The 25 finalists in the seven categories of this year’s Air NZ Cargo Auckland Export Awards traverse the widest range of New Zealand enterprise, from home brew, robots, marine winches and self-service payment systems.
The companies entering the Awards also range from the largest, most well established to small and emerging businesses, said Catherine Lye, Export New Zealand’s Auckland director.
“We are delighted to be able to showcase such a brilliant cross section of New Zealand’s most innovative, successful and exciting companies. “The depth and range of the companies attracted to enter our awards reflect the prestige with which they are held,” she said.
The winners of the Air NZ Cargo Auckland Export Award categories along with the Supreme Award winner, and the 2015 Export Champion will be presented at a gala dinner at the Langham hotel on Thursday June 18th.
The finalists are:
Baldwins Intellectual Property Commercialisation of Innovation for Export
• Compac Sorting Equipment is a world leader in the design and manufacture of advanced sorting and pack house solutions, automation products and software solutions for traceability and packing fresh produce.
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is a global leader in medical devices with a team of over 3000 people in operations spanning 35 countries. Every year more than 9 million patients benefit from their products.
• Hammerking Rollers provided rollers to the printing industry then developed a unique coating for large rollers that apply paint to metal. Hammerking’s roller technology is highly specialised and world leading.
• IQ Commercial operates where the research, design/manufacture and finance industries intersect by demonstrating that their interior furnishings will contribute positively to the business performance of their clients. Their product range includes furniture, lighting, flooring and textiles; they seek out high value export opportunities born of a culture of innovation and green growth strategies.
Quantium Solutions E-Commerce Exporter of the Year Award
• I Love Ugly is a premium men’s street-wear brand of clothing and accessories sold online, through six flagship retail stores and a network of third party retailers (around 200) worldwide.
• Straker Translations have production centres in Auckland and Barcelona, and sales offices in Washington State and elsewhere to ensure their global reach. Straker operates 24x 7 all year round.
TNT Express Emerging Exporter of the Year Award
• Bidvest Exports operate out of a purpose built facility in Avondale to supply the hospitality and food service sector throughout the Pacific, a one stop shop for all chilled, dry, frozen and fresh produce supplied by sea and air.
• CS for Doors is Australasia’s premier manufacturer of innovative door solutions, a family owned business founded in 1986 and based on their development of a system superior to any other. CS for Doors caters to the residential, architectural, commercial and health care markets.
• I Love Ugly (as above) is a premium men’s street-wear brand of clothing and accessories sold online.
• IQ Commercial (as above) operates where the research, design, manufacturing and finance industries intersect.
Endace ICT Exporter of the Year (total sales $1m-$10m)
• Flintfox International designs and implements a revenue management technology platform for the global trading of many millions of dollars annually through software solutions that deliver planning, advanced pricing, and analytics for real-time business intelligence. Flintfox is headquartered in New Zealand with offices in Canada, USA, Singapore and the UK.
• Modica Group’s ‘Omni’ customer engagement platform gives businesses the tools to directly engage with mobile customers anytime, anywhere, rapidly and cost effectively. Their applications hosted online include a Qatar based taxi company, a Dominican Republic based bank, and NZ’s Department of Corrections.
• SnapComm also has offices in the UK and USA. 99% of their sales were overseas for their employee communications software which allows large organisations to communicate more effectively with staff by delivering company messages directly onto their PCs, Macs, smart phones and tablets.
BDO Food & Beverage Exporter of the Year Award
• Imake supplies ingredients, equipment and know-how for people to make their own craft beer, cider, spirits, liqueurs, cheese, yoghurt, sausages, and more, at home. Imake brands include Mad Millie, Mangrove Jack's, and Grainfather.
• Invivo is a premium New Zealand wine company selling in 17 countries with key focus markets Australia, New Zealand, Japan, UK, Asia and Canada. Invivo has won global accolades for their wine quality and innovative approach.
• New Image Group’s focus is on supplying high-quality goat and bovine nutritional products to China, NZ, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and others, as well as their direct selling lines – high quality supplements and nutraceuticals.
• OOB Organic is a premium food company manufacturing premium organic ice- cream, organic ice blocks and distributing organic blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. Honest, quality products made the right way, carefully and without complication.
QBE Insurance Exporter of the Year (total sales under $25m)
• Agility CIS flagship product is the Orion CIS & Billing platform which provides complete data-to-cash solutions for electricity, gas and water utilities and Internet and telecom businesses.
• Jackson Electrical is a leading supplier of portable power solutions and industrial power applications. Their ‘Lifeguard’ in-house designed and manufactured products are found in the construction, mining, marine, civil defence, emergency and events sectors.
• Straker Translations (as above) are one of the world’s fastest growing translation companies with more than 20,000 customers.
• Vetus-Maxwell APAC Ltd (formerly Maxwell Marine International Ltd) has 50 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of anchor windlasses, mooring capstans and auxiliary equipment. Besides their head office in Auckland, they have dedicated representative offices in Australia, USA and The Netherlands as well as access to the extensive distribution network of the parent company worldwide.
Westpac Exporter of the Year (total sales over $25m)
• Compac Sorting Equipment (as above) is a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced pack house solutions, automation products and software solutions for traceability and pack house management.
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (as above) is a global leader in medical devices and systems for use in respiratory care and acute care, and in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea.
• Invenco is a global supplier of automation and self-service payment systems. Most people will be familiar with their technology allowing consumers to pay at the pump for petrol, but they have many other product lines enabling transactions and payments to be handled quickly and securely.
• JMP Engineering designs, manufactures, installs and supports a range of robotic palletising and packaging equipment for product handling and packaging. JMP has sales and support offices in Australia and the USA.