New Zealand’s Hi-Tech Industry bucks the trend

New Zealand’s Hi-Tech Industry bucks the trend

Winners of the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards show Kiwi innovation succeeding in global market

Christchurch, Friday May 1 2009

The winners of this year’s PricewaterhouseCoopers New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards were announced tonight at the Gala Awards dinner in Christchurch.

The Awards recognise excellence across New Zealand's software, electronics, biotechnology, telecommunications and creative technology industries and this year saw a record 160 entries.

“Both the quantity and quality of entrants this year reinforce the fact that New Zealand’s Hi-tech sector is the way forward for our economy. The hi-tech industry contributes more than $2 billion in exports to New Zealand and has forged a global reputation for innovation. Many companies are continuing to achieve double digit growth but this is only a fraction of what they are capable of given the right environment in which to prosper.

These companies demonstrate that Kiwi entrepreneurship and technical innovation can compete successfully on the international stage and as a country we need to take greater advantage of that fact,” said Wayne Norrie,Chairman of the NZ Hi]Tech Association. These sentiments were mirrored by Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell, who was an international judge this year.

“I’ve been hearing about the great ideas coming out of New Zealand for a long time. The opportunities for your ideas to scale and grow has never been greater and never been more global.

Every new wave of growth and success has been driven by new ideas and new technology. And there’s no reason why New Zealand can’t be the home to the next Dell or Salesforce.com. Embrace your entrepreneurs and give them every encouragement,” he said.

This year’s PricewaterhouseCoopers Supreme Award went to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. As a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative healthcare devices, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s products are sold in more than 110 countries and the company has sales and marketing operations located in 25 countries.

The Judges commented that, “even in a strong group of finalists, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is an outstanding company. It has achieved sales of over $400 million in 110 countries, with sustained profitability.

The company has 250 people in R&D developing new products for its target respiratory medical device market and files 50 to 60 patents per year. All this is the result of an impressive leadership team and high standards of governance, making them a clear leader in the New Zealand tech sector.”

The IRL Emerging Company Award went to human resource software developer Sonar6. Online accounting system Xero won the HiFX Innovative Service Product Award. The high quality of entries this year saw the judges awarding joint winners in the hardware and software categories, with NextWindow and Vesper Marine taking the Enatel Innovative Hardware Product Award and Biomatters Ltd and Massive Software sharing the Recruit IT Innovative Software Product Award.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Partner and lead sponsor spokesperson Scott Kerse says the firm is pleased to be trusted advisors to some of New Zealand’s most innovative and influential emerging businesses.

“We’re proud to be the lead sponsor for this year’s PricewaterhouseCoopers New Zealand Hi]Tech awards, particularly when we see the high calibre of tonight’s winners and the entrants overall.

This year’s winners are all testimony to the talent and ambition of the Hi]tech sector. The fact that they include new and established, public and privately owned businesses and come from a range of industries proves that this is a very important part of our economy.”

2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards Winners Supreme Award Fisher & Paykel Healthcare A leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a range of innovative healthcare devices which incorporate unique features to improve patient care. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare offers a broad range of products and systems for use in respiratory care, the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, neonatal care and operating rooms. Its products are sold in over 110 countries with sales and marketing operations located in 25 countries. www.fphcare.com

IRL Emerging Company Award Sonar6 Sonar6 was founded in 2004 based on the idea that performance management should be simple and rewarding. Sonar6 now has customers all around the world and is well known as the innovator in Human Resource software. www.sonar6.com

HiFX Innovative Service Product Award: Xero Xero is an online accounting system designed for small businesses and their advisors. Its customers have instant access to bank transactions, invoices, reports, GST etc anywhere in the world. www.xero.com Enatel Innovative Hardware Product Award: Joint winners: NextWindow Ltd and Vesper Marine NextWindow NextWindow is an international leader in the development of optical multi touch technology and the manufacture of optical multi touch screens, overlays and OEM touch components. www.nextwindow.com

Vesper Marine Vesper Marine was founded by offshore sailing enthusiasts Deirdre Schleigh and Jeff Robbins. The AISWatchMate is the result of their desire for a powerful, simple, affordable, collision warning system that is easy to use and can be continuously on. www.vespermarine.com

Recruit IT Innovative Software Product Award: Joint winners: Biomatters and Massive Software Biomatters Biomatters was founded on the principle of creating software that can be used by all researchers in their daily work. Its technology converts raw data into meaningful, visual information, simplifying research and ultimately improving efficiency. www.biomatters.com

Massive Software Massive is the premier simulation and visualization solution system for generating and visualizing realistic crowd behaviours and autonomous agent driven animation for a variety of industries, including film, games, television, architecture, transportation, engineering, and robotics. www.massivesoftware.com

Outstanding Industry Initiative Award: eDay eDay is a community initiative designed to raise awareness of the hazardous nature of electronic waste (e]waste), while offering an easy way for households to dispose of old computers and mobile phones in an environmentally sustainable manner. www.eday.org.nz

NZ Hi-Tech Association Special Award presented by NZX: In recognition of service to the New Zealand hi tech industry. Marion Rogers Instrumental in establishing the Hi Tech Awards, Marion Rogers was also involved in a number of other industry initiatives including founding the Electronics Manufacturing Council and the Electronics Exporters Association of New Zealand.

Outstanding Individual Contribution Award: Milton Bloomfield Milton applies his capabilities across an increasingly wide range of applications including the Martin Jetpack and building bikes for the NZ Olympic Cycling Team. He was also responsible for overseeing and managing the SPARC funded, PowerBlade project carried out in 2008 by four University of Canterbury final year Mechanical Engineering students.

SwayTech Journalist Award: Keith Newman Keith Newman has been operating as a freelance journalist since 1998 He currently writes for a number of trade and mainstream publications, using his two decades of experience to further specialise in simplifying the complexities and highlighting the importance of the telecommunications and hi]tech industries in an informative but entertaining way.

Endace Young Achiever Award: Joint winners: Andrew Graham and John]Daniel Trask Andrew Graham A founder of Inro Technologies, Andrew Graham is a young manager and leader who is described as having an "instinctive ability to motivate individuals and teams". He has, amongst other things, founded a company and created 30 jobs in an entirely new industry.

John-Daniel Trask John]Daniel has been primarily responsible for the development of Mindscapes' sales and marketing strategy and its execution. He is described as one of those "rare individuals" able to combine technical capability with astute business practice.

Launchpad Best of the Rest Celebrating hi]tech companies who have had their successes acknowledged by other awards programmes throughout the year: Serko Online Landcare Research, carboNZero InFact Nightside Test Design HairyLemon Mark Taylor FrameCAD FrameCAD Thureon Orion Health Computer Forensics Who Stole My Money iDesign

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