Waikato Business News April/May 2022

APRIL/MAY VOLUME 30: ISSUE 4 2022 WWW.WBN.CO.NZ FACEBOOK.COM/WAIKATOBUSINESSNEWS 

Taking it 

Beyond 

the Bula 

Destination Fiji travel 

specialists Trudi Peet 

and Katie Ryall 

With winter on the way and 

easing of border restrictions 

across the Pacific, Kiwis will be 

flocking to island destinations 

for some fun in the sun. 

For travel specialists Trudi 

Peet and Katie Ryall, 

it’s a momentous step in 

bringing their business plans 

to life. 

The pair are launching Destination 

Fiji: Beyond the Bula, 

a one-stop shop for bespoke 

travel and special interest 

tours. 

Destination Fiji itineraries 

cater for individuals, couples, 

families and small groups 

across a wide range of experiences 

from intrepid travel to 

eco-tourism, wellness retreats, 

artisan producers and niche 

pursuits such as surfing, golf 

and diving. 

They also offer personalised 

wedding planning, special 

interest itineraries and organisation 

of business events. 

Destination Fiji is in its 

third iteration for Trudi, and 

Katie will be adding her marketing 

flair to the business for 

the first time. 

The travel junkies have 

known each other for six years; 

at the time both were working 

for a tourism marketing agency 

and living in Tauranga. 

“Katie was my boss at the 

time and we just really hit it 

off,” Trudi says. 

During the first lockdown 

they both moved on to other 

jobs but remained in touch. 

Katie stayed in Tauranga, 

started marketing agency Marketing 

Doctor, embarked on 

her Master of Business Administration, 

went about raising 

her children on her own, and 

she is on the board of the Brain 

Injured Children Trust. 

A lockdown redundancy 

meant a sea change for Trudi, 

and she moved to Raglan in 

Continued on page 4

2 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2022 

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WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2022 

3 

Is your marketing a lie? 

Exaggeration in advertising is commonplace, but telling 

out-and-out porkies is not OK. But could misrepresenting 

the heart of your brand come back to bite you? 

It can be easy enough to try 

and find some unique features 

of your business to 

shout about - key selling points, 

things that customers want to 

buy. But uncovering the heart 

of what makes your product or 

business stand apart from others 

is not always so straightforward. 

When Longveld was looking 

to refresh their marketing 

efforts a few years ago, I was 

part of the team the owners 

asked to work on an update to 

their brand. At the time, they 

felt that the true sense of the 

organisation wasn’t coming 

through. 

The owners talked about 

their amazing company culture, 

about how it was a true family. 

They spoke with great confidence 

about a unified and supportive 

team that cared as much 

about the business as they did. 

As we started our research, we 

hoped for great things but there 

was a little bit of ‘yeah right’ 

in our expectations. Surely the 

owners’ views were coloured 

by rose tinted glasses? 

So, three of us went on a 

tour of their site, to really get 

to understand their business. 

Without exception, every man, 

woman and dog across the 

whole organisation greeted 

us with enthusiasm and pride. 

They explained their part in the 

business like they were introducing 

us to their first-born 

child. 

The experience blew us 

away. The stunned silence of 

the journey back to the office 

was only broken by one of 

us saying “So…they weren’t 

exaggerating then”. 

We followed this up with 

interviews with customers. 

Same thing. They care about 

their business and they care 

about my business too, was the 

over-whelming narrative. 

One of the main outcomes 

of the rebrand was the strapline 

‘wairua – our binding spirit’. 

We were able to propose it with 

confidence, because we could 

see a shared passion in practice. 

And they were able to embrace 

it, because it gave them a way 

to express what was important 

to them all. 

One of the greatest challenges 

for your marketing people 

is around what I often term 

‘revealing the hidden truths’. 

But deciding what those hidden 

truths are for some organisations 

can be a real battle. 

Too often, organisations 

try to talk about too many 

highlights of their business. 

We have an established history, 

with great staff, amazing 

premises. Our prices are awesome. 

We’re easy to work with. 

We care about our community. 

We care about diversity, 

sustainability, the planet. We 

have experience in your sector, 

we’re local, we’re global, 

we’re fun, we’re serious...oh 

please, make up your minds. 

If you can’t pick one, at least 

make some attempt to narrow 

it down. Yes, there will be 

customers for whom many of 

those things are important, but 

what’s MOST important? 

You can’t say you’re the 

cheapest if you’re clearly not. 

(Advertising Standards might 

have something to say about 

that.) 

There are grey areas around 

using words like ‘best’. Not 

only because it is boringly 

generic, but because it’s a bold 

claim that can’t always be 

proven. Under what criteria are 

you claiming ‘best-ness.’? 

In your marketing, communications, 

sales and, crucially, 

in every time a client connects 

with your business, a large 

part of winning and retaining 

those clients is about managing 

expectations. 

In many ways, every interaction 

should be viewed as 

continuing to market your business 

to your client, reinforcing 

the expectations that you 

planted in their minds from the 

first time they heard about you. 

If you claim to have a great 

process, it has to be self-evident. 

Overpromising on a 

schedule or falling short on 

communication can be as damaging 

as providing a sub-par 

product. 

When you are selling a service, 

it’s unusual to win a big 

TELLING YOUR STORY 

> BY VICKI JONES 

piece of work saying “yeah, I 

think we have the skills to do 

that and, uhuh, we can probably 

do that in the time”. Not 

without a proven reputation 

and a solid foundation of trust. 

Once you’ve won the work, 

if you do things like oversell 

your team’s capabilities, or 

create a false sense of security 

over costs or timing, you can 

be undermining the promises 

implied in your marketing. 

Intentionally or not, failing to 

live up to expectations turns 

your marketing into a lie. 

If you consistently fall short 

of expectations, your marketing 

and communications may 

need to take a whole new path 

to undo the damage. Only once 

you’ve found the way to live 

up to the promises you want to 

be able to make, can you reveal 

those truths with confidence. 

Vicki Jones is director of Dugmore Jones, Hamilton-based brand 

management consultancy. Email vicki@dugmorejones.co.nz 

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Taking it Beyond the Bula 

From page 1 

2020 to pursue new challenges, 

including operations manager 

at the Raglan Club, developing 

the Raglan Four Square wine 

club and starting The Healing 

Hub, a popular massage and 

wellbeing business. 

Like many businesses and 

individuals during this time, 

they used the Covid lockdown 

as an opportunity to reawaken 

Destination Fiji from its hibernation. 

“We were looking at starting 

Destination Fiji after the 

first lockdown. Because we 

thought, surely this is it, Covid 

is done. And then it went a bit 

crazy. So, we decided to let the 

dust settle,” Katie says. 

The busyness of their lives 

did not stop them thinking 

about Destination Fiji; it has 

always simmered at the back 

of their minds and it was 

something they constantly 

talked about whenever they 

got together for a wine and a 

catch up. 

“We have had lots of meetings 

and amazing brainstorming 

sessions. Because I have 

operated it twice before, it's 

actually not been difficult to 

re-establish,” Trudi says. 

Trudi first set up Destination 

Fiji in 1999, organising 

weddings and conferences in 

the tropical paradise while 

raising her six-month-old son. 

In 2004, she finally realised 

a dream she had had since she 

was 18 of owning a resort and 

the family moved to Fiji. 

Sadly, the dream didn’t last; 

after the coup of 2006 and the 

global financial crisis, the family 

left everything behind and 

moved back to New Zealand 

in 2008. 

Forever the optimist, Trudi 

hasn’t let a military coup or 

financial crisis dampen her 

spirits and she revitalised Destination 

Fiji again in 2016, 

whilst working four days a 

week with Katie. 

Three years in, Trudi was 

offered a career oportunity 

she couldn't turn down, and 

pressed pause on Destination 

Fiji in 2019. 

Fast forward to 2022, and 

the pair have their sights firmly 

set on making Destination Fiji 

a world leader in Beyond the 

Bula experiences. 

“Destination Fiji has always 

been my passion. I’m determined 

to make it an even bigger 

success third time around. 

I absolutely adore the country 

and the people. I know it inside 

out and I’ve got amazing contacts 

and friends there. My intimate 

knowledge of Fiji enables 

us to make dream holidays to 

happen,” she says. 

Trudi remembers using her 

extensive local knowledge and 

contacts to troubleshoot for a 

Destination Fiji wedding party. 

“I was with the bride and 

groom on the boat going over 

to the island. Whilst on the 

transfer I got a call to say the 

guests’ plane was delayed. 

They missed their transfer 

and I ended up having to ring 

the managing director of Fiji 

Airways in New Zealand. He 

organised a boat from Denerau 

to get all the guests out there 

in time.” 

It’s important to Trudi and 

Katie that the hassle is taken 

out of traveling and a Bula 

butler (host) travels with the 

guests to ensure everything 

goes to plan. 

As of April 7, Fiji opened 

its borders to quarantine-free 

travel to fully-vaccinated travellers 

from all over the world. 

The entry requirements 

have been simplified and travellers 

now only need proof of 

full vaccination, a negative 

pre-departure Covid test, travel 

Insurance and a pre-booked 

in-country RAT. 

“Fiji has done a such a 

good job of the whole Covid 

scenario. They have the Care 

Fiji Commitment (CFC) programme, 

which means you 

can holiday safely and enjoy 

the best of Fiji knowing that 

CFC-businesses will be fully 

vaccinated,” Trudi says. 

Over 90 percent of the adult 

target population in Fiji is now 

fully vaccinated. The island 

nation was hit hard by the 

Delta outbreak and at its peak 

around nine people were dying 

daily. 

Another reason Trudi says 

it’s a good time to get tourists 

back to Fiji. 

“It’s perfect timing for holidaying 

in Fiji; the economy 

is crying out for tourism, travellers 

are itching to get back 

into travel-mode and the cold 

weather is coming our way so 

what better way to escape it 

than a tropical holiday.” 

Katie says while the tourism 

sector was hit hard and 

many were out of work, the 

ever-resourceful Fijians have 

found innovative ways to survive. 

“Rise Beyond the Reef is an 

amazing initiative that is not 

only creating business opportunities 

for remote rural women 

in Fiji, it’s helping revive traditional 

arts and crafts skills,” 

Katie says. 

They both share a passion 

for Fiji, and Katie says 

their point of difference is the 

wealth of knowledge that Trudi 

has of the island nation and in 

the travel packages that they 

can tailor to meet the needs of 

individuals and groups. 

“We can create experiences 

for corporates looking 

to reward staff or for team 

bonding, and it might include 

spending time helping local 

enterprises, or visiting a local 

school,” Katie says. 

The pair are committed 

to delivering holidays that 

immerse people in all that Fiji 

has to offer; that it’s much 

more than beautiful beaches, 

cocktails and smiling faces. 

“We take our clients 

‘Beyond the Bula’ to experience 

the hidden gems of the 

real Fiji for a travel experience 

that will remain etched into 

your hearts forever,” Katie 

says. 

“Of course, we still plan for 

beaches, relaxing and cocktails 

by the pool time in our itineraries. 

But we want you to love 

Fiji as much as we do – and 

it is our mission to make sure 

you do,” Trudi says. 

Destination Fiji: Beyond 

the Bula Travel launches in 

May with plans already underway 

for a small group Golf 

tour late May closely followed 

by Flavours of Fiji in June - 

visit www.destinationfiji.co.nz 

for more information. 

Procuta Associates 

Urban + Architecture 

07 839 6521 

www.pauaarchitects.co.nz 

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5 

Company-X takes innovation award 

winning text to speech software to the world 

Innovation award winning software 

turns text text into into finely-tuned human 

sounding voices. 

Hamilton-based 

softwarware 

specialist Com- 

Comforform 

the the manual process of of 

soft- 

Voxcoda was was built built to to trans- 

transpany-X 

has has enjoyed 

creating multiple voice voice files files 

international success with with text text in in the the different languages 

to to speech software Voxcoda 

required for for DeLaval’s e-learning 

courses. 

as as a a Service (SaaS) (SaaS) solution 

The The project, initiated 

to to the the wider wider market after after see- 

see- 

because existing solutions did did 

before before launching the the Software 

ing 

ing ing the the potential for for future future not not have have the the capability DeLavaval 

required, has has already won won 

DeLa- 

opportunities. 

“Voxcoda is is a a significant 

Company-X the the Homegrown 

opportunity for for Company-X 

Innovators Independent Softwarware 

Vendor category in in IDG’s IDG’s 

Soft- 

and and is is one one of of many many innovations 

contributing to to our our growth 

Reseller News News Innovation 

in in overseas markets,” said said Awards in in 2020. 2020. 

Company-X co-founder and and Voxcoda became a a pivotal pivotal 

director David David Hallett. 

tool tool for for DeLaval Manufacturing 

milk milk quality quality and and on-farm 

to to enable enable DeLaval in in Stock- 

Stock- 

service solutions technical 

holm, holm, Sweden to to create create arti- 

arti- 

development manager Mario Mario 

Company-X built built Voxcoda 

ing 

ficial ficial intelligence (AI) (AI) generateated 

voices voices for for training video video “The “The flexibility of of the the Vox- 

Vox- 

gener- 

Lopez Lopez Benavides. 

voiceovers, ensuring that that the the coda coda tool tool allows allows the the project project 

voices voices sound sound as as human human as as team team to to make make sure sure that that voice voice VOXCODA: Lance Lance Bauerfeind. 

possible with with intricate control 

quality quality meets meets the the requirements 

over over emphasis, pitch, pitch, speed speed that that any any user user of of the the final final producuct 

would would expect,” he he said. said. ural ural the the final final result result sounds sounds and and of of pitches pitches and and tones tones for for each each SSML SSML tags, tags, in in the the same same way way the the cost cost of of booking a a voice voice 

prod- 

and and tone. tone. 

DeLaval uses uses e-learning 

“Project time time is is shortened 

how how easily easily you you can can change change the the international market, and and that that a director a might might direct direct an an artist, artist, recording studio studio and and 

courses to to ensure ensure its its staff, staff, dealerers 

and and millions of of farmers in in and and that that is is something we we value value changes and and adjustments.” 

female female voices voices providing vari- 

vari- 

owner owner Lance Lance Bauerfeind. 

DeLaval has has transformed the the 

deal- 

without compromising quality, 

sound sound of of the the words words with with tiny tiny a a combination of of male male and and actor,” actor,” said said Voxcoda product product sound sound engineer. With With this this tool, tool, 

100 100 international markets are are greatly.” 

Voxcoda uses uses artificial 

ety. ety. 

“The “The editor editor also also allows allows manual manual voice voice translation procescess 

internationally into into a fully a fully 

pro- 

well-educated in in the the principles 

DeLaval Services farm farm supplieplies 

training and and assortment 

machine language services 

an an easy-to-use interface that that tion tion library library of of acronyms and and automated digital digital process.” 

Booking voice voice artists, artists, record- 

record- 

administrator Stefanie Good- 

Good- 

with with Speech Speech Synthesis Markup 

allows allows users users to to easily easily convert convert domain-specific terminology. 

Voxcoda is is also also being being used used 

sup- 

intelligence (AI) (AI) based based “The “The Voxcoda editor editor has has the the user user to to build build a pronuncia- 

a of of sustainable food food production. 

ing ing studios studios and and sound sound engineerneers 

for for multiple markets was was the the recording tool, tool, it it is is all all the the ulate ulate the the appropriate accents accents files. files. The The user user can can enhance 

text-to-speech services to to the the tional tional CBG CBG to to create create synthetic 

prohibitively expensive. 

more more amazing to to me me how how nat- 

nat- 

and and languages, with with a a variety variety the the generated voice voice by by adding adding DeLaval user user at at a fraction a fraction of of audio. 

engihehew 

said: said: “While “While working with with Language (SSML) tags tags to to sim- 

sim- 

scripts scripts to to human-like voice voice The The SSML SSML editor editor delivers 

by by Stockholm-based multina- 

audio. 

TEXT TEXT TO TO SPEECH: Voxcoda product owner owner Lance Lance Bauerfeind, right, right, demonstrates 

the the new new software as as a service a solution to to Ben Ben Judge Judge from from Company-X. 

