Innovative Enterprises Strike Gold

12 May 2005

Innovative Enterprises Strike Gold At Wellington Regional Business Awards

The achievements of some of the Wellington region’s most innovative and creative businesses were celebrated last night at the Gold Awards.

The Gold Awards recognise enterprise and excellence, and feature nine award categories covering a broad array of industries. The 2005 supreme award was scooped by the AXA New Zealand International Sevens.

“This year's winners all display ambition, intelligence and outside-of-the-square thinking and show just how much it's possible to achieve when you have a vision. They are the kind of enterprises that make the Wellington region a great place to do business and reflect the vibrancy and diversity that exists here," says Positively Wellington Business’ Acting CEO Chris Lipscombe.

"The stars of the Gold Awards are the kinds of businesses that help drive the Wellington region's economy. At Positively Wellington Business we're committed to ensuring these kinds of business continue to flourish," he says.

Positively Wellington Business, the region’s economic development agency, was a sponsor of the awards. The following businesses were Gold Award winners.

WELLINGTON GOLD AWARD 2005 (SUPREME WINNER)

WINNER: AXA New Zealand International Sevens: Guaranteeing two days of singing, dancing, laughter and making new friends.

CYBER GOLD
Reinforcing Wellington¹s reputation as a highly educated "smart" economy with cutting edge technology, the Cyber Gold category recognises innovation, leadership and sustained growth in the information and communications sectors.

WINNER: Superstructure-Upshot Technologies Ltd: One of the world¹s leading providers of airline safety and secure intelligence software.

DISCOVERING GOLD
Further demonstrating the extent of the intellectual capacity in the Wellington region¹s business community, the Discovering Gold category focuses on technological, scientific and innovative research and development special projects.

WINNER: X Ray Meat Scanner by GNS Isoscan: Developers of a high speed scanning system for boxes of meat destined for international markets.

EMERGING GOLD
Smaller businesses are the backbone of the New Zealand economy and the Emerging Gold category illuminates those enterprises with less than 10 employees who are shining beyond their size.

WINNER: Virtual Katy: A global leader in audio re-conforming software.

GENERATING GOLD
The Wellington region has an outstanding range of businesses that export locally manufactured products throughout the world. Generating Gold celebrates these champions of the manufacturing and industrial sectors.

WINNER: Sealed Air New Zealand: Supplying the packaging needs of some of this countries leading producers and exporters.

PROFESSIONAL GOLD
Many successful enterprises gain significant support from their professional advisers and suppliers. The Professional Gold category highlights the excellent contribution to Wellington of the professional services sector.

WINNER: MWH New Zealand Ltd: An employee owned engineering, environmental, planning and management consultancy that operates globally with 6,000 employees.

CREATIVE GOLD
Wellington is often referred to as the creative or innovation capital of New Zealand, and is renowned for the exceptional pool of creative businesses and talented people that work here. The Creative Gold category raises the curtain on the standout performers in film, media and the creative content industries:

WINNER: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra: New Zealand¹s only full size professional symphony orchestra regularly attracting top flight players, conductors and soloists.

SUPPORTING GOLD
This category rewards commitment to the Wellington region by way of infrastructural provision, expansion, investment and job creation.

WINNER: Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferry: A 100% Kiwi owned and operated ferry company offering a unique Cook Strait Crossing experience.

VIBRANT GOLD
In the last 10 years, major investments have been made in lifting Wellington¹s profile and attractiveness as a tourism destination. However underpinning the Wellington vibrancy has been the outstanding work of a range of talented organisations. Vibrant Gold highlights achievements in tourism, promotions, events and lifestyle that have brought vitality and recognition to the region.

WINNER: AXA New Zealand International Sevens: Guaranteeing two days of singing, dancing, laughter and making new friends.

ACC ThinkSafe WORKPLACE SAFETY AWARD
Recognising excellence in workplace safety systems and procedures.

WINNER: Boulcott Hospital: One of Wellington¹s top performing healthcare providers with injury rates well under the industry average.

ENDS

© Scoop Media