Damon is the editor and publisher of The Profit. Damon has over 20 years experience as a journalist, content developer, marketer and public relations specialist. Damon is a huge advocate for Hawke's Bay businesses and The Profit was created as a platform to celebrate HB businesses and business people. Damon is also a director of Attn! marketing pr - www.attn.co.nz alongside wife Anna Lorck. He is also a Hastings District Councillor and chairman of Sport Hawke's Bay.
In his spare time he loves surfing, mountain biking, crossfit and spending time with his family, which includes five girls! If you've got a great story contact Damon on 021 2886 772 or damon@theprofit.co.nz
Budding entrepreneurs Gina Urlich and Andy Spear of Norish have taken out the first ever Innovate Hawke’s Bay awards with their nutritious baby food product.
They headed off other local entrepreneurs who pitched their ideas to three judges and 75 guests at ToiToi: Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre, winning $5000 plus entry into The Factory’s accelerator programme run out of Havelock North.
INNOVATE HB – Awards evening, ToiToi, Hastings, New Zealand, November 24 2021. Photo by alphapix
The event attracted just under 50 entries, 20 of which moved through to the semi-finals where they pitched to 25 Innovate Hawke’s Bay mentors. Seven finalists were then selected and put through a structured programme over two months, culminating in the final pitch night.
Gina Andy pithed Norish, where nourishing meets moreish. Norish carefully selects the best of what Mother Nature has to offer and combines it with an innovative technology to create a shelf-stable nutrient-rich baby food product line.
“Just being a finalist was a really big winning moment for us,” says Gina. “And receiving the title of Innovate Hawke’s Bay winner for 2021 was incredibly humbling. That external validation for our idea means so much.”
Both on a separate yet similar journey, they connected via Instagram and quickly realised the power of collaboration. Working together, they came up with a solution to fill a hole in the baby food market where they recognised there was a real lack of nutritious commercial baby food.
Going through the Innovate process opened up their networking opportunities. “It broadened and strengthened our vision and business plan,” continues Andy. “Our business plan became better every time we spoke to a mentor.”
CE of The Factory, Dave Craig says of the event, “it was extra special to be able to run a live event. We’re stoked that Hawke’s Bay has welcomed The Factory into the region and our intention is that this is the first of many years to come.”
Now in its tenth year, Innovate’s proven playbook is a staple in the Manawatū business scene. Bringing it to the Hawke’s Bay was made possible thanks to Luke Irving from Fingermark in Havelock North.
“The support from the business community and the way in which they have embraced the event, along with the calibre and breadth of entries, has created a really strong platform to build on,” explains Luke. “The aim is to have Innovate Hawke’s Bay become a staple on the region’s event calendar.”
Gina and Andy have advice for budding entrepreneurs. “There is opportunity everywhere and if you feel you’ve got an idea, I know it’s really cliché, but you just have to really put everything out there and have a crack,” encourages Andy.
Innovate Hawke’s Bay is run through The Factory by Havelock North local, Hal Josephson. Hal’s experience in the start-up and angel investing landscape is immense.
The judges for Innovate Hawke’s Bay 2021 were Annabel Toogood, Executive Director at Skyline Healthcare Group; Jason Wilton, CEO at Resero; and Susan White, Global Marketing Manager at FPG. The Master of Ceremonies on the night was David “Toddy” Todd.
Innovate Hawke’s Bay is sponsored by Rockit, Fingermark, Metalform, Furnware, Ask Your Team, Re-Leased, Innove Design, People & People, Baker Tilly Staples Rodway
The new world class elective surgery facility in Hastings is being super-sized with the announcement of a second stage which will bring much needed cancer care services to Hawke’s Bay.
Kaweka Health’s Managing Director, Dr Colin Hutchison, today announced an additional 7,000m2 of clinical space including a critical care ward, local cancer diagnosis and treatment services and a cardiac catheterisation lab.
“Our vision is to provide world class elective healthcare locally, enhancing direct access to quality healthcare for people living in Hawke’s Bay.”
The development will occur on land previously owned by Hastings District Council, which was leased by Recreational Services Limited, a company contracted to provide parks and recreation maintenance services to the Council.
Within the new 7,000m2 facility will be a large imaging centre and a new cancer centre. The cancer care clinic will be operated by Canopy Healthcare Group, which is the largest North Island diagnostic imaging provider with its TRG Imaging brand while its Canopy Cancer Care company is the largest private medical oncology provider in New Zealand.
Canopy Healthcare Group Chief Executive, Tony Moffatt, says the $10 million clinic will be a first of its kind in New Zealand – a full service imaging, consultation and oncology treatment centre offering state-of-the-art MRI and CT scanning technology and specialist oncology treatment under “one roof”.
“We are introducing more MRI and CT capacity into the Bay and for patients it means earlier diagnosis, world class imaging and immediate cancer treatment, all in the region.
