A Rotorua engineering firm has beaten dairy industry giant Fonterra to a prestigious trade award.
Hayes International won the Doing Business in China category of the annual New Zealand-China Trade Awards on Friday night.
The company specialises in the design and manufacture of machinery for the production
of roofing and wall cladding.
General manager Mike Lowe said it was a coup for the company, particularly as the other finalists in the category included Fonterra, "so you can imagine how surprised and pleased we were when our name was announced as the winner.
"It is a great honour for our little company here in Rotorua to be recognised for our efforts in growing our business offshore in such a challenging environment as China. If we can do it, every Kiwi business can do it."
Hayes had been active in China since 1992 and now has over 120 rollforming machines installed there.
"In fact many modern buildings in China have a direct link to Rotorua," Mr Lowe said.
"For example, the new Olympic Ice Skating Complex in Nanjing has a stunning roof that was actually rolled on one of our machines.
"The company 'took the plunge' four years ago and established a small factory in Shanghai, employing 25 staff, to service the growing China market and it is for this success that we were nominated.
"There have been many challenges turning that dream into reality . We could not have driven this to the current success without the support from members of our staff here in Rotorua. We now have a vibrant operation in Jiading on the outskirts of Shanghai and employ 25 staff."
Hayes International has more than 1000 machines installed in 67 countries worldwide.
The Chinese ambassador attended the ceremony and the award was handed out by Trade Minister Phil Goff.
