blackbook

The Little Black Book of Dunedin Business

Background Introduction

Dunedin is one of the world’s great small cities. We are renowned as a confident, competitive knowledge centre, a community where enterprise and creativity support a productive and sustainable city.Underpinning Dunedin’s success is an abundance of innovators, whose ideas and drive continue to solve problems, and create jobs and wealth for the city.

This book provides a snapshot of the current innovation in the city across a range of industries; companies big and small, traditional and pioneering, new and long-established.

It celebrates the creative people behind our businesses, revealing what it’s like for them to live, work and invest in Dunedin, and outlining their aspirations.

Their businesses and plans for the future are wide-ranging, but what they all share is their ability to think outside the square, and an appreciation of the Dunedin lifestyle and the supportive, connected, positive small city environment they work in.

There are many other successful business people working in the city with similar aspirations, achievements and stories to tell; the common thread amongst all is the innovative thinking Dunedin is proud to foster.

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In 2010, the Dunedin City Council pulled together a small group of key economic partners - including representatives from the Otago Chamber of Commerce, Otago Southland Employers’ Association, Otago Polytechnic, University of Otago and Ngai Tahu - to help guide Dunedin’s economic future over the next 10 years.

What do you do, and why is it important?Escea design and manufacture the world’s most advanced gas fireplaces, right here in Dunedin. Our success is due to the fact that our models are leading edge in terms of minimalist design style, but they are also extremely energy efficient. This is important as we are able to create beautiful features for a home whilst also heating that home in a way that uses significantly less gas than any other fireplace available.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Establishing more export markets. We currently sell into five countries and this year we are aiming to set up new distributors in several Northern Hemisphere countries.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The positive attitude of Dunedin people. Every step along the way as we have grown our business we have been supported by positive, hardworking local people. Our staff are the most obvious example of this group but our local suppliers, business community and support agencies have also proven to be “can-do” people. I think this is because we are a smaller city whose people know they are not the capital or the largest city in the country and that seems to generate more of a pioneering culture.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Ross Creek Reservoir walking track. It is very close to the city and it feels like you are doing a bush walk in the middle of nowhere. Especially good at dusk and dawn.

Nigel Bamford Escea Ltd - CEOManufacturing

What do you do, and why is it important?Igtimi produces a comprehensive GPS tracking, data recording, visualisation, and management system. The flagship product is used for training sailors, and is currently used by the New Zealand Olympic Sailing squad. The core technology continues to be successfully used, by Animation Research Ltd, for television coverage of the in-port regattas of the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?The business is still relatively new, within the next year we are looking to break into overseas markets promoting our sailor training product.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I work in a beautiful historic Dunedin building in the centre of Dunedin, overlooking the Queens Gardens. Working centrally in Dunedin means we are surrounded by great cafes and only five minutes drive from home. After travelling abroad, Dunedin has always been a welcoming place to return to and an easy place to live with my family.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?If you can drive there in one hour I consider it “in Dunedin”, so choosing just one place in Dunedin is really hard. Some of my favourite “out and about” places are blue cod or salmon fishing in and around the harbour and Shag Point, trout fishing in the local reservoirs, Lake Mahinerangi or Taieri Gorge. Favourite around town places include the fantastic restaurants and bars, and some of the best/easiest fashion shopping I have found.

Kylie Robinson Igtimi - Managing DirectorTechnology

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What do you do, and why is it important?We are a media company that creates photographic, editorial and film content for leading magazines, websites and athletes in the action sports category. The majority of our clients are internationally-based, including Australian Geographic Outdoor, Flow Mountain Bike, multi-World Downhill MTB Champion Sabrina Jonnier (France) and professional downhill mountain bike racer Cameron Cole. We also operate our own expanding publishing business, a photo library and a Dunedin-based surf, lifestyle and beach culture photoblog: www.dunedinlight.com

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?We are about to launch our first book: Dunedin Light Seasons. It features a year of the images created for the Dunedin Light project. We have about 4000 people all around the globe and in the city who read the weekly reports and reach over 20,000 through the Dunedin Light Facebook page. We have pre-orders for the book from around the globe.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I love the proximity of the three most important things in my life: my family, the surf and my workspace. It is just 10 minutes to any of them, or 20 minutes by mountain bike. We are also very lucky to have a thriving underbelly of high-end creatives and a concentration of very, very skilled baristas living in the city.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Dunedin would have to be the best surfing city in the world – the coastline is littered with high quality surf breaks. In the first 54 weeks since starting Dunedin Light we haven’t had a week without quality surf so there are many favourite places. On the rare flat days the mountain biking trails encircling the city are first class, too.

