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EIT Hastings – a huge hit with students

Tailored to meet student needs, EIT’s newly-located Hastings Regional Learning Centre has become a drawcard for learners since opening ahead of the academic year’s second term. Light-filled, spacious and welcoming, the new centre exudes inclusiveness, which is encouraging students of all ages and backgrounds to engage in tertiary education. The relocation to a single-storey building on Heretaunga Street West has...

Bursting onto the global scene

When disaster strikes, a growing number of air-borne emergency responders around the globe are fighting fires with helicopter fire buckets designed and built in Napier. Fourteen years after starting a Hawke’s Bay engineering company with a $20,000 loan, Richard Lane now runs a specialist helicopter equipment business with a growing list of international customers. “In 2004 I started off with...

Getting our share of the Provincial Growth Fund lolly scramble

The government has a billion dollars a year to dish out for regional development initiatives, so will this region get in on the action? Hawke’s Bay is in line for tens, or possibly even hundreds, of millions of dollars’ worth of funding through the government’s $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund (PGF). Local councils and other backers of several large projects...

Strong passenger growth spurs Hawke’s Bay Airport Expansion upgrade

The Hawke’s Bay Airport terminal expansion has been given an upgrade, boosted by the latest passenger growth figures and the target of one million passengers by 2025. Last September the airport announced a redevelopment of the airport terminal increasing its size from 2500m2 to 3800m2 to accommodate the growth in passenger movements and visitors to the airport. Recently appointed Hawke’s...

Skills shortage holds back growth

Despite the great weather and lifestyle opportunities, Hawke’s Bay employers are struggling to fill key vacancies. What’s behind the region’s skills shortage? It’s a problem that’s all too common across a range of Hawke’s Bay firms: business growth is being held back because companies simply can’t find the skilled staff they need to expand. Richard Lane employs 16 people at...

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...

Protecting your assets in the event of insolvency

Despite being law in New Zealand for well over a decade, the Personal Property Securities Act 1993 (“PPSA”) remains a mystery to some and misunderstood by many. The minimal time and costs involved in protecting your interests under the PPSA can make a significant impact when compared to the economic loss you could suffer when the correct procedures have not...

Commercial property values under fire

From 1 July 2017, the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (FENZ) came into force replacing the Fire Services Levy. The Act replaces the Fire Services Act 1975 and the Forrest & Rural Fire Act 1975. It has been designed to ensure New Zealand has a modern, fit for purpose, and well-funded fire service that addresses long standing issues...

The art of letting go

When the time comes for employees to make a change and resign their employment it generally occurs under a shroud of secrecy. People go to great lengths to ensure their current employer is the last to know. This isn’t an ideal scenario for any of the parties. The employee has to sneak away to interviews, they can’t use the current...

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...