The Dunedin company was last night rewarded for its perseverance and dedication to Otago by being named the winner of the Westpac Otago Chamber of Commerce Supreme Business Excellence Award at a function held in the Dunedin Town Hall attended by about 340 people.
Chamber president Ali Copeman said in an interview the choice of NHNZ was an interesting one but the company deserved its overall recognition.
"This just proves an existing business can change, adapt and create something new. NHNZ has been flexible enough to understand the nature of a changing media landscape and respond by making its own changes."
With a market-focused approach, NHNZ was made up of three central divisions. Highly regarded for its 35-year plus natural history heritage, the company’s core continued to go from strength to strength in the wildlife "blue chip" arena with the series Big Pacific set to be the company’s largest global co-production to date, she said.
"NHNZ has also cemented its expertise in clip shows through the archive unit which, since launching in 2014, has produced 36 hours of premium archive content."
Following the recent success with United States commissions, NHNZ earlier this year launched a US production division — Outrun the Sun — based in Washington DC.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister John Key attended a signing of a lucrative co-production deal between the Dunedin television company and China Central Television. The agreement allowed NHNZ to officially co-produce more television shows.
One of those projects was a further 60 30-minute episodes of ZooMoo Animal Friends, which became the top show in its time slot in China for the 4 to 14 age demographic. It was viewed by more than 252 million people.
Fifty-two 12-minute episodes of another multimillion-dollar animated series, Panda and Kiwi, had also been approved. A documentary series, How the Silk Road Changed the World, would also be co-produced with China Central Television. It would be three one-hour programmes.
Mrs Copeman said the calibre of entrants for the awards this year was as high as it had ever been.
It was pleasing to see a high number of entries, including the involvement of national franchises.
"There is a lot of energy in the Otago business sector, which is showing positive signs. The thing about the business community is it contributes to the wellbeing of the overall economy. If businesses are doing well, that seeps through to everyone."
If local businesses were doing well, that contributed to employment growth. Providing jobs was another way of attracting migrants to the city, she said.
Headquarters managing director Jo Morshuis received the Mayor’s Award for her contribution to business. Ms Morshuis established her hairdressing business in Dunedin in 1972 and now presided over a diverse company group offering access to hairdressing products and services across all sectors of the market.
The company included businesses in Christchurch and Dunedin, four of which were owned and operated under licence, which ensured the longevity of the company. An integral part of the group was Southern Salon Supplies, which has dedicated wholesale warehouses based in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton. Workplace First Aid Training managing director Phil Hudson received the Future Business Leader award. The biography notes said Mr Hudson’s goal was to build skill within the community and inspire people to take action with first aid and the larger scope of health and safety. His company had taught first aid to more than 90% of all primary, intermediate and secondary schools in Otago.
