A positive number of both local and overseas registrations are being reported as interest builds ahead of this year’s Single Width Users’ Group (SWUG) Conference.
Being held at the scenic Millennium Hotel Rotorua on August 19-20, the Print with Passion-themed conference will feature a variety of exciting and informative sessions, a plant tour and provide a fantastic opportunity to network with suppliers and other delegates.
Keynote speaker is Sir Ray Avery, an award-winning pharmaceutical scientist, founding member of the Auckland University School of Medical Science’s Department of Clinical Pharmacology and former technical director of Douglas Pharmaceuticals. Sir Ray has been a major contributor to the development of New Zealand’s pharmaceutical industry over the past 30 years and is a compelling motivational speaker.
Renowned as an entertaining speaker, Sir Ray also has great stories to share, says SWUG chairperson Dan Blackbourn.
“Having spent his childhood in English orphanages and foster homes, he developed an interest in science at the age of 14 while living rough on the streets of London and seeking warmth and inspiration in public libraries,” notes Blackbourn.
“Sir Ray’s subsequent groundbreaking work in the developing world has brought him respect and recognition internationally. As technical advisor to the Fred Hollows Foundation he designed and commissioned two state-of-the-art intraocular lens laboratories (IOLs) in Nepal and Eritrea. Today, these laboratories supply 16% of the world’s market for IOLs and thanks to the innovative lens manufacturing technology invented, the global cost of these lenses has decreased to the point modern cataract surgery is available to the poorest of the poor.
“Striving to tackle the big health issues endemic throughout the developing world, Sir Ray remains at the forefront of various other inspirational initiatives.”
The 15th annual conference will also feature a tour of the paper-making plant of Norske Skog in Kawerau (approximately 60 minutes’ drive from Rotorua).
“Formerly known as the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company, the Kawerau mill was the brainchild of Sir James Fletcher,” continues Blackbourn. “After significant planting schemes in the 1920s and 1930s, a large forestry resource was available to be capitalised upon, and the Fletcher Group duly started constructing the Tasman Pulp and Paper Co in 1952.
“Kawerau itself built up around the development of the mill, with the town attracting people from all over New Zealand and the world to work on the construction and to be employed at the site once it officially opened in 1955.
“The mill originally employed several thousand people and produced a range of products including kraft pulp and newsprint, eventually expanding operations with growing demand for products over the years.
“The Tasman Pulp and Paper Co has undergone significant change over the years, developing from the previously joint kraft pulp and paper company, into the current Norske Skog operation. It is now a newsprint-only site, after the kraft pulp operations were sold to Carter Holt Harvey in 2001.”
Blackbourn says a good accommodation rate has been secured with the Millennium Hotel Rotorua, which is a Qualmark 4 Star Plus-rated hotel located on the edge of the CBD. Bookings can be made via the SWUG website www.swug.co.nz.
Registrations tothe conference close on June 30.