VOXCODA CASE STUDY: CBG 

Voxcoda is is used used by by CBG CBG “Voxcoda mainly mainly solves solves the the recordings of of up up to to six six minutes minutes 

in in Stockholm, Sweden, 

cost cost issue,” issue,” CBG CBG key key account account are are competitive compared to to 

to to provide provide end-to-end 

manager Poul Poul Jacobsen said. said. our our studio studio supplier. 

language solutions and and intelligengent 

translation technology to to option option that that falls falls between cre- 

cre- 

quite quite a lot a lot internally for for train- 

train- 

intelli- 

“It “It is is regarded as as a a good good “We “We have have used used Voxcoda 

clients. clients. 

ating ating subtitles and and hiring hiring a traditionaditional 

voiceover artist, artist, sound sound in in the the pipeline. One One is is a solid a solid 

a training 

and and have have a a few few projects projects 

CBG CBG offers offers global global translatiolation 

services services and and language 

engineer and and studio.” studio.” order order for for four four languages with with 

trans- 

solutions from from 12 12 offices offices CBG CBG is is using using Voxcoda 

the the scope scope of of evaluating the the 

around around the the globe. globe. Its Its expert expert to to reduce reduce the the manual manual effort effort potential for for additional projectsects, 

and and the the other other one one is a is quo- 

a quo- 

proj- 

team team helps helps clients clients in in a a wide wide involved in creating creating voiceover 

range range of of industries work work successfully 

across across 70 70 languages 

takes takes to to turn turn jobs jobs around. around. thetic thetic and and actual actual voiceovers. 

and and cultural cultural boundaries. 

“The “The pre-production and and Jacobsen said said there there were were 

suc- 

files files and and shorten shorten the the time time it it tation tation where where we we offer offer both both syn- 

syn- 

CBG CBG used used traditional voiceoveover 

techniques for for clients clients for for is is not not so so different between between but but CBG’s CBG’s close close dialogue dialogue with with 

voice- 

post-production 

engineering 

many many good good features features in in Voxcoda 

years years but but as as interest interest grew grew the the recording traditional voiceoversovers, 

but but Voxcoda does does allow allow team team was was very very important. He He 

voice- 

the the development and and support support 

cost cost became became prohibitive, so so 

they they gradually introduced voiceoveceover 

by by Voxcoda to to more more raw raw audio audio file. file. 

being being continuously improved 

projects. 

“So “So far, far, we we found found that that based based on on user user feedback. 

voi- 

us us to to provide provide the the client client with with a a was was excited excited the the product product was was 

Voice-overs made easy 

Voxcoda is is an an online platform for digital voice creation and management 

Change audio for for announcements and and recorded 

messages in in minutes 

Create quick audio for for social media content 

Easy audio creation for for training videos 

Take your your translated script and and output in in multiple 

different languages 

Quick and and cost-effective alternatives for for internal 

communications messaging 

Request a a free 30 30 day trial at at www.voxcoda.com


South Waikato team wins the Waikato 

regions first-ever Climathon event 

A platform designed to inspire and connect 

a new wave of climate action volunteers, 

has proven to be a winning formula at the 

Waikato’s first-ever Climathon Ideathon. 

The virtual Climathon 

event provided locals 

with an opportunity to 

develop tangible solutions to 

some of the Waikato’s greatest 

climate challenges. 

After a week of developing, 

validating, and testing ideas 

under the guidance of local 

climate heroes and experts, 

the online volunteer platform - 

Enviro Story, beat teams from 

all over the region, and walked 

away with $2,000 to help turn 

their idea into reality. 

Organised by Impact Hub 

Waikato, the inaugural Climathon 

event saw 60 changemakers 

- from students, entrepreneurs 

and young professionals, 

to architects, engineers and 

data scientists, come together 

to co-create innovative solutions 

that will pave the way to 

a greener future. 

Sifting through so many 

bright ideas was not an easy 

task - but Hamilton City Councillor, 

Sarah Thompson - who 

sat on the judging panel alongside 

Jennifer Nickel, Hannah 

Huggan and Riki Manarangi, 

says that Enviro Story stood 

out because they identified 

a gap in the environmental 

space. 

“Their project has the 

potential to connect people to 

projects happening in the local 

neighbourhood, and inspire 

them to get involved. It’s 

exciting for Hamilton because 

we’ve just signed Nature in the 

City - our 30-year biodiversity 

strategy, and this project helps 

locals get involved in environmental 

restoration,” Thompson 

says. 

Enviro Story - a South 

Waikato based team made up 

of Meena Sharma, Colleen 

Litchfield, Cherie Pascoe, 

Tracey Numanga, Nanise 

Ginnen and Honey Smith, 

and mentored by Camilla 

Carty-Melis, aimed to counteract 

the barriers that prevent 

people from becoming 

engaged as climate action volunteers 

via a website featuring 

inspirational stories and videos 

to empower and enable action. 

“The initial idea came from 

a conversation around our 

experiences with groups doing 

amazing conservation work, 

and these groups uniformly 

proclaiming that nobody 

knows about what they do. 

With our individual skills, 

we realised that between us, 

we likely had the tools to do 

Experience care as it 

should be, experience 

the Braemar way. 

something about this, to get 

the word out there and connect 

keen but apprehensive volunteers 

with worthwhile projects” 

Pascoe says. 

The team are already collating 

thoughts around potential 

collaborators or benefactors 

for the project - and are planning 

on using the prize money 

to ensure that the project 

engages regional volunteering 

networks to ensure the widest 

impact. 

E-Easy - an e-bike subscription 

service for young 

professionals and urban commuters, 

Climate Commons - a 

forum for enabling collaboration 

amongst climate action 

initiatives, Small Wins, Big 

Planet - a platform for celebrating 

climate victories also 

emerged with prizes across the 

innovation, community, youth 

categories respectively, while 

Mode Choice May - a monthlong 

challenge for sampling a 

range of alternative transport 

options, took out the people’s 

choice award. 

These solutions - and 

all those that were developed 

throughout Climathon, 

addressed at least one of the 

Waikato’s five greatest climate 

challenges - transport, energy, 

food, empowerment and biodiversity, 

as determined by 

Waikato Rangatahi Voices for 

their impact and urgency for 

the region. 

Climathon Waikato project 

lead, Emma Sinclair, says 

Winning South Waikato Climathon team - from left 

Cherie Pascoe, Meena Sharma and Colleen Litchfield. 

the co-designed challenges 

represent the environmental 

concerns youth have, and 

reflect what the community 

sees as important - and she 

was inspired by the solutions 

participants developed in 

response. 

“Everyone showed up with 

a smile on their face - willing 

to collaborate, challenge their 

thinking, validate their beliefs, 

test their theories, knuckle 

down, and address these challenges. 

It was awe-inspiring to 

see and hear the participant’s 

ideas for climate action. I’m 

grateful that so many people 

gave up their evenings and 

weekend to focus on fighting 

climate change,” Sinclair says. 

Over 30 experts, working 

within the sustainability sector 

and beyond, were there to 

guide participants every step 

of the way - providing them 

with mentorship and guidance 

on the five challenges, 

plus topics including design 

thinking, validation, strategy, 

investment, and finance. 

Michelle Daly, who oversaw 

the experts, and represented 

Enviroschools at 

Climathon says the event 

was awesome for everyone 

involved. 

“We loved having the 

opportunity to connect with 

the experts, and have been 

truly inspired by the ambition 

of rangatahi voices to go 

further and faster in addressing 

the challenges posed by 

climate change”. 

After the success of this 

year’s event, the project team 

is already planning on bringing 

to life another Climathon. 

Climathon is an international 

movement that has been 

uniting changemakers in more 

than 50 countries since 2015 - 

and this time, the Climathon 

Waikato team are planning 

to align their event with the 

global timeline. 

“Working at the same time 

as people globally is going 

to amplify the power of solutions. 

We’ll be able to access 

resources, mentors, and expertise 

from around the world,” 

Sinclair says. 

This year’s event was made 

possible by the Waikato Wellbeing 

Project, Trust Waikato, 

Hamilton City Council, the 

Waikato Plan, and the University 

of Waikato. 

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED TO 

DEAL WITH INCREASING RISKS 

Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous 

and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the 

lives of billions of people around the world, despite 

efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least 

able to cope are being hardest hit, said scientists in the 

latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 

report, released recently. 

“This report is a dire warning about the consequences 

of inaction,” IPCC chair Hoesung Lee says. “It shows 

that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to 

our wellbeing and a healthy planet. Our actions today 

will shape how people adapt and nature responds to 

increasing climate risks.” 

The world faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards 

over the next two decades with global warming of 1.5°C 

(2.7°F). Even temporarily exceeding this warming level 

will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will 

be irreversible. Risks for society will increase, including to 

infrastructure and low-lying coastal settlements. 

Braemar Hospital is one of the largest 

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Smokin 

Weasel heats 

up local 

tastebuds 

Hamiltonian Darrin Greaves reckons his 

day job aligns perfectly with his after-hours 

work brewing up hot sauces in his Flagstaff 

home kitchen. 

A 

quality control manager 

for a veterinary pharmaceutical 

company, 

Darrin draws on his science 

background to concoct Smokin 

Weasel chilli sauces. 

“I've actually had a lot to do 

with the R&D where I work. 

It's pretty much the same sort 

of thing, just cooking up stuff 

in big pots and seeing what 

happens. Making small adjustments 

over time, and basically 

recording and writing everything 

down, and working out 

what works best,” he laughs. 

It was the chilli growing 

that came first in Darrin’s hot 

sauce journey. After several 

years playing around with his 

home sauce recipes, and lots of 

positive feedback, he decided 

to see what opportunities there 

were to set up a boutique sauce 

business. 

“I was quite interested in all 

the different really hot chilli 

varieties. And then I started 

growing them and making the 

sauces. A few people would try 

them and really liked them so 

it just sort of grew from there.” 

It wasn’t until February last 

year that he took serious steps 

towards creating a saucy business 

from his love of chillies. 

“I’d been working on recipes 

as a hobby and last year 

I got all the information from 

the council, and started working 

through what I needed to 

do to get the council approval 

to manufacture in a home 

kitchen.” 

Darrin used a consultant 

to help him check all the 

council boxes. “They talked 

me through everything that I 

needed to do, all the paperwork 

and traceability, and all 

that kind of thing.” 

The chilli sauce business 

has grown into a family affair; 

wife Fiona takes care of the 

marketing and their two children 

help at the various farmers’ 

markets. The name and 

branding were even dreamed 

up by one of the kids. 

He’s had a good growing 

season this year and about 80 

percent of the sauces are made 

from his home-grown chillies. 

It took a lot of trial 

and error, and looking 

to YouTube videos 

for recipe inspiration 

before Darrin was 

happy with his sauce 

recipes. 

“The rest I'm buying from 

local growers and a few growers 

in Auckland.” 

A batch of sauce might 

take Darrin an afternoon and 

another few hours the next day 

to do the labelling 

“Because I've got a few different 

sauces. I have to manage 

the amount for the sales and 

also keeping a decent amount 

of stock on hand. I do love 

doing it. But in summertime it 

can get quite hot cooking in the 

kitchen,” he laughs. 

It took a lot of trial and 

error, and looking to YouTube 

videos for recipe inspiration 

before Darrin was happy with 

his sauce recipes. 

“There's a lot of YouTube 

Fiona and Darrin Greaves 

videos on people doing different 

recipes and different styles, 

especially coming out the 

States. There’s a really big hot 

sauce scene over there.” 

It would take about 12 different 

variations of sauce recipes 

before Darrin would be 

happy with the result. 

Like most boutique foodie 

businesses, Darrin tested his 

product at the local farmers’ 

markets. 

While his first markets were 

a roaring success, last year’s 

lockdown and the various 

Covid regulations meant some 

markets were cancelled and his 

sales tapered off. 

“Everything took off really 

fast and was really going well. 

With the Covid traffic light regulations 

we were banned from 

doing taste sampling. One of 

the big things at the markets 

was being able to do sampling. 

But that all changed and had a 

really big impact on sales. People 

really want to have a taste 

otherwise they're just reading a 

label and taking your word for 

it. And of course, everyone's 

chilli heat tolerance is so different,” 

he says. 

With attendance creeping 

up at the markets and easing 

of Covid restrictions, Darrin 

believes things are on the up 

for his spicy fare. 

“People are starting to get 

back out there. So hopefully, a 

lot of the other markets and the 

one-off bigger ones will start 

coming back as well.” 

The markets are also a good 

place to get feedback from customers 

and Darrin is currently 

working on a mild BBQ sauce 

to meet the needs of his customers’ 

tolerance for heat. 

“I've had a lot of people 

who liked my barbecue style 

sauce, say it’s just a bit too 

hot for them. And I often get 

comments, ‘if only it was just 

a bit milder’. So, I've made a 

barbecue style sauce with just 

enough heat to wake up your 

taste buds. It’s 95 percent 

ready to go,” he says. 

A chilli sauce is a great 

barbecue accompaniment and 

Darrin’s thrilled to have his 

Pretty Sweet Reaper sauce 

used by Texas Pete’s Barbecue 

Joint in Dinsdale and Rototuna. 

Smokin Weasel is also sold 

at St Kilda Store in Cambridge 

and online. 

“The online sales went 

pretty well during the lockdown 

last year and it still 

ticks away nicely in the background.” 

With eight varieties to 

choose from, Darrin grades 

each of the sauces out of ten 

for heat. 

From the hotter end of the 

scale with Creeping Death and 

Scorpion Fireball to Jamaican 

Jerk Peach and Habanero Hot 

Sauce and the Chipotle and 

Habanero BBQ Hot Sauce, 

there’s something to suit 

everyone’s spice tolerance. 

To get your hands on some 

locally made hot sauce visit 

smokin-weasel.myshopify. 

com/ 

Hi to our valued clients 

Firstly a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU for your 

business and continued support over the years. We wish 

to acknowledge how much we appreciate and value you 

as an investor in Waikato Business News. These have been 

increasingly difficult and challenging times for all business – 

with major roadblocks, worldwide supply shortages and price 

hikes severely impacting the print industry. And now we are 

facing yet another significant global issue that is beyond our 

control - with the problematic supply of paper/newsprint. 

Ovato (the biggest printing business in NZ – and our printer 

for all of our publicatons) recently announced the closure of 

their web press. This shock decision has left the majority of 

publishers nationwide in an extremely difficult predicament. 

Alternative printers around New Zealand are also impacted 

by paper shortages and rising costs, and consequently 

have hiked print prices through the roof (by a minimum of 22 

percent). 

All publishers have had to redirect printing. We have chosen 

to print on a high quality bright newsprint for our next edition 

of Waikato Business News, as this is the most workable 

option. If this is not up to standard, we will be forced to print 

WBN in full gloss which will increase our printing costs by over 

100 percent, along with a rise in NZ post costs due to the 

weight increase of this heavier paper. 

We are letting you know that thanks to your continued 

advertising support, we are absolutely committed to continue 

producing high quality, niche publications – continuing to meet 

the appetite in the market for relevant content and advertising. 

There will certainly need to be some changes however in 

future months which unfortunately are completely out of our 

hands in terms of paper and print prices. Please bear with us 

whilst we adjust to the issues we are facing and thank you for 

being part of our DP Media family. 

Our absolute gratitude for your continued advertising support 

so together we can inform, educate and entertain readers. 

As we continue to grow and develop, even in these 

challenging times; we have recently added to our portfolio 

BeautyNZ magazine, in partnership with the New Zealand 

Association of Registered Beauty Professionals. We are proud 

to be their chosen publisher in NZ and to demonstrate our 

skillset and agility in publishing, design and content creation. 

Deidre Morris (Director - DP Media)


9 

Jet Park Hamilton, the People's Choice 

Winner of the Air New Zealand People's 

Choice Award, Jet Park Hotel Hamilton 

Airport hotel manager David Latu sat down 

with the Waikato Chamber of Commerce 

to talk about how they stood out from the 

crowd at the recent Business Awards. 

