The Tough Get Going!

The Tough Get Going!

Wellington businesses showing confidence and resilience while fighting a tough environment, are reflected in the 2012 GOLD AWARDS Finalists.

“A very difficult economic and political environment is forcing businesses to work extremely hard, be innovative and seek new international markets” said Gold Awards Director John Dow.

“The high New Zealand dollar was putting enormous pressure on anyone exporting and it cut the expenditure from visitors to the region. It also encouraged locals to travel and spend overseas which had a negative effect on the local economy.” Said Mr Dow

“The Government’s determination to cut back the public service and their overall spending was directly hurting a lot of businesses in the Wellington region that relied on providing goods and services to this sector. And this also had the flow on effect of less money being spent in the hospitality, arts, sports and entertainment sectors.”

“Central Government’s indecision and lack of clarity regarding possible local Government reform in the Wellington region had also caused huge uncertainty and unleashed a lot of negative activity that was not conducive to supporting a robust and healthy business environment.”

“However, the Gold Awards Finalists, which include 3 businesses from the Wairarapa - who joined the Awards for the first time in 2012 - reflect a very creative, innovative and hard working group of people who are still prepared to take risks, generate new and interesting products while finding unique ways to successfully take them to world markets.

The Gold Awards in association with The Dominion Post launched the 2012 Finalists at a special announcement function hosted by Jeff Gray BMW at 6 pm on 17 April.

The 2012 Gold Awards Finalists are listed below.

The 2012 Gold Awards Finalists:

CREATIVE GOLD
in association with The Wellington Company
~ film, media & creative content

Awa Press: giving meticulous attention to producing great NZ books
Clemenger BBDO: the largest full service communications agency in Wellington
MiniMonos: a virtual (simian) world for good green kids
Studio Pacific Architecture: award winning design led architectural practice.
..................

CYBER GOLD
in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers
~ technology

8Interactive: a producer of leading education reading applications worldwide
CricHQ: transforming the cricket landscape with their app.
GreenButton: groundbreaking platform for applications transitioning to the cloud
Splice Group: experts in Geospatial Systems and Integration
..................

DISCOVERING GOLD
in association with Gibson Sheat Lawyers
~ recent research & development projects

Aura RedEye Security: a revolutionary cyber security product
Black Gold by GNS Science: scientific analysis for potentially $4 trillion of oil exploration
Nuenz: creating and selling nitride nanofibres
Saviour Skin Balm by Antipodes: an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-microbial skin balm
..................

EMERGING GOLD
~ smaller enterprises (less than 10 staff)

Carrello del Gelato: New Zealand’s leading provider of authentic gelato
Empathy: enabling organizations to understand and revel in who they really are
Guistina’s: lovingly crafted and delicious biscotti spoons
Greenkeeper Systems: greening workplaces with their “PC Switch off” systems
Im-Able: world leading stroke recovery programme
TenderRest: creators of modern, sustainable funeral caskets
..................

GLOBAL GOLD
in association with ANZ
~ exporters

Antipodes New Zealand: a global, scientific organic beauty brand
Radiola Aerospace: servicing military and aviation customers world-wide
Sanpro Industries: high speed exhaust tube perforating machinery specialists
Xero: NZX listed with 78,000 customers and 240,000 users in 100 countries.
..................

SUPPORTING GOLD
in association with BECA
~ professional services & infrastructure

Crombie Lockwood: the largest insurance broking house in New Zealand
Dash Tickets: tools to set up, market and manage events from start to finish
Dews Construction: roading construction and maintenance company
NZ Diving and Salvage: a large global commercial diving company
..................

VIBRANT GOLD
~ events, hospitality & visitor facilities

Adrenalin Forest: this country’s optimal multi-aerial obstacle course
Carter Observatory: world class visitor and education centre
NZ Affordable Art Trust: promoting new, emerging and established artists
Toast Martinborough: celebrating great wine, food and music in Wairarapa for 20 years.
Tora Coastal Walk: a very special walk along the wild South Wairarapa Coast
..................

BEST PRACTICE AWARDS:

ACC WORKPLACE SAFETY AWARD
~ workplace safety practices

Interislander: annually undertaking 5,500 sailings with 785,000 passengers
Kiwirail Hutt Workshops: operating a locomotive maintenance facility since 1929
NZ Bus: the biggest operator of urban bus services in New Zealand
Sealed Air Corporation: producing premium bags for the meat and dairy industries
..................

GREEN GOLD
in association with JEFF GRAY BMW
~ positive sustainability programmes

Mana Recovery: their mantra - “Rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, recover, recycle”
Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre: conserving rare and endangered wildlife
Silaca Glass Crushers: crushing glass and turning it into useful products
Sustainability Trust: their mission is to reduce our environmental footprint

© Scoop Media