“Presently people going through non-DHB chemotherapy have to travel out of Hawke’s Bay to receive their treatment, which can be stressful and physically demanding, they then return home before going through the same thing again three weeks later.
“Having everything local gives patients every opportunity of a full recovery.”
Canopy Healthcare presently has a temporary cancer care clinic in Canning Road as well as imaging facilities at Royston Hospital, EIT Institute of Health at Mitre10 Sports Park, Hastings Health Centre and in Napier.
“Like Kaweka Health we are dedicated to providing world-class care that is delivered locally. We have the very best radiologists, oncologists, haematologists, nursing, pharmacy, tech and support staff to care for our patients.”
The new three-story building will feature the Rolls Royce of seismic design and earthquake proofing – using “base isolation” technology, which is a first for buildings in Hawke’s Bay.
The technology enables the facility to remain fully functional following a large seismic event providing assurance to Kaweka Health and the wider community in a time when it may be needed.
Demolition of the existing building will be a staged task starting in late November through to early February 2022, with the building expected to open in December 2024.
Dr Hutchison says the fast-growing project has been made possible because everyone involved is committed to a shared vision of a facility that “protects and cares for the people of Hawke’s Bay.”
“We’re here to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Hawke’s Bay.
“We are indebted to our development team, senior doctors, health professionals and local investors who have jumped on board to support the vision for the exciting health care service.”
Stage one with four operating theatres, full pre-op and recovery areas (including overnight beds), along with 150 carparks is progressing well and is planned to open in June 2022.
“We are thrilled to be in a position to help by providing our additional theatre facilities to enable extra capacity by another 5,000 operations a year.
“We are in a recruitment phase and are quickly building a highly capable nursing team in Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU), Surgical Ward, and theatre specialties as well as the team of Anaesthetic Technicians.”
Dr Hutchison is thrilled that Nick Ward of Proactive Management Limited will project manage both stages of the development, ably supported by leading local construction firm Gemco Group along with many local trade businesses.
“We wanted a seamless process to ensure that we meet our first deadline of stage one opening in June 2022 and then continue full steam ahead with stage 2.”
He may be 81 years old but that doesn’t stop Fidel Russ turning up to his job as production manager at Wood Mallets in Central Hawke’s Bay at 5.30am four mornings a week.
Wood Mallets, located east of Otane, exports hand-crafted polo sticks and croquet mallets to more than 50 countries and Fidel has worked for the business since 1991.
Company founder and managing director George Wood describes the octogenarian as the most dedicated employee a business could wish for.
Fidel Russ – going strong at 81 years
“Fidel is an extremely practical and talented craftsman, and his work ethic is second to none. Recently we asked him to cut back to forty hours a week and told him he’s not allowed to come in on Thursdays anymore.”
His three decades of commitment to the business was recognised at this year’s ExportNZ ASB Hawke’s Bay Export Awards when Fidel was named one of three winners of the Unsung Heroes Award, along with Mike Jones of Gisvin and Simon Beale of T&G Global. The award recognises work behind the scenes of exporting companies and the judges said they couldn’t single out any one winner, so decided to recognise the three businesses and individuals “who, in their own way, each make a significant difference to exporting in the region”.
George and his father Peter established Wood Mallets in 1981 and Fidel started working for the business a decade later, shortly after emigrating from Argentina. Over the years Wood Mallets has grown steadily to become the world’s leading manufacturer of handcrafted croquet mallets and an internationally renowned producer of polo mallets.
“The success of this business has stemmed from the fact that our standard of craftsmanship is obviously extremely high and quality control is paramount,” George says.
“With Fidel leading the workshop staff for over 30 years, those two attributes have been synonymous with our products worldwide.”
Fidel says he has no desire to step away from a job he is passionate about.
“No one wants to retire when they are at a workplace like this and they enjoy what they are doing,” he says.
He also still sees his work as an opportunity to ‘give back’ to the Wood family, and to New Zealand, for making him and his family feel welcome all those years ago.
“New Zealand opened its doors for us, and so did the Wood family, who made us feel welcome here. We have met many, many outstanding people who became friends who have made us feel settled and at home.”
George says Fidel’s fluency in Spanish has proven invaluable to the business over the years when dealing with polo customers and suppliers in Argentina. He has travelled back there twice on business-related trips to source timber and has also travelled to Indonesia to select canes.
Fidel says he felt honoured to represent the company overseas and help contribute to New Zealand’s export economy.
“As well as helping the business and helping the country, the most important thing is being part of a team who work together, have a good relationship and help each other. That is the only way to get something done.”
Fidel now has five grandchildren – most of whom were born in New Zealand – along with four great-granddaughters, who were all born here.
“All of us are very, very happy here and very proud to be Kiwis,” he says.