Derek Morrison Adventure Media Group - Director

Media

What do you do, and why is it important?We authenticate the origin of food products, which means that we get to work alongside and provide risk mitigation to some of the most innovative and progressive producers and exporters. We are based in Dunedin and have an office in Washington D.C. Our services are used to add a level of transparency in the food supply chain - it’s estimated that the volume of counterfeited products (including food) is around $500bn USD/year, so criminal manipulation of food alongside contaminated or mislabeled products exposes any good brand to a lot of risk internationally. What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?We currently work with clients in the US and are providing consultation to governments in other countries. We are seeing an increase in interest in the unique service that we offer among consumer and importer groups in the US, and government and businesses in China. It is likely that a large part of our business will be focused in those two geographical regions in the future.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Dunedin is a great place to set up a business. I am often asked if it would have been easier to be based in Auckland or the US, and yes, it would have meant less time on planes but the advantage of Dunedin is the resiliency and creativeness of the people. When we encounter an obstacle there is a genuine resourcefulness and a generosity among businesses to help each other out.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Difficult question as there are many. I think though that the Orokonui Ecosanctuary would have to be right up there - it’s a fantastic resource.

Dr Helen Darling Oritain Global Ltd - CEOFood Science

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Nathan MartinMoving Pixel - Creative Director

Design

What do you do, and why is it important?Moving Pixel crafts custom-made digital graphic solutions that connect with the intended audience. Predominantly the work we produce is for an overseas market and can range from interface design for iPhone/iPad apps, animated broadcast graphics to illustrations. We have a broad range of clients from all over the world including local heroes Animation Research and NHNZ. What’s important? Creating a successful solution for our clients that deliver a comprehensive message in a way that engages their audience and encourages a positive response.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?The launch of Showboat – an online video animation production company. Compared with overseas, New Zealand businesses have been slow to use online video as a means of marketing their product or service. The statistics surrounding the benefits in this growth area are undeniable. Showboat’s objective is to help companies realise their online marketing potential by using our online animated videos.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The incredibly talented (understated) people I get to work alongside, who let their work do the talking.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Hands down, my favorite place in the world on a three meter plus south-west swell and light westerly winds is Allans Beach on the Peninsula.

What do you do, and why is it important?Freeload is a design innovation company, where we develop new products with proprietary intellectual property. We currently produce products and accessories for load carrying for the bike industry globally. The Freeload rack system which has a monopoly on load carrying on full suspension mountain bikes, is our own product that we sell on-line and through distributors into 12 countries. We also develop new bike products and IP for other companies based in Europe.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Growing the product base and diversification beyond the bike industry into the wider outdoor lifestyle sector. Now that we have a manufacturing partnership in Asia, a growing global distribution network and strategic links to some major outdoor product brands, we feel the time is right for us to develop further in this direction.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Dunedin is an awesome place to run a business. We are currently based in the Clarion Building alongside other innovation companies, which gives a real sense of opportunity and entrepreneurial venture in the Dunedin area. Also the strong base of support capability for R&D, engineering and product development allows us to invest more back into the local economy rather than produce all our prototypes and samples offshore.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?St Clair Beach. You won’t find nicer surrounds anywhere to chill out over coffee, be it for business or leisure. I love taking my grandson Alex there on the weekends to kick a ball on the beach or in the playground.

Pat Maguire Freeload Ltd - FounderDesign

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Duncan Northover The Strictly Coffee Company - Managing DirectorRetail & Hospitality

What do you do, and why is it important?The Strictly Coffee Company roast high quality green coffee beans and distribute them throughout the South Island to cafés, restaurants and home users. We are considered a ‘speciality coffee roaster’ because we only roast the higher quality beans on the market, and in our instance we only roast 100% Arabica blends and origins. We also provide coffee machine service and barista training to ensure customers get the best out of their equipment. What we do is important because we make our customers’ day better. Every day we have hundreds of people walking in to our cafés, or the cafés that we supply and every day they leave those cafés feeling a lot better than when they walked in. It is up to us to keep up our high standard of coffee and service. It is also important because Dunedin is full of great businesses that take top quality raw materials and turn them into something special. We’re excited to be part of this Dunedin culture and look to take it to the rest of the country.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?A couple of years ago we established our new roasting headquarters. We have a great team with a lot of knowledge in the industry. Our next leap will be to take what we do further afield.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The connectivity and easy access to the rest of New Zealand. Also it doesn’t take forever to get anywhere!

