"We started in 1988 as a small company building sports fishing boats. Now we build production line sports fishing and weekending boats through to coastal protection boats and high end tenders for America's Cup group syndicates, where there's a need to transport lots of people without worrying too much about the weather. So our boats are built for rough water use - the gladiators of the seas, so to speak," says Dave Larsen, Rayglass Boats chief executive.
With developments at the airport and in potential new industrial sites, South's role as the industrial and logistics hub of Auckland now accounts for one quarter of Auckland's GDP and has a higher employment growth rate than the Auckland average, accounting for one in four jobs in Auckland. South's Supreme winner, Auckland Motorway Alliance, employs over 60 professional staff and 60 specialist road crew.
Businesses are positive about growth although this is tempered by a feeling of being slightly out of control with the speed of progress. There's high demand for assistance with building business capability, particularly around marketing and export. The South's major increases in information media and telecommunications, construction and administrative and support services is highlighted by this year's category winning businesses such as Chancellor Construction Limited, Global Financial Services Limited and Discoveries Educare.
Highlighting these businesses success and growth, Global Financial Services Limited say their strategy for the next two to five years is to not only expand locally but also into other markets such as Europe, Korea and the Philippines. They did $900 million worth of mortgages last year and plan to hit $1 billion this financial year.