Zumba classes, flax-weaving 

tutorials, quiz nights 

and bingo. Not the first 

words that spring to mind 

when you hear ‘MIQ facility’. 

Unless you were lucky 

enough to spend your isolation 

period at Jet Park Hotel Hamilton. 

There, such resort-style 

activities were commonplace, 

virtually, of course, as the fantastic 

staff at Jet Park Hamilton 

strived to make the stay of 

Kiwis returning home enjoyable 

rather than an anxiety-inducing 

nightmare. 

Like all hospitality businesses, 

the past two-plus years 

have been extremely challenging 

for Jet Park Hamilton. 

The family-run business took 

over the old Hamilton Airport 

Hotel in May 2019, operating 

normally for 7-8 months 

while simultaneously undergoing 

a $3m renovation. With a 

grand reopening in December, 

the future was looking bright. 

Then, the world changed. 

“Obviously, it caught us 

by surprise,” said David Latu. 

“We went from preparing for 

a significant growth phase 

to being closed for a couple 

of months. After the first 

lockdown, we reopened the 

restaurant and managed to stay 

afloat, but we had some really 

tough operational decisions 

looming. 

“Being asked to become a 

MIQ facility in June 2020 was 

a lifeline and enabled us to 

keep on the majority of our 28 

staff throughout the pandemic. 

Most of them are still with us 

today.” 

However, becoming a MIQ 

facility brought an entirely 

new set of challenges. Thankfully 

the Hamilton hotel had 

the guidance of Jet Park Hotel 

Auckland Airport to help with 

the transition. The entire staff 

undertook rigorous infection 

protection and control training, 

something everyone took 

to with enthusiasm. In fact, 

the only complaint from the 

Jet Park Hamilton staff was 

that the check-in process now 

felt too impersonal, welcoming 

returnees in full-body PPE 

while maintaining social distance. 

For the friendly, empathetic 

Jet Park team, something 

had to change. 

“Our staff got together, and 

we had one goal – to be the best 

MIQ facility in New Zealand. 

To achieve this, we introduced 

many different initiatives to 

help ourselves and our guests. 

The anxiety levels were high in 

our guests. All they could think 

about was prison. We wanted 

to change that and make their 

stay with us a positive experience 

they will never forget.” 

Enter the online Zumba 

classes. Running multiple 

times a week, the aerobic 

dance workouts helped keep 

the returnees’ spirits up as well 

as give them an opportunity 

to talk with other returnees in 

the same position. They were 

so popular that Jet Park Hotel 

Jet Park - Hotel Manager David 

Latu (forefront) and his team. 

Hamilton Airport introduced 

quiz nights, bingo, flax weaving 

and more. Very quickly, 

Jet Park managed to transform 

returnees' mandatory quarantine 

stays into a quasi-resort 

holiday, and their guests loved 

it, as evidenced by Jet Park 

Hotel Hamilton Airport winning 

the Air New Zealand People’s 

Choice Award. 

David credits the initiatives 

to his team and the support 

of the ownership group of Jet 

Park Hotel Hamilton. 

“You can feel the family 

culture within our environment. 

Liz Herrman, the owner 

of Jet Park Hotels, focuses on 

people, including all stakeholders, 

whether they be 

staff, guests, or contractors. 

Our mantra is creating ease 

in journeys, and this is something 

we strive to uphold, 

both as a product and in our 

customer service.” 

On top of hosting multiple 

activities throughout the week 

for guests, Jet Park Hamilton 

also encouraged returnees to 

graffiti their rooms with messages 

of support, festive celebrations 

and expressions of 

gratitude to the staff. It was so 

uplifting that the unique artwork 

is not going anywhere 

soon. 

“We actually saved a lot of 

the art left behind, and we’ve 

created a wall displaying them. 

The Jet Park Isolation Art Wall. 

We’re not going to hide away 

from our past as an MIQ facility, 

we want to celebrate it, 

and we proudly show off our 

history and invite the public to 

come and see it.” 

On top of being the People’s 

Choice winner, Jet Park Hotel 

Hamilton Airport was also a 

finalist in the Service Excellence 

category. The staff’s 

dedication to going above and 

beyond for their guests is not 

merely an organisational goal. 

It is something each employee 

strives to do for every person 

that walks through the doors. 

“Everyone in this industry 

has the same product to some 

degree, but what differentiates 

every hotel is the staff. Our 

staff are our main assets, and 

they are what makes or breaks 

our business. 

“Winning the award is a recognition 

of all our hard work 

over the past two years. For 

all the effort we put in, to be 

acknowledged was satisfying, 

but winning People’s Choice is 

incredible. I want to thank the 

Jet Park executive team and 

Hamilton Airport leadership 

team for guiding and nominating 

us, and most all, my amazing 

team. We haven’t forgotten 

who we are or our part in our 

community. We’ve got some 

exciting things planned, and I 

can’t wait for the future.” 

The future is indeed looking 

bright for Jet Park Hotels Hamilton. 

With the borders reopening 

to tourists and a range of 

innovative new offerings to 

be added, the former MIQ 

facility is sure to become one 

of Hamilton’s hottest hospitality 

spots. After a three-month 

close-down period to replace 

all the beds and furnishings, 

the hotel plans to welcome its 

first guests back in October. 

The team at Jet Park Hotel 

Hamilton Airport are some of 

the pandemic’s unsung heroes. 

Passionate and empathetic, 

with the bold leadership of 

David Latu, they are guaranteed 

to be formidable competitors 

in future awards for years 

to come. 

Directors Duties in challenging economic times 

If you’ve read the headlines 

lately, you’ll have seen 

that businesses are facing 

a range of risks in 2022. 

Here’s a sample from the past 

few months: “Inflation predicted 

to reach highest level 

in 30 years”, “Pre covid supply 

chains may never return”, 

“Worker shortage in New 

Zealand will take its toll” and 

“Steadily rising interest rates 

are on the way”. 

For company directors, 

these risks present their own 

set of challenges. And it’s 

important that anyone in the 

role, or about to step into it, 

understands what’s required. 

In this article, we cover off 

some of the basics about directors’ 

duties in challenging economic 

times. 

Who is a director? 

It may be a simple question, 

but the answer isn’t always 

obvious. A formal appointment 

may not be necessary, beware 

the shadow or de facto director! 

The Companies Act definition 

is broad and includes any 

person acting as a director by 

whatever name they are called, 

a person who gives instructions 

to a named director, or 

those who give directions to the 

board. 

What’s covered in directors’ 

duties? 

Director’s duties are outlined in 

Sections 131 – 138 of the Companies 

Act 1993 including: 

• Good faith and best 

interests of the company 

– the overarching duty on 

directors is to act in good 

faith and in the best interests 

of the company. 

• Duty to exercise powers 

for a proper purpose - a 

director must exercise their 

powers for a proper purpose 

that do not go beyond 

their mandate or are for 

personal gain or advantage. 

• Duty of care - a director 

must exercise care, diligence, 

and skill. 

The following are particularly 

important in times of economic 

stress: 

• Reckless and insolvent 

trading – a director must 

not agree to, or cause, or 

allow a business to be carried 

on if there is substantial 

risk of serious loss to 

creditors. In short, they 

must consider the ability 

of the company to pay its 

debts. 

• Duty in relation to obligations 

- a director must 

not agree to the company 

incurring an obligation 

unless they believe that 

it will be able to perform 

the obligation when it is 

required. A relevant everyday 

question to ask, is how 

safe is it for the company to 

incur further credit during a 

period of financial instability? 

And don’t forget the liability 

if proper accounting 

records are not kept - directors 

should ensure that up to date 

financial records are kept and 

that they understand these 

records and reports. 

Understanding your role as 

a director is critical to success. 

As a director of a company 

are you in control of growth, 

looking for turnaround or exit 

strategies or loosing control 

and facing a growing and ageing 

accounts payable ledger? 

The importance of timely 

action 

The sooner directors identify 

problems, the more options 

and time they have. As someone 

who works in restructuring 

and turnaround services, 

I highly recommend seeking 

advice early in these times of 

uncertainty. 

It is critically important for 

those holding an appointment 

as a director to always keep 

these duties front of mind 

particularly when the company 

is experiencing financial 

difficulties. 

Good governance is key 

There is plenty of case law 

and media coverage where 

governance has failed; think 

Mainzeal, Debut Homes and 

South Pacific Shipping. As a 

director, recognise when you 

are at risk of trading insolvently, 

document your decision-making 

process and take 

(and act on) specific professional 

advice. 

Working in the ‘twilight 

zone’ 

If you have recognised weakening 

performance or strategic 

and operational issues, ask 

yourself if you have the right 

information at the right time 

and is it still relevant. 

• How are you responding 

to that information - have 

you put plans in place for 

closer monitoring and what 

do contingency plans look 

like? 

• Have you taken any professional 

advice? 

• How are you managing 

demands from creditors? 

• Have you documented your 

decision-making process 

TAXATION AND THE LAW 

> BY WENDY SOMERVILLE 

Wendy Somerville is a PwC Director of the Business 

Restructuring Services based in the Waikato 

and are you following that? 

• And, most importantly, 

have your management 

team and the board, got the 

bandwidth, the appetite, 

and the capability to deal 

with additional pressures? 

Be aware of the warning signs 

with regards to working capital 

issues. Are you seeing any 

of these; 

• Stretching of trade creditors. 

• Increased IRD arrears. 

• Breaches of banking covenants. 

• Interest charges and penalties. 

• Strains on key relationships. 

• Increased staff turnover. 

What are the penalties? 

There are serious consequences 

for breaching directors’ 

duties. On the liquidation 

of a company, the court could 

order the director to repay, 

restore or contribute money 

or property to the company, 

by way of compensation (the 

size of any award is linked to 

the extent of the company’s 

indebtedness). 

Finally, do your due diligence 

before accepting an 

appointment as a director. 

Ask yourself if you have fulfilled 

your duty of care and 

other directors’ duties and 

what evidence you have of 

doing this. And remember, if 

you disagree with the actions 

being taken by the board, what 

did you do? Ultimately, you 

could have resigned, although 

remember you will still be 

responsible for the actions 

taken prior to your resignation. 

Being a director in challenging 

times can be incredibly 

stressful, rewarding and 

reputation defining. Having 

the right information, communication, 

advice, and the 

wisdom to know when to stop 

are key.


CONVERSATIONS WITH MIKE NEALE 

OF NAI HARCOURTS HAMILTON 

Why is our CBD bucking the trend of the major centres? 

- the latest occupancy figures revealed 

As I write this article, I have just 

grabbed a coffee from one of our 

great CBD establishments and on 

the front page of the Herald on Sunday it 

reads: 

Hamilton Airport 

welcomes new Group 

General Manager - 

Airport Operations 

No longer able to survive off 

coffee-seeking office workers or 

the lunchtime rush, struggling 

shop owners in the Auckland 

CBD have been forced to quit 

the city. The amount of retail 

space available for lease is at 

its highest since the mid-1990’s, 

exclusive figures reveal...” 

It’s been interesting to talk to colleagues 

in Auckland and Wellington, their 

reality is markedly different to what we are 

experiencing in Hamilton. Being driven 

by and heavily reliant on large corporate 

occupiers and government departments / 

entities, their growth and stability over the 

last 10 years, is now facing a very different 

prospect. When Covid hit and these organisations 

reacted in a far more conservative 

way, as compared to the SME’s that drive 

other centres around the country, a new 

Mike Neale - Managing Director, 

NAI Harcourts Hamilton. 

type of reality hit. 

The latest CBD occupancy figures 

to December 2021 released by CBRE 

Research in conjunction with NAI Harcourts, 

shows that the retail vacancy has 

decreased further in our central city – from 

5.8% in June 2021 to 5.6% in December. 

This is the lowest rate since the survey 

commenced in 2008. 

Overall, the Hamilton CBD retail market 

has come through the challenges of the 

second half of 2021 relatively unscathed, 

with healthy new leasing activity and an 

encouraging amount of store space being 

under refurbishment or fit-out. Retail and 

particularly hospitality bore the brunt of 

the economic impact of those businesses 

hardest hit, but with the Orange traffic light 

setting recently being announced, hopefully 

they are now in a position to truly see 

light at the end of what must have at some 

stages seemed like a never-ending tunnel. 

Ben Langley has been appointed to the 

role of group general manager – airport 

operations at Waikato Regional Airport 

Ltd (WRAL). 

Ben, most recently chief 

executive at Ardmore 

Flying School in Auckland, 

has enjoyed an aviation 

career spanning 15 years in 

both strategic and operational 

management and leadership 

roles. 

His skills include strategy, 

operations, change management, 

health and safety, human 

resources, legal, financial governance 

and business development, 

with a strong employee 

and customer focus. 

Since gaining his commercial 

pilot license in 2008, Ben 

has held several senior flying 

and ground-based roles, from 

instructing and operations in 

Christchurch, to an aviation 

leadership and training role at 

Nelson Marlborough Institute 

and his own consulting and 

project management company 

in Wellington. 

He worked as a commercial 

pilot for Sounds Air before 

becoming head of training 

at Ardmore and progressing 

through to general manager 

and finally chief executive. 

Prior to the commencement 

of his aviation career, Ben held 

senior leadership roles across 

varying sectors, including 

tourism, hospitality, entertainment, 

FMCG and education. 

I’ve been privileged 

to have been part of 

such an engaging, 

challenging and 

exciting industry, 

and I’m now 

looking forward to 

an opportunity to 

utilise the skills I’ve 

developed as part of 

the Waikato Regional 

Airport team,” he says. 

Ben Langley 

WRAL chief executive 

Mark Morgan is pleased to 

welcome Ben to the senior 

management team. 

“The aviation sector has 

faced enormous challenges 

under Covid-19 and we are 

focused on continuing to build 

on what has been a strong 

recovery for Hamilton Airport 

and the WRAL group. Ben 

joins us at an exciting period 

of growth across the Group, 

and the skills and experience 

he brings to the table will help 

hone and implement our future 

strategic direction,” he says. 

CBD Office occupancy figures show 

a similar story – over the same 6 month 

period to December 2021 the overall office 

vacancy decreased from 8.1% to 7.0%, 

again this is nearing the lowest since the 

survey commenced. Substantial redevelopment 

of poorer grade premises over the 

last 5 years, along with a significant amount 

of new redevelopments that are currently 

under construction or have recently been 

completed, is in stark contrast to Hamilton 

of the early 2000’s. New builds currently 

under construction include ACC on 

the corner of Tristram and Collingwood 

Streets, NZ Blood on the corner of Anglesea 

and London Streets, MSD on the corner 

of Victoria and Rostrevor Streets, Waikato 

Regional Theatre at the southern end of Victoria 

Street, Building E and the multi-level 

car park building at Union Square on the 

corner of Anglesea and Hood Streets, having 

recently secured new leases for 3 office 

floors. 

Flight to quality has been a strong theme 

amongst office occupiers in the past few 

years, accentuated by the pandemic, as 

businesses aim to provide workplace environments 

that help not only attract and 

retain talent, but to maintain and improve 

employee communities and company culture. 

The results of the last two occupancy 

surveys in the Hamilton CBD office market 

shows that the above is not only a global 

phenomenon, but a trend that is very much 

experienced within the Hamilton office 

occupier community. 

CBRE Research notes that while hybrid 

working and more employee flexibility is 

here to stay, it does not seem to be a major 

issue in population centres where commuting 

to and from the office is perhaps 

less stressful, which together with the city 

quickly becoming the focal point of the 

golden triangle economic area, this bodes 

well for Hamilton. 

Undoubtedly Hamilton is going through 

a major transformation period with a plethora 

of development under construction 

across all market segments, residential, 

commercial, industrial, logistics, as well as 

arts and recreation. 

In the next few months it is expected that 

Tainui Group Holdings and Kiwi Property 

will produce a master plan for the wider 

Centre Place precinct, detailing their vision 

for the central city site. This will be another 

important catalyst for yet more growth in 

the continuing transformation of our CBD, 

as are the apartments and housing developments 

that bring people into the area to 

enjoy the benefits of an increasingly vibrant 

central city. 