The path to getting to the major milestone has had more turbulence than a flight into Wellington on a stormy day, and as the airport’s chief executive Stuart Ainslie says, the adversity has created a more resilient airport as well as a stunning gateway to the Bay.
Stuart himself arrived to the role after the design plans and the terminal had been given the green light. He was appointed to the role after the sad passing of former chief executive Nick Story.
He arrived in March 2018 armed with an impressive international CV, including more than 16 years’ experience working in public and privately-owned hub and regional airports in the United Kingdom, Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG).
His last gig prior to jetting into Hawke’s Bay was as the executive general manager for Port Moresby International Airport, the main gateway into PNG,
where he led the terminal expansion in time for the 2015 Pacific Games and APEC 2018.
With this background, Stuart probably believed he had experienced most challenges that could come his way. However, nothing could prepare him for what was to unfold over the next three years.
“The vision back in 2018 was to create a vibrant airport and we’ve delivered that, but I never thought for a minute that we would be hit by three significant events in the process,” he says.
Firstly, the project was struck by the liquidation of its lead construction firm Arrow International in February 2019; followed by the exit of air carrier Jetstar Airways in late September; and in March 2020, the global pandemic of COVID-19 brought not only flying in and out of the airport to a halt but also the construction project.
“I didn’t sign up to that but in retrospect, with Arrow out of the picture, we were able to create an airport subsidiary company to act as the construction project lead, which has been hugely successful, supporting many local construction, supplier and consultant firms.
“If we had gone to market for another construction lead, there could have been a longer delay in getting the project back up and running and by the time COVID-19 hit, we would have run into other challenges. This way we had much more control.”
It also cast doubt on when the airport would ever return to the year-on-year record passenger capacity it was experiencing and the forecasted one million passengers a year by 2025.
Back in 2018, the airport posted a record turnover of $6.6 million and passenger numbers of 697,143; in 2019, passenger numbers had risen again to 750,357 but in March 2020, the world was turned upside down.
Passenger numbers fell to 541,087 and it could have been worse hit, yet Stuart and the board pushed forward with the expansion project, backed by the support of a $9 million loan facility (inclusive of a $2 million contingency) from shareholders the Crown, Napier City Council and Hastings District Council.
The loan facility gave the company the headroom it needed to continue the terminal construction and working capital to support the business through the COVID-19 recovery period.
Stuart says it’s a credit to the hard work of the airport team that the loan was never needed to be called upon.
“Financially we are in a different place than we forecasted due to COVID-19, which was a $1.5 million loss, and we’ve landed with a net profit of half a million dollars with revenue up six percent on last year, and that’s a great result since passenger numbers fell by 300,000.”
Stuart’s international experience also came to the fore early in his appointment when he asked the board to consider a review of the scope, scale and internal finishes of the terminal.
He did this without knowing of the turbulence ahead, basing his vision on his international experience.
“That review has created an airport that has ambience and we’ve partnered with Mana Ahuriri to create a strong cultural sense of place, which we have achieved in leaps and bounds and there’s more to come.
“The look and feel, offering and choice are night and day ahead of what the airport previously offered.”
Stuart admits that the $24.5 million terminal expansion took longer than hoped but the region has been rewarded with a magnificent gateway that celebrates the cultural significance of the Ahuriri area and the wider Hawke’s Bay region.
He says the finished product has been achieved thanks to a small but dedicated Hawke’s Bay Airport team as well as many dedicated local individuals and businesses that have taken immense pride in creating a new terminal.
“Our team has been living in a construction site for three years with reduced amenities but we all had a clear vision and it has come to fruition. We love seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they visit for the first time.
“The team, which is pretty lean, has gone through a lot of change and uncertainty and it has been a real test of their resilience and I’m very proud of them.”
Many other local businesses and individuals have played key roles in the development such as Lattey Group, Jacksons Flooring, Panton Plumbing, Red Steel and Mitre10 Mega, through to local treaty group Mana Ahuriri, who provided cultural input alongside well-known artist Jacob Scott.
The finishing touches including the forecourt are underway, again hit by supply challenges resulting from the second full COVID-19 lockdown. Most of the internal work is complete, with the external experience to be completed in time for summer visitors.
Visitors will arrive from the carpark and will enter the building under a timber waharoa (gateway) symbolising the beak of the kuaka that live nearby.
An expansive foyer leads to a central space that hosts new retail and hospitality spaces, including a Bay Espresso café and Roosters Brewery bar, which is flanked by the arrivals and departure lounges.
The central hospitality space features luxurious bathrooms and a large viewing mezzanine for friends and family to await their visitors. A children’s play area is planned and installations that tell Hawke’s Bay stories make this a destination visitors will want to spend time in.
Stuart says every effort has gone into making this a space local people will want to welcome their visitors to or arrive home to.
