New Zealand: industry on the ground
The Marsden Point refinery operated from 1964 to 2022 and the site now imports refined fuel, about half from South Korea and about a third from Singapore as of 2025, so tank and terminal work continues there.
The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe handset for people who cross into classified areas in New Zealand every shift: Taranaki gas-field operators, methanol and fertiliser plant crews, dairy-processing engineers managing milk-powder dust risk, and the HSE and telecoms teams who equip them. Buyers searching for an intrinsically safe mobile phone supplier for New Zealand can take the datasheet and the certification schedule for the IS-04Z1 now; supply follows certification.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. An intrinsically safe mobile phone for New Zealand cannot be bought yet: the SAMS IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued), and the datasheet, certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Level of protection | ia, ib or ic matched to the zone | ib, for Zone 1 |
| Entity parameters | Uo, Io and Po within the device limits | Published with the certificate |
| Accessories | Chargers and cases certified with the device | Defined at certification |
| Where it applies | New Zealand: Kapuni, Marsden Point, Dairy processing sites nationwide | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in New Zealand. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The classified areas, operators and sites below are the ones covered in the SAMS New Zealand market guide.
The Marsden Point refinery operated from 1964 to 2022 and the site now imports refined fuel, about half from South Korea and about a third from Singapore as of 2025, so tank and terminal work continues there.
Gas-based plants developed from the 1970s included an ammonia-urea plant at Kapuni, methanol at Waitara, synthetic petrol at Motunui and gas-fired power stations at New Plymouth and Huntly; confirm each site's current status.
AS/NZS 60079 is the Australia and New Zealand adoption of the IEC 60079 series, covering classification, selection, installation, inspection and repair of electrical equipment in explosive atmospheres.
The Alpha well drilled at New Plymouth in 1865 was the first oil well in the Commonwealth; later gas from Kapuni (1970) and Maui (1978) supported large gas-based industrial plants.
Intrinsic safety limits the electrical and thermal energy in a circuit so that neither a spark nor a hot surface can ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even when a fault occurs. The ib level, used for Zone 1, tolerates one fault. It is the usual way to make a handheld device that a worker carries continuously through a hazardous area.
The IS-04Z1 is designed on this principle for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4). Intrinsic safety is a design basis, not a certificate: certification is in progress and none has been issued yet.
In New Zealand. A plant round at Kapuni or Motunui, or a shift through a milk-powder drying and storage area, is a full working day with no recharge point inside the hazard zone. An intrinsically safe handheld lets the same device record readings, take photographs and run a work-order app, from the control room to the tower.
Nothing can be bought for New Zealand today: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch, and SAMS will supply end users through authorised distributors once certificates exist. What a buyer can do now is take the specification, ask for the written certification schedule and arrange a safe-area evaluation, so that the right local channel contacts you at launch.
The technical specification, marking target and conditions of use, sent by email.
Which certificates are in progress, in what order, and what is still to be confirmed.
Evaluation units can be used for connectivity, MDM enrolment and workflow testing outside classified areas.
Tell us the site, zone, gas group and quantity so the right authorised distributor can contact you.
Not today. Until the certificates are issued the IS-04Z1 stays out of classified areas, and until launch there is nothing to purchase. You can ask for the datasheet and the certification schedule, or book a safe-area evaluation unit.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
The circuits are designed to limit energy so a spark or hot surface cannot ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even with one fault (level ib, Zone 1). Certification of that design is in progress.
The market guide for New Zealand covers Taranaki, Motunui / Waitara Valley, Kapuni, Marsden Point, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
Most Ex devices arrive by sea or air freight, and the North Island holds nearly all the gas network, so lead times to Taranaki or Auckland differ from the South Island. Plan spare batteries and accessories in country, and confirm local after-sales support before ordering.
Mainly in Taranaki, where all domestic oil and gas is produced, along the North Island gas pipeline network, at Ahuroa gas storage, and at fuel import terminals such as Marsden Point. Site permits and induction rules differ by operator, so check before arrival.
Dried milk powder is a well-documented combustible dust, and drying towers and storage silos are classified accordingly. The IS-04Z1 is designed for Zone 21 as well as Zone 1, but certification is in progress. Confirm the zone and dust group with the site operator before use.
More on New Zealand, and on other places in New Zealand.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.