11 March
After two postponements over the last six months, the annual Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, supported by
Foster Construction Group, took place tonight, with the winners celebrating their success among their peers. A record
number of entries showcased the extremely high calibre of businesses operating in the Waikato.
DEC Pharmaceutical was crowned the overall champion on the night, taking out the Foster Construction Group 2021 Supreme
Award along with awards for International Trade and Service Excellence.
DEC Pharmaceutical provides a range of contract manufacturing and laboratory services from its cGMP manufacturing
facility in Hamilton, Waikato. DEC Pharmaceutical is another Waikato success story that many may not be aware of. This
substantial established manufacturing and export business is a top performer in healthcare and life science products
globally.
The judges praised DEC Pharmaceutical’s talented leadership team, highly skilled and diverse staff, uncompromising
quality and processes, strong international partners and distribution, and continuous focus on technical innovation and
financial improvement as they consistently deliver world class results, in heavily regulated overseas markets.
Tainui Group Holdings chief executive Chris Joblin was named CEO of the Year, acknowledgement of the Group’s impressive
work on multiple large-scale projects.
The judges noted how Chris’s strategies put the collective good above pure financial success. He has created a culture
of purpose, inclusiveness and enablement. He works with and leads his team sharing the responsibility to build and
improve the organisation through the outcomes they achieve. With clarity of purpose, he articulates his vision and
builds a high performing team.
Momentum Waikato also had an impressive night, winning awards in the Not for Profit and Community Contribution
categories for the incredible work they have done in the Waikato over the past few years. Other winners included Fish
City Hamilton (Marketing & Social Media), Designwell (Micro Business of the Year), Spring Sheep Milk Co (Innovation), Sanctuary Mountain
Maungatautari (Social & Environmental Sustainability), Shift 72 (Business Growth & Strategy) and Raewynne Pearson from SVS Laboratories Limited (Emerging Leader of the Year).
Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good was very pleased with the calibre of contestants.
“After a record-breaking number of entries, followed by two unfortunate postponements of the gala dinner, we are
incredibly grateful to finally be able to celebrate our finalists and our winners in a manner befitting the occasion. It
has not been an easy two years for the business community and we are so proud of the resolve shown by Waikato based
businesses during Covid.”
The recent Omicron outbreak forced the Chamber to push back the already postponed gala dinner from February 9 to March
11 and transition the event from solely physical, to a hybrid physical and virtual event. Representatives from each
finalist and core sponsors were invited to two black-tie dinners – one at Claudelands Event Centre, the other at the
Atrium at Wintec – with each limited to 100 attendees. This was in conjunction with an exclusive livestream of the event
enabling the teams of each finalist to feel a part of the night.
“After a tough year for everyone it is great to see so many businesses focussing on their customers, staff and the wider
community. Congratulations to the winners and a massive thank you to our suppliers, particularly H3, Montana, ACLX and
Wintec for helping us transition to a hybrid event. And thank you to our judges and my Chamber of Commerce team for
making tonight possible,” Don said.
A full list of the award winners are as follows:
Not for Profit Award (sponsored by Trust Waikato): Momentum Waikato Marketing & Social Media Award (Chow:Hill Architects Ltd): Fish City Hamilton
Micro Business of the Year Award (Sleepyhead): Designwell
International Trade Award (SkyPoint Technologies Ltd): DEC Pharmaceutical Ltd
Innovation Award (Company-X): Spring Sheep Milk Co. Gentle Sheep Toddler Milk Drink
Community Contribution Award (Montana Food & Events): Momentum Waikato
Social & Environmental Sustainability Award (Wintec): Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
Service Excellence Award (Tompkins Wake): DEC Pharmaceutical Ltd
Business Growth & Strategy Award (Deloitte): Shift72 Limited
Air New Zealand People’s Choice Award: TBC on the night (public vote)
Emerging Leader of the Year Award (Mitre 10): Raewynne Pearson, Laboratory Manager, SVS Laboratories Limited
CEO of the Year Award (The University of Waikato): Chris Joblin, Chief Executive Officer, Tainui Group Holdings Limited
Foster Construction Group 2021 Supreme Award Winner: DEC Pharmaceutical Ltd
Applications for the 2022 Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards will open in April.