Comino built a whole new industry which today caters to the logistics storage needs of clients and consumers.

But, let’s be candid here. A good invention isn’t just something that will benefit the people of today and tomorrow, but one that can be improved upon with each generation for better solutions to suit the needs of each new era.

Comino didn’t just start a company in 1937; he started a whole new industry with a great hunger for cutting-edge innovations.

Dexion’s inventions have taken to whole new levels over the past 80 years, with many solutions being used globally today. They have also become templates for how storage and supply chain systems need to be built.

Storage units are no longer just cabinets of shelves. Today, racking systems are robust and offer high scalability, increased velocity of pallet retrieval and seismic engineering which maximise storage capacity.

Carton-picking is no longer done manually using pieces of paper. There are voice-operated carton-picking systems which are accurate, offer better batch control, and promise a safer work environment.

Storage solution systems can now be scaled up to thousands of shelving bays.

The elementary conveyor belt supply chain has developed into a full-scale intelligent system that flows around a factory, much like a complex multi-level highway with various interchanges.

From key-based lockers, there are now secure, weather-resistant, digital lockers for the mobile workforce.

Mezzanine floors no longer need to be built brick by brick. There are now mezzanine flooring solutions that are durable, can handle heavy loads and are easy to erect within existing buildings.

The humble shelving units have now transformed into mammoth storage machines which are easy to integrate into a company’s warehouse management system and are computer-controlled for easy storage and picking. They are also built vertically or horizontally to maximise storage space.

There are also intelligent machines for small parts handling and long goods storage and retrieval.

And, of course, to meet the requirements of businesses today, these inventions come with analysis and simulation tools.

These are only a scant number of inventions that were born out of necessity and can trace their roots to the humble Dexion Slotted Angle.

Beyond these inventions, the father of Dexion, Demetrius Comino left behind a more important legacy: a new way of thinking to problem-solve for achievements. His greatest contribution was really ‘Smarter Thinking’.

Triple Eight Race Engineering, Australia’s leading national Supercars motor racing team, has collected seven drivers’ championships, eight team’s championships, six Bathurst wins and over 150 race wins over the last decade. Success is not only contagious, it’s demanded.

Expanding from two to three cars for the 2016 Supercars championship, the team faced numerous challenges including the storage of 80 tyres per car in the temperature controlled tyre room which was already at maximum capacity.

“An innovative storage solution was paramount to maintaining the winning edge”, said Triple Eight owner Roland Dane. Dexion’s history of delivering storage solutions to Triple Eight meant they were one of the first calls we made.

Dexion’s response maximised the use of Triple Eight’s existing workshop space while also overcoming issues surrounding tyre access, workplace health and operator safety issues.

The Dexion Mekdrive 3 Compactus mechanically assisted mobile storage system using Dexion’s Longspan shelving created space for all 240 tyres while minimising disruption to the existing workshop layout. The Mekdrive 3’s unique stylised hand wheel with integrated spinner handle also greatly reduces strain on the operator’s shoulders and elbows when moving the carriages.

“The time saved in accessing and putting away tyres has freed me up to do more productive tasks in the workshop,” explained Triple Eight truck driver and tyre handler Warick “Wazza” Beames. The innovative patented pivoting safety ramps also allow Warick to easily bring trolleys in and out of the Mekdrive 3 Compactus.

The main beneficiaries are the drivers. “Dexion has been a long-time supporter of mine and it’s great to see their capacity to provide an innovative storage solution is as strong as ever,” said Craig Lowndes, six times Bathurst winner and three times Supercars drivers’ championship winner.

“The Dexion Mekdrive 3 Compactus ensures we will continue to remain a step ahead in our super competitive championship,” beamed six time drivers’ champion Jamie Whincup.

New team addition Shane van Gisbergen commented, “The importance of high quality tyres to our racing success can’t be overstated. The Dexion Mekdrive 3 Compactus will help ensure our tyres last longer and allow me to hopefully overtake Craig and Jamie more often!”

