Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Wellington Chamber of Commerce
The finalists for the fourth annual ExportNZ ASB Wellington Export Awards have been announced and they include some of the very best exporters in the Wellington region.
“The past year has been exceedingly challenging for business, especially for our export community,” says Simon Arcus, Chief Executive of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, which supports and delivers ExportNZ in the wider Wellington region.
“With this in mind, this year it’s even more important than others to take time to celebrate business and acknowledge the critical contribution of export to the economy.
“Even in the face of the ongoing challenges from Covid-19, our exporters continue to do well on the world stage, and it shows through in the quality of this year’s entries.”
The finalists for each category are:
The Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence Best Emerging Business Award: Fix & Fogg, Lazulife, Mana Pacific, and Washbar.
The CentrePort Wellington Best Established Business Award: ITL, Whittaker’s, and Woolyarns.
The Toitū Envirocare Excellence in Sustainability Award: GIVE Packaging, and Method Recycling.
The WellingtonNZ Excellence in Innovation Award: Ackama, InternNZ, Sanpro Industries, and Snapper Services.
The winners of each category will contest the supreme ASB Exporter of the Year Award and will be invited to participate in the NZTE New Zealand International Business Awards. The Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington School of Business and Government Judge’s Choice Award will also be presented on the night, recognising special achievement in the eyes of the judges.
The finalists represent exporters from across the wider Wellington and Central region – including the Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, Kapiti Coast, Porirua, Palmerston North, and Wellington City itself.
Applicants for the awards go through a rigorous selection process, which includes site visits, and detailed analysis of the companies’ export performance. The judges for this year’s awards are Chair of Business Central Vaughan Renner, NZTE Wellington Customer Manager Ann Clifford, and ASB International Trade consultant Paul Gestro.
ASB Executive General Manager for Corporate Banking Nigel Annett says: “Kiwi exporters are now the primary source of international income into the country and continue to be critical to the recovery of our local economy. It’s been a big 18 months and we’ve seen some terrific innovation from local companies as they’ve navigated through the pandemic. The ExportNZ ASB Wellington Export awards next month will be a great opportunity to support, encourage and celebrate exporting excellence.”
The last ASB Wellington Exporter of the Year was cancer screening company Volpara Health Technologies, who joined Antipodes and RJ’s Licorice as winners of the top prize in Wellington Export since the commencement of the awards in 2017.
The Gala Dinner and Awards Night celebration will be held on August 19th, at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and tickets can be purchased from the ExportNZ website. Wellington’s own Linda Clark will host the evening with entrepreneur and adventurer, Cam McLeay, as the keynote speaker.