“We are most proud of the way we’ve been able to work with Jacob Scott, Mana Ahuriri and other key partners to tell our cultural and heritage stories throughout the space – but rather than describe them I’ll let visitors experience them for themselves when they visit. It’s simply stunning.”
Air New Zealand has invested heavily in a new regional lounge upstairs offering healthier food, more space and a dedicated café that caters for around 130 guests – almost double the seating capacity than the previous space.
Air New Zealand’s chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said the new lounge has been designed to further enhance the customer journey.
“We know our customers travel for a myriad of reasons: those travelling for business may want a quiet space to get some work done before flying; others to sit, relax and enjoy a pre-flight drink. This insight was at the heart of the new lounge design.
“Hawke’s Bay is proving a popular corner of the country, it’s the perfect time to open the doors and welcome customers to our new lounge space.”
As Stuart takes in the new terminal and reflects back on the past three years, he points to the cultural and aviation heritage that’s been captured as well as the region’s hallmarks for food and wine experiences.
He says there’s more to come, especially in how the airport promotes Hawke’s Bay’s food and wine in ways that travellers can enjoy and engage with
One surprising addition that has been welcomed by many is the old propeller that was dusted off by The Hawke’s Bay Aviation Heritage Association, who suggested that it be a feature of the terminal.
The original wooden propeller was from the first commercial flight into Napier. The plane, a 1930s De Havilland Dragon MK2 landed at the airport in 1935. It was then put into service in World War II in Fiji and the propeller is the only surviving piece .
Hawke’s Bay Airport and the Hawke’s Bay Aviation Heritage Association worked closely with George Williams from local company Blackdog Design on the concept and design for the display that houses this special artefact, creating a plywood installation that uses negative detailing to form line drawings of the De Havilland.
New Zealand businesses need to up their game and adopt a plan to embrace de-centralised technology or are at risk being left behind according to some leading Blockchain advocates.
Stefan Korn, Chief Product Officer, Callaghan Innovation, Blockchain expert Mark Pascall and agribusiness business leader and founder of Carrickmore, a dairy export company specialising in marketing infant formula Chris Claridge believe de-centralised technologies such as blockchain has the potential to exponentially grow New Zealand’s digital economy, but a lack of adoption is holding many sectors and businesses back.
Callaghan Innovation is one of currently four organisations that is backing a national Blockchain conference, ‘Trust, Traceability and Digital Trade’ to be held in Hastings Monday 28 February.
Along with Callaghan Innovation, others involved are BitPrime from Christchurch, Chainparency from the USA, and NewBuyGo, an Auckland B2C company familiar with China’s regulatory compliance framework using blockchain technology.
Stefan says New Zealand businesses struggle to understand the opportunities and value of creating non-physical products.
“Many New Zealand business leaders don’t quite ‘get’ digital products and revert back to something tangible.”
“Predominantly natural resources exported as commodities, physical products have historically been the economic backbone of this country. Unlike other small economies with similar backgrounds, however, New Zealand hasn’t yet made a material transition into the weightless/digital economy,” Stefan says.
Mark Pascall, will be the welcome address speaker at the event is the founder of The Wellbeing Protocol and partner at Metacartel Ventures. He has spent the last 25 years in the software development space including blockchain and crypto currencies. He co-authored New Zealand: Unlocking Blockchain’s Potential, and is currently advising public and private sector organisations.
Mark says New Zealand businesses, including food exporters, will not only have to adopt Blockchain but in fact will not be able to exist without it.
“In the future it will simply be considered a vital infrastructure layer protocol (like TCP/IP or HTTP for the Internet) so no we won’t be able to do without it. Currently there are limited use cases due to transaction cost and through-put limits however over the next 6-12 months we will see many more implementations as transaction costs reduce and speeds increase, just like the early days of the internet.
“As an exporter of premium products across complex global supply chains we as a country stand to benefit hugely if our exported products are proved to be authentic.
“If we can also combine this digital ‘proof’ with ‘Internet of Things’ data then we can create exciting new systems that give the consumer on the other side of the world rich and provable information about the source of the product and create a direct and loyal relationship between the supplier and consumer.
Chris Claridge, an agribusiness business leader and founder of Carrickmore, a dairy export company specialising in marketing infant formula, established Trust Alliance New Zealand, a decentralised, community owned and governed digital infrastructure for NZ’s agriculture community.
Chris says he noticed a lack of interoperability and data inefficiencies within the Primary Industries and that primary producers need to look at the value of their data that’s collated from compliance as a competitive opportunity.
“Farmers have the most to benefit. The cost of compliance is becoming a huge burden the automating the capture of data, permissioning of data to repurposed and transferring data appropriately will reduce the time spent filling out endless forms.”
