Hayes in good company

Rotorua's Hayes International has been named one of the country's top 100 technology export companies, in a new report released today.

The eighth annual TIN100 Report analyses the performance of the country's top 100 exporters in the areas of ICT, high tech manufacturing and biotechnology, ranking them by revenue.

Hayes, which specialises in the design and manufacture of rollforming machinery, employs about 65 staff and exports to more than 75 countries. The report estimated its 2011-12 revenue at $21.3 million, putting it  at number 76 on the list.

TIN100 publisher Greg Shanahan said Hayes had been in the top 100 since the report's inception, dropping six places from last year. While Hayes is  the only Rotorua company included, he said companies did not have to be in the big cities to compete on the export scene.

"Increasingly, we are seeing companies who are regional players who are selling their products internationally and doing really well,'' he said.

"The world is a global community, barriers are no longer there.''

The report found New Zealand's technology sector was continuing to grow export revenue and employ more staff despite challenging global market conditions.

In the 2011-12 year TIN100 companies increased their combined revenue by 2.2 per cent to $7.28 billion. The next 100 companies ranked by revenue grew by 4 per cent to $679 million.

Mr Shanahan said despite a combination of exchange rate headwinds and tough international markets, TIN100 export sales increased by 2.3 per cent to $5.18 billion over the same period.

"As the revenue profile of these companies gets larger they are showing increasing maturity and a preparedness to invest in their own futures.

"There are larger companies in record numbers. An all-time high of 34 with revenues over $50 million and a record number of 18 with revenues over NZ$100 million, up by four and two respectively,'' he said.

The TIN100 companies, which employ a total of more than 28,800 staff, globally increased staff numbers by 5.2 per cent across the year with many companies highlighting the struggle to recruit specialist IT skills. Recruiting and retaining skilled staff is a growing issue for chief executives, the report reveals.

Shaun Coffey, chief executive of the report's major sponsor Industrial Research, said it was encouraging companies were continuing to invest in their value proposition with research and development (R&D) spend up by 8 per cent and sales and marketing spend up by 5 per cent.

"The importance of investing in R&D is not lost on TIN100 companies,'' he said. "They are increasing their investment in research and development to stay ahead in the highly competitive technology game.''

The changing global economic environment has resulted in a shift in the export markets. Sales by TIN100 companies into North America and Europe fell while sales into Australia grew by 7 per cent to 30 per cent of total TIN100 revenue.

The report was launched at a gala dinner in Auckland last night attended by 140 technology sector business leaders and stakeholders. Hon Steven Joyce, Minister for Economic Development and Minister of Science and Innovation, was the  guest speaker.

Mr Shanahan said the report was used by a range of groups including companies wanting to benchmark their performance, the Government to help them make decisions in the sector, investors to look at what companies were out there and  academics looking to partner with companies.