Beachheads programme continues to grow

NZTE Media release: Beachheads programme continues to grow

19 December 2008: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s global Beachheads programme has gone from strength to strength in the last year, and ends 2008 on a high with the appointment of three expert advisors to its newly established South America board, and confirmation of the first New Zealand company to officially join the programme in this part of the world.

Eugenia Muchnik, Professor Jorge Forteza and Martin Cartwright join Chairman Dr Gustavo Richardson on the South America Beachhead Advisory Board, which was established in October.

Eugenia Muchnik is a Strategic Advisor for Fundacion Chile and a consultant to public sector institutions including Chile’s Ministry of Agriculture, CORFO, and ProChile. She has extensive experience in South America’s agri-business sector and has worked with a number of New Zealand companies interested in the Chile dairy market.

Professor Jorge Forteza is an economist and strategic advisor, with significant international management experience. For more than 20 years Jorge was a Partner and Senior VP of international strategic consultancy group Booz Allen and Hamilton. He is also a lecturer in Corporate Strategy and Competitiveness at San Andres University’s Graduate School of Management and visited New Zealand in July as the Prime Minister’s Latin America Fellow.

Martin Cartwright is a successful Chilean horticulturist and fruit grower and owns his own farming business, Agricola Ponderosa. He is also the President and a Director of Prize Limitada which acts on behalf of Zespri International in Chile. Martin has worked extensively with a number of New Zealand businesses for more than 30 years

__The advisory board appointments coincide with the acceptance of Dunedin-based Waste Solutions as the first New Zealand company to officially be accepted into the programme.

A subsidiary of engineering company Duffill Watts, Waste Solutions is a world leader in wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy solutions. They design and develop waste treatment systems, primarily for large-scale food processing factories, that use enhanced, natural processes like anaerobic digestion to turn waste into renewable energy. The resulting biogas can then be sold, or traded for carbon credits.

Waste Solutions’ anaerobic reactor systems have been built in many countries around the world, including Thailand where one system installed in 2003 continues to produce approximately 90,000 cubic metres of biogas each day.

NZTE’s Director Beachheads Alan Crofts says that the establishment of the South America Beachhead acknowledges the growing number of New Zealand companies seeking to establish there, and the unique business environments different South American countries have.

“Beachheads is all about connecting New Zealand businesses with expert advisors who know the ins and outs of a particular market, and Gustavo and the newly appointed advisors will be able to provide on-the-ground advice to help businesses achieve their growth plans.”

Mr Crofts says that over the coming months additional advisors will be appointed. The intention is to have a mix of people who have experience in different markets and across different industries.

The establishment of the South America Beachhead ends a busy and successful year for the Beachheads programme globally, with two new advisory boards established in South America and China, and 38 new companies joining the programme. There are now 93 companies participating, 14 of which are active in more than one Beachhead location, and 81 advisors providing valuable contacts, experience and expertise in specific markets.

For more information about the Beachheads programme, including questions and answers with Dr Gustavo Richardson about doing business in South America, visit www.nzte.govt.nz/beachheads

ENDS

About the Beachheads Programme

One of NZTE’s most successful and internationally recognised programmes, Beachheads connects New Zealand companies to an international network of advisors who have ‘been there done that’ and provide valuable contacts, experience and expertise in specific markets.

Over the past six years, nearly 160 companies, including some of New Zealand’s most successful exporters, have participated in the Beachheads programme.

In addition to access to expert advisors, participants also receive ongoing assistance from dedicated NZTE programme managers in each region who provide business development advice and act as a conduit between companies and advisors.

There are Beachhead advisory boards in North America, Europe, South America, India, South East Asia, China, Middle East, with some Beachhead services available in Tokyo.

In October 2008, NZTE was awarded the World Trade Promotion Organization’s “Best of the Best” Award at the World Trade Promotion Organization Awards held in Netherlands. The award recognised a number of specific NZTE programmes, including Beachheads.

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