While there are undoubtedly challenges 

ahead, with rising interest rates, supply 

chain issues, increasing construction costs, 

staffing shortages and greater difficulty with 

financing, Hamilton and indeed the Waikato 

region appears to be in a better position than 

most, if not all, other regions in the country. 

For a full copy of either the Hamilton 

CBD Office or Retails surveys, or to register 

to receive future surveys automatically, 

email hamilton@naiharourts.co.nz or follow 

us on LinkedIn - NAIHarcourtsHamilton 

NAI Harcourts Hamilton 

Monarch Commercial Ltd MREINZ Licensed 

Agent REAA 2008 

Cnr Victoria & London Streets, HAMILTON 

07 850 5252 | hamilton@naiharcourts.co.nz 

www.naiharcourts.co.nz 

An opportunity 

not to be wasted 

Hamilton’s expired child 

car seats are being 

recycled and the straps 

transformed into trendy tote 

bags, thanks in part to Hamilton 

City Council funding. 

The SeatSmart child car seat 

recycling programme is just 

one of the initiatives supported 

by council’s Waste Minimisation 

Fund. 

3R Group’s SeatSmart programme 

manager Toni Bye 

says the programme recycles 

and repurposes materials from 

child car seats, most of which 

have an expiry date of 6 to 10 

years. Rather than ending up 

in landfill, or continuing to be 

used, SeatSmart recycles the 

metal and most of the plastics 

from expired or accident-damaged 

seats. The programme 

also raises awareness of expiry 

dates, helping to improve safety 

for children on our roads. 

“We recover around 75 percent 

of the materials in every car 

seat. While most of the materials 

are recycled, one small business 

repurposes the seat straps 

to make tote bags using PVC 

from bouncy castles. 

“The Waste Minimisation 

3R Group's SeatSmart 

programme manager 

Toni Bye 

Fund has helped us reduce the 

cost of recycling child car seats 

to $10 at Baby on the Move on 

Rostrevor Street, or $15 at Go 

Eco Environment Centre in 

Frankton, so it’s more affordable 

for the people of Hamilton,” 

Bye says. The fee is usually 

around $25. 

“It’s a great example of the 

type of initiative we’re keen 

to support; reducing waste, 

educating the community and 

encouraging people to do things 

differently,” says Hamilton City 

Council waste minimisation 

advisor Belinda Goodwin.

The perception of culture 

PEOPLE AND CULTURE 

> BY SENGA ALLEN 

Managing Director, Everest – All about people TM 

www.everestpeople.co.nz 

Many business owners tell me that their 

company culture is unique or that they 

have a strong culture, or that there is no 

culture at all. 

Often my first response 

is “how do you know”? 

Even in an environment 

where you think there is no culture, 

I can guarantee you there 

will be. It might not be as tangible 

as other cultures you’ve 

worked in, or it could be hiding 

itself under a bushel – but there 

is always a culture... in every 

single business. 

What is workplace culture? 

Culture is the character and 

personality of your company 

or organisation. It’s what 

makes your business unique 

and is the sum or its values, 

traditions, beliefs, interactions, 

behaviours, and attitudes. 

Why is workplace culture 

important? I would say that 

your culture is just as important 

as your business strategy 

because it either strengthens or 

undermines your objectives. A 

positive culture will help you 

attract talent, drive engagement 

and retention, impacts 

happiness and job satisfaction, 

and affects performance. A 

negative culture can destroy 

your workplace. It can cause 

high turnover, bad behaviours, 

lack of focus and toxicity. 

Why do you need to know 

what culture you have in 

your workplace? In the 

past decade, job seekers and 

employers have become 

equally interested in company 

culture. Yet, most people 

struggle when asked to define 

their own company culture. 

There is a good reason for this: 

company culture can often be 

in a fluid state. It can change in 

almost imperceptible amounts 

with each new hire, or it could 

change drastically if an acquisition 

or a restructure occurs. 

Culture develops organically, 

and subculture may exist in 

each department or location. 

So how do you determine 

what style of culture is manifesting 

in your workplace? 

There are many theories on 

the different cultures in play; 

but the four styles defined 

by Kim Cameron and Robert 

Quinn from the University of 

Michigan are some of the most 

popular: 

a) Clan culture: or collaborative 

culture – focuses 

on teamwork. Relationships, 

participation, and 

company morale are at 

the forefront. 

b) Adhocracy culture: primarily 

focuses on innovation 

and risk-taking. 

Many successful startups 

are considered to 

have this type of culture. 

c) Market culture: in a 

market culture, the bottom 

line is the main 

priority. Everything is 

gauged with the company’s 

profitability in mind 

and it’s all about the 

results! 

d) Hierarchy culture: this 

one follows the traditional 

corporate structure 

and has a clear 

chain of command. 

This type of workplace 

has a specific way of 

doing things and the 

focus is on stability and 

reliability. 

How can you change your 

company culture? 

Identifying your current cultural 

type is the first steps. 

What are its strengths and 

weaknesses? Is it keeping 

pace with the changes in the 

marketplace and demand? For 

example, the rapid adoption of 

remote working has changed 

how many businesses function 

and shifted the focus for 

employees on job satisfaction 

and security. Employee satisfaction 

surveys and self-assessments 

can be invaluable 

here – along with feedback 

from customers and suppliers. 

Once you know where you are 

– you can think about where 

you want to be. And you can 

identify which elements of the 

different company cultures are 

best fit for vision. For example, 

if you’re currently a traditional 

business and want to be more 

innovative and creative, you 

may need to shift the culture 

in your business. To quote the 

Harvard Business Review, 

changing your culture requires 

a movement, not a mandate. 

Commerce Act changes - stormy seas 

ahead for IP owners? 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES 

On 5 April 2022, the 

Commerce Amendment 

Act 2022 received 

Royal Assent. The purpose of 

the Act is to “to strengthen the 

prohibition [in the Commerce 

Act 1986] against misuse of 

market power and make other 

changes to improve the functioning 

of the Act”. 

IP owners need to take note 

of the Amendment Act because 

as well as beefing up the current 

prohibition against taking 

advantage of market power in 

section 36 of the Commerce 

Act, the Amendment Act also 

removes significant benefits 

currently in place for IP rights 

holders. 

The current legislation 

The current Commerce Act 

contains three provisions 

which specifically benefit IP 

rights holders. 

The first provision is section 

7. Section 7(2) provides 

that nothing in the Commerce 

Act “limits or affects any rule 

of law relating to breaches of 

confidence”, while section 7(3) 

provides that “no law relating 

to breaches of confidence 

affects the interpretation of 

any of the provisions of the 

Act”. In other words, owners 

of confidential information are 

at liberty to pursue breaches of 

confidence without any regard 

as to whether their pursuit is or 

could be contrary to the Commerce 

Act. 

The second provision is section 

36. Section 36 currently 

states that a person that has a 

substantial degree of power in 

a market must not take advantage 

of that power for the purpose 

of restricting the entry of 

a person into that or any other 

market, preventing or deterring 

a person from engaging in 

competitive conduct in that or 

any other market, or eliminating 

a person from that or any 

other market. IP rights holders 

won’t be liable under section 

36, however, if all they are 

doing is seeking to enforce a 

statutory IP right. 

The third provision is section 

45. Section 45, broadly 

speaking, benefits IP rights 

holders by exempting the 

granting of IP licences (or, to 

use the statutory language, 

the entering into of a contract 

or arrangement or arriving at 

an understanding) from the 

provisions of the Commerce 

Act that relate to cartels and 

anti-competitive agreements. 

The new legislation 

The Commerce Amendment 

Act sweeps all of these benefits 

away. No more will IP rights 

holders’ activities be shielded 

by the legislation, away from 

the prying eyes of competitors 

or the Commerce Commission. 

There is no need for immediate 

panic. While many of the 

amendments to the Commerce 

Act will come into effect on 5 

April 2023, there is a 1-year 

transitional (or ‘grace’) period 

for the exemption of IP rights 

from provisions relating to 

cartels and anti-competitive 

agreements for arrangements 

entered into or arrived at 

before 5 April 2023. This is not 

to say that businesses that may 

be affected by the changes to 

the Commerce Act should sit 

on their hands: on the contrary, 

> BY BEN CAIN 

Ben Cain is a Senior Associate at James & Wells and a Resolution 

Institute-accredited mediator. He can be contacted at 07 957 5660 

(Hamilton), 07 928 4470 (Tauranga) and benc@jaws.co.nz. 

they should seek to review 

their contracts, arrangements 

or understandings as soon as 

practically possible. 

Who is most likely to be 

affected? 

The commercial entities which 

are likely to be most affected 

(and concerned) by these 

changes are of course those 

who wield substantial power 

in their markets. Businesses 

in this position may find themselves 

unable to enforce their 

patent or plant variety rights, 

for example, if doing so would 

have the likely effect of substantially 

lessening competition 

in their markets. At the 

very least, such businesses 

are likely to be faced with an 

allegation of anti-competitive 

behaviour. 

When this occurs (and 

undoubtedly it will), IP rights 

holders may well ask their IP 

attorneys, “What was the point 

of obtaining IP protection in 

the first place? If I can’t enforce 

my IP rights, what incentive 

is there for me to continue to 

innovate?” These are troubling 

questions and ones to which IP 

attorneys up and down New 

Zealand do not yet know the 

answers. 

IP protection, simplified. 

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2021-12-28 5:31 PM


South Waikato District Council 

appoints new chief executive 

South Waikato District Council (SWDC) 

announce Susan Law as the new chief 

executive starting in early June. 

Law has extensive experience 

leading large 

public sector organisations 

in both New Zealand and 

abroad. 

She joins SWDC from 

Northern Peninsula Area 

Regional Council in Australia. 

Law has made the decision 

to come home to New Zealand 

after more than 20 years 

abroad in Australia, the UK 

and South Africa. 

Born in the Lower Hutt, 

Wellington, Law trained as a 

lawyer. While she enjoyed the 

degree, she didn’t particularly 

enjoy practicing law so only 

stayed in the profession a few 

years. 

She moved into the government 

sector working for Housing 

New Zealand first and then 

HealthCare Otago. 

Her role as HealthCare 

Otago general manager saw 

her implementing reforms in 

the primary, secondary and 

tertiary health sectors which 

eliminated operating deficits 

and in local government this 

has been achieved without loss 

or reduction in services. 

Heading next to Australia 

where Law made the shift to 

the local government sector. 

She led City of Charles Sturt 

and Adelaide City Council 

before moving on to a secondment 

in Cape Town, South 

Africa as World Bank advisor 

to the city’s Mayor. She next 

headed to the UK, staying in 

the public service sector, firstly 

leading Doncaster METRO 

Borough Council and then 

Wokingham Borough Council. 

Law then headed back to 

Australia where she started a 

consultancy assisting councils 

undergoing amalgamations 

with developing strategy, outcomes 

and planning. 

Law’s passion for local government 

led her back into the 

sector directly, working first 

for Armidale Regional Council 

and then on to her current role 

with Northern Peninsula. 

Her strong leadership skills 

are demonstrated by a track 

record in inspiring and motivating 

staff, and gaining the 

confidence of governing bodies 

(Boards of Directors, Ministers 

of the Crown and Municipal 

Councils). Law’s career 

features the implementation of 

significant shifts in public sector 

policy. 

She has successfully 

achieved major and pervasive 

turnarounds in each of the 

organisations she has led in 

difficult political and financial 

circumstances. 

“I believe that people get 

to do great things in the local 

government sector,” Law says. 

“I am very much looking forward 

to getting back to New 

Zealand and helping position 

the South Waikato District in 

the best place for the future 

and to navigate through all the 

reform processes facing the 

sector. 

“I am looking forward to 

getting to know the community, 

council staff and elected 

members.” 

Mayor Jenny Shattock is 

very pleased with the appointment, 

saying “Susan’s passion 

for managing change and connecting 

with people are ideal 

Mayor Jenny Shattock and new chief executive Susan Law. 

strengthens for the challenges 

and opportunities facing our 

council and the South Waikato 

community. 

“Several of Susan’s referees 

used the words ‘motivational’ 

and ‘inspirational’ when we 

got to that stage of the process,” 

Mayor Jenny says. 

Financial and productivity 

driven organisational transformations 

have been a feature 

of Law’s leadership – delivering 

better services and greater 

value to tax payers. 

Law is married to New 

Plymouth born, now-retired 

auditor, Stuart Jamieson and 

they share one daughter, who 

lives in Canberra, Australia, 

where she works as a lawyer. 

The couple had started 

looking at opportunities to 

return home to New Zealand. 

When Law saw this role advertised, 

she leapt at the chance 

to come home, lead a local 

authority through a changing 

landscape and help build a 

community’s future. 

Regenerative tourism: looking to the future 

Many tourism businesses 

in the mighty 

Waikato are doing 

some amazing mahi as the 

region moves toward becoming 

a fully integrated sustainable 

and regenerative tourism destination. 

Although we knew, anecdotally, 

that we have a number of 

sustainability heroes, Hamilton 

& Waikato Tourism (HWT) 

conducted a survey to gain an 

accurate picture of what is in 

place for tourism operators in 

the region across the four pillars 

of regenerative tourism – environmental, 

cultural, social and 

economic. 

As a result, we now have a 

better understanding of what the 

challenges and opportunities 

are, and we are therefore more 

strongly positioned to be able 

to provide meaningful assistance 

and promotion in a range 

of ways for our Waikato tourism 

businesses. Amongst these 

could be providing workshops 

covering the kinds of actions 

businesses can take, sharing 

the stories of hero businesses 

to deepen the understanding of 

others, and creating and promoting 

itineraries for neutral 

and low carbon visits in our 

region. 

Here at HWT our view is 

that the road to becoming a 

regenerative destination is a 

continual journey and our role 

is to foster the ethos and support 

what tourism businesses 

can practically achieve in an 

ongoing way, rather than being 

about being a fixed, static state, 

or a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Sustainability is a philosophy 

and mindset that many 

operators in the tourism sector, 

and other businesses throughout 

the mighty Waikato, can get 

behind. At a national level the 

New Zealand Tourism Sustainability 

Commitment developed 

by Tourism Industry Aotearoa 

aims for every New Zealand 

tourism business to be a 

sustainable operation by 2025. 

The commitment covers not 

only environmental, but also 

community, visitor and economic 

benefits. 

Our survey revealed that 

many tourism businesses in our 

region are doing well in areas 

including restoring and protecting 

natural places, reducing 

waste and engaging with community 

and visitors. 

A number of respondents 

shared that they have kaitiakitanga/guardianship 

as a core 

value, that they have ongoing 

programmes to trap predator 

species, plant native trees/ 

shrubs, eradicate weeds, maintain 

clear culverts to avoid 

landslips and mow un-grazed 

grass areas to reduce the risk of 

wildfires. 

Several have also fenced 

off waterways to keep out animals 

and areas of native bush 

to help protect and assist with 

the regeneration of trees – and 

document and compare any 

changes to their environment. 

Some companies have also 

moved to electric vehicles, 

many have installed solar panels 

and have workplace approaches 

aimed at reducing electricity 

consumption. 

While there are many 

aspects to celebrate, we know 

there is a lot more work to 

do. For example, the survey 

revealed there is an opportunity 

for Waikato tourism businesses 

to build their strength in other 

sustainability areas such as carbon 

reduction and sustainable 

procurement. 

While businesses are all at 

different stages, some of the 

interesting statistics drawn from 

the survey include: 

- 85 percent of operators 

focus on reducing energy 

consumption 

- 79 percent actively embrace 

mānakitanga (showing 

respect, generosity and care 

for others) in their offering, 

or have some understanding 

of how to achieve this 

- 68 percent have a pest 

control or eradication programme 

- 68 percent are paying at least 

the living wage 

- 60 percent carry out tree and 

riparian planting 

- 45 percent focus on all waste 

reduction by recycling, 

reducing, reusing or rethinking 

- 45% offer funding and/or 

support in some form to 

local community groups 

TELLING WAIKATO’S STORY 

> BY NICOLA GREENWELL 

Interim General Manager, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism 

Our special congratulations 

to one of our region’s sustainability 

super stars, Sanctuary 

Mountain Maungatautari, on 

winning the Social and Environmental 

Sustainability award 

in the recent Waikato Chamber 

of Commerce Business Awards. 

