Technology exporters thrive in downturn

File photo / Paul Estcourt

Some of New Zealand's fastest-growing and innovative companies would not have been successful without the help of the global financial crisis, according to the Technology Investment Network.

The network, which publishes an annual report on the country's 100 largest technology exporters and the 100 top emerging firms, said sluggish economies across the Western world had forced local companies to innovate and be cost-efficient.

"In many ways, the global financial crisis has been a windfall for New Zealand," said the network's managing director, Greg Shanahan.

In an environment of fierce competition, Shanahan said a cluster of small New Zealand companies were experiencing rapid growth.

Six of these up-and-coming firms made presentations alongside Shanahan at the New Zealand Technology Trade and Investment Forum in Auckland yesterday.

One company, Konnect, electronically links doctors with insurance companies and reduces the time it takes for a customer to get health coverage approved.

One of the fastest-growing firms in the TIN100 report, Konnect increased its revenue from $600,000 to $7.8 million within a 24-month period.

Another company, Canterbury Scientific, creates lab controls for blood-tests and experienced 56 per cent revenue growth in the last year.

"The [top 10 fastest-growing] companies essentially doubled their revenue from $28 million to $55 million within a 12-month period. This is during [a time] where a lot of companies are going weak at the knees," Shanahan said.

He said it was not only small firms that were doing well. These companies were feeding into a wider sector with exports worth more than $5 billion a year.