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Sitting on the bench at Seconds Beach on a clear night with the surf rolling in and looking up the coastline.

Donna Tulloch Mild-Red - Designer

Design

What do you do, and why is it important?Mild-Red is an exclusive contemporary women’s clothing label, specialising in monochromatic designs, using textures to create art based fashion garments. Sculpting and draping is Mild-Red’s signature. The label is noted for its dramatic storylines/themes associated with each Collection and always with a twist of humour and tongue-in-cheek. All garments are made in New Zealand and we pride ourselves on looking after our own. It is paramount to support local industries/businesses as they provide exceptional quality which is essential for Mild-Red.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Mild-Red has something exclusive, functional, indulgent up its sleeve for 2013. The development of our commercial building in the heart of the city is key, as is an on-line presence. We have recently received an invitation to exhibit our garment installations at Gallery Paris in Yokohama, Japan, in 2013, which is a privilege to be invited back again.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Buying our large inner city studio/office is our favorite hidden gem and home away from home. We have the ability to sell internationally, explore and create ideas within this vibrant artistic city. Our small but exceptional team is the heart and soul of Mild-Red. Having supportive and close knit business relationships really helps. We have supported the iD Fashion scene since its inception as it is a great showcase for Dunedin designers.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?The spectacular first glimpse of Dunedin when driving into the city from the Northern motorway, the lights, harbour, hills – what a welcome home!

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Dr Hayden Cawte AREO - Chief Executive

Technology

What do you do, and why is it important?We develop cutting edge software and hardware that allows industry and the military to create 3D representations of cities and landscapes from 2D images. Images can be captured very quickly from unmanned drone aircraft, from manned helicopters or standard fixed-wing planes. It is important because our software is able to process thousands of images in a very short space of time, very accurately, and for little cost, meaning more people are able to access data that would have once been too difficult and costly to acquire.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Areo is about to launch a product that allows any person to photograph buildings, cars, streets from any digital camera and create for themselves an accurate 3D model of that object.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Access. In Dunedin we have access to great workspaces, access to knowledge, access to networks of successful people, access to arts and culture, and access to an enviable lifestyle.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Without a doubt, it is the historic Warehouse Precinct where we have our offices. The area is rife with innovation, ambition and optimism hidden in great loft workspaces. As the saying goes, “new ideas need old buildings!”

Anna Campbell AbacusBio Ltd - PartnerBiotech

What do you do, and why is it important?AbacusBio bridges science and business; really what that means is we make science practical, not stuck in a lab or an ivory tower. For New Zealand to move ahead economically, we need to be leaders in the application of science in agri-businesses. I am incredibly passionate about this, commercialising science is an art and people totally underestimate the “science of making science work”. I work with food exporters to assist in developing scientific programmes that will enhance their products’ value. Our farm products need to be sold to the very top-end consumers. Those consumers want traceable evidence that their food is produced under the best welfare and environmental conditions. To do this we need good quality science underpinning their market story.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?There is a global food shortage, highlighted by the food shortage seen in 2008. With the growth of emerging Asian and African countries, sustainable agriculture and food production are seen as vital for a country’s food security. AbacusBio is working more internationally assisting countries with the development of agriculture and agri-biotech strategy and technologies. We see this as an exciting growth area.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I love the concept of Dunedin being a 10 minute city - you can get anywhere in 10 minutes. Being involved in business and having three active school aged children in a 10-minute city means you can “have it all”.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Watching one of my children play cricket at Memorial Park, Mosgiel, on a sunny Saturday morning.

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Sandra Clair ARTEMIS - Founder and Managing Director

Health

What do you do, and why is it important?ARTEMIS is one of New Zealand’s leading natural healthcare companies. We manufacture and distribute a range of certified organic healthcare products, all of which are at therapeutic strength, thus enabling fast and effective self-care for common health complaints. Our success is due to the fact that our carefully crafted Tea Remedies and Bodycare products are based on both clinically proven traditional recipes and modern scientific research. We feel passionate about promoting, informing and empowering people to proactively maintain health naturally. Health is our biggest asset and the base of a happy life.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?In New Zealand ARTEMIS is available in almost all Health Stores and Organic Food Specialists. Now we are focusing on further expansion into the Pharmacy market, spearheaded by our flagship products Chest Relief and ViroGone. Our herbal Tea Remedies have already proven to be attractive to Asian markets and we are in the process of establishing more export distribution.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Dunedin is big enough to have an impressive business support infrastructure and professional skill base, from acclaimed graphic designers to export logistics. And it is small enough to provide a supportive network that connects on a personal level.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?The Otago Peninsula with its beautiful beaches, wildlife and peace. Where else can you go for a leisurely stroll and harvest your own clean cockles?