“For the team, the installation of the Dexion Mekdrive 3 Compactus ensures tyre handling and tyre storage is no longer a concern,” commented Triple Eight race team manager Mark Dutton. “The safety and operator handling features of the Dexion Mekdrive 3 Compactus are outstanding and offer the business great comfort to ensure our staff work in the safest possible environment. The 10 year warranty is a real bonus!”

“Dexion’s ability to professionally project manage the installation process from order placement to final installation was world class ““ a fantastic result,” said Triple Eight’s Commercial Operations Manager Tom Wilson.

By understanding Triple Eight’s storage problem and identifying and implementing solutions that accommodate the design restrictions, Dexion is playing a key role in supporting the team’s future race and championship glory.

During the storms in 2015, Sony suffered a catastrophic roof failure which compromised all electronic equipment in their main warehouse.

The Dexion Helpdesk team lead by Russell Southerwood worked to restore Sony to business as usual in a very short period, under extreme circumstances. Once the system was returned to normal operation and reviewed it was decided that a full refit should be undertaken.

The Sony system was built on the original pick to light, developed by Dexion approximately 20 years ago which has long since been superseded and no longer compatible with our current range.

This presented Dexion with a unique opportunity to accelerate development of a new Pick to Light product line and control architecture which delivers improved functionality. The implementation team managed by Greg Kerr and Brendan Layt developed the new product line while delivering a complex refit project to a live site.

Due to strict content protection policies in place at all Sony facilities we were only allowed to take one phone image of the new product in situation (see above) the image shows:

• Current family pick to light three digit display on bus bar
  • Used to indicate quantity and provide an interface for pick acknowledgement and other functions
• • Existing technology for nearly ten years
• New product line location indicator strip
  • High intensity RGD LED configurable to indicate full location width
  • Slimline design

The feedback received from the pickers and management has been very positive, Sony is anticipating welcome improvements in operational efficiency, in addition to time savings they are already seeing with the new more clearly visible lights.

Buildings across the globe are built to withstand the most violent shakes that the earth can produce, but what about the products within them? While a building engineer’s goal is to safeguard a structure from collapsing, they don’t take into account the product that each building houses.

Dexion, global leaders in industrial storage and materials handling solutions, has brought to market a new product line designed specifically to reduce the impact of seismic activity, combating the challenges that any businesses located near fault-lines would want to manage and also providing that extra level of safety and business continuity protection for critical non-stop trading environments.

The need for such a range in the South East Asia and Oceania region was highlighted to Dexion in 2011 following the devastation of the New Zealand Christchurch earthquakes. It was through this that the company commenced consultation with a number of leading universities to develop a product that would drastically improve safety and product security.

Through this research, Dexion met American company Ridg-U-Rak who were already exploring similar designs for the San Francisco market. Working together in this specialist area they developed and have now launched globally the Pellegrino Seismic Base Isolator.

The range works by essentially removing products and racking systems from the ground to reduce the risk of the rack collapsing or product becoming loose and falling when the earth shakes.

Ensuring product stays in its place during a natural event is particularly important says Stuart Macnab, Regional General Manager Australia & Hong Kong.

“Pallets shedding their racking can be disastrous not only for the product but also for people within the warehouse or shopping complex. When we set out to bring to market this product, our number one goal was to improve the safety of employees and people who could be at serious risk should things start moving.

“Once we started to explore the sector, we realised the depth of need for a product that catered to this specific issue. We currently work with a pharmaceutical company that distributes critical lifesaving products. The last thing we want in the event of a major seismic event is for critical supplies of live-saving medication to be disrupted, or for chemicals to fall and break creating a toxic environment that only worsens the impact of the event,” said Mr Macnab.

“We’re also currently working with a New Zealand-based museum that is proud to house some of the world’s most beautiful and prised artefacts. We’re talking hundreds of years of history that would be lost forever if proper care wasn’t taken ahead of a disaster.