“Silos of data have been created in food supply chains where parties have mistakenly thought that owning and controlling pools of data will mean competitive advantage. This has led to replication along the entire food supply chain and huge inefficiencies are now occurring. It is now estimated that the proportion of the cost of compliance makes up 30% of the value of goods at a port of departure.”
The event organised by two internationally experienced business leaders now living in New Zealand, Campbell McLean and Gautam Paul, has been initiated as a new digital economy swiftly emerges, bringing with it sweeping changes that need to be looked at as global opportunities for both large national and small local businesses.
“Blockchain and crypto tokens are about to disrupt business models, and in many respects, we cannot separate the two. Now is the time to help businesses understand what is happening and what it means.
“Blockchain technology is deeply embedded within systems that are fast becoming part of the new digital economy we have come to accept. Yet business still needs to buy into the role blockchain or decentralized technologies play in helping with issues like provenance, trust and traceability. How do we align its relevance to productivity and the new digital economy?
Campbell has over 30 years-experience in media production as a writer, producer, director and consultant working in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and China. His work includes television documentaries that he wrote and produced for international broadcast.
Gautam has over 30 years-experience and success in B2B and B2C media across publishing, exhibitions, conferences and the internet in the United Kingdom and India, where he headed PR Newswire India.
Gautam says blockchain is becoming an enabler for smaller businesses to trade internationally either in physical products or virtual products and services.
“Blockchain is becoming an enabler that drives efficiency through technology that will weed out intermediaries and middlemen in the process. Among the many benefits, blockchain is also being used for verification and building trust.
For exporters it will mean the emergence of new digital methods for the settlement of cross-border payments, along with efficient traceability around the source, movement, and distribution of products.
“We need to understand how to best utilise it within our business models and within a new circular/digital economy to improve productivity, ensure provenance, provide traceability, ensure levels of trust and ethics/social responsibility while at the same time remaining competitive on a global market.
Stefan says the biggest value of blockchain and digital assets lies in their digital natureand, as such, many traditional constraints around resources, production, distribution,logistics and so on no longer apply. He says to unlock the potential we need more people that are globally focussed.
“Digital assets are an incredible gift for New Zealand as a small and remote country, which could allowus to generate virtually unlimited financial wealth for the whole economy without expending our natural resources.
“What we need most urgently is people with a global commercial and financial lens to fully embrace blockchain and to ideate on opportunities in this space for New Zealand.
He says most successful blockchain-based companies are not constrained by traditional thinking of how businesses based on bricks and mortar and physical products have been built.
Callaghan Innovation is in the process of setting up a team to specifically address the opportunities and risks of blockchain and digital assets.
He adds that with the imminent revolution of digital assets, decentralisation and blockchain-based trading is that New Zealand will miss the major opportunities, and will be forever left playing catch up.
“We need to change the narrative to embrace our digital DNA and not rely solely on our natural resources and farming practices – as amazing as they are. I truly believe a new digital divide between those who understand digital assets, products and protocols, and those who don’t, is looming.
Businesses are operating in uncertain and unpredictable times when 50 to 100 year events such as pandemics, droughts and floods are happening with more regularity.
In Hawke’s Bay the rural sector has had two consecutive summer droughts while Napier was struck by a major flood event that damaged houses, vehicles and businesses.
A well-established New Zealand insurance brokerage firm ICIB has set up in Hawke’s Bay, much to the joy of the firm’s chief executive and former Hastings Boys’ High School student Grant Milne.
ICIB Hawke’s Bay is being headed up by experienced insurance professional William Horvath, who moved from Wellington to the sunny Hawke’s Bay with his family in 2008. William had previously worked with Grant and jumped at the chance to set up ICIB in the region as well as become a shareholder.
“We are a high touch insurance business which means that we work face-to-face with our clients to work out the best insurance solution for them based on their risk profile.
“By touching base with them regularly we understand their current, most up to date status of their profile and adjust their risk profile accordingly.
“It’s all about the right insurance for the right price, which isn’t always the cheapest price, as that’s when businesses can come unstuck.
William says ICIB provides brokering services to many different businesses with expertise within construction, wineries, food & beverage, manufacturers, engineers, horticulture, and exporters.
He says the key is delving into a clients business, so we can identify key risk areas that are quite often over looked, such as key customers and suppliers. Does the client have one of these and what would happen if this key supplier or customer is no longer able to supply or take your product? How does this impact the business and its balance sheet?
A recent example was a client that has a key customer that accounts for 30% of the business revenue. The key customer had an insured loss and was not able to trade for 6 months, so our client had a drop of revenue, which took our clients company from making a profit to a considerable loss situation, which would have resulted in having to lay off staff to reduce costs. We had covered this risk exposure with our client and they had agreed to take the cover for this risk exposure, which meant our clients policy responded to cover this loss of profit while their key customer was not trading. Which was a satisfying result as our client didn’t need to look at cost cutting and was able to keep all their staff during this period, when we know it is a challenge to find quality staff in this market.
