Home > Features and Commentary > In brief > R&D is a winner for Awards finalists
by Jo Buchan
When Waikato farmer Bill Gallagher (senior) invented New Zealand’s first electric fence in the 1930s he knew better than to sit on it. Realising he had inadvertently developed an incredibly useful, portable and cost-effective product, he started a company.
Today Gallagher Group sells more than $170 million worth of animal control and agricultural fencing systems, integrated security systems and specialised plastic products annually.
Gallagher Group CEO Bill Gallagher
Like the other three finalists in the Research and Development category of the New Zealand International Business Awards, the Gallagher Group credits research and development for its strong sales growth.
Other R&D finalists Orca (Performance Speedsuits Ltd), Phitek Systems Ltd and Triodent Ltd, have all developed innovative new products after extensive and creative research into new materials and user problems.
Triodent Ltd focuses on finding easier and better ways for dentists to do their jobs. CEO and founder Dr Simon McDonald, who started the business in 2003, designed the V3 Sectional Matrix system to help dentists perform one of the most difficult procedures in dentistry – filling molars. Recognised as the best of its kind, the V3 system propelled the Katikati business to financial success. Annual sales now exceed $10 million, almost all in exports.
For Orca, success has come from a fearless approach to R&D. Its latest line of high performance sportswear, created from the bizarre but brilliant combination of seaweed and merino wool, is a world first. The fabric is anti-odour, provides nutrients to the skin, increases breathability and is organic and environmentally friendly. Innovations like this have seen Orca’s product lines expand into more than 35 offshore markets.
Phitek Systems Ltd is also stamping its brand on the world with cutting-edge, high-performance noise control headphones. Extensive market research into customer needs has ensured Phitek’s products are increasingly sought after by some of the world’s top airlines and audio brands. Annual sales have catapulted to more than $10 million in just six years of business, with more than 90 percent of production exported.
The winners of the New Zealand International Business Awards, which recognise New Zealand companies that are successfully growing their businesses in international markets, will be announced at the Awards dinner at SKYCITY Convention Centre on 30 September 2009.
For more information and to buy tickets for the New Zealand International Business Awards dinner, please visit the secure booking website.
15 September 2009
Back to Top
See 100 years of New Zealand exporting in 60 seconds
FIND OUT MORE
For new and more experienced exporters, the Export guide covers a range of topics from market research and managing risk to working with agents and distributors.
Find detailed information about doing business in key markets, including country information and market research.
