Outdoor clothing specialist Stoney Creek has expanded its product range and is poised to enter the US market, says founder/director Brent McConnell.
"We've put a huge effort in over the past two years to build a really good product offering we can take offshore and we've seen some very good responses in the marketplace," he said.
Stoney Creek, based in Tauranga, won the Emerging Exporter of the Year category at last month's BOP ExportNZ Awards, a result Mr McConnell put down to strong work from the team, which includes 20 staff in the Bay of Plenty, and representation in Australia, Denmark and the UK.
The company designs and manufactures highly technical, rugged outdoor clothing and equipment. The urge to create better outdoor wear was born out of a near disastrous mid-Winter hunting experience endured in the 1980s by Mr McConnell, who co-owns the business with his wife Juanita.
Initially focused on the hunting segment, the company has expanded into rural clothing and this year launched a new range of corporate casual wear, as well as moving into the safety market with rugged hi-visibility clothing.