Grant says ICIB uses its knowledge and experience to identify and recommend to clients the best insurance solutions.
“We understand that building, managing and growing a successful business isn’t easy, and we think that managing risk shouldn’t add to your workload. That’s why we use our knowledge and experience to identify, innovate, select and build solutions that let you focus on what matters most – running your business.
“We’ve been future-proofing businesses for over 45 years – long enough to see the value of our approach in action. As one of New Zealand’s most successful independent risk advisors and insurance brokers, we work hard to help businesses protect themselves against the unpredictable and the unknown.
ICIB exudes transparency and discloses its income from the insurance underwriters. Grant says developing trusting, long-lasting partnerships is ICIB’s focus.
“We’re one of the first risk advisory services in New Zealand to offer full transparency around fees and pricing. This open approach builds trust and confidence in our services and continually allows us to deliver value as your business evolves and grows.
Grant says ICIB’sdeep understanding of New Zealand’s industrial and commercial markets has helped them create innovative, sector-specific solutions for businesses working in specialised industries.
ICIB is a member of the NZbrokers network. NZbrokers is New Zealand’s largest insurance broking collective, representing over 87+ independent businesses across the country, from Kerikeri to Invercargill, and everything in between. Recognising the benefits of working together, the driving philosophy behind their rapid success is that each member leverages the strength and capability of the national group, while retaining their successful formula of local knowledge and long-standing relationships.
Many of us have been impacted by the loss of a family member, friend or work colleague to suicide.
Between July 2018–June 2019, 654 suspected self-inflicted deaths (SSIDs) were reported in New Zealand, 46 of these were in Hawke’s Bay.At that time the national average of SSIDs was 12.86 per 100,000 population – Hawke’s Bay was double that at 25.77 per 100,000.
Following the devastating loss of a staff member to suicide a few years ago, Tumu Timbers (Tumu Group) engaged the provider of a national suicide prevention programme to deliver suicide awareness training to all of its staff. This programme proved to be very successful and later was implemented throughout the Tumu Group.
Unfortunately, a few years later the training provider became unavailable, leaving a large gap for Tumu in the suicide awareness and prevention space. This prompted the vision for a locally developed programme that could be accessed by all workplaces and organisations across the Hawke’s Bay.
A small group of passionate people: James Truman (Tumu Group) with Kerry Gilbert (Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Hawke’s Bay District Health Board), Bronnie Coory (Tumu Group), Caroline Wilson (A-OK NZ) had a vision for a programme that would be long-term, sustainable, no barriers and free.
With the support of a wider working group, the Mates of Hawke’s Bay Trust was formed and the programme Mates4Life Hawke’s Bay is now ready for workplaces across the region.
“We only need one intervention for the Mates4Life programme to be a success. If we can ensure that a workplace and a family home isn’t hit by the traumatic loss of a colleague or loved one, that’s our measure of success,” says James.
Two pilots have been run at two large Hawke’s Bay employers, the TUMU Group (including Tumu Timbers and Tumu ITM Hawke’s Bay stores) and organic food producer Bostock New Zealand.
So far 20 local facilitators have been trained to deliver the programme. During the pilots they delivered Mates4Life awareness programme to 364 employees with 49 trained as Connectors, a support role that is there for a fellow workers who may be mentally struggling and in need of support. 11 Safety Aiders have been trained with intervention skills to respond to a person with suicidal thoughts and to provide support to the Connectors.
Initial funding has come from the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Primary Industries and Royston Health Trust. Eastern Institute of Technology provides the trust with a professional level of training course evaluation.
The Mates of Hawke’s Bay Charitable Trust is led by James Truman as chair, and fellow trustees Bronnie Coory of the Tumu Group, Damon Harvey, businessman, former chair of Sport Hawke’s Bay and a Hastings District Councillor, Conrad Waitoa founder of Inspire In Education and with Ingrid Squire, lawyer and Partner at Gifford Devine alongside. Baker Tilly Staples Rodway support the financial administration.
The administration and delivery working group includes Kerry, James and Bronnie alongwithCaroline Wilson – A-OK NZ (programme developer and trainer), Tyson Ataera – Unison Wellbeing Lead and H&S Advisor, Kylie Truman – Tumu Group.
Successful primary sector Entrepreneur Phil Alison has commenced a $15 million capital raise for his vertically integrated Cherry business, Cherri Global.
In 2002 Mr Alison launched Rockit, a miniature-sized apple packaged and marketed in tubes which has enjoyed international success and he is taking the same approach to disrupt the global cherry market.
After selling his shareholding in Rockit in 2017, Mr Alison established the Cherri Global brand initially purchasing four cherry orchards in Central Otago in 2017.
Cherri Global now has 165 hectares planted across 10 orchards in Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay with a further 138 hectares of land to be planted over the next 2 years, which at full maturity has the potential of producing over 5,500 tonnes of cherries.
