News

Do you understand what your clients want from you? Do you communicate effectively and emotionally connect with them? Do you have a strong repeat client base?  

Communication and emotional connection play an integral role when a client is deciding whether to choose your services yet are often overlooked. Don’t miss our 2025 ACE New Zealand SME Summit on Wednesday 21 May where Icehouse Programme Director and Head of Customer Solutions Liz Wotherspoon will help you adopt a client mindset and communicate in a way that fosters mutually beneficial long-term relationships with your clients. 

We asked Liz about why being client-led is more important than ever and the value of establishing an emotional connection. 

Read more

We’re a proud partner of the 2025 Client Choice Awards, which recognise best practice in the professional services sector in Australia and New Zealand – and the results are out! Once again, ACE members feature strongly.

The awards are based solely on client feedback – no panels, judges or self-nominations, only client ratings that are independently researched and benchmarked by Beaton. 

Read more

What does the future of work look like for your local government clients, what are the market trends, and how can consultants support local authorities to make things easier? We'll delve into these issues at the SME Summit on Wednesday 21 May, with a panel discussion featuring Craig Hobbs (Waikato District Council), Monique Davidson (Horowhenua District Council) and Barry Potter (Auckland Council), facilitated by Sanchia Jacobs (Beca, formerly Otago District Council). 

Read more

More than 760 people have been made redundant at New Zealand engineering consultancy firms in the past year and a further 270 have left for jobs overseas as businesses continue to feel the impact of a major slowdown in infrastructure work – and the figures are expected to be much worse.  

Read more

Australia has allocated a record-breaking AU$270.4 billion to infrastructure projects over the next four years compared to New Zealand’s projected infrastructure spend of NZ$11.6 billion for 2025. Sydney is only a three-hour flight away and the Australian infrastructure market offers New Zealand businesses the viable and real opportunity to diversify revenue and grow a new market. It is, however, not for the faint-hearted and knowing how to go about it is crucial for success. 

Join us at the 2025 ACE New Zealand SME Summit in Auckland next month where Height Chief Executive Warner Cowin and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise | Te Taurapa Tūhono (NZTE) Customer Manager Kathryn Jones will share advice for prospective SME exporters about how to enter Australia and the support available from NZTE, the government’s business development agency.  

We spoke with Warner about Height’s experience and why the Australian market should be on the radar of SMEs. 

Read more

A new initiative for 2025, the ACE New Zealand Business Insights Report is designed to help members gain a sense of where your business sits in relation to other engineering and consulting firms, allowing you to benchmark your performance and inform your decisions.

Read more

MEDIA RELEASE

New Zealand is facing a shortfall of about 2,300 new engineers each year – and the problem is getting worse. ACE New Zealand has partnered with Engineering New Zealand and Waihanga Ara Rau to deliver an action plan that sets out the key challenges and what each organisation is doing to address them.

Read more

Investors managing funds worth more than $6 trillion came together in Auckland for the Government’s two-day Infrastructure Investment Summit, where they learned that New Zealand is open for business, we’re ripe for growth, and our best days lie ahead of us. ACE Chief Executive Helen Davidson, Frequency Chair Graham Darlow and Height Chief Executive Warner Cowin share their insights from the event.   

Read more

Compiling its 2024 ACE Awards submission showed Silver award winner Commute Transportation just how passionate and supportive its client was. We asked Director Tony Innes about the company's experience.  

Read more