Mr Dixon said the unit had also been working with:
-A distribution company wanting to set up a bottling line in the Mill Road industrial area
-An investor who had been buying property in the region
-A potential tourist venture
-Opportunities around the possum trade
-Working with an artists collective to create an upmarket gallery aimed at attracting Wellington patrons.
The business unit was involved in a lot of ongoing activity, he said, and was supporting innovation and new business start-ups.
As well as "hunting" for new business to set up in Wanganui, they were helping existing businesses and mentoring them as well. The unit was working to increase the number of local mentors, he said, and some of those plans were being delivered with the help of the Whanganui Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Dixon said Wanganui could not sit on its hands "waiting for a miracle" and if it wanted economic growth "it's got to make it happen".
"Every region around the country is struggling. Empty retail shops are common to every regional town, so you can't just cross your fingers and hope things will happen," he said.
But while there had been some "quick win stuff", the bulk of the economic unit's work was focused on medium to longer-term targets.
To that end, his team was working closely with local real estate agents to look at commercial properties for sale or lease that could suit out-of-town businesses relocating here.
They also organised a promotion of the city in the National Business Review business paper in Auckland late last month, with several pages focusing on the city and what it offered.