“By installing the Pellegrino Seismic Base Isolator range they’ve been able to safeguard their treasures. They can also continue to build their collection as they can demonstrate to the art community that artefacts in their care are safe. For us it’s an incredibly satisfying job knowing that we’re helping preserve such important parts of modern culture,” said Mr Macnab.

The Dexion team sought inspiration for the above range through engineering techniques deployed by world-class architects in Japan. The idea being to replicate the logic seen in buildings where a combination of lead and rubber is used so that the building sways with the earthquake but is isolated to reduce the level of damage.

Dexion is in the business of long-term customer partnerships and since rolling out this product, the company has worked with businesses across the globe to transform their warehouses for disaster-readiness.

The company’s goal is to always create the right solution for the job. Pulling on their 70-year heritage of innovation and creativity, the business provides customers with options that meet all levels of storage and materials handling needs.

Presented by Dexion. NZ’s newest and most exciting endurance Iron-man surf sports event.

Watch the 2015 re-cap video here.

The Dexion Auto Shuttle system offers high-density pallet storage without the need for forklifts to drive into the racking system and provides an effective and reliable solution for those looking to make the most of limited space.

The Auto Shuttle solution provides significant productivity and storage advantages compared to typical ‘block stack and ‘drive in’ storage applications.

A safer way to manage high-density pallet storage, the Dexion Auto Shuttle travels below the pallet, then elevates the pallet from the support rails and carries it back and forth within the system as required.

The Dexion Auto Shuttle uses patented mechanical lifting motions and has no hydraulics and few moving parts, ensuring low noise, high reliability, and low energy consumption. It comes in a high-end eight wheel design with a lithium ion battery and a lifting capacity of 2,000 kilograms and an entry level four wheel design with a lead acid battery and a 1,500 kilogram lifting capacity.

Speaking of its features, Stuart Macnab, Regional General Manager Australia & Hong Kong, says the eight-wheel shuttle is particularly reliable in cold spaces with an operating temperature down to -30°C and thus perfectly tailored to industries that require ongoing refrigeration.

“A number of our customers in the food, medical, and wine industries are excited about this product because of its high-density options across their supply chain. While the system certainly isn’t limited to cold storage, it presents several options for growth in the market.

“Other than being a cost effective way to manage product from a workplace safety point of view, the Dexion Auto Shuttle also minimises the risks that can come from driving forklifts into racking, which is a win for both employees and employers. With forklifts no longer entering the racks, the Dexion Auto Shuttle also helps guarantee the longevity of the racks and products as well,” says Macnab.

“In an industry where space is money, the Auto Shuttle helps customers make their existing warehouse work harder. It’s incredibly simple to use and comes with a Dexion guarantee,” he adds.

Other notable features include:

• The Auto Shuttle is controlled via a handheld remote
• Auto battery changeover function available for the eight wheel Auto Shuttle
• Collision protection for the front and rear pallets to ensure safe handling and consideration for pallets with overhang, with the additional feature to set the correct flue space to meet all fire safety standards
• A status indicator on the front face provides vital information to the operator in regards to the operational mode of the unit
• The unique lifting function allows pallets to be densely packed along the rail
• The ability to count pallets in a lane for stock take in real time
• Distance between pallets is adjustable between 0mm to 200mm
• Capability of moving up to 70 pallets per hour
• Operating temperatures of between -30°C up to 40°C for the eight-wheel shuttle and 5°C up to 40°C for the four-wheel shuttle
• A lithium Ion battery in the eight-wheel and lead acid battery in the four-wheel option

Macnab adds, “Dexion is in the business of long-term customer partnerships and we know this product will meet the needs of those looking to maximise their warehouse space and efficiency.

“Our goal is to always create the right solution for the job. Drawing on our 70-year heritage of innovation and creativity, we provide customers with options that meet all levels of storage and material handling needs.

