AUCKLAND, 16 July, 2015– The American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand has today announced the finalists for the 2015 AmCham-DHL Express Success and Innovation Awards, held in conjunction with Hawaiian Airlines. The awards, now into their 16th year, celebrate the success and innovation of those New Zealand companies doing business with the USA.
Mike Hearn, Executive Director for AmCham, says “2015 has seen another very strong group of entrants, covering a diverse range of products and services. While technology companies are again to the forefront, there are also strong entries from healthcare/medical equipment, fruit grading equipment, wine, building products, film, cars and engineered products.
“Despite the high dollar, we continue to see many New Zealand businesses engaging with the US market in both depth and breadth. In the last year, two-way trade between New Zealand and the USA hit a new high of $11.22 billion, an increase of 29.8%, and accounted for 11.2% per cent of New Zealand’s total earnings from overseas trade.” says Mr Hearn.
DHL Express Country Manager and lead sponsor, Tim Baxter says "The NZ/US trade lane is highly valuable for both importers and exporters operating in New Zealand. It’s exciting to see organisations from a wide range of industries, both large and small, recognising this value. No doubt the competition will be tough this year, but ultimately all these organisations have achieved success in the US market through the right business strategies and focus."
The Awards & 50th Anniversary gala dinner are being held on Thursday 20th August in Auckland at the Pullman Hotel. AmCham is delighted to have the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon John Key, again attend the dinner to present the exporter awards, along with US Ambassador Mark Gilbert. As part of our celebrations we are inviting all Past Prime Ministers; US Ambassadors to NZ; NZ Ambassadors to the USA, AmCham Past Presidents and others who have played a significant role in our success over the last 50 years.
The finalists are:
Importer of the Year
|
|
- Roads & Concrete t/a Top ½
|
|
|
Exporter of the Year to the USA $1 to $500,000
- Career Engagement Group t/a Fuel 50
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exporter of the Year to the USA $500,001 to $5m
|
· Straker Translations
· Volpara Solutions
|
|
· Abel Software
|
|
· BFM Global Ltd
|
|
· Pukeko Pictures
|
|
· Aranz Medical Ltd
|
|
· McKay Ltd
|
Exporter of the Year to the USA over $5m
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
|
Each of the above winners receive $1,000 of free shipping with DHL Express ($2,000 for the over $5m category) and 100,000 Hawaiian Airlines Miles
Investor of the Year to or from the USA
- Bessemer Ventures for investment in Rocket Lab
|
- Blue Elephant for investment in Harmoney
|
- CRG for investment in AFT Pharmaceuticals
|
|
|
The Eric & Kathy Hertz Award for Citizen Diplomacy
- NZ Robotics Charitable Trust
|
- Achilles International NZ
|
|
|
- Piha Surf Life Saving Club
|
One of the above will be chosen as the Supreme winner. One other award will be presented on the night: The AmCham Supporter of the Year
In addition to AmCham, DHL Express and Hawaiian Airlines, the awards are supported by ASB Bank, Baldwins, Fonterra Co-operative, Prescient Marketing & Communications, The Pullman Hotel and media sponsor The Business.
The awards will be presented at a black tie gala dinner at the Pullman Hotel Auckland on Thursday 20th August. For details and tickets see www.amcham.co.nz
In addition to AmCham, DHL Express and Hawaiian Airlines, the awards are supported by ASB Bank, Baldwins, Fonterra Co-operative, Prescient Marketing & Communications, The Pullman Hotel and media sponsor The Business.
Previous winners of the Supreme Award have included Zespri International, Peace Software, Airways Corporation, HumanWare, Tenon, Orion Health, Zeacom, SMI Group, Fonterra and Pratt & Whitney Air New Zealand Services t/a Christchurch Engine Centre, Buckley Systems, Greenshell New Zealand and Vista Entertainment.
