North Shore Business Excellence Awards

June 25 2004

North Shore Business Excellence Awards reflect vitality and diversity of North Shore business

A diverse range of leading North Shore businesses have again demonstrated confidence in their companies by entering the prestigious Westpac Enterprise North Shore Business Excellence Awards.

Entries for the Awards are now closed.

This year’s entries are from a broad spectrum of the North Shore business community ranging from finance and property companies to those involved in education, hospitality and fashion. Almost a third of the companies that entered the Awards submitted entries into more than one category. Bruce McLachlan, General Manager Business for Westpac, says it is apparent that these companies have confidence in and are proud of many aspects of their business.

“When businesses submit multiple entries, it is a clear signal that their business is operating successfully on a number of levels. Many multiple entrants this year were start-up businesses - the process of entering the Awards will have given them a great confidence boost and a stronger sense of where they are headed.”

This year’s Awards attracted entries from a mix of first-time entrants as well as from businesses which have entered previously.

Enterprise North Shore Chief Executive Terry Hoskins says: “It’s great to see new companies taking part, and also reassuring to see past participants having another crack. The fact that almost half of last year’s category winners re-entered along with many previous finalists is a good indicator that these companies have a clear sense of the value that the Awards offer.”

The Awards facilitators, who assisted businesses with their entries, report that many previous entrants - including those who have not been a previous finalist or winner - said they learned a lot about their business just by participating. As a result, many had strengthened their business and are entering this year from a stronger position.

Businesses such as Orcon Internet come back year after year. Orcon’s Managing Director Seeby Woodhouse says the company’s success in previous years has resulted in benefits such as increased publicity and a boost to its profile.

“We were a runner up in 2001, and in 2002 we won the Massey University Excellence in Technology Award. Then, last year we picked up the 3M Excellence in Innovation Award and this year we have entered the Vector Best Emerging Business Award and have entered again into the technology category.”

McLaren Brown Publishing was a finalist last year in the Actionmail & Alliance Construction Excellence in Marketing Award and the North Shore City Council Excellence in Tourism Award. This year the company has re-entered in both of those categories as well as in the Clearlite Excellence in Service Delivery Award. Managing Director and publisher Anne McLaren says: “You learn a lot about your company from the process of entering and it is an excellent way of benchmarking your business. We have adopted a ‘never quit’ philosophy and believe implicitly in striving for business excellence." McLaren Brown Publishing, which won the 2003/2004 New Zealand Tourism award for Tourism Communications and Information Services, believes entering awards keeps businesses focussed and leads to strong growth. Creative Business Systems is a first-time entrant. The company has entered the Chelsea Sugar Excellence in Exporting Award, the Vector Best Emerging Business Award and the 3M Excellence in Innovation Award.

Michelle Lindsay, Project Manager for Creative Business Systems, says: “We have had significant growth in the past year through an export development and have recently graduated from the Massey University e-centre. It is an exciting time for the business and it seems like a great time to enter these Awards to lift our profile.”

Other categories, such as the North Shore Times Community Contribution Award, the Veritas Employer of Choice Award, the Smales Farm Excellence in Environmental Management Award and the ACC Thinksafe Work Safety Award, have also attracted entries this year from high-performing companies.

A total of 72 entries were received from 38 businesses. Category winners become eligible for the Westpac Supreme Business Excellence Award.
All entries are now with the 10-member independent judging panel which will announce the finalists in each of the 12 categories in mid-July.

Categories for the 2004 Awards are: Clearlite Excellence in Service Delivery Award Massey University Excellence in Technology Award 3M Excellence in Innovation Award Vector Best Emerging Business Award Local Directories Best New Start-up Business Award Actionmail & Alliance Construction Excellence in Marketing Award North Shore Times Advertiser Community Contribution Award Veritas Employer of Choice Award Smales Farm Excellence in Environmental Management Award ACC ThinkSafe Work Safety Award North Shore City Council Excellence in Tourism Award Chelsea Sugar Excellence in Exporting Award

For more information on the Awards, visit www.enterprisens.org.nz.

ENDS

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