Jason Leong PocketSmith - Co-founderTechnology

What do you do, and why is it important?PocketSmith is an app that predicts your future bank balances and lets you create what-if scenarios. Our goal is to provide you with financial foresight, so you can make the best decisions for your future.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?We take an iterative approach to business, so rather than leaps, we take smaller but more frequent steps. We’ll continue to focus on communicating with our customers, improving PocketSmith’s user experience, and growing our market share both local and abroad.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I get so much more out of my day because I don’t have to put up with lengthy commutes! Dunedin also offers a remarkable quality of life, which is a perfect complement to the work I love doing.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?I have so many favourites, but for the moment I’d have to pick John Wilson Ocean Drive. I live in the area, and it’s perfect for afternoon walks with clear views of the sea and headlands along the Otago coast.

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Peter Cox New Zealand Honey Co. - General Manager

Retail & Hospitality

What do you do, and why is it important?My role is about leading a Marketing and Sales Exporting business. Specifically I identify the direction and roadmap for the business. Any successful journey needs a map to help guide it along. I am also around to provide counsel and guidance for my team. It is the team in the end who deliver the business outcomes, not one person. My role is also about challenging and never being satisfied with the status quo. Those companies that manage change best and constantly evolve themselves will be the businesses that lead. Kodak is an example of a business that didn’t adapt and look where they ended up!

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?A key next step for NZHC is building our on-line sales channel. Many FMCG exporting companies who have embraced this channel have built fantastic incremental sales opportunities that offer both good trading margin and excellent direct marketing dialogue with committed brand fans. It truly will be the way of doing business in the future in my view. Some Otago-based FMCG companies are enjoying 20-30% of their sales base coming from the on-line channel, delivering far higher GPs than traditional retail channels.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?A few things really: (1) relaxed environment, (2) great network of friendly and smart people who are keen to work together, (3) some really inspiring business success stories that we can learn from.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Chisholm Park Golf Club. Golf is a real passion and standing up on the ninth tee looking out to the Pacific Ocean really makes you feel like you are living in the greatest place in the world.

Luke Johnston BrandAid - FounderDesign

What do you do, and why is it important?We work on a wide variety of brands from diverse sectors, including aircraft manufacturing, fashion, nanotechnology, food and beverage and many more, including that brand on the cover.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?I don’t know, I am not big on planning ahead. I have lots of ideas that I haven’t thought of yet. I have never written a business plan and I don’t intend to start now. My belief is that if you do good work, people will come.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The people. People down here are wired up differently. There is a lot less bullshit. We are generally not good at promoting ourselves, which means there are lots of amazing people doing great things that you have never heard of. The work I do means I am constantly coming across these people.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Doctors Point, where I live with my family.

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Craig Foley Foleys Plumbing - Chairman

Services

What do you do, and why is it important?We are the South Island’s largest plumbing and electrical firm. We’re a family business based in Dunedin for over 75 years and although we now have over 100 staff in seven locations we still pride ourselves on our simple family values. We want to be a great place to work providing quality workmanship for our customers. We are continually striving to offer the best possible value to our customers. To do this we make the most of our unrivalled buying power, drive efficiencies in our business but importantly employ and invest in the best people around. If we can stick to that simple philosophy we hope to continue growing for the next 75 years.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Rather than a leap in our organisation we are focused to keep growing at a steady rate. We still have a lot of opportunities in the markets we operate in. We’re sure that if we stay focused on keeping our customers happy and investing in people we will continue with our strategy of managed growth.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The people. Dunedin people are friendly and always keen to lean a hand; we’re quite humble people too.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Forsyth Barr Stadium. It’s a great facility that always provides an exciting atmosphere.

