The Profit

Business Profiles
Focus on team culture gives business duo the edge
When Erin Maloney was six months pregnant, husband Jared announced he was leaving his job in the meat industry and launching a start-up. Catalyst Fuel Refunds was born soon after, as was son Jack. The business captured a niche market, with staff and customer numbers growing fast. Being new to business ownership, Jared looked around for options to develop his...
Latest News
Trade with China post COVID19
While the Covid 19 pandemic has brought unprecedented uncertainty, it has also demonstrated how we can turn a crisis into an opportunity. The Profit looks into how to grow our export presence with China, despite closed borders. By Campbell McLean China’s leading economic indicators point toward economic growth as consumer confidence rebounds into recovery mode. According to official data, China’s...
Pro Features
Mastering the plumbing business
Tim had been working as a contractor in Hawke’s Bay before making the decision to move to Port Headland, travelling around the Pilbara in Western Australia, setting up massive infrastructure for satellite mining camps – housing developments for between 2 to 5 thousand people. The money was amazing and the driving eye-opening. “I covered some huge km’s, often driving 5-6...
Pro Features
Mastering the plumbing business
Tim had been working as a contractor in Hawke’s Bay before making the decision to move to Port Headland, travelling around the Pilbara in Western Australia, setting up massive infrastructure for satellite mining camps – housing developments for between 2 to 5 thousand people. The money was amazing and the driving eye-opening. “I covered some huge km’s, often driving 5-6...
Pro Features
EIT Hastings – a huge hit with students
Tailored to meet student needs, EIT’s newly-located Hastings Regional Learning Centre has become a drawcard for learners since opening ahead of the academic year’s second term. Light-filled, spacious and welcoming, the new centre exudes inclusiveness, which is encouraging students of all ages and backgrounds to engage in tertiary education. The relocation to a single-storey building on Heretaunga Street West has...
Pro Features
Fresh fields approach for local engineering firm
Back in 1998, engineer Scott Field had just returned to Hawke’s Bay from the UK. Having worked for engineering firms in England and Brazil, he was keen to carve a niche in a rapidly expanding local economy. Setting up in Brookvale Road, Havelock North, with a 120-metre2 workshop, Scott asked brother- in-law and engineer Blair Hislop to join him. Blair...
Pro Features
Hub helps fledgling businesses fly
A new Hawke's Bay Business Hub initiative is connecting established businesses with Hub services and assisting fledgling businesses get off the ground. ‘HUB Connect’ is a three-stage programme to connect businesses with Business Hub services. It’s designed for all businesses to find out more about what help is available here and how best to get started says Business Hawke’s Bay...
Pro Features
Farmers Breed Success For Vet Services
For longer than most people in the Bay can remember, animal industry stalwart Vet Services Hawke’s Bay (VSHB) has been ensuring all beasts – from sheep to bearded dragons – get the care they need. Over the past seven decades, the business has grown from a one-vet practice in CHB to an incorporated business of five practices located in Napier,...
Pro Features
Heads in the Cloud, Boots on the Ground
Forward thinking has allowed one CHB start-up to move farmers into the 21st century – by keeping their heads in the cloud and their boots on the ground. You wouldn't know that Cloud Farmer took flight from a farm half an hour out of Waipukurau with scant access to the Internet four years ago. Designed by AgRecord, the program has...
Business Leaders
Mavis Mullins – from the shearing shed to the boardroom
The Bay's own Mavis Mullins has been inducted to New Zealand's Business Hall of Fame, adding to the already long list of her accomplishments in the nation's corporate sector. Hawke's Bay born and bred, the self-described country girl has left a lasting impression on a world she never intended to inhabit. "I have to say ending up where I have...