Waikato Business News May/June 2021

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS May/June 2021
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Sleepyhead construction
planned for 2023
Craig Turner
Construction is planned to start on the
Sleepyhead Estate factory in Ohinewai in
early 2023, with occupation mid-2024.
The application to
rezone 178 hectares
of rural land owned
by The Comfort Group at
Ohinewai was approved in
May by a Hearing Panel
appointed by the Waikato
District Council.
The Comfort Group is
Australasia’s largest bedding
and foam manufacturer, and
includes the Sleepyhead,
SleepMaker and Dunlop
Foams brands.
The Sleepyhead Estate is a
master-planned development
at Ohinewai which comprises
a $1.2 billion, 178-hectare
manufacturing hub and
residential community that
would create up to 2,600 jobs
in the area and provide up to
1100 new homes, over the
next 10 years.
The Comfort Group,
which has manufacturing
facilities at Avondale and
Otahuhu, will consolidate
and expand its operations at
the new Ohinewai site, which
is adjacent to both SH1 and
the North Island Main Trunk
Railway.
The company will also
develop a residential community
as part of the development
to provide housing
for the company’s staff, their
families, and other residents.
There will be more residential
land than is needed to
cater for Sleepyhead’s needs.
Comfort Group director
Craig Turner said the rezoning
decision was a major
milestone.
“We want to create a legacy
that will continue to add
long term value not only to
The Comfort Group but to
the part of Waikato District,
including Huntly, that we
have chosen to make the new
corporate home for The Comfort
Group after nine decades
in Auckland.”
The construction timeline
is dependent on earthworks
and the compaction
of the ground. Waikato
Regional Council is considering
whether to appeal the
rezoning decision, and has
We want to create
a legacy that will
continue to add long
term value not only to
The Comfort Group but
to the part of Waikato
District, including
Huntly, that we have
chosen to make the
new corporate home
for The Comfort Group
after nine decades in
Auckland.
until July 12 to appeal the
whole decision or part of
the decision.
Grants help boost economy
Waikato Regional
Council has
approved its first
grants from the regional
development fund, with a
combined total of $2.575 million
going to two different
projects. Hamilton-Waikato
Tourism on behalf of the
Waikato Screens project will
get $575,000 over a three year
period, and Ariki Tahi/Sugarloaf
Wharf Ltd (ATSWL) will
receive $2 million.
Council Chair Russ Rimmington
said the projects
promised to deliver significant
economic benefits to the
region, including employment
opportunities.
An agreement will
be signed with Hamilton-Waikato
Tourism on
behalf of Waikato Screens
following decisions to award
the grant in a public-excluded
meeting at the end of April.
The one-off grant of
$575,000 will be distributed
over three years to build
capability as the Waikato’s
regional film office.
The goal is for the Waikato
Screens project to actively
promote the region as a place
to film, as well as to work
with the film industry scouting
shoot locations.
Councillors felt the benefits
of the investment would
be shared right across the
Waikato. Hamilton constituency
councillor Angela
Strange acknowledged the
work Waikato Screens had
done already to attract three
films to the region over the
past eight months.
“Imagine what more they
could do with our support.
I’m really excited by this proposal
and can see that it will
bring millions of dollars into
the region, create jobs for
locals as extras, and inspire
young people,” she said.
Taupō Rotorua constituency
councillor Kathy White
was pleased it would benefit
a number of industries across
the whole region. “Hospitality
in particular has been hit
hard by Covid-19 and this
would be a real boost in that
area,” she said.
As with the Ariki Tahi
Sugarloaf Wharf grant, there
will be conditions prior to
funding being released that
Waikato Screens will need to
meet, and further conditions
following years one and two.
The grant for the Waikato
Screens project is a capability
grant, so the additional
monitoring and partnership
approach over three years
offers all parties assurance
that the project will be supported
as it progresses.
Councillors heard that
growth of the marine farming
sector in the Coromandel
Peninsula is contingent on
appropriate wharf infrastructure
to bring product ashore.
The funding agreement to
be signed with ATSWL will
include a number of conditions,
including a requirement
that all consents are first
approved before the grant is
paid, as well as the setting of
performance expectations.
The expansion of Te
Ariki Tahi/Sugarloaf Wharf
will ensure the movement
and processing of product
through Thames-Coromandel
and other districts.
The activity is likely to
grow ancillary service industries
that are not in existence
now or are currently at a very
small scale, and often seasonal.
“Our council’s funding
will contribute to marine
farmers having more confidence
to invest in growing
their on-water operations,
rather than on the expansion
of the wharf,” Rimmington
said.
“The potential to change
lives, to boost the local and
regional economy through
this work, is the reason why
this council has committed
funds to it.”
Central government threw
their support behind the project
last year with nearly $20
million from the Provincial
Growth Fund.
The project to upgrade
the wharf at Te Kouma will
unlock approximately $822
million of economic benefit
over 35 years and is projected
to support 880 jobs.
Imagine what more
they could do with
our support. I’m
really excited by this
proposal and can
see that it will bring
millions of dollars
into the region,
create jobs for locals
as extras, and inspire
young people.
Purpose PR the
focus of awardwinning
agency
Hamilton-based public
relations agency
HMC was named the
winner of the BusinessDesk
PR Consultancy of the Year
in the small-to-medium category
at the Public Relations
Institute of New Zealand
(PRINZ) annual industry
awards.
The agency won the same
award in 2018.
HMC provides strategic
communications and digital
marketing services to companies
in a wide range of industries
from agriculture, dairy
genetics, real estate, medical
cannabis, skincare and more.
Director Heather Claycomb
says, “I’m so proud of
our team. We are small but
mighty and enjoy the privilege
of working with some
amazing clients across the
Waikato and New Zealand.
We are in our 17th year
and continue to grow from
strength to strength.”
The 2020/21 financial
year was the first full year
the public relations agency
operated as a social enterprise.
“Two years ago I decided
that 100 percent of profits
from my business would be
donated to my family charity,
All Good Ventures. What
this means is that HMC clients
not only receive excellent
PR services, they also
get to partner with us to ‘do
good’ in the world. Around
the office we’ve coined the
term for what we’re doing as
‘Purpose PR.’”
Claycomb’s family charity,
All Good Ventures, is
a registered New Zealand
The HMC team, from left, Heather Claycomb (director), Rosie Miller,
Kate Robinson and Antoinette Brandt (absent is Hariet Waffenschmidt).
charity that provides money,
mentorship and ‘muscle’ to
support budding social entrepreneurs
to start up businesses
for good.
New Zealand organisations
supported by the charity
over the past two years
include Morningside Urban
Market Garden by Grow
Space, Whistlebox, The Good
Karma Company, The Good
Fale, Whistlebox and One-
Day Health in Uganda. The
PRINZ awards are designed
to recognise outstanding
public relations work and
highlight the importance of
good communications across
every aspect of society.
The PRINZ Awards
gala dinner was held at the
end of May at The Aotea
Centre in Auckland.