Goats' milk co-op, schools vie for export awards

A producer of infant formula based on goats' milk, two schools and a company servicing visiting Indian film crews are among 22 corporate finalists for the 2000 New Zealand Export Awards.

The finalists also include food producers, electronics and software companies, agricultural products makers and a children's clothing manufacturer, Pumpkin Patch.

Among the finalists is Hamilton farmer-owned co-operative Dairy Goat Co-operative, the world's only producer of infant formula based on goats' milk. It was formed in the 1980s to move goats' milk out of commodity trading and up the value chain. Today it has 82 shareholders and a staff of only five. Since 1995 it has boosted foreign exchange earnings from $7 million to $37 million.

Success in generating foreign exchange earnings from selling services, including education, has resulted in Hamilton's International Pacific College and Canterbury's Darfield High School being named among the finalists.

International Pacific College, which is New Zealand's first private residential tertiary education institution, has handled nearly 2000 students since it was founded in 1990.

Darfield High School has earned almost $1 million in foreign exchange since 1996 from fee-paying overseas students.

Christchurch-based Kuran (NZ), a family business, earned up to $5 million in foreign exchange in 1999-2000 from providing line, location and production management services to Indian film crews visiting this country. Over the past three years its activity has risen from assisting with four shoots over 65 days to 14 shoots over 181 days.

Overall the company finalists are:

Auckland - Buykiwi.co.nz (selling local made goods online); Designer Technology (software developer); Englefield Industries (bathroom products); Ford Motor Company of New Zealand (aluminium alloy wheels); Old Fashioned Foods (steam puddings); Orion Systems NZ (software developer); Pumpkin Patch (designer children's wear); Tru-Test Corporation (livestock weighing and milk metering systems); and Vinstar (public sector reform consultancy).

Hamilton - Dairy Goat Co-operative (Hamilton).

Tauranga - Majacraft (spinning wheels); and Team Horticulture (avocado growers).

Palmerston North - International Pacific College (tertiary education).

Wellington - Jennifer Pudney (handicrafts).

Canterbury - Advanced Door Systems (NZ); Canterbury Voice Release International; Darfield High School; Hamal Industries; Invensys Energy Systems (NZ); Kuran (NZ); Merino New Zealand; and Organic Products Exporters Group.

- NZPA