Charmaine Reveley Charmaine Reveley - Designer Design

What do you do, and why is it important?I’m a fashion designer and have my own label “Charmaine Reveley” which I started in 2003, after graduating from Otago Polytechnic. My collections make women feel effortlessly sexy, with simple and feminine easy to wear yet beautiful garments made from luxury, high end quality fabrics including silks, sequinned laces and prints.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?I’m planning a big year with an on-line store in the pipeline. We have an exciting winter season ahead, with two new accounts coming on board which will help to grow our national customer base. In this industry you are always trying to build on each range and look for ways to be more successful. It’s important to keep things fresh, push the boundaries and give customers a product that they will love.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?There is a thriving fashion community here and it is incredibly supportive. We get behind our local labels and are proud of them. By being based in Dunedin I’m part of a community that is a bit more relaxed than elsewhere. It allows you to focus on being creative. We’re also lucky to have a community who get behind iD Dunedin Fashion Week, which has a real heart and soul.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?My favourite place to visit is the Otago Farmers Market. I love the social aspect of this market and being able to support local producers. It also makes me get out of my studio on a Saturday morning where I spend a lot of time. It too is one of my favourite places – it’s peaceful, calm and in one Dunedin’s stunning heritage locations.

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Scott Cardwell Language Perfect - Marketing Manager

Technology

What do you do, and why is it important?We provide language learning software to over 100,000 high schoollanguage students from around the world. With the advent ofcomputers, we can revolutionise the way in which we learn. We canmake a meaningful impact on people’s lives in a way that’s scalable,sustainable and environmental. It’s very exciting to be working amongthe pioneers of the digital education revolution and even better that wecan do it all from New Zealand!

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?It’s about taking our product truly global. There’s some huge opportunities in America, UK and Europe.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?It’s certainly the people and the lifestyle. We’ve recruited local talentto join our vibrant team and it’s such a pleasure coming in to workwith them every day. Also Dunedin has some of the most beautifullandscapes in the world. Being able to skip out of the office for a couplehours to go riding along Highcliff Road or running up Mt Flagstaffis an absolute joy which you only get by working in a little city likeDunedin where nature is right on our doorstep!

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Signal Hill Lookout is definitely my favourite place in Dunedin. Theview is spectacular and always different depending on the weather andtime of day. Plus it’s always a treat getting to the top after running upSignal Hill Road knowing that it’s all downhill from there!

Greg Mirams Techion Group Ltd - Managing Director Technology

What do you do, and why is it important?I manage a business that builds and develops disease diagnostic tools and management systems for farmers, veterinarians and researchers to minimise drug use while ensuring animal welfare and performance is maintained. We also specialise in getting technology applied, adopted and delivering for farmers.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?To change the technical delivery of our products by utilising smart digital technology to enable remote location diagnostics. This change will increase and accelerate our ability to reach and service customers wherever they are in the world

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?It has to be the people; there are some very clever people working around the city on some clever stuff and most are happy to share and assist others. The city is also big enough to get most things you need in business, yet small enough that you feel part of the business community. You can simply get things done here more easily without the daily logistical battles that you experience in other larger centres.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?There are a number, but it has to be the Stadium, I’ve been lucky enough to attend a range of events there and it’s simply a unique and special facility that’s unmatched anywhere else in the country.

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Damien van Brandenburg Architecture van Brandenburg - Architect

Design

What do you do, and why is it important?Architecture van Brandenburg is a design studio which is involved in various disciplines ranging from Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban design, Sculpture, and Furniture design. Our designs are inspired by forms found in nature. This has resulted in creating shapes that are always curvilinear, since there are no straight lines in nature.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?One of our larger projects is a building for headquarters for a leading Chinese fashion label in Shenzhen, China. This has resulted in expanding our studio to undertake a 300m high skyscraper in the CBD.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Dunedin is a city of a scale which is neither too big nor too small, with the necessary resources to cater for our business needs without the hindrances of large city congestions. This allows us to focus on what we need to do with fewer disturbances that can occur in larger scale cities. With this scale comes a community which is welcoming and supportive, and it constantly amazes me with the number of talented people that reside in Dunedin.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?For me, walking through the Cloud Forest in the Orokonui Ecosanctuary is very special, and a privilege to have this natural wonder in such close proximity to the city. It is a place where I find inspiration in nature, where I am humbled by the surrounding environment and I am uplifted by its beauty. Dunedin is fortunate to be surrounded by many other beautiful natural settings too.

