Leading Light Backed By Industry New Zealand

20 September 2001

International Leading Light Backed By Industry New Zealand

A New Zealand company is lighting up the world with help from Industry New Zealand.

Selecon New Zealand Limited, whose lighting equipment can be found in select venues ranging from the Sydney Opera House to New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Harrods of London, has been given a $100,000 grant from Industry New Zealand’s Business Growth Fund.

“Our growth strategy is to significantly increase our sales over the next three years and Industry New Zealand’s assistance is helping to make this plan a reality,” says Selecon Operations Manager Stephen Fairweather.

The funding, which will be matched dollar for dollar by Selecon, is to help the company develop its dealer network in the US, secure patents for a new light collection system and get advice on how to manage planned growth.

“We knew that our future lay in expanding into the US market, but we also knew that it’s a tough market to crack,” Mr Fairweather said.

“We thought hard about how we would go about it. Industry New Zealand looked at our track record and our ideas, and saw that they could help us make a go of it.”

Selecon is recognised as a world leader in light collection and optical systems design, winning international awards in these areas.

Recently, Selecon made its largest ever shipment to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane. After extensive testing, Selecon luminaries have beaten all rivals as the choice for lighting up its hall, playhouse, and two theatres.

Industry New Zealand Chief Executive Neil Mackay said “Selecon is a prime example of a sound New Zealand business that has proven it can cut it in global markets.

“The company has demonstrated a clear commitment to growth,” he said.

“New Zealand’s technology-based companies have led our exports in terms of percentage growth , but unfortunately this sector only has a small share of our total exports. Companies like Selecon are helping to turn that situation around.”

EDITOR’S NOTE

Selecon has developed the Pacific Power System which uses optimised current technology to deliver brighter, whiter light, and up to 50 percent reduction in energy consumption. This represents an improvement on traditional tungsten filament lamps,

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which are inefficient in terms of heat output and poor energy generation in the blue-green end of the visible spectrum.

The system’s electronic power supply allows the use of the most efficient voltage for a desired wattage lamp. The result is that Selecon’s 80v Pacific, a 1200w lamp, can deliver as much light on stage as a traditional 2.0/2.5 kilowatt lamp.

Industry New Zealand was established by the Government in September 2000 as New Zealand’s economic development agency.

It creates a bridge between government and the private sector and focuses all government resources, central and local, to help businesses, industries and regions grow.

The approach emphasises: fostering an “enterprise culture” in New Zealand, partnerships and getting the job done.

Among the services Industry New Zealand provides are:

- Advice

- Access to information

- Funding assistance and advice

- Co-ordination of business support

- Removal of bottlenecks and barriers

- Establishment of partnerships.

For more information contact:

Mike Booker Stephen Fairweather

Phone: (04) 4956324 Phone: 09 376 8755

E-mail: mike.booker@industrynz.govt.nz E-mail: sfairweather@seleconlight.com

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