Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards Media Release
Strictly embargoed until 11pm Friday 5 September 2008
Spotlight shines on Manukau’s top companies
- Nine companies honoured in individual categories
- Metalman N.Z. Limited takes title of Westpac Manukau Business of the Year
- Flavorjen Ltd named Marley New Zealand Limited Manukau Small Business of the Year
- Frucor Beverages Limited recognised for special community contribution
- 22-year old dance school owner named Young Businessperson of the Year
Years of business development and weeks of extensive judging were distilled into one exceptional night for finalists in
the 2008 Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards, where Metalman N.Z. Limited was named Westpac Manukau Business of
the Year, and Flavorjen Ltd was recognized as Manukau’s top small company, winning the Marley New Zealand Limited
Manukau Small Business of the Year title.
Metalman – which claimed triple titles by winning the Westpac Manukau Business of the Year Supreme Award as well as the
EMA Excellence in Manufacturing, and the Enterprising Manukau Excellence in Exporting awards - was founded seven years
ago. The recycler, processor and exporter of scrap metal doubled in size in the last two years and now employs more
than 50 staff in five locations around New Zealand. Judges say that Metalman’s strengths lie in its ability to think on
its feet, to forge very strong customer relationships, and in its unique approach to exporting unwanted metal away from
our shores for recycling.
Success is timely for Flavorjen Ltd, which was named the Marley New Zealand Limited Manukau Small Business of the Year
as well as winning the COGITA Innovation & Strategy Award and the Wiri Licensing Trust Best Emerging Business Award. Making the most of a time when the price of
dairy products is escalating, Flavorjen’s expertise is in natural flavours used by food and beverage manufacturers
seeking an alternative to dairy ingredients. The company has grown exponentially in its first four years, and its
products are found in many of the goods that we find on our supermarket shelves.
“There is no doubt that both of these companies are highly deserving,” says Ian Blair, General Manager of Westpac’s
Business Banking. “The Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards judge companies on all the fundamental aspects of
business management, and to be named as the ultimate winner is a sign of a truly excellent approach to doing business.”
Other winners were:
DSS Animal Management won the ACC Workplace Safety Award. DSS Animal Management, founded in 2000, provides animal
management and related enforcement services to local authorities including Manukau City Council, Wellington City
Council, Franklin District Council and Transit New Zealand. DSS also runs the country’s only training school for animal
control officers, and operates the country’s largest bite prevention programme, through schools.
The winner of the Brookfields Lawyers Employer of Choice Award is Solomon Group Education & Training Academy, a ‘whanau’ (family) based organisation providing full time literacy courses to 475 students. Solomon
Group invests a large proportion of its turnover in staff and staff support processes, resulting in a happy, well
balanced workforce deserving of its title.
Grange Lodge – renowned for its warm hearted and traditional style of hospitality, is a multi award winning motel
located in Papatoetoe, took out the Auckland International Airport Excellence in Tourism & Hospitality category for its attention to detail and focus on the customer experience.
Vision Dannemora, winner of the RSM Prince Excellence in Service Delivery category, is a retirement village and
community of 200 people that was one of the first in its industry to select a central location and to build multi-level
apartments. The operation gives its residents every opportunity to love life through luxury, freedom and independence.
22-year old Marguerite Howlett was named Manukau City Council’s Young Businessperson of the Year for her success in
founding The Renaissance School of Dance, a Papatoetoe based dance school where young people throughout the community
learn tap, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance.
Salters Cartage Ltd won the Hubbards Foods Ltd Environmental Management Award for its environmentally sustainable
solutions to the problem of contaminated oil waste products. The company collects oil waste from the shipping industry,
petrol stations and other industrial sites, and recycles contaminated oil sludge as fuel for cement and lime kilns at a
unique site in Manukau. Water extracted during the process is cleansed to a standard where it can be reused on site or
discharged into a local stream. Salters Cartage also provides innovative septic tank services, and runs a tanker hire
fleet.
For its policy of community involvement Frucor Beverages Ltd (New Zealand) was named as recipient of the special Manukau
Community Foundation Business Contribution to the Community Award. Through ‘Friends of Frucor’, the company supports
causes targeted at preventative health education and underprivileged children. One of the organisation’s most well known
sponsorships is of the World Vision’s 40 Hour Famine, via its ‘Just Juice’ brand.
Property developer and investor Kit Wong, and Sally Synnott, founder of Pumpkin Patch were both inducted into the
Manukau Business Hall of Fame at the Gala Dinner.
Acting Mayor of Manukau Gary Troup believes that successful business underpins every thriving city. “Economic security
brings personal security, and the companies that are named as winners in the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards
are leaders in what they do, as employers, innovators and industry champions.”
Manukau City Council instigated the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards 16 years ago to recognise, encourage and
assist business growth and development. Sponsors of the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards include the Wiri
Licensing Trust, Marley New Zealand Ltd, Brookfields Lawyers, EMA, COGITA, Auckland International Airport Limited, RSM
Prince, Hubbard Foods Ltd, ACC and the Manukau Community Foundation. Manukau City Council and Westpac are the major
sponsors of these awards, which are delivered on behalf of the council by Enterprising Manukau.
www.bizawards.co.nz
ENDS