Jess Waterhouse Fisher & Paykel - Marketing Assistant Manufacturing

What do you do, and why is it important?I provide and contribute to the support information for new Fisher & Paykel’s cooking and dishwashing products, which involves market research, brochures, training material, point of sale and maintaining various websites for all of our global markets. It is important that all the product marketing is consistent with Fisher & Paykel’s global brand image and achieved in a timely and effective manner.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Exciting times as Fisher & Paykel Appliances have been busy in the last two years designing and developing new products for release in the coming year. This year we will release new cooking products, such as the Gas on Glass Cooktops and Gas on Stainless Steel Cooktops, which are designed and developed here in Dunedin. We are also releasing new refrigeration and laundry products. Our brand direction with the Social Kitchen continues to develop and Fisher & Paykel’s cooking blog called “Our Kitchen” has some exciting development plans.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The people. Every Fisher & Paykel cooking and dishwashing appliance is designed right here in Dunedin by the product development team. They are all passionate, creative people; interacting with them everyday makes the world of household appliances interesting.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Dunedin is full of vibrancy and potential. Some of my favourite places are the Octagon with its liveliness, the stunning view from any hill in Dunedin, and the Sunday drive adventures to Dunedin’s surrounding beautiful spots.

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Emily Cooper Silkbody - Designer/Director

Design

What do you do, and why is it important?I design a range of women’s, men’s and baby’s wear. Silkbody is luxe lifestyle clothing for everyday and travel. Our fabrics are predominantly made of silk, the most incredible natural fibre with unique properties and benefits. For instance, it’s as warm as merino but so much more comfortable. Our clothing is rather addictive. Once people try it they can’t seem to get enough. Warm and cool at the same time, super soft and stylish, it’s the perfect blend of form and function that makes it an important part of devotees’ everyday lives.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?The world is changing and on-line sales are the focus now. We’re excited about selling on Amazon and also about honing our own on-line store shopping experience for our dedicated customers, with rewards and special services.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Our location in the “Moray Quarter” part of town. We are surrounded by talented, creative and supportive people. It’s a wonderful working environment, and this is only a snippet of the talent that exists in Dunedin.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?The hidden pockets of mown space in our wonderful green belt.

Colin Brown TracMap - Managing Director Technology

What do you do, and why is it important?We specialise in systems for people operating vehicles in demanding outdoor locations. For example, over half the fertiliser spread by trucks, tractors and aircraft in NZ is applied using TracMap GPS guidance systems. Some other examples are Search and Rescue Helicopters, and farmers shifting irrigation sprinklers by ATV quad bike. The reason it is important is that it provides users with a huge 20% productivity gain, as well as automatic mapping of what was done. This means increased profit for our customers, as well as the ability for our farmers to easily prove they are adopting sustainable and traceable farming systems.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Expansion into the emergency services and utility services sectors in Australia. We are best in the world at making it easy to teach busy people with no training how to use our system, to go to a specific place and do a specific task, and then be able to prove it afterwards. This has great application for those who don’t have the time or inclination to learn or to use more sophisticated systems.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Its not big. Every time I travel I get reminded of the huge disruption and cost to business due to travel distances and traffic jams in large metropolises. Plus, it’s a great place to live and attract world class staff, due to the variety of great outdoors on our doorstep. And, it has all the services we need to operate.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?That’s easy - the Stadium (especially when we win). And Mosgiel.

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Jon Thom Moodie Tuesday - Creative Director

Design

What do you do, and why is it important?Moodie Tuesday is a boutique t-shirt label. MT is important because the garments feature my original artwork, all tees are limited edition with only 20 ever made worldwide. At this stage we are really focusing on our online customer experience and trying to create something meaningful. We are dealing with art so I become quite attached to each of the prints; we are trying to find a happy medium between running a sustainable business and maintaining the integrity of my art. The rest of my time is devoted to my other business Motion Sickness Studio, a multidisciplinary design company.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?The next step is to produce a strong range of basics then begin releasing a limited edition range of shirts, bomber jackets and chinos. The tees will continue to strongly feature in the future, however I want to test myself further and see what Moodie Tuesday can become.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I have been fortunate to have a lot of people support me since moving to Dunedin four years ago. People here are down to earth and keen to share their wisdom. I love that Dunedin is a compact city and things are within walking distance. There is something special happening here at the moment, a number of young businesses are beginning to enjoy success. This makes Dunedin an appealing place to live and work.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?My studio on Lower Stuart Street, it has great natural light and views looking north over the city. I work with a group of driven young dudes up there. These things make it an amazing space to work in. Work stops being work which is nice.

Dr Rebecca McLeod Oritain Global Ltd - Science Liaison Food Science

What do you do, and why is it important?We provide a service for food and beverage producers to scientifically verify the authenticity of their product. Food fraud is becoming so prevalent these days that there is huge value (and protection) for producers in being able to determine whether product with their label on it is in fact theirs. And consumers want reassurance that the food they are feeding their families is true to label. Our current clients produce infant formula, wine, meat, seeds, fruit and vegetables. My role is as a scientist, but also as a communicator of our findings to clients and the public.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Whilst we have some exciting work going on overseas, we can all see the huge potential to expand our business within the New Zealand exporting community.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?The abundance of clever minds and the great coffee.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?Any of the wild beaches - I couldn’t possibly choose just one!

