Wellington, June 12 NZPA - Former finance minister Ruth Richardson -- never one to turn her nose up at a good idea -- is taking over the chairmanship of Christchurch "super-sniffer" company Syft Technologies.

Ms Richardson, who joined the board as a director on June 1, will assume the chairmanship in August, taking the reins from the interim chairman, Peter Cox.

Mr Cox was one of a succession of chairmen, including Stephen Collins, Wally Stone, and Bill Luff.

Syft started in 2002 as a joint venture between Canterbury University's commercialisation business Canterprise and Breathe Technologies, and was backed by a group of private investors in a bid to commercialise technology which would instantly and accurately detect minute traces of volatile organic compounds.

Its research looked at wide-ranging potential uses, from identifying compounds used in terrorist bombs, to "sniffing" shipping containers to detect smuggled paua, or medical applications such as identifying a bacterial strain in blood within a few hours, or screening for diabetes or cancers through breath testing.

Other uses being investigated included food and flavour research, and screening exploration well samples for hydrocarbons.

Syft is Ms Richardson's third board position with a Canterbury exporter: she chairs Jade Software Corporation and is a director of Synlait, a dairy company set up in opposition to Fonterra to produce niche milkpowders from milk differentiated by dietary supplements fed to cows.

"All three are committed to substantial investment in research and development, and while at different business stages, they excite me in their ability to making good the commercial promise of their investment." she said.

Among Syft directors and shareholders, Bruce Irvine, representing Canterprise, and Andrew Couch, of NZX-listed investment company Salvus Strategic Investments Ltd, said Syft was entering a significant growth phase.

"We need the strong leadership that Ruth Richardson is capable of delivering," said Mr Couch.

Syft's head office and research and development centre is based in Christchurch, and it has a European sales and support centre in Britain and sales and marketing staff in the United States.

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