Valley's top performers

SIMON EDWARDS - Hutt News

Beauties and the….mayor: Shazly Racheed and staff from her salon proudly show off their award for Best Small Business, presented by Mayor David Ogden.

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Shining examples of local innovation, entrepreneurship and good old-fashioned "sleeves-up, get-in-there and work hard to be the best" were celebrated at the Lower Hutt Town Hall.

Business Hutt Valley president Leo Austin said the Hutt Valley Business Excellence Awards are about underlining how important local enterprises are in terms of employment and wealth creation

But they're also a chance for local firms to benchmark their performance against others, gain recognition they can use for marketing  and shout staff to a great night out.

The 2009 Not-for-Profit category and Supreme Award winner, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, with its 450 staff and developing export potential for its distance learning expertise, underlined his message well.

The Waiwhetu-based institute has seen its roll grow to 30,000 students a year. Chief executive Caroline Seelig says TOPNZ is a leader in e-learning in the tertiary sector, and in delivering courses that people already in the workforce can use to upskill.

It's starting to make initial forays into overseas markets, with courses and expertise on new learning models and methodologies.

It's a nightmare for judges to compare such a large enterprise with smaller businesses, but it was achieved by a panel led by HV Chamber of Commerce life member Ray Hardy, with set performance criteria.

So it was Shazly Racheed's hairdressing salon Shazly took out the small business category, judges noting her reward cards, client nights and runway shows to strive for "significant points of difference" from competitors and an "aggressive marketing plan" to not just survive but thrive during the downturn.

Ms Racheed said it was not so long ago she won a Wellington hairdressing competition at the Town Hall, plus the right to represent New Zealand at the Australasian/Oceania championships in Hobart.

She also announced she was soon opening Boutique@Shazly, selling her own designs of clothing, fulfilling a long-held dream.

Karl Stemp was the sole representative of Eyede at the awards night, the rest of team busy preparing for a new project they're pursuing in China.

The identity card company has grown from half a dozen staff putting out cards in tens of thousands to 60 staff and 15 million-plus cards a year. It shared the Excellence in R&D award with Times-7, a specialist in using radio frequency solutions to automate identification and tracking of critical assets.

A new category was Apprentice of the Year, acknowledging upcoming talent.

Drew Avery, 19, from Stokes Valley Collision Repair Service, took that out and praised his employer and the tutor Dean Richie, who helped him finish his training when he left a course early. His best experience was four 20-hour days working at the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercars.

Business Hutt Valley CEO David Kiddie says the annual awards are growing in stature. Two years ago they drew 35 entries, this year 46; with numbers at the award night sprouting from 200 to 240.

SHOWING EXCELLENCE
The 2009 Hutt Valley Business Excellence Award winners (with other finalists in brackets) are:
- Best Small business: Shazly
(GoFi8ure, Jones Brothers/LA Fitness)
- Excellence in Retailing: Clive's Unichem
(Lighthouse Cinema, Oysters Gifts & Gallery)
- Excellence in Research & Development: joint winners Eyede NZ and Times-7
(Wondercap)
- TradeStart Apprentice of the Year: Drew Avery, from Stokes Valley Collision Repair Service.
(Adrian Love from Globus Group, Jonas England from Vogel Motors)
- Excellence in Exporting: Hakes Marine
(Pertronic Industries, Robinson Seismic)
- Excellence in Manufacturing: Dexion New Zealand
(Charta Packaging, Dulux NZ)
- Excellence in Professional Services: Gee and Hickton Funeral Directors
(Allfinanz, BNZ Partners)
- Not-for-Profit Excellence: Open Polytechnic of NZ
(WellTrust, Wellington Institute of Technology)