Success Stories

Past Hi-Tech Awards winner form a ‘Who’s Who’ of New Zealand business success stories and are demonstrative of Kiwi innovation, exporting success and exceptional business growth.

Previous winners, once entrepreneurial start-ups with a passion to succeed, have not only gained worldwide recognition for product innovation, but have successfully listed on the New Zealand and foreign stock exchanges and attracted significant global investment.

Some of the Hi-Tech Awards previous winners and their business achievements.

Endace Measurement Systems
is a network security company, with a market leading technology, providing solutions to companies and government agencies to guard against the growing volume and sophistication of viruses, hackers and other network attacks. In June 2005 Endace became the first New Zealand company to list on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). As at 13 June 2007 its shares were trading at approximately 255 per cent of the issue price.

Gallagher Group
focusses on the Animal Management Systems and Security systems markets, the Group includes the Gallagher Animal Management Systems, Gallagher Security Management System divisions, Sunplas Engineering, Gallagher Plastics, and PEC Fuel Pumps companies. The companies, who draw on the Group's core competencies in research and development, manufacturing, marketing and asset management, have established successful distribution channels in more than 130 countries.

HumanWare
is focussed on enhancing the lives of people with disabilities, HumanWare provides intuitive, intelligent solutions that enable their customers to participate effectively in today’s information intensive and highly mobile society. Pulse Data, a leading developer of Braille and speech technology, merged with Canadian firm VisuAide to become the HumanWare Group in 2005, one of the world's largest companies in the low-vision and blindness industry.

Peace Software
is recognised as a leading provider of software for deregulating energy utilities. Peace employs more than 400 staff in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. In July 2006, Peace Software was sold to NASDAQ-listed global entity First Data.

Rakon Limited
a world leader in the development of frequency control solutions for a wide range of applications. A world leader in GPS TCXO technology, Rakon acquired the Frequency Control Products business (FCP) of C-MAC MicroTechnology in March 2007. In May 2006, the company listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX), with shares now trading at approximately 175% of the issue price. In March 2007 Rakon gained a place in the NZX 50 Index.

SLI Systems
powers the search box on retail and content-rich websites. SLI Systems is an internet company specialising in site search for e-commerce websites which learns from the users searches. SLI, which stands for Search, Learn and Improve, is enjoying considerable success, particularly in North America.

Tait Electronics
is a leading provider of advanced voice and data radio communications solutions for mobile organisations throughout the world. Tait products form the communications backbone for organisations and operations in some 160 countries - from the congested airwaves of Europe and North America to isolated and hostile environments like Antarctica and the Gobi Desert.