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Jo Morshuis Headquarters Group - Managing Director

Retail & Hospitality

What do you do, and why is it important?I run Headquarters Hairdressing Limited which is made up of several different brands: Headquarters Hairdressing, Haircare Market, Express Cut & Colour and Southern Salon Supplies. Collectively we have 12 branches from Wellington to Invercargill. My role is to manage business development for the company and source our salon furniture and products from around the globe. This takes me overseas several times a year. I also mentor and help to grow our licensees and own salons. I plan our marketing campaigns and ensure they are implemented and have an obligation to ensure continuing employment for our workforce.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?We have just set up our new Southern Salon Supplies warehouse in Wellington, so getting it up and running will be an exciting challenge for us as it is an area we have not done business in until now.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Dunedin is a very friendly and easy place to do business. No traffic jams and it has a real community feel about it. I enjoy visiting our other sites but it is always good to come home.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?The Taieri - going home to the peace and quiet is always very calming.

John Whitaker Farra Engineering Ltd - Chief Executive Engineering

What do you do, and why is it important?Farra is a diverse engineering company that helps look after the manufacturing infrastructure in the lower South Island, as well as designing and building some really innovative machines that we send all over the world. Manufacturing is critical to the economy as it’s the driver of employment and economic growth, though that isn’t sufficiently recognised, so the better we are at what we do, the better for us all. And everyone talks about export led growth; well, we do our bit.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?Farra has been around for 150 years and has always been true to its core businesses so there aren’t great leaps that the company takes where it charges off in new directions, rather it simply recognises opportunities based on our engineering strengths and quietly goes about following those. In recent years we have invested significantly in CNC machine capabilities to improve shop floor productivity and further game changing technology will most likely be our next investment.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?There is an honesty about people and businesses here that is good and an excellent cooperative nature between businesses who are at times competitors to one another. Dunedin’s size also means there is a good infrastructure of businesses, education, sport and culture, but of course it’s small enough that you can enjoy that without frustration. And we are only a couple of hours away from Central Otago.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?My favourite place, other than Emerson’s Brewery of course, are the views of Port Chalmers and the harbour from my mountain bike.

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Arjun Haszard Quick Brown Fox - Liqueurist Retail & Hospitality

What do you do, and why is it important?Quick Brown Fox is a liqueur, made from organic coffee and cinnamon. The importance of it is more about what it stands for; it’s made from completely natural ingredients with an underlying ethos of social good. Only rarely do we catch up with our close friends; QBF aims to make that time a more valuable experience.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?I’m currently only just managing to satisfy 50 retailers around the country. The next step is getting to the coffee lovers in Australia. I’ll also be creating other liqueurs. Coffee is a complex ingredient with much variation and Strictly Coffee are helping me experiment with different origins and roasts.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I had a tremendous amount of support from the business community when I started. I was fortunate enough to meet a few well connected people who genuinely wanted to help. Dunedin has a great coffee scene which is critical for me. The Strictly Coffee team were my taste testers during my development phase and needless to say it took a while to taste more and more like coffee. I also like how close everything is. I can live and work in the central city and most of my network is a walk away.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?I am delighted to say my favourite place is where I have my office space, just above the stunning Salisbury Boutique. I am surrounded by talented, passionate and sometimes quirky people. We’re surrounded by beautiful old buildings and there’s a real feel that it will grow into something magnificent.

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Michael Macknight ADInstruments - Founder & CEO

Technology

What do you do, and why is it important?I run Headquarters Hairdressing Limited which is made up of several different brands: Headquarters Hairdressing, Haircare Market, Express Cut & Colour and Southern Salon Supplies. Collectively we have twelve branches from Wellington to Invercargill. My role is to manage business development for the company and source our salon furniture and products from around the globe. This takes me overseas several times a year. I also mentor and help to grow our licensees and own salons. I plan our marketing campaigns and ensure they are implemented and have an obligation to ensure continuing employment for our workforce.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?We have just set up our new Southern Salon Supplies warehouse in Wellington, so getting it up and running will be an exciting challenge for us as it is an area we have not done business in until now.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?Dunedin is a very friendly and easy place to do business. No traffic jams and it has a real community feel about it. I enjoy visiting our other sites but it is always good to come home.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?The Taieri - going home to the peace and quiet is always very calming.

