Five among ranks of fast-growing firms

Waikato businesses have again punched above their weight in the Deloitte Fast 50, five featured in the annual list of New Zealand's fastest-growing companies.

Waikato businesses Eco Insulation, BioVittoria, SmarTrak, Velocity Networks and Quarry Road Estate all exceeded the benchmark growth rate of more than 160 per cent to make the index.

Hamilton Deloitte partner Doug Wilson said the five companies showed tremendous dedication to their business vision to make the Deloitte Fast 50, with one company – Velocity Networks – featuring on the index for a second year running.

"Attaining this level of high growth is a fantastic achievement, but it's even more significant when you can do that several years running," Mr Wilson said.

BioVittoria also won the fastest-growing manufacturing business in the Central North Island region, while SmarTrak took out the region's fastest-growing technology business award. CTC Aviation Training (NZ) won the regional fastest-growing business services company award, and R J Hill Laboratories was the fastest-growing mature business, although both businesses didn't make the Fast 50 list.

BioVittoria chief executive David Thorrold said the company had moved forward from a disappointing bid to float on the stock exchange in December last year and was expecting to see the first products from some of the larger United States food and beverage companies hit American shelves in the second half of 2011.

The company makes a non-caloric fruit concentrate sweetener, called Fruit-Sweetness, from the Chinese-grown luo-han guo fruit. The product was officially notified as Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) by US authorities in February this year.

"Over the next year we will be doubling the size of our production base."

The No1 ranking on the 2010 Deloitte Fast 50 went to Telecom Rentals Ltd – a subsidiary of Telecom which provides finance to small businesses for telecommunications and information technology.

- © Fairfax NZ News