Judges of the Bay of Plenty Export NZ Awards for 2014 says they are impressed by the variety of businesses entered this year with no two companies from the same sector.

Mount Maunganui business Powersmart Solar is a finalist in the Sharp Tudhope Lawyers Exporter of the Year Award.

The awards ceremony is at ASB Baypark on Friday June 27.

'As usual tickets to the awards sold out months ago, with almost 500 local business people keen to be a part of this stellar event, celebrating export success in the Bay of Plenty,” says ExportNZ Executive Officer Angela Wallace.

Finalists:

United Travel Business Emerging Exporter of the Year: Heilala Vanilla, Miraka, Global Roofing.

The award celebrates companies, from within the Bay of Plenty which have made the most remarkable leap forward in start-up exporting. The award is not sector specific and the entrants will have been exporting for less than five consecutive years.

Page Macrae Engineering Innovation in Export Award; Discovery Marine, Balex Marine, Douglas Creek.

The Page Macrae Engineering award recognises a Bay of Plenty business displaying outstanding innovation in exporting. Innovation can include a product or service, leadership, positioning or branding, marketing, sales channels, technology, creative pricing strategy or similar that is distinctly different and differentiates the business.

Bay of Plenty Tertiary Partnership Export Achievement Award: Eric Oversluizen, Oasis Engineering, Heather Logie, MSM Sales Management Specialists, Colin Baskin, Comvita.

The Tertiary Partnership award nominees are often the unsung heroes of their business. The award provides an exporter the opportunity to recognise a material contribution to their export success by a particular individual within their company. Entry into this award is through nomination only.

Zespri International Service to Export Award: The winner will be announced on the night.

Entry is by nomination only and recognises and honours an individual who may or may not be directly involved with exporting, but in the view of the judges has made a significant contribution to exporting success in the Bay of Plenty.

This award is decided by past winners of the award who include; Gwenda Merriman, Kay Rogers, Catherine Simmons, Graeme Boyd, Lionel Crawley, Bob Sievwright, Alan Bougen, Murray Davies, Jon Mayson, Murray Hill and Rob Jeffrey.

Sharp Tudhope Lawyers Exporter of the Year Award: Avocado Oil NZ, Surtees Boats, PowerSmart.

This is the big award of the night and is for companies who have achieved extraordinary and sustainable export growth. The business will have been engaged in generating significant export earnings for that business and New Zealand for more than five consecutive years.

More information about the finalists:

Heilala Vanilla began as an aid project in 2002 following a cyclone in Vava'u Tonga. Drawing on his horticultural know how and appreciation of the Tongan way, dairy farmer John Ross started with a block of dormant land in the village of Utungake.

It took three years to develop the vanilla plantation and to begin exporting Vanilla beans back to Tauranga where a range of the most exquisite, 100 per cent pure vanilla products for specialty retail, chefs and gourmet food manufacturers are developed.

Global Roofing

Global Roofing provide their export customers with a full turnkey metal tile roofing solution in a unique offer that creates a new business opportunity for their customers.

The business model makes Global Roofing a clear market leader in the global metal roofing industry. The ability to provide customers with a full range of services to take them from concept to commercialisation is innovative and ground breaking within the traditional metal roofing industry.

Miraka

Miraka manufactures and sells whole milk powder, most of which is exported. In three years Miraka has gone from an unknown Dairy Industry start up to a successful and respected company with export revenues in excess of $200 million and nearly 70 new jobs.

Miraka has completed the construction of a UHT Milk Plant adjacent to the existing whole milk powder plant and is expecting to commence production shortly. All initial production will be exported to China.

Discovery Marine Ltd

Discovery Marine Ltdprovides Hydrographic Survey Services for navigational charting, construction, environmental monitoring, seabed inspection, salvage support, tidal studies and other associated services. They are specialists in combining data sets from both land and hydrographic surveys.

Balex Marine

Balex Marine's Automatic Boat Loader automates the launch and retrieval of a trailer boat, eliminating the need for wet feet, or clambering down a slippery boat ramp to attach the winch. No more cranking on the manual winch or slow unreliable electric winching.

The Balex Automatic Boat Loader creates a new product type in the marine sector and a new offer for manufacturers, retailers and consumers. The ABL allows a person to load and unload their boat in a controlled way.

Douglas Creek Ltd

Douglas Creek Ltd is the marketing and distribution arm of parent company Cashmere Processors Ltd, which processes natural textile fibres for the fashion industry. In 2001, it developed a new natural fibre from the New Zealand Red Deer, Cervelt(TM) which it has introduced to the European textile and apparel industry.

Cervelt

Cervelt is first new commercial down fibre presented to the market in over 200 years. Yarn spun from Cervelt is used by companies such as Hermes, Giorgio Armani and Borsalino. In 2012, the London shoe maker Harrys of London, released an exclusive line of men's socks made of 100 per cent Cervelt marketed as "The Most Exclusive Sock in The World" and sold for NZ$1750 a pair.

Avocado Oil NZ

Avocado Oil NZ manufacturs and markets of premium quality cold pressed extra virgin avocado oil and associated products.

The Company was established by a group of local avocado growers, who pioneered the commercial production of avocado oil and 14 years on it remains a 100 per cent locally owned and operated business.

The company has achieved worldwide success with the uniquely green and highly nutritious oil, and the company has entered a new phase of the business and aims to produce a world first 100 per cent pure Avocado Powder.

PowerSmart

PowerSmartis a solar power integrator with over 15 years of design, installation, commissioning, and project management experience in the global photovoltaic industry. The core business is the design and installation of high quality solar power systems across New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific, and Costa Rica. PowerSmart is New Zealand's largest and premier specialist solar power system integrator and have a wide breadth of experience across the full range of solar power applications.

Surtees Boats

Surtees Boats designs and builds aluminum trailer boats for fishing and recreational use. The boats are designed to use the same parts on the different models so customers can get the boat they want but the parts inventory is less which helps speed up build time per boat.

Half of Surtees boats are exported. Surtees Boats are known for excellent sea handling capabilities, being designed for fishing, for their good looks and being tough.

Surtees Boats won the Emerging Exporter of the Year Award last year, and are looking to take out the big award this year.