Firms urged to enter annual contest

All businesses should enter Westpac Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, says last year's Supreme winner.

"The process made us appreciate who we are and why we do it both from our team's perspective and also our customers," said Hamish Whyte, boss of Furnware.

The school furniture maker was already successful with expanding export prospects before last year's awards.

"Everyone at Furnware was made to feel part of the entry and we all got very excited about the process and in the end winning both the category and the Supreme Award."

When the judges visited Furnware there had been some apprehension because of the timing. The company had learned the day before that a shipment of eight containers to a new client in Saudi Arabia was stuck on the Astrolab reef in the Bay of Plenty. They were scrambling to put together another order but accommodating the judges was well worth it in the long term.

This year's competition features three new award categories: the Gen-I Breakthrough Award, the Westpac Excellence in Leadership Award and the Hawke's Bay Tourism Industry Award.

The competition's 11 categories cater for all level of companies at all stages of development.

Entries close at 4pm on August 24.

Award Categories

Newstalk ZB Medium-Large Business Award

Xplore - your web agency Online Award

Pan Pac Large Business Award

EIT Not for Profit Business Award

Westpac Business of the Year

Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce Emerging Business Award

Workfit Healthy Workplace Award

Barnes Mossman Small Business Award

Hawke's Bay Today Business Person of the Year

Westpac Excellence in Business Leadership

The gen-i Breakthrough Award