Business Profiles

User experience spurs buying the business

Just like Victor Kiam of Remington Razors fame, Ray Burr and Donna Campbell liked the product so much they bought the company. Ray and Donna were dairy farmers from Aria in the King Country who, like many other farmers across New Zealand, relied on using urea to increase productivity. They started out with 360 cows, which over time grew to...

Growing a market for hemp foods in HB

Chefs and foodies have been quick to develop a taste for Otane-based Kanapu’s premium cold-pressed hemp seed oil. But that’s just the beginning. The company’s founders want to put Hawke’s Bay on the map as a global supplier of top-end hemp foods. Having to ramp up your target production because product demand significantly exceeds initial forecasts is one of those...

Success flows from the drains up

When the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2007, Mark Currie thought his family business, Drainways, was about to go down the drain, literally. The business, started by Owen Currie in 1977, was starting to feel the strain of the downfall in construction projects across Hawke’s Bay. Mark had taken over the business from an older brother in 2007 and was...

Pro Q & A with Mark Warren

Mark Warren, a farmer from Central Hawke’s Bay, has become a top-selling author on his first attempt. Mark has written about how he took over Waipari Station when the impacts of Rogernomics were about to be deeply felt. Not only did he survive but he’s thrived and has been entrepreneurial in his approach to working the land. He’s sold bottled...

Indigo Restaurant – adding spice to business success

Kingfisher is still the number-one beer match with a vindaloo at Napier’s Indigo Restaurant but it has a spicy point of difference that keeps the business as fresh as the local ingredients it uses. Indigo does the common curries like butter chicken, rogan josh and tandoori better than most but it stands out for its huge menu using local fresh...

Bayswater Group becomes a Super dealership

In 1990, Rob Townshend was fighting for business survival, faced with the sudden passing of his father and a legal battle that could prevent him from using his surname on a sign above what he says was a “gravel car yard” in Napier. Fast forward to 2018 and Rob is at the helm of a super motor vehicle dealership covering...

Topline is in the fast lane for business growth

Hawke’s Bay is a sea of traffic safety cones, temporary traffic lights or stop/go signs and alternative routes due to some major road and infrastructure projects. There’s the Hastings water mains project, the Whakatu Arterial, the major roundabout on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway and the new entranceway into the airport – just to name a few. Then there’s the rollout...

Fastway delivering for 35 years

From one man driving a van delivering parcels across Napier and Hastings 35 years ago, Fastway Couriers now delivers over 25,000 parcels every day of the year throughout New Zealand. The franchise model business with 17 regional franchise owners and 300 franchise couriers in New Zealand has exponentially grown in parcel deliveries with the rapid growth in online shopping both...

On the right Axis for growth

A Hawke’s Bay business that plays a big role in putting other businesses up in bright shining lights, prefers to keep a low profile. Axis might not be well known within the Hawke’s Bay scene in general but they are the ‘go to’ business for sign writers nationwide through to boat manufacturers and everything in between. So, what do Axis...

Collective wisdom, bottom line success – The Alternative Board

Many small and medium businesses (SMEs) in Hawke’s Bay are set to benefit from a globally successful business development model that is based on collaboration of those sitting around a boardroom table. The Alternative Board - www. thealternativeboard.co.nz, has been brought to the Bay by two well-known local businessmen Wayne Baird and Russell Jaggard. It draws on their wide range...