It also operates in partnership with Hineuru Iwi Trust at its Hawke’s Bay properties.
Last month Cherri Global set up its head office in Havelock North, in the building he used to establish Rockit. Mr Alison has plans to further develop the building into a cherry packing and chilled storage facility.
After extensive international market research in 2016/17, Phil latched on to the huge potential in creating a global brand for the small stone fruit, that boasts a wide range of health benefits due to a potent source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
“Like Rockit, I could see that a strong brand, innovative packaging, along with a high-quality nutritious fruit that we could create a product that has the potential to be a global sensation.
“Asia takes virtually 100 percent of all New Zealand export cherries at present. There is not enough supply globally and in particular nil or virtually no supply into North America, Europe or Middle East where there is counter-seasonal demand.
“Our 10-year market strategy identifies future supply and we want to enter these alternative markets well ahead so that we can establish demand in advance.
Mr Alison has partnered with Northington Partners for the capital raise, offering 4 million shares at $3.75, totalling $15m. The shares are available to eligible wholesale investors.
He says the benefit of investing in Cherri Global is that investors are directly connected to the business, rather than via fund or horticulture managers with food, rural and property investment portfolios.
“There’s no third-party or fund manager fees, investors build relationships directly with me, my senior management team and other investors.”
Phil leads a highly experienced senior management team with market-leading management and sales and marketing backgrounds from large-scale horticulture entities including Mark Carrington, Grant Taylor and Anna Catley.
Money raised will be used to continue to develop production capabilities in Hawke’s Bay and in Central Otago, and fund operating expenses and research and development into functional food and high value nutrition applications for cherries to supplement fruit exports.
Research partners include The Riddet Institute, Callaghan Innovation and Plant & Food Research.
Cherri Global is one of the first cherry producers to utilise planar cordon system for cherries, a 2-dimensional structure that allows higher light interception for fruit, improving production yields, quality and size characteristics.
It also reduces labour requirements and health and safety risks while lending itself to increased mechanization and productivity.
“This system has the potential to double the yield from other traditional systems and has been successfully utilised in North America and with other fruits in New Zealand.”
Cherries and other summer fruits are heavily prone to split if they receive excessive rain and Cherri Global has installed rain covers across all of its mature cherry orchards and is progressively providing additional rain protection to all plantings as the trees mature.
At a cost of up to $250,000 per ha, rain covers have not been extensively used in New Zealand which has resulted in poor yielding cherry seasons due to rain during summer peak harvesting.
“I have over 30 years experience in the horticulture sector, as a grower, in governance and in product development, so I understand the risks associated and look to how these can be mitigated. The weather can have a major impact, so if we can minimise the risk with rain covers, and geographical distances between our orchards then we can also lift the value.”
The rest of New Zealand envies the Hawke’s Bay lifestyle and enormous potential our region has to offer. We’re renowned for our fertile soils, excellent climate, world-class Port, and the talented and entrepreneurial people who live here.
At the same time, we locals must concede that Hawke’s Bay is a community in crisis. Levels of family violence and drug and alcohol abuse are frightening. Meanwhile, thousands of young people are not in employment, education, or training, it’s no wonder employers struggle to find reliable and motivated staff.
Enter Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawke’s Bay, one of New Zealand’s most trusted youth mentoring programmes.
For over 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has changed lives and communities all over the world by matching young people with suitable adult role models who aim to build positive, enduring relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters has a long and strong history, because it is simple and it works.
Since it’s relaunch in Hawke’s Bay in 2017, over 100 lives have been impacted for the better.
David Wills has been matched with Lachy since July 2020, he was motivated to become a mentor because he knew a few men who had mentored and felt it was a meaningful way to give back.
“One of the key benefits I have gained from mentoring is the absolute joy of seeing real positive changes in Lachy’s behaviour, confidence, and communication,” says David.
“I remember our first outing, there was not a lot of talking, as I think Lachy was trying to suss me out. We rode our bikes along Marine Parade and ate very large ice creams!Ten months in and we have done all kinds of activities, from bike riding to swimming, riding the quad and there’s always ice cream involved, we laugh a lot!”
When asked about how it is to interact with his mentee’s family, David says “Families place an incredible level of trust in both Big Brothers Big Sisters and myself as a mentor, over time the relationship with Lachy’s family has become quite natural.”
David leads a busy life but when asked how he can fit in one more thing, he says there is nothing he would rather do.
“My time is an investment in the next generation, and the return is great,” says David, CEO of Ruahine Motors in Waipukurau.“I recommend mentoring because it is good for the soul, only takes a few hours a week and you can genuinely make a difference in a child’s life.”
