Stopping manufacturing was a strategy that helped keep some New Zealand manufacturing firms economically buoyant during the GFC, and was among the most surprising results of Simon Collins' PhD thesis.

Some manufacturing firms that survived the global financial crisis have one unusual secret to their success: stop manufacturing.

Although just one of the strategies that helped keep some New Zealand manufacturing firms economically buoyant, it was among the most surprising results of Simon Collins' PhD thesis.

Simon, who graduated on 17 May, dedicated his PhD to investigating the factors that increased resilience in New Zealand manufacturing firms to help them withstand the worst of the global financial crisis nearly ten years ago.

After conducting in-depth interviews with seventeen manufacturing firms, he identified four resilience-building strategies that separated those that continued to perform well during the recession, and those that did not.

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