March, 2021 - The Profit

Astrid Austin

Call of duty interview inspires new innovation for smart phone

Peter Fowler has an entrepreneurial spirit, an uncanny ability to see what others don’t and to always find a gap in the market for innovation. A resident of Kahuranaki Road in the Tuki Tuki Valley, Peter is a journalist by profession. He has worked in newsrooms and was the Radio New Zealand (RNZ) voice of Hawke’s Bay for a number...

The road to success for QRS starts with being community focussed – Nigel Pollock

Nigel Pollock, Quality Roading and Services (QRS) chief executive puts the Wairoa based roading firm’s business award win down to maintaining a balance between economic support for council (which owns QRS) and its social responsibility to the people of Wairoa. QRS won the Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce 2020 Pan Pac Supreme Business Awards at the end of 2020, with...

Investing in local businesses part of private equity strategy

The Hawke’s Bay economy has been built on the success of the primary sector for many years, but with an emergence of savvy technology businesses, local investors now have the chance to have a stake in privately owned businesses like Te Mata Mushrooms and AskYourTeam. With term investment rates at traditional banks as low as .75 percent for 12 months,...

Drainways – from supporting role to lead position

Hawke’s Bay has been a sea of traffic cones and fenced- off infrastructure work sites as large-scale civil projects such as the Hastings District water network rebuild and the many residential subdivisions and industrial projects take off. At the heart of some of these private enterprise projects and local and central government work is local civil and commercial infrastructure business...

Generosity and goodwill on a giant scale

2020 was certainly a tough year; one that none of us will forget and we will all feel the impact of for years to come. As we start 2021, there’s hope that Hawke’s Bay – which hasn’t been hit as hard as other provinces – will fare better. We’re very fortunate that our economy doesn’t rely on just one sector...

Beca takes up permanent residence in Hawke’s Bay

“It’s awesome to be able to return to Hawke’s Bay, have a positive impact within the community and strengthen Beca’s involvement across a wide range of construction and infrastructure projects,” says Matt Sanders, Beca Hawke’s Bay Market Leader. Matt attended St John’s College in Hastings before completing an engineering degree at Canterbury University. After an OE in the UK, Matt joined Beca...

Pro Legal

Employers need to balance growth with volatility from COVID-19

No doubt we are all spending a lot of time considering what sort of year 2021 will be. New Zealand has been very fortunate compared to the rest of the world, however, there are still plenty of challenges we are facing particularly for those in certain industries such as tourism and events, most recently highlighted by the cancellation of the...

Hastings – on centre stage – Pro Q&A with Sandra Hazlehurst – mayor of Hastings

Sandra has a long history of involvement in the CBD. Her family owned a bakery – Warrens Bakery for many years and she also owned a fruit shop in the 90s, while she and husband Mark own buildings in Warren Street. She was also the president of the Hastings Business Association prior to being elected a councillor in 2010. In...

An ultra-partnership based on sound foundations

Nothing gets in the way of true love. Despite not seeing each other for over 25 years, what was a high school romance has not only been rekindled, but has created an exciting business partnership. Jody Dawson and Rohana Sergent have established Havelock North’s first independent ultrasound practice. For Jody and Rohana timing is everything and they are certainly making...