Click Clack one of the first to sign up

16 November 2004

Click Clack one of the first to sign up for secure exports

Customs Service initiative aims to put NZ companies on the front foot

The New Zealand Customs Service and Click Clack Limited have signed a Secure Export Partnership Agreement that will see the design and manufacturing company making an active contribution to the security of New Zealand's supply chain.

Click Clack, whose products are sold in 54 countries around the globe, is one of the first exporters in the country to be accredited.

"Trade is the lifeblood of New Zealand's economy," says Customs National Manager Goods Allen Bruford. "However, the reality of the current international climate is that for the foreseeable future security will be an integral part of trade facilitation."

Customs has developed a supply chain security strategy with four elements:

* Accurate advance electronic information * Intelligence Based Risk assessment * Examination of cargo identified as potential risk, and * Voluntary agreements to reduce risk through the Secure Exports Partnership programme.

This strategy forms the basis of an arrangement between the United States and New Zealand Customs administrations that will see security issues reconciled prior to loading, so exporters can be confident they are on the front foot when it comes to clearance at overseas borders, Bruford said.

It will also form the basis of NZ Customs endeavours in international arenas such as APEC and World Customs Organisation to influence the development of international standards to secure global trade.

For Palmerston North-based Click Clack, which is one of New Zealand's top 200 exporters, the Secure Exports Partnership means that both the company and Customs can have confidence its goods are secure from the point of pack to the point of loading for export.

Click Clack Group Chief Executive, John Heng, said the initiative has positive benefits for both the company and Customs.

"The US is a key export market for Click Clack and the partnership gives documented evidence to US authorities that we in fact exceed the requirements of their Home Land Security Act.

"Further more, it allows fast tracking of cargo into the US, reducing the risk to us of expensive demurrage time that ties up cash when goods are in transit over longer periods."

Heng added that being one of the first companies to be accredited and the first in the central region would allow other exporters to both benchmark and refer to Click Clack on any aspect of the process.

Customs FrontLine Programme Manager John Pihema said he appreciated the effort that Click Clack put into security.

"By working in partnership, we can achieve a much greater level of confidence that we are managing the risks to New Zealand's trade."

Click Clack operates a design studio in Palmerston North and exports from manufacturing plants in Christchurch and Levin. Goods range from industrial and domestic cleaning products through to airtight storage containers and unbreakable beverage and serve ware.

The company employs nearly 300 personnel mainly in New Zealand, with the remainder working in its fully owned subsidiaries in Australia, Europe and United States.

ENDS

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