This is the latest in a string of 

awards providing ongoing recognition 

for all the dedicated 

people, past and present, who 

are kaitiaki of Maungatautari. 

Following a social impact 

report, Sanctuary Mountain 

has also added three wellbeing 

programmes to the experiences 

available to visitors to the 

maunga, including an introduction 

to traditional Māori herbal 

medicine and the opportunity 

to spend time immersed in the 

serenity of the native forest. 

Sustainability is also intertwined 

with event planning 

and delivery for key events in 

the region such as NZ National 

Fieldays, who are certified as a 

sustainable event according to 

ISO 20121. During the event, 

Environmental Impact Areas 

(EIAs) are identified in order to 

set objectives and monitor progress. 

Data is gathered on-site 

utilising carbon meter readings, 

calculations and surveying to 

calculate the carbon footprint of 

the event, and measures are then 

taken to offset this footprint. 

Tourism companies based in 

Waitomo have also led the way 

and championed environmental 

stewardship for many years. 

One such company, Discover 

Waitomo, has recently been 

recognised for their work in this 

space by receiving Recreation 

Aotearoa Tiakina Taiao Environmental 

Leadership Award. 

Operator and kaitiaki of the 

Waitomo Glowworm Cave, 

Ruakuri Cave, and Aranui 

Cave, Discover Waitomo has 

an environmental team on site, 

climate monitoring systems in 

the caves, and environmental 

education programmes among 

other sustainability initiatives. 

Family-owned Waitomo 

Adventures has just been 

awarded gold Qualmark Sustainable 

Tourism status in honour 

of its sustainability commitment 

built into the company’s 

day-to-day operations as well 

as initiatives such as riparian 

planting and waterway restoration. 

The company offers a 

range of caving experiences 

including The Lost World, 

Haggas Honking Holes and 

the family-friendly Troll Cave, 

along with a day spa where the 

‘exploration’ is all about indulgence. 

Even well before sustainable 

tourism became the reality 

that it is today, companies such 

as those mentioned have been 

placing a premium on regenerative 

practises. They know this 

matters, not just for their own 

livelihood and the continuing 

health of the ecosystems and 

communities they operate in, 

but also for our future generations 

of locals and manuhiri 

(guests) alike.


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15 

The top digital 

marketing terms 

you need to know 

Inflation and 

your business 

Bank economists are predicting the CPI to top 7% 

and hold that level for many quarters. 

1 

THE DIGITAL WORLD 

> BY JOSH MOORE 

Josh Moore is the head marketing fanatic at Duoplus, a 

Hamilton-based digital marketing agency that helps clients get 

more leads and sales through online marketing. www.duoplus.nz 

Every industry has its own collection of jargon and acronyms. 

Digital marketing is no different. Understanding some of the 

basic jargon can decrease confusion and help you make better 

decisions. Here are the most useful ones to know: 

Search terms: When you run 

a search in Google, the words 

you type are called the “search 

terms”. 

Google Ads: When you search 

on Google the top four results 

are often ads. This is indicated 

by small text saying “Ad” 

beside the result. These are 

“search ads” which are part of 

Google Ads. They are powerful 

because the businesses advertising 

can choose which search 

terms they want their ads to 

show for, meaning these ads a 

highly targeted. Over the years 

Google Ads have expanded 

beyond the text-based ads 

seen on search results to also 

include Shopping ads showing 

products when you search, plus 

YouTube ads and image ads 

that show on websites, such as 

news sites or TradeMe. These 

all fall under the banner of 

“Google Ads”. 

AdWords: This is the old name 

for Google Ads. The name was 

changed to “Google Ads” way 

back in July 2018, so if you 

still call it “AdWords” it’s time 

to update your lingo! 

Keywords: When running 

Google Ads we can set rules 

for which words your ads will 

show up for. The rules we set 

are called “keywords”. When 

someone searches, if their 

search term matches the keyword 

rule that was set, then that 

company’s ads might show. 

PPC: Pay Per Click. When 

running Google Ads, and other 

online marketing, the costs are 

often on a Pay Per Click basis. 

This means that the advertiser 

is only charged when someone 

clicks on the ad. 

CPC: Cost Per Click. When 

running PPC campaigns, CPC 

is the measurement of the average 

cost per click. The data in 

online advertising is amazing. 

You can measure the average 

CPC per campaign, keyword, 

ad, geographic location and 

more. 

CTR: Click Through Rate. 

This measurement shows the 

level of engagement with your 

ads. If your ads are shown 1000 

times and clicked on 50 times, 

then your CTR is 5 percent. 

Just like CPC, you can measure 

the CTR per campaign, 

keyword, ad, geographic location 

and more. 

SEO: Search Engine Optimi- 

sation. This is the process of 

getting your website higher up 

the rankings in search engines. 

Hardly anyone clicks to page 

two of Google search results. 

So to get your business found, 

you want to appear on page one 

of results for the search terms 

that are related to your business. 

The best place to be is at 

the top of page one. The top 

three results generally receive 

67 percent of the clicks, so ideally 

that’s where you want your 

site to be found. However, it 

takes a lot of work to convince 

Google that your website is 

the most important website to 

display for the search terms 

relevant to your business. The 

process of doing this is called 

SEO. 

SEM: Search Engine Marketing. 

This includes both Google 

Ads and SEO, as both of these 

forms of marketing reach people 

when they are searching on 

search engines. 

SMM: Social Media Marketing. 

This includes Facebook, 

Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok 

and other social media platforms. 

It includes both organic 

(non-paid) posts as well as paid 

advertising. 

S&M: Not a marketing term. 

It’s best not to use this acronym 

when meeting with your 

marketing agency! 

Remarketing: Sometimes The next time your digital 

called “Retargeting”. This is agency or Marketing Manager 

Easy 

the ability 

connections. 

to show ads specifically 

to is people located who just have 10 minutes vissation, 

from hopefully you’ll have a 

drops these terms into conver- 

Aurora 

Hamilton’s ited your website city centre or engaged and features clearer understanding of what 

with your Facebook page. It they’re talking about, and 

ais range a powerful of convenient way to options build tomaybe, help you could even drop 

your make brand the recognition most of the among world in beyond a few of these terms yourself! 

people who have shown some 

your front door. 

Shops 

1 

2 

Peacocke Proposed 

New To 

wn Centre 

New World 

Glenview 

& Shopping Centre 

Parks & Gardens 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Resthills Park 

Te 

Anau Park 

Glenview Park 

Fitzroy Park 

Deanwell Park 

Hamilton Gardens 

Rivers and Lakes 

9 

Wai 

kato River 

Schools 

10 

Schools Cont. 

14 

15 

16 

Southcity Christian School 

Melville Intermediate School 

Melville Primary School 

Hospital 

17 

Wai 

kato Hospital 

Medical Centre 

18 

Glenview Medical Centre 

Airport 

19 

Hamilton airport 

Connectivity 

20 

21 

interest in your business. 

Conversion Rate: Getting visitors 

to your website is important. 

But getting them to convert 

into leads or customers is 

the real aim. Your conversion 

rate is the percentage of website 

visitors who either contact 

you (become a lead) or who 

purchase from you. 

CPA: Cost Per Acquisition. 

This measures how much you 

are spending on advertising 

to get a lead or customer for 

your business. If your business 

relies on leads (rather than selling 

online) CPA is the most 

important figure to keep an eye 

on as a business owner or manager. 

This tells you how much 

it costs to get a new lead into 

your business. 

ROAS: Return on Ad Spend. 

This measures how much revenue 

you receive from every 

dollar of ad spend. It works 

best for ecommerce stores. 

For example, if you spend 

$2000 on ads and the people 

who click those ads buy 

$20,000 of goods on your 

ecommerce website, then you 

have a ROAS of 10. It means 

for every $1 of ad spend you 

received $10 back in revenue. 

For ecommerce stores, ROAS 

is the most important figure to 

track, to know how profitable 

your campaigns are. 

Proposed Peacocke Bridge 

under construction 

Proposed Wai 

kato Expressway 

Not since the 70s and 80s when 

15% inflation rates per annum 

became the norm have we 

seen such a quick rise in the CPI. To 

lift from almost nothing to over 7% in 

a few months is incredible. Your $1 in 

2020 can now only buy 93 cents worth 

of value. 

What does it mean for your business? 

It means that you must protect your 

margins vigorously. To say she’ll be 

right, and I’ll look at increasing my 

prices when I catch up with my accountant 

at annual accounts time in June, 

will see your margins erode in short 

order. 

You owe it to your stakeholders to 

be vigilant on your costs and selling 

prices. You must preserve your margins 

in order to survive the next few years. 

Keep the pressure on your supply 

chain. 

Keep increasing your prices in small, 

regular and in closely timed steps. 

You are not the cause of inflation, so 

tell your customers of the pressures you 

are under. Avoid buying market share 

unless you can be sure that when your 

prices eventually have to go up, you 

retain the share you captured. Chasing 

economies of scale usually requires an 

increase in working capital and banks at 

present aren’t lending easily. 

Spread your supply chain risk by 

country if you are importing, but also 

hold onto your current suppliers. In inflationary 

times strong buying relationships 

can drive immense benefits to you 

and your entity. Just getting product is 

sometimes the paydirt of your investment 

in building great relationships. Be 

loyal where you can. 

Somewhat conflicting advice, I 

know, but strong inflation coupled to 

the supply chain disruption, makes 

business chaotic. Businesspeople love 

certainty, and unfortunately inflation 

has a long history of scuppering business 

confidence. 

Every business relationship is 

unique but all need nurturing. Time and 

energy invested with your suppliers and 

customers will pay dividends and may 

By Don Good, CEO of Waikato 

Chamber of Commerce. 

ensure your survival. 

Banks are getting wary of lending 

and are re-evaluating their business 

lending. Some may increase their pressure 

on businesses to clean out what 

they perceive to be high risk accounts. 

The IRD has been quiet for two years 

but must get back into tidying up its 

backlog of recalcitrant accounts soon. 

On top of all of this we have the fight 

for good staff. The pressure of increasing 

pay rates and increasing inflation 

are a spiral that this generation has never 

had to deal with. It is little wonder 

we are now seeing a new phenomenon 

in the departure from business of the 

Baby Boomers as they retire. Demographic 

shifts are usually substantial 

but this one is tectonic. The customer 

and supplier relationship you have built 

up over many years may change rapidly. 

Keep in touch with both and protect 

your business network. It is your net 

worth. 

BUSINESS 

AWARDS 

Connect - Grow - Inspire - Represent 

2022 

WAIKATO CHAMBER 

OF COMMERCE 

PROUDLY 

SUPPORTED BY 

206594AD

Victoria on the River 

Love the Centre bringing 

life back to the CBD 

Hamilton Central Business Association and 

Hamilton City Council are working together 

to inject life back into the central city. 

With support from the 

local business community, 

the Love the 

Centre campaign draws on the 

best of what the city has to offer 

and takes it to the next level. 

Hamilton Central Business 

Association general manager 

Vanessa Williams says many 

businesses and organisations 

are getting behind the campaign 

by donating prizes and giveaways, 

from spending sprees 

to overnight stays, as well as 

in the creation of free public 

events and activities including 

movies in Garden Place, Boon 

After Dark art installations, student 

orientation week, music 

festivals, Matariki activations 

and city trails. 

The time is right for people 

to get the pulse of the central 

city pumping once again, Williams 

says. 

“Covid has certainly 

impacted the central city over 

the past couple of years and we 

feel it is now time to remind 

people our central city has so 

much to offer across a range 

The Boon After Dark installation. 

of audiences from the workers 

to the students, from visitors to 

locals.” 

Local businesses are amping 

up their presence in the city 

with many saying their staff are 

excited to get off Zoom and 

back into the office. 

Maisey Harris & Co Hamilton 

director Peter Harris says 

having their team of chartered 

accountants back in the office 

is a positive experience after 

working on-and-off from home 

over the past two years. 

“Being back in the office 

enables connection between our 

team and our clients, enhances 

collaboration and provides allround 

good vibes and culture 

benefits from being able see 

and interact with the team face 

to face.” 

Over the past few years, 

Hamilton’s central city has 

been purposely curated as a 

mix of live, work and play, 

Williams says, and the easing 

of Covid restrictions is the 

perfect timing for the Love the 

Centre campaign to welcome 

people back to the city. 

“We all want a central city 

that is dynamic and vibrant 

with unique offerings and to 

have this there needs to be the 

market to sell to. This campaign 

is all about reconnecting people 

with the central city through a 

range of promotions which will 

appeal to different audiences.” 

Hospitality businesses are 

crying out for people to enjoy 

the city dining pleasures after 

Covid restrictions made it 

nearly impossible for many to 

continue trade. 

Gothenburg Restaurant 

owner/operator Susanna Rislund 

Fullana says the team are 

happy to see people making 

their way back to town. 

“Hospitality is all about people 

getting together, connecting 

and being social, and we love 

being able to provide a great 

place to do this.” 

Law firm iCLAW are settling 

into the new premises they 

only just moved into prior to the 

Omicron outbreak, managing 

partner Owen Culliney says. 

“While they likely missed 

their colleagues, the amount of 

gin that went down on the decks 

at after work drinks, would suggest 

they also missed the premises 

and the city itself. We were 

The HMC team at Panama Square. 

all very happy to see our favourite 

hospo staff and get into a 

proper coffee. It’s great not to 

be able to find a park again.” 

Williams says post pandemic 

the central city will 

continue to evolve and hybrid 

working will be the mainstay of 

businesses. 

“The flexibility of the hybrid 

working model is a great offering 

for businesses to attract 

workforce. In saying that there 

is still a need for physical office 

spaces and a responsibility 

for businesses to support their 

workers to come back.” 

Many of the businesses 

located in the CBD continued 

to use their office space 

as much as possible in order 

to maintain connection with 

staff and clients, as well as 

supporting the local businesses 

reliant on foot traffic. 

Designwell design director 

Alexander Wastney says they 

made it a priority over the last 

two years to keep the design 

team working from their Panama 

Square studio. 

“For us, the value has been 

in keeping our team energy and 

culture thriving as we've navigated 

the challenges of Covid. 

We've found we collaborate 

better in person and really enjoy 

being a part of a central business 

community of like-minded 

people investing into our city 

centre. We love supporting our 

Share a photo of 

your local coffee spot 

to Instagram with 

#lovethecentre in your 

caption to be in to win one 

of ten $100 morning tea 

shouts for your workplace! 

local eateries and shops as they 

create the vibrancy of what 

makes a city centre worth having." 

Williams says the Hamilton 

CBD have been on a journey 

of transformation long before 

Covid hit and the pandemic 

has just accelerated what was 

already happening. 

“We are incredibly fortunate 

to have had transformational 

projects in the CBD, that have 

brought large numbers of workers 

into the city. The high profile 

and high calibre of builds 

we have happening are bringing 

credibility to the city for business 

thinking of moving here.” 

Like many retails business 

based in the CBD who have 

been hard hit by Covid, Precious 

Metals Group managing 

director Fiona Platje welcomes 

the return of people moving 

from their home office back to 

their city base. 

“We look forward to welcoming 

back business people 

into the CBD to help re-invigorate 

and support local, by 

rediscovering what we have to 

offer. Two years has been long 

enough... it’s time to come on 

back.” 

Both the Hamilton City 

Council and the Hamilton Central 

Business Association have 

contributed funds to the revitalisation 

fund. 

“We decided to combine 

forces and combine the money 

to put a campaign out encouraging 

people to reengage with 

the central city,” Williams says. 