“We’re incredibly excited to bring this innovative solution to market in Australia.”

As populations rise and the demand for goods follows suit, industrial sectors across South East Asia and Oceania are booming. As some of the region’s most successful businesses grow, demand is skyrocketing for storage solutions that enables responsive agile supply and supports high scale growth in today’s global marketplace.

Naturally with this boom comes increased pressure on existing resources; none more than land. The business challenge of today is to make existing assets work harder or to future-proof new investments, as sourcing additional space is often an expensive and somewhat impossible exercise to effectively achieve.

With this in mind, the time has come where expansion must go upwards, not outwards. Anticipating this need Dexion, the market leading storage and material handling solutions company innovated to introduce a new product range designed to directly address this problem, the Dexion 808.

Dexion knows that for clients to maintain market-share and achieve growth, logistical efficiency is key. Their latest innovation, the 808, was designed specifically with high-bay warehouses, automatic shuttle systems, and mezzanine floors in mind. Future-focused, the 808 rack structure can climb to a note worthy 60 metres, a world record in terms of ASRS racking.

The product’s ethos is to safeguard client’s future warehouse plans so that growth can be achieved with ease and confidence. With a multi-million dollar investment behind the R&D of 808, it’s clear the Dexion team means business on a global scale.

“While the height is impressive, it’s the large profiles carrying significant loads with great accuracy that makes 808 a game-changer,” said Dexion Regional General Manager for Australia & Hong Kong, Stuart Macnab.

“The development of and R&D invested in the Dexion 808 was a direct response to the changing needs of today’s market. Buildings are growing taller and we saw the need to create a solution that upheld our philosophies of safety, but pushed the boundaries of high rise racking.

“When you think about our products, we have a solution that is light in weight and can reach heights of up to 60metres and lengths of up to 200metres. You don’t see this type of infrastructure elsewhere unless we’re talking aircraft or marine construction. When you consider this you see how much the storage industry is an engineering game and how important it is to invest in a product that will last and grow with the business. Anything less is a gamble,” added Mr Macnab.

Prior to 808, vertical storage was historically limited to approximately 12 metres of stacking. To achieve additional height, customers were reverting to crane implications while others were simply pushing the limits of standard equipment ““ a dangerous and often risky gamble when dealing with valuable goods and the safety of employees.

“The 808 product line is our vision for the future. We now see this solution as an enabler as it allows customers to do more with their warehouses than they could have ever imagined,” said Mr Macnab.

“When you consider the potential size of an 808 structure, it’s actually a feat of engineering. The number and precise placement of holes punched is within a remarkable 0.1mm, it is this that allows us to achieve such significant heights.

“Customers are choosing the 808 as it allows even higher levels of storage density to be achieved, which ultimately provides greater returns from their investments, particularly over the long term.”

Founded on innovation, Dexion has over 70 years of industry-leading innovation to its name. Currently working with businesses across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East, Dexion is the go-to creator of solutions that improve business functionality for the long-term.

As with all Dexion solutions, the 808 been independently tested by specialist structural engineers at leading Australian universities and global consulting engineers. Dexion also offers full product engineering certification and detailed traceability, which underpins the product’s structural integrity and the safety of any installation.

Key Features:

• Fully bolted system, profiles can be manufactured with continuously punched holes (50mm pitch) or manufactured with the holes punched at specifically required positions.
• Flexible design options and application of components in solution design with Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS), High Bay Racking, Rack Clad and Mezzanine Floors.
• Dexion Mezzanine Floors provide cost and space efficiency which conventional structures lack.
• Dexion Mezzanine floors are flexible, offering the ability to transport and relocate the existing floors.
• In high seismic zones, the project solution is tailor-made to the region to provide customers with added assurance and safety.
• Meets local critical design criteria such as wind and rain loads, crane forces, seismic considerations, soil types and robustness factors.
• Offers a wide selection of profile ranges and gauges to suit various applications.