Our leading innovators shine bright

Northland Emergency Services Trust was named one of the four finalists for its flight simulator. Pictured at the event was (from left) Pete Turnbull, CEO and chief pilot, engineer Grant Robinson and Tony Morris with speaker and award presenter NorthTech's Rob Meadows. Photo / John Stone

You might not expect a techie company to start up in the Hokianga or to experience flying into any site in New Zealand from the comfort of a flight simulator in Whangarei. And yet, we have the technology in Northland thanks to the region's leading innovators. Four have been chosen as finalists of the Westpac Northland Business Excellence Awards Innovate Northland awards, Christine Allen writes.

From flight simulators and ultra fast broadband, to beehive management software and cutting edge manufacturing technology - the four finalists of the Innovate Northland award are leading the way in the region's innovation race.

The Innovate Northland award finalists were announced at the NorthTec Apprentice Restaurant in Whangarei on Thursday.

Hokianga-based New Zealand Honey Traders which specialise in making high-quality Manuka honey was one of four finalists. It has developed apiculture software for domestic and international markets.

Managing director Derrick Barber said the business was the result of "a passion for the land, a longing to return home and the desire to make a difference in a small rural community".

"It became quite apparent early on in our beekeeping journey that there was a gaping hole in the market for a hive management system tailored to the New Zealand apiculture industry."

He said there were companies which had developed software but "they keep it under lock and key within their own business". That software, he said, was largely tailored for the Northern Hemisphere.

The software helped beekeepers to increase efficiencies through accurate, timely and easy data capture. It also worked as a GPS tracking system for monitoring the movement of hives and locate stolen hives. It also had access to the post-harvest research by Waikato University.

Pete Turnbull of the Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) said he was thrilled that NEST was also a finalist.

The charitable trust was established to provide a dedicated emergency rescue helicopter service for the people of Northland.

Last year, the trust launched a world-class flight simulator which was built by NEST pilots and led by Grant Robinson and computer expert John Keller.

The simulator is Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certified and used by NEST pilots and outside parties for training and pilot flight testing.

Turnbull said it had also become a vital fundraising tool for the trust.

"We've had 38 tours since it launched, with about 10 people in each tour.

He said the technology had also been upgraded and now included a full chopper experience with surrounding screens making the experience even better.

The Whangarei-based Donovan Group is also a finalist. The family-owned manufacturing company operates a steel building franchise network throughout New Zealand.

It has created solutions for manufacturing through the development of innovative software and technology.

In conjunction with development partners Stel-tech, the Donovan team designed and patented a revolutionary new type of beam, known as the Nested Tapered Box Beam.

The new beam is tapered throughout its length and made from plate steel, which means the product was more cost-effective and efficient when compared to other beam systems.

Northpower Fibre is also through to the final for its stellar work in rolling out ultra-fast broadband (UFB) in Whangarei.

Northpower and Crown Fibre Holdings partnered up to create Northpower Fibre and developed innovative design, equipment and deployment methodologies to enable Whangarei to be the first district in New Zealand to complete the UFB build.

Using Passive Optical Network (PON) technology, the design included the use of cascaded splitters, located as close as possible to the customer's premise for reduced costs. Another key element of the design was a low fibre count which allows capacity for future growth, and faster restoration times in the event of a fault or fibre cut. Other considerations included the development of a new pole mounted enclosure which was large enough to allow for PON unbundling in 2020.

A tough decision

The finalists were chosen from a list of 15 entries. The winner will be named at the Westpac Northland Business Excellence Awards night on Friday, October 23.

Joseph Stuart, general manager of business growth with the main award sponsor, regional economic development agency Northland Inc, said it was inspirational to see the ideas that companies were developing in Northland.

"We need fresh thinking. Northland gets a bad rap, but looking into the business community, there are great things going on. We need to keep growing and be competitive and be globally competitive."

He said the entrants had delivered "elegant solutions" and encouraged Northland companies to follow their lead.

"We cannot rely on what we have done in the past.

"We must look forward to make business growth ... push yourself and your people."

Judging the awards were Stuart, NorthTec's business programme leader Rob Meadows and Northland business owner and Northland Inc director Jeroen Jongejans.

Stuart said the judges had an eight-step criteria as they whittled the 15 entrants down to just four finalists.

In a statement issued after the announcements, Northland Inc chief executive David Wilson added that it was "heartening to see that all finalists have used digital technologies in their innovations".

NZ Chambers of Commerce Northland chief executive, Tony Collins said innovation was "the key to the success of New Zealand businesses and should be front of mind to all New Zealand business and part of a standard behaviour for business".

"Every day in Northland there are people using really good ideas to transform what businesses do and how they do it.

"This is important, because putting a good idea to use can grow businesses, increase household incomes and create employment," he said.

There was plenty of advice from a number of speakers on the night, however, some laughs were added to the mix when Plus Chartered Accountants' Jeremy Tauri amused the crowd by comparing the character of innovators with that of his 1-year-old son Liam.

"He [Liam] takes risks ... is intensely curious and won't take 'no' for an answer ... he's complex ... is not a fan of compliance and regulation and captures," he said.

He said that innovators, like small children, also captured people's attention with what they did.

As for waking up at 4am and smearing peanut butter on their own faces, Tauri's research on innovators, he said, was not yet conclusive.