The Love the Centre campaign 

is launching on May 2. 

Share a photo of your local coffee 

spot with #lovethecentre in 

your caption to be in to win one 

of ten $100 morning tea shouts 

for your workplace. 

To find out more about what’s 

happening at the city centre 

visit www.lovethecentre.co.nz

lovethecentre.co.nz


CHILD FOCUS 

Just what is a pre-schooler 

capable of? 

Anything is possible IF a child displays an 

interest (they “want” to), and if you break 

a task down into small enough steps. 

Naturally, all children want to contribute 

to their community, and to do meaningful 

work with their hands - “the tools of man’s 

intelligence” (Dr Maria Montessori). 

At Kip McGrath, our focus is to help your 

child reach their full potential 

We make learning relevant and engaging which boosts 

self-confidence and success in class. Students can be taught in centre 

or online face to face at home. Give your child a boost today. 

CENTRE • PHONE NUMBER 

Hamilton East - 29 Address Hukanui Road, Fairfield, 

Hamilton kipmcgrath.co.nz/centre 

3214 | 07 853 5013 

Hamilton West - 89 Rimu Street, Whitiora, 

Hamilton 3200 | 07 848 2262 

Some children like to hammer 

nails into a stump 

(gross motor skills), and 

some like to make lines of 

204407AB 

paper dolls (fine motor / scissor 

skills). Others like to practice 

grating soap (use of a grater), 

and they enjoy using the whisk 

to make bubbles (muscles also 

used for writing), grinding 

coffee (following a process 

to completion), cutting fruit 

(preparation of kai), or helping 

to maintain the classroom 

by sweeping with a child-sized 

broom into a chalk circle (providing 

a centre point for the 

sweepings to go to). All of 

these basic activities are practical 

life skills that are useful 

around the house. 

Some children also like to 

teach other children how to do 

things too, just like the adults. 

If it contributes to the community, 

or there is purpose or 

meaning in the work, it is interesting 

work to the child and so 

they want to do it. If they want 

to do it, they will learn the fastest. 

At Montessori, we teach 

children how to do simple 

things… toddlers can set the 

table, pour their own water, 

chop fruit, put on their own 

shoes and socks, water the 

plants and take work off the 

shelf to use before putting it 

away again. 

Children have an innate need 

for independence and to have 

things around them “in order”, 

and so Montessori classrooms 

are therefore maintained by 

the children themselves. They 

clean up when they spill paint 

or coloured water, they learn to 

respect their environment (by 

putting things away into their 

proper place) and to respect 

each other (by asking to play). 

A new child into our Montessori 

environment will often 

tinker with the equipment 

as they pass, and so they are 

instinctively followed by an 

experienced child who will be 

naturally straightening things 

and returning them to the way 

they should be. This sensitive 

period of order is natural childlike 

behaviour, and when you 

see a Montessori community in 

action, it is a fantastic phenomenon 

to witness. Montessori 

children truly put away after 

themselves! 

If you want more for your 

child than play-care, if you 

value your child’s independence 

being nurtured, and you 

want your child’s interests to 

be followed (after all, children 

who are interested in a task 

will learn it the fastest), then a 

Montessori pre-school is 100 

percent the best place for you 

to send your child! 

You can find us on Tawa 

St (Melville) or Brooklyn 

Road (Claudelands)... we have 

vacancies now for children 

zero to six years of age. Come 

and visit us to see for yourself! 

www.fcm.nz 

By Rowena Harper 

Returning to work soon? 

Need childcare? 

Come and meet us to see how we nurture your child’s interests 

and their independence. We have vacancies now for over threes, 

and limited vacancies in our babies room. 

We are booking now for June / July, so plan ahead! 

Tawa St - 6:30am-6pm 07 843 0441 

Brooklyn Rd - 7am-6pm 07 855 2696 

Visit us on Tawa St (Melville/Hospital) or 

Brooklyn Road (Claudelands) 

* Terms & Conditions apply.

Multiple metaverses 

are open for business 

A 

metaverse is a network 

of 3D virtual worlds 

focused on social connection. 

Extended reality (XR) technologies 

such as augmented 

reality (AR) and virtual reality 

(VR) headsets enable users to 

interact with a metaverse. 

Meta’s metaverse will be an 

entire digital world accessed by 

a headset in which you can live 

for as long as you like. Users 

will be able to scan their homes 

and create a digital twin in the 

metaverse. 

The 3D spaces Meta is creating 

in its metaverse will enable 

users to socialise with each 

other, learn from one another, 

collaborate with each other, and 

play in new ways. 

Metaverse is the term being 

used to market this concept and 

there are multiple metaverses 

being developed and delivered 

by big tech companies. 

All the big players have 

been developing their own 

technology to support their own 

metaverses for years. 

American technology company 

Linden Lab took some of 

the first steps into the metaverse 

in 2003 when it launched the 

Second Life online multimedia 

platform. 

Linden Labs takes your 

hard-earned cash and turns it 

into Linden Dollars to spend 

in Second Life. At one point 

a Christchurch company was 

selling Second Life houses for 

TECH TALK 

> BY LANCE BAUERFEIND 

A senior consultant at Waikato software specialist Company-X and 

product owner of Voxcoda, a flexible, easy-to-use text-to-speech 

technology platform that anyone can use. 

Facebook created a media flurry when it announced that it was 

rebranding to Meta last year, and was creating its own metaverse. 

thousands of dollars. 

Lightweight AR headset 

manufacturer Magic Leap 

unveiled its Magicverse AR 

Cloud in March 2020. 

The Magicverse combines 

base layers from the real or 

physical world with the computer-generated 

digital world. 

Magic Leap is applying the 

Magicverse in the areas of communications, 

entertainment, 

energy, water, health, wellness, 

and mobility. 

Microsoft announced its 

own metaverse in March last 

year, enabled by Microsoft 

Mesh, although the technology 

is still in preview mode. Mesh 

(Preview) enables people to 

connect with a holographic 

presence, share across space, 

and collaborate from anywhere 

in the world. 

Microsoft has enterprise 

applications in mind, with Mesh 

integrating with Microsoft 365, 

so calendars, content and workflows 

naturally transition to 

their mixed reality world. 

Graphics Processing Unit 

(GPU) inventor NVIDIA 

launched its Omniverse, a scalable 

multi-GPU real-time reference 

development platform 

for 3D simulation and design 

collaboration, in April 2021. 

The Omniverse platform gives 

software developers and their 

clients access to NVIDIA’s 

scalable, physically accurate 

world simulation, powered by 

NVIDIA’s core physics simulation 

technologies. 

Niantic opened its Lightship 

Platform to developers globally 

in November last year, enabling 

them to build their visions for 

the real-world metaverse. AR 

mobile game Pokémon Go 

was built on Niantic’s Lightship 

Platform for Apple iOS 

and Google Android mobile 

devices. 

Apple is investing in the 

metaverse too, chief executive 

Tim Cook confirmed in January. 

Virtual reality duplicates of 

shopping malls can be built in 

the metaverse, allowing individuals 

to wander the virtual 

mall, inspect and try virtual 

goods, and even watch movies. 

I recently saw an events 

company that enables their clients 

to select a seat at the stadium, 

and then virtually see the 

view of the stadium from that 

seat in 3D, before confirming 

their ticket purchase. 

Digital representations 

of businesses can be created 

and imported into Meta’s 

metaverse, or another company's 

metaverse, or all of them. 

Will the different metaverses 

communicate with each other 

or will they lock each other 

out? You might have to put 

your shopfront into different 

metaverses perhaps into 

a multi-metaverse, just like 

someone listing a holiday rental 

might use both Bookabach and 

Airbnb. 

Multiple metaverses are 

already open for business, the 

question is how soon the world 

buys in to the cost of being part 

of this virtual existence or realises 

the cost to business for not 

being part of it. 

Employers must be 

accredited with Immigration 

New Zealand from 4 July 

From 4 July all employers who are wishing 

to employ a migrant worker must 

first obtain accreditation with Immigration 

New Zealand. The new Accredited 

Employer Work Visa (AEWV) will begin 

from this date and will replace six existing 

work visa categories. 

So what do employers need to know, and 

do, now? 

Firstly, employers only need to become 

accredited if they are employing new migrant 

workers, or supporting the renewal of work 

visas for existing migrant workers, after 4 

July. Accreditation is not required to continue 

employing migrant workers on their existing 

work visas, but will be required when 

it comes to applying for new work visas for 

these workers. Employers should therefore 

consider extending their employees’ work 

visas before 4 July to avoid, or delay, the 

immediate need for any accreditation. 

Also, the requirement for accreditation 

only applies to employer-assisted work 

visas which are those visas that specify the 

employment role and employer. Partnership, 

post-study and working holiday work visas 

are “open” work visas and employers are 

not required to become accredited to employ 

migrant workers holding these work visas. 

There are two types of employer accreditation: 

• Standard accreditation – for employers 

employing up to 5 migrant workers (at 

any one time) on an AEWV 

• High-volume accreditation – for employers 

employing 6 or more migrant workers 

on AEWVs 

Initial accreditation will be given for 12 

months, and then accreditation will be given 

for 24 months on renewal – except for franchise 

and labour hire type employers who 

will continue to have annual renewals. The 

INZ accreditation application fee begins at 

$740 for standard accreditation, $1,220 for 

high volume and up to $3,870 for the accreditation 

of labour hire type companies (ie; 

those who place workers with controlling 

third parties). 

To become accredited employers must be 


genuinely undertaking business, evidence 

they are financially viable, and fulfil, what 

are described as, “settlement support activities”. 

These include the provision of a range 

of information to the migrant employee concerning 

local living conditions and which is 

probably best achieved by way of an appendix 

within the IEA. In addition, both the 

migrant employee, and key employer staff 

involved in the hiring process, must complete 

particular online learning modules with 

Employment New Zealand. 

There are a range of additional accreditation 

requirements for employers using labour 

hire/triangular employment arrangements, 

and for franchise businesses including that 

the business must have been actively operating 

for 12 months, and at least 15% of 

employees must be New Zealand citizens or 

residents. 

Applications for employer accreditation 

open from 23 May. The second stage of the 

AEWV process, the Job Check, then requires 

employers to evidence the job terms, and pay, 

comply with NZ laws and standards, and that 

the job has been suitably advertised – including 

advertising the minimum and maximum 

pay rate! Jobs being paid at circa $115,000 

pa (ie; 2 x the median pay) do not need to 

be advertised. Job Checks can be undertaken 

from 20 June and another fee, $610, is payable 

to INZ for this stage – and the final stage, 

the actual work visa application (when this is 

finally reached on 4 July), will cost another 

$595! INZ have estimated the processing 

time for an accreditation application, and the 

job check, each at 10 working days, with the 

actual AEWV application taking another 20 

working days. The employer accreditation 

and AEWV processes will take some getting 

used to and employers will benefit from professional 

guidance. 

As seems to be the way these days genuine, 

law-abiding employers are being 

required to incur significant additional cost 

and administration in an endeavour to somehow 

overcome those unscrupulous employers 

who have exploited their migrant employees. 

Unfortunately, no amount of legislation 

will change the ways of those employers, but 

we must all pay for the exercise… 

19 

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APRIL/MAY 2022 

WWW.WBN.CO.NZ/CATEGORY/AGRIBUSINESS-NEWS 

Bridging 

the divide 

between the health sector 

and rural New Zealand 

The recent World Health Day brings 

an opportunity to reflect on the unique 

challenges rural communities face in 

accessing healthcare, infrastructure, and 

services essential to their overall wellness. 

Up to 1 in 4 New Zealanders 

are living 

in rural communities. 

Whether that be from 

the urban boundary to truly 

remote or working in the primary 

sector to living rurally 

on a lifestyle block or in a 

rural town, rural communities 

encounter unique challenges 

that city dwellers do not face. 

Fieldays 2021 saw 33,000 

people came through the 

Health and Wellbeing Hub 

further demonstrating the need 

for greater healthcare access 

and services in rural New 

Zealand. 

Bridging the urban-rural 

divide in healthcare, the Fieldays 

Health and Wellbeing 

Hub will return in 2022. 

Run in collaboration 

with Christchurch-based 

rural health provider Mobile 

Health, Fieldays event-goers 

can receive a wealth of free 

check-ups, tests, and advice, 

from skin cancer spot checks, 

blood glucose tests, blood 

pressure tests, and atrial fibrillation 

checks, to smear tests, 

hearing checks, hepatitis C 

tests, and confidential mental 

The international evidence tells us that if we 

want health professionals to work in rural 

areas, we need to train them there. 

health support. 

Mobile Health communications 

manager Andrew 

Panckhurst says that over 30 

health and wellness partners 

will be a part of the Health 

and Wellbeing Hub for Fieldays 

2022. 

“We will continue to have 

a strong emphasis on mental 

health and wellbeing, along 

with promoting melanoma 

skin checks for early detection. 

“As always, we’re expecting 

a great turnout and look 

forward to welcoming everyone 

involved. It’s a fantastic 

couple of days of innovation, 

education, and globalisation.” 

New partners will be joining 

the Hub at Fieldays 2022, 

including Dementia Waikato 

and Alzheimers New Zealand, 

who will provide important 

awareness and education on 

neurological conditions. 

Dr Garry Nixon, Head of 

Rural Section of the Department 

of General Practice and 

Rural Health at Otago University 

and doctor in Central 

Otago, is well-versed in the 

key health concerns affecting 

rural New Zealanders. 

Dr Nixon, who took part 

in the panel discussion, Taking 

the pulse of rural health, 

on Fieldays TV last year, says 

access to health services is 

a significant challenge rural 

communities are up against. 

“Distance is a barrier and 

rural people don’t get the 

same access to specialist care. 

Providing good and accessible 

healthcare in rural areas 

means doing things differently 

to the way they are done in 

town – not simply providing 

scaled down versions of urban 

healthcare.” 

Another major issue 

affecting the health and wellness 

of rural communities is 

the severe shortage of doctors 

and other health professionals 

in rural areas. Dr Nixon says 

that to resolve this, training 

needs to be centred in rural 

regions. 

“The international evidence 

tells us that if we want 

health professionals to work 

in rural areas, we need to train 

them there. 

“This needs a targeted central 

government initiative to 

work with the universities to 

create a rural clinical school 

or equivalent solution.” 

He adds that improving 

access to services and health 

outcomes for rural Māori is an 

important priority. 

“Rural Māori have poorer 

health outcomes than both 

urban Māori and rural non- 

Māori.” 

To determine the extent of 

urban-rural health inequities 

in Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr 

Nixon and his research team 

have developed a ‘Geographic 

Classification for Health’ 

(GCH). This tool classifies 

residential addresses as either 

urban or rural from a health 

perspective, and in turn, will 

better inform policy regarding 

rural health. 

“The GCH will provide 

more accurate measures of the 

health of rural New Zealanders,” 

says Dr Nixon. 

“We are already starting 

to see this in the data. For 

example, the GCH is demonstrating 

higher mortality rates 

for a number of conditions in 

rural areas, something that is 

not evident using older and 

generic urban-rural classifications.” 

Organisations that provide 

a health and wellness service 

and want to help bridge the 

urban-rural healthcare divide, 

are encouraged to register 

their interest for Fieldays 

2022. 

For more information head to 

www.fieldays.co.nz.


AGRIBUSINESS NEWS 

Water trough arm goes from Fieldays 

prototype to Farmlands’ shelves 

Only months after showing their product 

prototype to the world at Fieldays 2021, 

Springarm products are now available to 

purchase exclusively at Farmlands stores 

nationwide. 

The flexible trough arm 

lowers the risk of failure 

in a farm's water system, 

in turn, saving farmers water, 

time, money, and stress. 

Founded by Waikato dairy 

farmers Ric and Marianne 

Awburn, the idea came to Ric 

when watching his thirsty herd 

guzzling at a water trough following 

the afternoon milking. 

It was his routine particularly 

during hot summer 

months, when jostling cows 

would often break the ballcock 

arm as they drained the trough. 

Ric would wait till they had 

finished and fix the arm before 

heading back to the house. 

