Bucking the recession, GFC, doom: 20 leading Kiwi exporters announced as finalists in Air NZ Cargo Export Awards Auckland

Global pioneers New Zealand Steel, Sonar6 and World Wide Access are among the finalists in the Air New Zealand Cargo Export Awards Auckland 2011 announced tonight.

NZ Steel, a finalist in the Westpac Exporter of the Year category with sales over $35 million is the smallest integrated steel mill in the world and the only one producing steel solely from iron sand and sub bituminous coal. During the GFC it doubled export volumes and found new markets - no mean feat for a company of its size, complexity, and distance from export markets.

Sonar6 is a finalist in the Endace Hi-Tech Exporter of the Year category - it makes the only graphics-based performance review and succession planning software in the world. Its added features to make managing talent a breeze include a unique online Helicopter View of individual staff review information, self-assessments, 360 reviews and development planning.

Amongst the finalist in the TNT Express Emerging Exporters of the Year is World Wide Access Ltd which is transforming the way exporting is done with its proven cutting-edge technology that exports and retails New Zealand products online in the US and UK.

Other high profile finalists include M-Com, which makes the world's leading mobile phone banking software, BCS Group, maker of baggage handling software, and Jack Links, maker of beef jerky 90% of which is exported to the US, and Les Mills International

The growth rates of several finalists have defied the recession's doom and gloom, among them NZ Steel, Temperzone (9% compounding growth each year for the past 15 years), Canary, EasiYo( a million sachets of dried yogurt a month), and Rakon. Rakon's growth record in the past 12 months has been unprecedented in its 44-year history for revenue, shipment volume and market share.

New Zealand exporters have left hardly a destination untouched: Morocco, Egypt, Oman, Greece, France, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Vietnam and the Philippines, USA, South Africa, UK and Canada, Chile, Brazil, Singapore, Denmark and Philippines.....

The experience of our exporters are what makes Export New Zealand networking events so valuable to other businesses.

All the finalists in the Air New Zealand Cargo Export New Zealand Awards Auckland are announced tonight at a special function at the New Zealand Trade Centre 5.30pm-7.00pm.

The winners will be announced at a gala dinner at the Langham Hotel in Auckland on Friday, June 17, with entertainment by MCs Tina Cross and Shane Cortze accompanied by Carl Doy.

A full list of the finalists is:
Westpac Exporter of the Year (total sales over $35million)

* Les Mills International Ltd -teaches Les Mills exercise to music programmes around the world, with the US as a key market.

* New Zealand Steel Ltd - fully integrated steel mill producing and selling a range of flat rolled steel products worldwide.

* Jack Links New Zealand Ltd - manufactures and sells beef snacks. 90% exported to the US.

* Temperzone Ltd - manufactures air conditioning solutions of its own designs primarily, for commercial buildings, residential and industrial applications.

* Sistema Plastics Ltd - makes a range of food storage containers and drink bottles for the consumer market.

QBE Insurance Exporter of the Year (total sales under $35million)

* Canary Enterprises Ltd - from exporting butter medallions, now diversified to make a range of flavoured products, like basil pesto cream cheese.

* EasiYo Products Limited - makers of make-your-own yoghurt sachets.

* GMP Pharmaceuticals Ltd - one-stop, contract health food manufacturer.

TNT Express Emerging Exporter of the Year

* World Wide Access Ltd - online exporter that has pioneered and proven a way to export affordably using cutting-edge technology.

* Invivo Wines NZ - makers of New Zealand wine exporting to 9 countries. Invivo's wine label, designed by fashion brand Zambesi had been crafted to catch the attention of retail shoppers.

Baldwins Intellectual Property Consultants & Services Exporter of the Year

* Swire Shipping (The China Navigation Company Pte Ltd) - multi-purpose shipping liner providing the most direct ports connections of any shipping line calling New Zealand, with specific foci on Australia, the West Coast of USA and Asia. Swire Shipping calls at 8 of New Zealand's 13 ports with over 80 visits to Ports of Auckland each year.

* Academic Colleges Group Ltd - operates seven schools from prereschool and kindergarten through to primary, middle and senior (secondary) school in New Zealand and three offshore in Jakarta (Indonesia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and is a shareholder in the New Zealand Tertiary Education Consortium delivering curriculum for degree programmes in Oman.

* AIS St Helens - private degree provider focused on the international tertiary student market, with around 1000 students from over 30 different countries.

* Fraser Thomas Partners - studies and plans assignments for major infrastructure development projects, as well as provides management, advisory and training services for the implementation of these projects, which are generally aimed to alleviate poverty and hardship in developing countries.

DB Breweries Deal of the Year
* Fusion Transactive Ltd - develops hardware and software for oil companies to manage their petrol stations such as back office, head office, forecourt control and payment terminals, with customers in Australasia, South East Asia and Africa.

* BCS Group Ltd - makes logistics hardware, automation controls and software for airports, freight and industrial customers. It has supplied systems and services to airports in more than 30 countries over the past few years.

* Modtec Industries Ltd - designs and manufactures workspace productivity tools such as desks, computer monitor arms and packing cages. Its single largest contact, secured five months ago, was won over a manufacturer offering a competing product for 75% less than Modtec's price.
Endace Hi-Tech Exporter of the Year

* Rakon Ltd - designer and manufacturer of frequency control solutions, which is the heart of almost all electronic circuits and provides precise timing that is required in consumer GPS, space and aviation devices, Personal Navigation Devices, surveying, telecommunications smart wireless devices and many more applications.

* Sonar Ltd trading as Sonar6 - designs and makes graphics-based, performance review and succession planning software for the human resource industry, easily installed by the user. A coaching and development library is built into the software.

* M-Com Ltd - designs and makes mobile banking and payments software designed for banks to raise customer satisfaction, acquire new customers, at a lower cost.
ends

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