Artemis moving to Tauranga

An innovative, multi-award winning plant medicine company is opening a new satellite office in Tauranga this month, based on the competitive advantages of being based here.

Dunedin-based Artemis sells organic natural plant medicines. It has been experiencing double digit growth in recent years and has plans in place for accelerated growth out to 2020, says Priority One business relocations manager, Max Mason.


Artemis founder Sandra Clair. Photo: Supplied

Being closer to Auckland and international markets is integral to achieving these plans. However the company has resisted opening an office in Auckland because of its traffic congestion and high property prices.

'Tauranga appealed because it is within easy reach of Auckland, has the Port of Tauranga at its doorstep, has good future recruitment potential due to talent drift out of Auckland, and has great support services for its growing hub of companies like Artemis that are operating in the natural products sector,” says Max.

Another significant influence on the decision to establish a base in Tauranga is that Artemis's general manager, Leigh Kite, already lives in Tauranga and has been commuting to Dunedin regularly. 'Leigh has just employed a new operations manager who also resides in Tauranga, so she felt the time was right to open up an office here,” says Max.

The new office will be based at the Smart Business Centre in Chapel Street and will open in October.

Currently Priority One is working with 24 firms investigating moving to the Bay of Plenty. If they all move to Tauranga, more that 350 new jobs and $18.5 million of capital expenditure could be pumped into the region.

An additional five firms have contacted him over the last month for support in their decision making process on relocating to the region, says Max.

One is a professional services firm intending to start a new branch and another is an educational services firm, both from Auckland and both intending to relocate to Tauranga's city centre.

'Two others are medium-sized manufacturers who need to build premises before their operations start. One is a high potential export manufacturer from Christchurch and the other is from Auckland,” says Max. The fifth firm is a manufacturer, importer and distributor from the South Island and is considering establishing its North Island sales and marketing office in Tauranga.

'It was a very positive month in that only one of the five firms is considering relocating here for lifestyle reasons,” says Max. 'The other four have based their decision making on the competitive advantages of being located here for their business. These include proximity to the Port of Tauranga and good access to North Island customers without having to be located in Auckland.”

Any businesses contemplating relocating to the Bay of Plenty is advised to contact Priority One.

'It's not a simple decision and, with our experience in this area, we can help smooth the process.”

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