Autumn was similar, as cows 

became thirsty after eating the 

dry matter they were fed out. 

It was a wearying ritual. 

Until, in February 2019, he 

had the thought: what if the 

arm could flex? 

Back home, he hacksawed 

a ballcock arm in two, grabbed 

a spring from one of the kids’ 

bike stands, drilled some holes, 

fitted the spring between the 

two lengths of rod – and solved 

a problem that had dogged 

farmers everywhere for ages. 

So began a DIY adventure 

for Ric and his wife Marianne 

that has taken in everything 

from high-powered meetings 

with patent lawyers to figuring 

out how to use Instagram, and 

now to a product on the shelves 

at Farmlands. 

Marianne says the team are 

excited to supply farmers with 

Springarms in their preferred 

way – in a shop near them. 

“The partnership with 

Farmlands means that farmers 

can go and buy the arms the 

same day they realise that they 

need one. 

“Farmers are generally 

visual and tactile people so 

being able to see and feel the 

product is an important service 

we can now offer across the 

country.” 

Springarm won the 2021 

Prototype Innovation Award 

at the Fieldays Innovation 

Awards. The judges for the 

awards observed that despite 

there being a strong field of 

high-tech entries, Springarm 

was a simple, but effective 

solution. 

“Springarm is a remarkably 

simple and elegant solution to 

a well-defined and common 

problem,” the judges noted. 

“We were also impressed by 

the thought put into the product’s 

design and the clear and 

immediate commercial opportunity 

provided to its inventors.” 

Shortly after their Fieldays 

Innovation Award win, Springarm 

partnered with Metalform 

to scale manufacturing so they 

could meet soaring market 

demand. Previously Ric and 

his three sons were manufacturing 

the Springarms in their 

shed by hand. 

Farmlands water management 

& irrigation category 

manager Ben Anderson says 

they first reached out to the 

team in December 2021 having 

seen Springarm’s online digital 

marketing and having their 

customers and shareholders 

asking for the product in-store. 

“It’s in Farmlands’ DNA 

to disrupt the status quo and 

support innovations that bring 

practical solutions to customers 

and the sector. 

“Ric, Marianne, and the 

Metalform team have captured 

the Kiwi DIY attitude and 

created a must-have for every 

farm toolbox.” 

Marianne says Farmlands 

were enthusiastic and supportive 

from the first day they 

started talking to them about 

Springarm. 

“It is clear they are keen to 

provide the very best for their 

Marianne Awburn 

customers and shareholders, 

focusing on quality products 

and flexible solutions to suit 

everyone,” she says. 

Fieldays Innovation Awards 

is now accepting applications 

for the 2022 intake from individuals 

and organisations looking 

to solve the world’s food 

and fibre challenges. 

The globally renowned 

awards clearly represent the 

innovation lifecycle across 

three categories: Prototype, 

Early-Stage, and Growth & 

Scale. The total prize package 

is over $60,000 worth of cash, 

services, and products with 

tailored opportunities to progress 

innovations in each award 

category. 

As for what’s next for 

Springarm, the team will 

be working on additions to 

their product range. This will 

include a shorter arm and an L 

shaped, hockey stick-style arm 

so they can solve water worries 

for even more farmers. 

Marianne says they will 

be entering the Early-Stage 

Award category for the 2022 

Fieldays Innovation Awards 

and are very much looking 

forward to connecting with the 

public again in the Fieldays 

Innovation Hub. 

Entries for the Fieldays 2022 

Innovation Awards are open 

until 1pm Thursday, October 

6, 2022. Apply now at fieldays. 

co.nz/innovation. 

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF RURAL 

AND COMMERCIAL LEGAL ADVICE 

Gallie Miles is an established law firm with offices in Otorohanga, 

Te Awamutu and Hamilton, and has a particular focus on rural and 

commercial law . This year, Gallie Miles marks thirty years of providing 

legal advice to generations of Waikato and King Country clients. Over 

that time, the way that law is delivered, and the law itself, has changed 

considerably. Here, the Directors share their thoughts on the key things 

for clients to consider when seeking legal advice: 

Kirsty McDonald – Kirsty 

specialises in relationship 

property and dispute resolution. 

Much of her work revolves around 

advising rural and commercial 

clients on their legal rights when 

disputes have arisen. Often 

having good documentation 

and record keeping is the key to 

achieving effective resolution of 

disputes. This can include formal 

documents like contracts, bank 

statements and agreements, or 

less formal documents like emails 

and diary entries. Seeking advice 

early in the process can also make 

a difference to the outcome, 

including the time and cost 

required to resolve disputes. 

Bryce Bluett – Bryce specialises 

in commercial property advice 

particularly developments and 

subdivisions. Many of his clients 

are developers and commercial 

property owners that need 

solutions-focussed advice in 

tight timeframes. Like Kirsty, 

he stresses the importance of 

making sure clients understand 

documents and get robust advice 

before signing anything. While 

Bryce does a lot of work with 

clients wanting to form new 

business relationships, much 

of his work also focusses on 

working with clients to unwind 

business relationships. Often this 

is recorded in Partnership Deeds 

and Shareholder Agreements. 

Bryce stresses the importance 

of making sure these are drafted 

for the individual business and 

situation relying on a cheap “one 

size fits all” template can mean 

that important information is 

mis-recorded, or missed out 

entirely. 

Shelley Greer – Shelley specialises 

in trust and estate planning. Her 

work is increasingly focused on 

providing advice to families who 

are wanting to transfer wealth 

and share assets during their 

lifetime. Future-proofing these 

arrangements is crucial. Making 

sure that clients have up to date 

Wills, and Powers of Attorney 

in place, and reviewing other 

related documents such as Trust 

Deeds and Statements of Wishes 

for a Trust are often steps in the 

process that are overlooked or 

not considered at all, which can 

result in disastrous outcomes 

for all concerned. With an aging 

population, Shelley expects 

inter-generational living and 

estate planning advice to be a key 

requirement for many clients in 

the years to come. 

Sue Garmonsway – Sue 

specialises in advice on rural 

property transactions, succession 

planning and inter-generational 

living. Having robust and open 

discussions is a crucial step in 

advising clients, as is involving 

all experts at the outset. Often 

this will involve meeting with 

client Bankers and Accountants to 

enable full consideration is given 

to all options. Rural property 

transactions also create the need 

for specialist knowledge on a 

range of issues, from effluent 

and water supply issues, to 

Kiwifruit yields and fertilizer 

applications rates. For Sue and 

her clients, having a trusted 

network of experts available to 

assist and advise can be the 

difference between success and 

failure. 

Like many businesses, a 

successful law practice relies on 

trusted relationships between 

client and advisor. Gallie Miles 

prides themselves on friendly 

and innovative service, and 

looks forward to providing 

advice to rural and commercial 

clients for years to come. 

_ Hamilton/Te Awamutu/Otorohanga _ 

0800 872 0560 

E: office@gallie.co.nz 

www.gallie.co.nz 

We speak your language



23 

CropX and MetService partner to 

provide site specific weather data 

Farmers will now be able to access high 

quality and site specific weather forecasts 

and data from their smartphones in a 

new partnership between global farmmanagement 

company CropX, and 

MetService, New Zealand’s national 

weather authority. 

MetService will provide 

weather data for 

CropX to share via its 

cloud based platform direct to 

an app on the farmer’s phone. 

The data will be backed by 

science, based on modelling as 

well as from local observations 

from specific weather stations 

in farming hubs. 

“This partnership means 

that as well as farmers having 

access to the data our soil monitors 

provide, they will have 

further and fuller information 

on the weather in order to make 

good water and nutrient management 

decisions to ensure the 

best outcomes for the pasture in 

the growing cycle, with minimal 

water and fertilizer inputs,” 

CropX New Zealand managing 

director Eitan Dan says. 

The agreement will see 

CropX using MetService 

weather data on their farm-management 

platform, with Met- 

Service now a licensed reseller 

of CropX’s technology. 

“No business could be more 

at the mercy of weather than 

farming,” Dan says. “New Zealand 

farmers make important 

and costly decisions based on 

the weather multiple times a 

day - so accuracy and ease of 

accessing weather information 

is essential. We want to provide 

this to our CropX customers 

to supplement the data they 

receive from our soil sensors.” 

MetService rigorously evaluated 

CropX technology, and 

were impressed by the consistency 

and accuracy of the data 

and the seamless setup and 

operation. 

“MetService is thrilled to 

partner with CropX, who provide 

a great service to New 

Zealand farmers and growers,” 

MetService business development 

manager Peter Fisher 

says. 

“We employ over 100 meteorologists 

in New Zealand, 

and operate the most in-depth 

weather observation network 

in the country, including New 

Zealand’s weather radar,” Peter 

says. 

“We are very impressed with 

both the hardware and software 

CropX has developed to 

monitor various aspects of soil, 

including moisture levels, and 

we see multiple exciting synergies 

with CropX. 

“We are excited to leverage 

off each other’s expertise to 

provide very specific data to 

sectors outside of agriculture. In 

partnership with CropX, we are 

exploring opportunities in the 

electricity sector to monitor the 

soil environment where assets 

are underground,”Peter says. 

“It’s really important for us 

that we engage with local business 

partners wherever possible,” 

says Eitan. “We use an 

international weather company 

in other countries we operate in, 

but this partnership recognises 

the credibility and track record 

MetService has in the provision 

of very accurate weather 

information which successfully 

guides businesses in New Zealand 

every day.” 

CropX was founded in New 

Zealand six years ago after 

angel investors provided capital 

for initial work carried out 

by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare 

Research, a New Zealand 

Crown Research Institute. The 

company then moved to Israel. 

It has recently returned to New 

Zealand after acquiring Regen, 

an effluent and irrigation decision 

support company. 

Dan is excited for CropX 

New Zealand to continue growing 

its national presence and to 

work with more New Zealand 

businesses to help Kiwi farmers 

and growers. 

“We’re very much a New 

Zealand business and we want 

to provide products and services 

which respond specifically to 

the needs of growers and farmers 

here in New Zealand who 

take land and water management 

- in the best interests of the 

environment - very seriously. 

We are supporting them with 

this,” Eitan says. 

“New Zealand is an agricultural 

powerhouse and is already 

so advanced and efficient with 

its food production, we want to 

help further improve those efficiencies 

and continue to help 

reduce the sector’s environmental 

footprint and see a long 

future in the sector for CropX 

here.” 

PUBLISHER 

Deidre Morris 

Ph: (07) 838 1333 

Mob: 027 228 8442 

Email: deidre@dpmedia.co.nz 

••• 

PRODUCTION MANAGER 

Kelly Gillespie 

Email: kelly@dpmedia.co.nz 

DESIGNER 

Ellie Neben 

Email: ellie@dpmedia.co.nz 

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES 

Please contact: 

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT 

MANAGER 

Joanne Poole 

Ph: (07) 838 1333 

Mob: (021) 507 991 

Email: joanne@dpmedia.co.nz 

ELECTRONIC FORWARDING 

EDITORIAL: 

Janine Jackson 

News releases/Photos/Letters: 

editor@dpmedia.co.nz 

PRODUCTION: 

Copy/Proofs: 

production@dpmedia.co.nz 

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 

accounts@dpmedia.co.nz 

131 Victoria Street, Hamilton 

Ph: (07) 838 1333 | Fax: (07) 838 2807 

www.wbn.co.nz 

- 

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25



Wastewater 

recycled 

using Kiwi 

know-how 

A small family-based company in Matamata 

has showcased its ability in the overseas 

market to effectively recycle effluent. 

FORSI Innovations, owner 

cling system is is broken up into 

Terry Hawes and his sons 

three end products -- clean fil- 

Darren and Craig, entered 

tered water, dry matter and a a 

the water and wastewater fil- 

concentrated liquid – just what 

tration industry in in 2010, after 

was required in in Hong Kong. 

branching from their parent 

company AG-WORX (J.S Jobe 

This resulting trifecta creates 

a a sustainable system with 

Ltd). In In 12 years, FORSI has 

very little waste. The clean 

moved beyond iron, manganese 

and effluent, to to installing water 

filtered water can be reused to to 

wash down yards or or stored to to 

recycling systems in in orchards, 

spread on pastures during dry 

wineries, laundromats and car 

seasons, the dry matter can be 

washes. 

A dairy consultant, who 

assists with major dairy proj- 

composted and the nutrient rich 

concentrate can be spread on 

pasture at at a a low rate where it it 

ects around the world, was 

can soak into the soil and won’t 

looking for a a specialised company 

to to deal with the dairy 

effluent in in a a University on the 

outskirts of of Hong Kong. 

After learning about FOR- 

SI’s unique and custom-built 

contaminate water ways. 

The system would meet the 

needs of of 75 head of of stock and 

filter an estimated 5000litres a a 

day (600litres an hour). 

“The flow rate was minimal 

effluent systems in in place 

compared to to what other FORSI 

throughout New Zealand, the 

systems manage, which are 

consultant approached FOR- 

SI’s Sales Rep Derek Piper and 

told him about the project. 

This would be FORSI’s 

break into the overseas market. 

The FORSI effluent recy- 

around 10,000litres an hour,” 

said Piper. 

Managing a a lower flow rate 

was one of of the many challenges 

as as part of of the Hong Kong project, 

which gave the FORSI 

FORSI’s effluent recycling system installed and 

running at at Hong Kong’s City University campus. 

team many opportunities to to 

think outside the box. 

To have cows on site, the 

university was required to to filter 

the effluent to to drinking water 

standards before being released 

into the wastewater network, 

with 32% dry matter. 

The space the FORSI system 

was to to be housed in in hadn’t 

been built – so so the team could 

only work from schematics and 

trust the space wouldn’t change 

during construction. Every inch 

of of the workable space would be 

used for not one, but two identical 

systems. 

“Having two systems was a a 

requirement to to act as as a a failsafe. 

The systems could work independently 

or or at at the same time.” 

They also needed to to know 

what the cows were eating, 

how often the yards were being 

washed down and the elements 

already in in the water. All this 

information provided the basis 

for how the water recycling system 

would manage the requirements 

for the solid matter. 

Design and construction 

of of the two systems took over 

two years to to complete. Despite 

two COVID-19 lockdowns 

and other projects on the go, 

the system left the Matamata 

based workshop and flew out to to “Alarms alert us us to to any 

Hong Kong by deadline. Piper 

problems, which through cam- 

and filtration engineer Kevin 

eras, we can assess immedi- 

Bayly followed closely behind 

ately. 

to to oversee the successful two- 

“All our systems have the 

week installation. 

latest cutting-edge technol- 

The system is is completely 

ogy. We never look back – we 

automated from New Zealand, 

always improve on what we 

with an on-site consultant over- 

have done. We are using this 

seeing any necessary hands-on 

system through the automated 

issues. 

settings to to try new things, with- 

The FORSI System crated up 

ready to to fly out to to Hong Kong. 

out disrupting the process – it’s 

a a cool learning opportunity for 

the team.” 

It’s this meeting of of the 

minds that keeps Piper coming 

back to to work each day. 

“There’s a a lot to to be said for 

how the FORSI system works,” 

said Piper. “I “I have been with 

the company for 17 years and I I 

am incredibly proud of of how far 

we have come and the different 

ways the FORSI system has 

been used. 

“Different industries are 

now coming to to us us and we 

are evolving with them. I I am 

really motivated by what we 

are doing. We can branch out 

– there’s always new ways of of 

doing things, new technology 

is is always being developed. 

“You never know what’s 

around the corner and I I am 

excited to to see what’s next.” 

Since the success in in Hong 

Kong, FORSI have been 

approached to to install an effluent 

recycling system for another 

overseas client, at at the other end 

of of the spectrum with extremely 

high flow rates. 

“This project has 3000 head 

of of cattle. But there’s nothing 

we haven’t been able to to put our 

hand to to – so so watch this space.” 

WATER IS AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE! 

With the quantity & quality of this natural resource getting worse we need to be able to 

re-use this water as best we can. 

WATER IS AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE! 