What do you do, and why is it important?I developed the product originally and as CEO, I am now responsible for running the company. My particular passion is R & D, taking technology and developing state of the art solutions in our market area. It is great fun coming up with products that have never existed before and then marketing and selling them.

What’s the next leap for your organisation/business?The internet and mobile platforms are changing the way people work and we are working on ways we can use these technologies to provide great solutions for our customers.

What’s the best thing about working in Dunedin?I get to work with people as good as you would find anywhere in the world in a place that is so easy to live.

What’s your favourite place in Dunedin?My house. Here in Dunedin I can have a bit of land and switch gear in the weekend, but still live only 18 minutes away from the office.

AbacusBio Limited 1st Floor Public Trust Building 442 Moray Place Dunedin 9016 www.abacusbio.com, +64 3 477 6375 p1

ADInstruments PO Box 587 Dunedin 9054 www.adinstruments.com, +64 3 477 4646 p33

Adventure Media Group Level 1 The Imperial Building 1 Dowling Street Dunedin 9016 www.adventuremediagroup.co.nz, +64 3 742 1186 p9

Architecture van Brandenburg 286 Princes Street Dunedin 9016 www.vanbrandenburg.co.nz, +64 3 477 4177 p25

AREO 90 Crawford Street Dunedin 9016 www.areo.co.nz, +64 3 474 0833 p15

ARTEMIS 16 Fingall Street South Dunedin Dunedin 9012 www.artemis.co.nz, +64 3 456 1551 p17

BrandAid PO Box 138 Waitati 9069 www.brandaid.co.nz, +64 3 477 4761 p18

Charmaine Reveley PO Box 316 Dunedin 9054 www.charmainereveley.co.nz, +64 3 470 1982 p20

DirectoryEscea Ltd P O Box 5277 Moray Place Dunedin 9058 www.escea.com, +64 3 478 8220 p7

Farra Engineering Ltd P O Box 672 Dunedin 9054 www.farra.co.nz, +64 3 477 5892 p30

Freeload Ltd 286 Princes Street Dunedin 9016 www.freeload.co.nz, +64 3 474 8619 p10

Fisher and Paykel Level 2 Wall Street Mall 211 George Street Dunedin 9016 www.fisherpaykel.co.nz, +64 3 467 7600 p24

Foleys Plumbing PO Box 7002 Mornington Dunedin 9040 www.foleyplumbers.co.nz, +64 3 478 8009 p21

Headquarters Group PO Box 5250 Moray Place Dunedin 9058 www.headquartershair.co.nz, +64 3 477 0472 p31

Igtimi Level 2 The Imperial Building 1 Dowling Street Dunedin 9016 www.igtimi.com, +64 3 477 0930 p6

Language Perfect PO Box 6552 Dunedin 9059 www.languageperfect.com, +64 3 669 0311 p23

Mild-Red PO Box 5249 Moray Place Dunedin 9058 www.mild-red.com, +64 3 470 1303 p13

Moodie Tuesday Allbell Chambers 127 Lower Stuart Street Dunedin 9016 www.moodietuesday.com p29

Moving Pixel Level 2 The Imperial Building 1 Dowling Street Dunedin 9016 www.movingpixel.co.nz, +64 3 742 1017 p11

New Zealand Honey Co. PO Box 44441 Mosgiel 9092 www.newzealandhoneyco.com, +64 3 489 8845 p19

Oritain Global Ltd. Private Bag 50034 Mosgiel 9053 www.oritain.com, +64 3 489 0086 p8, 28

PocketSmith Centre for Innovation 87 David Street Dunedin 9016 www.pocketsmith.com p16

Quick Brown Fox PO Box 6198 Dunedin 9059 www.quickbrownfox.co.nz p32

Silkbody PO Box 5155 Dunedin 9058 www.silkbody.co.nz, +64 3 474 0425 p27

The Strictly Coffee Group 137 Frederick Street Dunedin 9016 www.strictlycoffee.co.nz, +64 3 479 0017 p12

Techion Group Ltd PO Box 5057 Moray Place Dunedin 9058 www.techiongroup.co.nz, +64 3 477 7555 p22

TracMap PO Box 90 Mosgiel 9053 www.tracmap.com, +64 3 489 2952 p26

Photography James Stringer www.jamesstringer.com

Design Glow www.glowconsulting.co.nz

www.DunedinNZ.com/Business

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