Year Book 2021

THE BEST OF
NEW ZEALAND
BUSINESS
FROM THE GROUP EDITOR
DAVID PORTER
AS A JOURNALIST
WHO HAS spent most
of his career working
with magazines and
newspapers here and
abroad, it is gratifying
to edit a publication
that has been proudly independent
throughout its existence.
I remember the day in July 2016 when
our publisher Alan Neben offered me
the opportunity to join Bay of Plenty
Business News. It was a pleasure to turn
a casual coffee meeting at Tauranga’s
Alimento Café into a job offer, and as I
recall it, I made my mind up then and
there. I was soon joined by our business
director, Pete Wales.
It is a great pleasure for us now to be in
our sixth year of monthly publication as
a newspaper and also to be bringing
you the third of our annual Yearbook
publications.
For we quickly realised that – in
addition to the region’s strong record
of business and its powerful recovery
from the Psa blight that initially affected
the kiwifruit industry – Tauranga is one
of the country’s most progressive and
effective business centres.
The only element missing, we felt, was
the need to institutionalise this powerful
business drive and to celebrate what
we do well as a city. We talk to each
other, we brainstorm together and this
is a largely supportive environment for
business.
We have always been proud to be the
Voice of Business in the Bay.
As we all know, the past months since
Covid-19 first struck have not been
easy. But, despite some problems
with distribution in the early months of
Covid-19, we are delighted that Bay of
Plenty Business News has continued to
publish on schedule throughout the
downturn.
Like many other companies we have
been able to tweak and enhance
our digital offering to our online
readers. And we are delighted that the
economy is again showing signs of an
upturn.
We very much appreciate the strong
support we have received from
our regular advertisers both in our
newspaper and in our annual Yearbook,
which will remain on newspaper stands
and in corporate offices for the rest of
the year.
DAVID PORTER, Group Editor
We believe this year’s annual Yearbook
offers representative examples of the
varied competencies on display in the
region.
This year we are proud to include 50-
plus examples of the best that Tauranga
and the surrounding regions can offer
and to demonstrate the strength and
innovativeness of business throughout
the region.
Happy reading and many thanks to our
supporters in the business and wider
community.
YEARBOOK 2021 | 3