Tru-Test wins tough test: Auckland Supreme Export Award

Media statement                                        Friday, June 21, 2013

Strictly embargoed till 11pm, Friday, June 21, 2013

Tru-Test wins tough test: Auckland Supreme Export Award

The New Zealand maker of scales for weighing cattle and meters for measuring animal milk output – Tru-Test Group – is doing such a fine job  on distant shores with these and other agri-tech products that it has won the supreme award in the Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Auckland Awards 2013.  The award was announced at a special event in Auckland on June 21st.

The supreme winner, selected from amongst the winners of the categories outlined below, also won the Westpac Exporter of the Year (total sales over $25 million).

A special presentation was made to Tony Nowell CNZM, as the NewstalkZB 2013 Exporters Champion. The award is made every year to an individual for services to exporters.  Mr Nowell’s Queen’s Birthday honour was for services to business.

His present directorships are at Scion in Rotorua, and Wellington Drive Technologies and the FoodBowl in Auckland. He has contributed pro bono to many export-related and other not for profit organisations. He formerly held top and senior management roles in hotel management, L’Oreal and Sara Lee Corporation in Indonesia and Singapore, as well as chief executive of Griffin’s Foods and Zespri International in New Zealand.

The convenor of judges, Barry Squires, head of international banking at Westpac Institutional Bank said he found the quality of the entrants a tribute to New Zealand businesses and to “the ingenuity, courage, persistence, adaptability and enthusiasm of New Zealand exporters.”

He said this year the panel of judges was of exceptional quality and experience, including the CEOs of some of Auckland largest and most successful companies.

“Their willingness to contribute their time and knowledge for the betterment of the export community is greatly appreciated," Mr Squires said. (The 21 judges for the Auckland export awards are listed here)
Chairman of Export New Zealand, Auckland, Graham Kearns said once again he was amazed by the quality and variety of companies out in the export arena, taking calculated risks, pushing boundaries and achieving successes most New Zealanders know nothing about.

“It is extremely important to recognise and publicise the achievements of these companies to honour them,” Mr Kearns said.

“The entries we receive each year reach ever higher quality standards and this year was no exception. The judges had great difficulty deciding on the finalists, the Category winners and the Supreme winner.

“I congratulate all that had the courage to enter and tell their amazing stories, and especially the winners."

The Supreme Award’s prizes include attending an invitation-only CEO Forum organised by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and the pleasure of driving the latest E-Class Mercedes car for six months, courtesy of Coutts Mercedes, Newmarket.

The winners of each Award category receive a supply chain management consultancy review offered by the Awards sponsors Air New Zealand Cargo, BDO, Westpac Institutional Bank, Baldwins Intellectual Property and Douglas Pharmaceuticals.

The award categories winners and other prizes are:

Westpac Exporter of the Year (total sales over $25 million)
Tru-Test Group - the world leading manufacturer of livestock scales and milk metering equipment.

QBE Insurance Exporter of the Year (total sales under $25 million)
Best Bars - supplier of towing solutions and automotive accessories, designing and manufacturing original equipment for a wide range of motor companies and new vehicle distributors.

BDO Food & Beverage Exporter of the Year
Greenshell New Zealand - a vertically integrated, family-owned food business engaged in farming, processing and marketing Greenshell™ Mussels under the Ikana brand. 
Prize: $10,000 use of The Food Bowl processing technology

TNT Express Emerging Exporter of the Year
Kagi Jewellery – New Zealand designer jewellery brand specialising in beautiful, versatile, affordable jewellery women love to wear.
Prize: a Golem Productions Ltd 5-minute marketing video valued at $5,000.

Baldwins Intellectual Property Commercialisation of Innovation for Export
Southern Spars  - designer and manufacturer of yacht masts, booms and rigging.

Endace Tech StartUp of the Year
TranscribeMe – offering new generation voice-to-text transcription providing best-in-class accuracy, turnaround, and rates using a hybrid speech model plus a crowd-sourced human transcriber platform. 
Prize: Three months at the Kiwi Landing Pad, Silicon Valley, USA.

ENDS

© Scoop Media