Lachy says “David is the best mentor, he gives me good advice and does fun activities with me”. Tash, Lachy’s mum adds“Since Lachy has been matched with David he isn’t as angry with everyone, and he is a lot calmer. David gives Lachy a great selection of ‘boy’ type physical experiences, which Lachy loves. They have a close bond.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawke’s Bay programme manager Kath Boyd is keen to see other business people step up and give BBBS a go.
With early intervention youth can be supported to stay engaged in education in order to maximise their potential, develop life skills, increase confidence, and become the person they want to be.
“Our goal is to see Hawke’s Bay youth inspired, employed, and contributing in a meaningful way. Buddying a child with a mentor can change that child’s life forever!
Alasdair MacLeod and his mentee Kaine have been matched since February 2015 and Alasdair concurs, “being a mentor has reinforced the importance of having supportive role models in a young person’s life. Not only have I been able to do a tonne of fun stuff over the years I have been able to see Kaine’s aspirations grow.I get way more out of the match then I put in, and it’s true that while we can’t change the world, we can change a small part of it by our actions.”
Kath says on average they get three enquiries a week, that’s over 150 boys and girls a year wanting a positive role model..
“Our waiting list continues to grow and we need mentors more so now than ever, the demand for male volunteers is especially high.
BBBS relies on donations, grants and a large volunteer workforce. Running the programme costs over $200,000 a year; this will rise to over $300,000 with plans to extend the programmes reach. To continue growing the privately-funded programme, we’re asking for support in two ways.
In order to provide this life-changing service and ensure it is professionally monitored, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawke’s Bay must raise funds. Over 90% of the money raised each year goes directly to provide practical support and resources for our volunteers and young people.
If your business would like to discuss our Match Sponsorship programme, a new initiative launched in 2021 or become a mentor
Mentor enquires
Kath Boyd – on 0210663930 or email Kath@bbbs.nz
Sponsorship enquiries
Patricia Small – 022 581 2965 or email Patricia@bbbs.nz
Wellness practitioner Robin Wilson is concerned about burnout with many of us getting sent too much information, which is leading to us feeling as if we’re always on.
“We are bombarded by information and not hitting the off button. We’re constantly on and wired. We need to stop. If we’re constantly in the red zone of stress, we will run out of fuel. We need to listen to the warning signs.”
Robin’s businesses, Holistic Wellness and Workplace Wellness, is built around helping people and workplaces avoid burnout and achieve health and wellbeing. These journeys to wellness began with her own.
It began with a moment of realisation one morning, when she and her family were camping with friends.
As she says in a blog, “I woke feeling dreadful… The previous day had been awesome, and we’d enjoyed a fun night, but somehow, my off switch once again malfunctioned.
“By the time enough was enough, it was too late.”
Robin had made the decision to stop drinking and get well before, but this time, she was determined to make it stick.
At the time, she had a stressful and busy career in banking and a seriously unwell husband.
“I look back at some decisions and wonder what I was thinking – like going to a bank conference rather than my son’s Year 13 prizegiving and finding out afterwards he was awarded a scholarship. This wasn’t a rational decision, it was fear based.”
She embarked on a quest for wellness but considered only her physical health.
“My life was still out of balance, as I only addressed one aspect. The warning signs were there, and I ended up with the autoimmune disease Ulcerative Colitis.”
Robin’s focus on her own wellness eventually became an exploration of how she could help others on the same journey. After leaving the bank, she trained as a massage therapist, and a health and wellness coach and through taking a holistic approach, Robin healed herself.
Now, she helps people in similar situations, supporting clients on their journey to get their life back on track with better balance.
During a brief interlude working for a charity, Robin met Leonie Wallwork, who could become a friend and business partner.
They decided to go to Outward Bound together, and it was there that the idea for a Workplace Wellness business was born.
Workplace Wellness applies the same principles to workplaces as Robin does to individuals: it helps them increase productivity by becoming resilient, robust and resourceful through a purposeful, strategic approach.
Robin says the need for support has increased exponentially with COVID-19.
“What are we seeing? Tired people, who limped to Christmas last year without a break.
“People with capacity issues. People with a great work ethic, who don’t set boundaries or hit the pause button.
“People whose values are being tested, who are feeling unsure about having difficult conversations in their workplaces. People working from home and working through when sick… not taking leave despite their employers’ strong encouragement.”
Robin credits her own tenacity and curiosity with how far she has come personally, and with her two businesses.
“I love learning new things; my coaching studies were a game changer for me.”
She believes that both individuals and businesses need to seek help to understand.
“So many of our issues stem from a lack of conversations and understanding.”
At its simplest, Robin says that businesses, and people, should be clear about their core principles.
“Values are like our GPS. If we’re not living in line with our values and purpose, that’s when it goes bad.”
“We need multiple tools in our toolkit, and we need to be open to learning. That way, we’re better equipped to deal with the inevitable rocks in the road.”