The FORSI Filtration system can help farmers and industry alike to produce quality milk, 

healthy animals, quality produce and cut compliance cost from wastewater discharge. 

With over 42 years of combined industry experience, FORSI are specialists 

in customized treatment systems for all types of water quality issues. 

We offer customised solutions for the removal of: 

•• Iron, Manganese & Turbidity Removal 

•• pH Correction 

•• Effluent Management solutions 

•• Waste water recycling 

•• Car & Truck wash recycling systems 

•• Effluent Recycling Systems 

•• Irrigation Filtration 

Before & After Filtration – Carwash 

Let’s talk about how we can help make your water, Quality Water. 

14 Waihou street Matamata | 07 880 9479 

sales@forsi.co.nz | www.forsi.co.nz


27 

Debunking four media myths 

This month I thought I would share a few myths or 

misperceptions I hear a lot from organisations that are not 

used to working with media. If you are thinking about doing 

more proactive media publicity in your business, these four 

myths will help you prepare for the road ahead. 

Why doesn’t the media ever 

ask us for a story? 

Newsflash: journalists are 

not sitting around wracking 

their brains about who they 

can do a ‘good news’ story 

about. They will not simply 

seek you out if you are not 

putting your news in front of 

their noses. 

Think about it: journalists 

in most publications report 

on the extremes. Extremely 

negative or extremely positive 

stories are what get people 

clicking. If it’s not clickable 

(on news websites), they will 

not be interested. 

That means your job is to 

find the ‘clickable’ stories 

in your organisation, write 

them up in a news story format 

and get them to the right 

journalist who may potentially 

be interested in covering it. 

Don’t call me; it’s in my 

media release! 

Over the years, I’ve encountered 

clients who spend a lot 

of time writing a media release 

and getting it out to key journalists, 

but then are surprised 

when interview requests start 

rolling in. 

It’s important to realise the 

purpose of a media release. 

It is meant to provide just 

enough information to get 

journalists interested in finding 

out more and potentially 

running a story. The purpose 

is to get you interviews. If 

the phones start ringing after 

you send out a media release, 

that’s success! 

So, that leads to the important 

tip that you should only 

send a media release out on 

the day your media spokesperson 

is available to talk to journalists, 

at times that suit the 

journalist (not you) to meet 

their deadlines. The most frustrating 

thing for a journalist is 

to agree to do a story and then 

the spokesperson isn’t available 

straight away. If this happens, 

media will be reluctant 

to work with you again. 

All journalists love a media 

release. 

Put yourself in the shoes of the 

best journalists. What do they 

want? To do their job well and 

be recognised for it. Just like 

you! For a journalist that often 

means being the first to report 

news – good or bad. Plus, they 

are great writers. Really great 

journalists don’t want to be 

spoon-fed your company’s 

key messages. They’d rather 

interview you and write up a 

story that is their own. 

That’s why writing a 

media release and blasting it 

out to 100 journalists rarely 

gets good pickup these days. 

Journalists know that’s what 

you’re doing when they 

receive a media release where 

they’ve been blind copied. 

Most will ignore such emails. 

It’s better to research journalists 

at the publication, 

radio station or TV channel 

that will best reach your 

audience. Then, target those 

journalists individually with 

an email or phone call to discuss 

the story angle. As one 

says no (or completely ignores 

you, which is normal), then 

approach the second journalist 

on your list and so on. 

Let’s get the news out, 

then start our marketing 

campaign. 

I’ve seen companies get this 

wrong where they do not time 

their publicity and marketing 

to work together to maximum 

effect (i.e. to drive enquiries 

and sales). If you are launching 

a new product or service, 

you want to ensure your customers 

and prospects start to 

see your advertising and promotion 

at the same time they 

read or hear your news story. 

Getting this right requires 

intentional precision. That’s 

because your news will only 

be online in mainstream news 

outlets for a few hours or 

maximum one day. Therefore, 

you need to leverage that time 

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Clever online 

presence wins 

business award 

Think back to 1996. Jim Bolger’s National 

Government was in charge. Shihad’s debut 

album dominated our airwaves. And at the 

1996 Waikato Business Awards, Fish City 

Hamilton was celebrating an extremely 

successful evening, winning awards for 

Small Business of the Year and Overall 

Business of the Year. 

Twenty-five years later, 

Fish City Hamilton still 

keeps things fresh and 

exciting. They have established 

a robust online presence with 

a tongue-in-cheek brand voice 

that saw them win the Social 

Media & Marketing award at 

the 2021 Waikato Business 

Awards. 

Describing themselves as 

“a bunch of good buggers”, the 

Fish City Hamilton team are 

humble, adventurous lovers of 

the outdoors. They pride themselves 

on being a knowledge 

source for anglers and hunters 

in the Waikato and wider New 

Zealand. Family-orientated, 

staying genuine, and having fun 

are core values for the business, 

evident in their online content. 

General manager Max 

Christenson is the son of Ross 

Christensen, one of the founders, 

and has helped steer the 

fishing and hunting retail busi- 

ness through a period of rejuvenation. 

For Max, winning the 

award and continuing to grow 

the successful business started 

by his father and his friends has 

been an incredible experience. 

“For me personally, coming 

on and helping the business win 

the award has been pretty special. 

It’s a validation of all the 

work we’ve done over the last 

couple of years, and it’s been 

pretty cool to see how well the 

team has embraced the change. 

We’ve had to change everything, 

from our inventory system 

to how the different sides of 

the business are structured.” 

A few years ago, Fish City 

Hamilton was in a vastly different 

position. The showroom 

had seen declining revenues for 

ten years, and an outdated website, 

unlinked to the inventory 

system, was creating headaches 

for employees and customers 

alike. That is when Fish City 

Fish City - Ross Christensen and son, Max Christensen. 

Hamilton decided to embrace 

digital and invest in its online 

systems and customer experience, 

a decision that has paid 

off considerably. 

“Since we started the website 

journey and leaned into that 

side of our business, we’ve seen 

revenue increases of 40 percent 

per year over the last three years. 

Twenty years ago, you needed 

a separate retail store to reach 

customers around the country. 

Now we can reach customers 

from Auckland to Christchurch 

through our website presence. 

While we’re a Waikato-based 

business, we’ve transitioned to 

a national company reaching 

customers from north to south.” 

Having a crisp, user-friendly 

website is only half of the new 

offering. A clever, genuine and 

comedic brand voice on social 

media has seen Fish City Hamilton’s 

online audience explode, 

with 15,000 loyal followers 

from all over the country consistently 

sharing, commenting 

and engaging with the retailer's 

social media content. 

Max credits this to a strong 

understanding of their customer 

base, knowledge gained through 

almost 30 years operating in the 

fishing and hunting space. 

“You’ve got to resonate with 

your target audience. Our audience 

is anglers and hunters, and 

we know they like genuine raw 

footage with a comedic twist. 

You don’t need to put together 

a professionally cut video; 

something they like with an off 

the cuff, detailed explanation 

comes across as more authentic.” 

“We aim to be a knowledge 

base for our customers, 

so they turn to us and social 

media when they want to know 

something. Having genuine 

educational content enables us 

to position ourselves as industry 

experts. We don’t even use 

a call to action most of the time. 

We only use it when we have an 

excellent deal to offer people. 

Like any business over the 

past three years, Fish City Hamilton 

has not been exempt from 

the pressures of Covid, although 

not in the way you might expect. 

After the first lockdown, predicting 

a quiet winter, Fish City 

Hamilton started several expansion 

projects, including building 

a new workshop, recladding the 

showroom and redesigning the 

website. However, the lull never 

came; instead, Fish City Hamilton 

experienced a surge of 

demand from anglers and hunters 

keen to get back outdoors. 

“As soon as people could 

go fishing again, it was game 

on. We ended up juggling the 

most growth we’ve had in years 

alongside multiple expansion 

projects simultaneously. It was 

a very challenging and interesting 

experience for us and one I 

think we handled exceptionally 

well.” 

The success of the last few 

years has the Fish City Hamilton 

team excited and recharged 

to continue helping anglers, 

boaters and hunters across the 

country create their own adventures. 

“We love the Waikato,” Max 

says. “It’s where our family has 

always lived. It’s a great community 

for fishing with coasts 

on both sides and easy access to 

good hunting spots all over the 

region. It’s the perfect location 

for a hunter/fisher type person. 

We plan to continually improve 

our website's customer experience 

until we have the best in 

the country, guaranteeing our 

customers can make the most of 

our beautiful outdoors.” 

It is an exciting time for Fish 

City Hamilton. The business has 

returned to its roots that made 

it so successful 25 years ago. 

A focus on innovating the customer 

experience while offering 

exceptional product knowledge 

will undoubtedly see the local 

fishing fanatics competing for 

the Supreme Award again soon. 

“It would be nice to come 

back and win the Supreme 

Award, but we are thrilled with 

winning the Social Media & 

Marketing category for now. I 

want to thank the entire team for 

their contributions. The marketing 

team does an awesome job 

on the social and digital side 

of things, while our showroom 

team works hard to ensure they 

are up to date with their product 

knowledge to provide our 

customers with an incredible 

in-store experience. There have 

been many people involved 

in winning this award, and it’s 

because they all genuinely care 

about our customers that we 

were able to win.” 

0800 101 216 

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206575AA

Oral Hygiene Clinic 

The clinic was set up to provide affordable 

dental hygiene services to the people of 

Hamilton and the greater Waikato. Treating 

and preventing gum disease. We are 

conveniently located in the heart of the 

CBD, for those who can take a quick break 

from work and pop in for hygiene care. 

Certain business are given discount. 

I 

am driven about the clinic 

and the service it provides. 

Our prices are reflected in 

the service that we want to offer 

those who want to improve 

their gum health, and worked 

at affordable costs, so as not to 

add as a barrier. 

People of all ages including 

children and adolescents 

especially those going through 

orthodontic treatment, who 

are more at risk of tooth decay 

and gum disease. Whom also 

experience more difficulty 

cleaning around braces. Our 

prices are competitive, ranging 

from $49 for child hygiene 

treatment to $129 for a regularly 

hygiene treatment. (Those 

who have not been in some 

time, a possible subsequent 

visit may be required) At the 

moment there is a $99 special 

on mention of article 

Gum disease is easily preventable, 

however just under 

50 percent of adults 30 years 

and older have some form of 

gum disease. Having worked 

for a corporate dental practice, 

I wanted to branch out on my 

own and set up this clinic to provide 

this service. There are also 

a lot of dental clinics that don't 

offer dental hygiene or have 

dental hygienists available. The 

clinic is equipped with the latest 

technology in dental hygiene 

services, the Airflow which 

uses warm water and powder to 

gently and effectively remove 

bacteria. Most people report 

positive feedback and prefer 

this system. There are only two 

other clinics in Hamilton City 

with this technology 

There is growing evidence 

around gum health and systemic 

health, especially diabetes 

and cardiovascular health. 

Uncontrolled diabetes can 

lead to high blood sugar levels 

in the oral cavity. Which promotes 

bacterial growth resulting 

in gum disease. 

With cardiovascular disease, 

the plaque which is found 


Oral Health Therapist/Owner Aenoy Phommala. 

in the arteries is the same type 

that builds up in our oral cavity. 

Therefore maintain health gum/ 

dental health in turn results in 

improved systemic health. 

Our family came to NZ as 

refugees back in 1986, I was 

three years old. I have called 

Hamilton my home ever since, 

31 

apart from when I studied my 

bachelors in Auckland for three 

years. I travelled up on Mondays 

and returned back on Friday's, 

leaving my one and a half 

year old with her grandparents. 

All done to provide a better 

future for her and myself - as 

we have been on our own. 

NOW OPEN - BOOK NOW 

Your Local Dental Hygiene Clinic 

www.oralhygieneclinic.co.nz 

7-113 Alexander street hamilton | 022 610 0425 

/OralHygieneClinicNZ 

Monday 8.30 – 4.30 

Tuesday – Closed 

Wednesday 8.30 – 4.30 

OPENING HOURS 

/oralhygieneclinic 

Thursday 8.30 – 4.30 

Friday 8.30 – 12.30 

Saturday 9 - 1 (by arrangement) 

Take control of your future. 

Buy your own business. 

0800 225 999 

LINKBUSINESS.CO.NZ 

Beauty Therapy Waikato $120,000 

Waikato Surrounds 

· Wide range of quality services & products 

· Turn-key systems & procedures 

· Extensive client database 

· Qualified therapists 

Success In Engineering! $495,000 

Bay of Plenty 

· Specialising in joining, cutting & milling 

· Great qualified & experienced staff 

· Equipped with CNC cutting & milling 

machinery 

· Diverse and interesting projects 

Locksmith Services $270,000 

Waikato 

· Well established and growing client base 

· Owner operator with mobile van operation 

· Flexible and comprehensive handover period 

on offer 

· Low overheads, easy to operate 

linkbusiness.co.nz/WK00248 

Therese Bailey 021 707 641 

therese.bailey@linkbusiness.co.nz 


Andrew Whyte 022 097 0065 

andrew.whyte@linkbusiness.co.nz 


Reuben Silby 021 133 0624 

reuben.silby@linkbusiness.co.nz 

Essential Service Repair Business $275,000 

Hamilton 

· 20-year history providing repair services 

· No trade experience necessary 

· Proven procedures & systems in place 

· Great staff, operating 5 days 

Electrical Contracting Business $1,650,000 


· Operating 25+ years, wide range of clients 

· Experienced, qualified staff & apprentices 

· Average SDE over $560k last 3 years 

· Fantastic reputation, many years of high 

profitability 

Very Profitable Retail Store $390,000 


· Homewares, toys and stationery 

· 15 yrs of increasing sales and reliable profit 

· Well known and well supported by community 

· Open 7 days p.w. but owner only works 5 days 

· $390,000 + stock - stock value typically 

around $70k 


Therese Bailey 021 707 641 

therese.bailey@linkbusiness.co.nz 


Theresa Eagle 021 289 0949 

Alanah Eagle 021 606 345 

linkbusiness.co.nz/BOP00373 

Lynda Smyth 021 270 4271 

lynda.smyth@linkbusiness.co.nz 

House Washing Business $130,000 


· Working owner, no employees 

· Approved with rental agencies 

· Average $100k profit 

· Van, tools & equipment included 

Step Up In Engineering! $225,000 

Hamilton 

· Skilled and established staff 

· Standout marketing, large customer base 

· Growth potential to produce other products 

· Plans & patterns all part of the IP 

Childcare Centre Licensed for 45 $375,000 

Waikato Surrounds 

· Licensed for 45+, with 16 under 2 years old 

· Current owners for last 10 years 

· 50% discount on RENT offered for 3 months 

· Terms of lease 10 + 10 + 10 years. 

· Centre fully managed 


Scott Miller 027 301 6543 

scott.miller@linkbusiness.co.nz 




linkbusiness.co.nz/EL03219 

Roger Brockelsby 027 919 5478 

roger.brockelsby@linkbusiness.co.nz 

Unique Vehicle Business! $720,000 

Taranaki 

· Agriculture-related vehicles 

· Long-established, diverse & loyal customers 

· Qualified skilled staff 

· Strong turnover & profitability 




Financial year end. 

Borders opening. 

Buyers waiting. 

Time to sell? 

START HERE 

with a confidential call to LINK today 

0800 225 999. 

All LINK NZ offices are licensed REAA08

Our owners work in 

the business. 

Anyone with a shareholding within The Foster Group must work for Fosters. We’re proud to have 9 employees with company 

shareholdings among our different businesses: construction, maintain, develop and engineering. 

What this means for you: 

A direct 

connection 

with the Group’s 

owners through your 

build process 

There’s 

personal 

commitment 

to making your project 

a success 

Company profits are 

invested and 

spent 

locally 

Decisions are made 

locally, quickly, and with 

a lens on 

long term 

relationships 

Partner with Fosters because we’re passionate about 

business, community and building better. 

Call 07 849 3849. 

FOSTERS.CO.NZ . 07 849 3849

Waikato Business News April/May 2022

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