A forum for Canberra exporters to network, share knowledge and expand their export activities

The ACT’s top exporters were honoured today at the 2011 ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards Presentation Lunch, held at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. 

Aspen Medical was named the 2011 ACT Exporter of the Year as well as being awarded the 2011 Large Services Award and the 2011 ACT Export Hall of Fame Award.

The Hall of Fame Award is given in recognition of an ACT business which has provided long term contributions to the ACT exporting community and promoting the ACT on the global stage.  This Award is only granted when there is a deserving recipient.  The Large Services Award recognises outstanding export achievement in a recognised services industry such as the consultancy, fashion, finance, insurance, engineering, legal, health, design, community, sports, events and tourism sectors with total annual sales of $15 million or more.

Aspen Medical was founded in March 2003, and provides complete healthcare solutions for customers, supplying whatever is required to meet customer and patient needs including people, facilities, equipment, consumables, pharmacy products, procedures or any combination to deliver the highest quality health services. 

Aspen Medical’s first three contracts were exports: in the UK in 2003 and 2005, and the Solomon Islands in 2004. Since 2005 Aspen Medical has won further business in the UK, US, Timor Leste, the Middle East and Indonesia, and opened offices in the UK, USA and Canada.  2010-2011 has proven to be a phenomenal year for Aspen, and its best export year to date. 

 The other 2011 Category Award winners are:

Benjamin Shine Studio – Arts and Entertainment Award.  This Award  recognises outstanding export achievement across all cultural industries including fine arts, performing arts, electronic and on-line entertainment:  Benjamin Shine Studio is a creative studio established in Canberra in late 2008 which focuses on the creative development of ideas for a diverse range of markets, including public and private commissioned mixed-media artworks, fashion collaborations and product design.  The studio explores and develops new ways to create unique and desirable works in art and design through sustainable and environmentally-aware methods, such as recycling and upcycling.  The artworks and products combine constructional ideas and techniques with technology and craftsmanship, creating original pieces that are visually intriguing and practical in design.

QuintessenceLabs Pty Ltd – Emerging Exporter Award. This Award recgnises outstanding export achievement by an enterprise in any industry sector which has been exporting goods or services for three years or less. QuintessenceLabs was formed in 2006 out of research at the Australian National University.  It develops link encryption and key management products using quantum key distribution to offer the next generation of information security.  Their Quantum Security Product Family (QPSF) comprises a suite of products providing key generation, key distribution, key management, and link encryption and embodies technology that is invulnerable to a range of cybersecurity threats and can be used now, and in tomorrow’s networks. All members of the QPSF integrate easily into existing infrastructure. Their security architecture incorporates the laws of physics, and in contrast to classical systems, is immune to advances in mathematics and computing offering future-proof information security.

Two other business were recognised in the Emerging Exporter category with Highly Commended certificates – mHITS, a developer and operator of a mobile payment technology and services, and IE Asia Pacific which provide tailored products and services that essentially improve the safety of civil Air Traffic Control and the detection capability for Defence radars.

eWAY - Information and Communication Technology Award.  This Award recognises  outstanding export achievement in the field of information and communication products, technology or services. eWAY was created in 1998 to address the need for an easier way for businesses to accept payments via their websites. eWAY is a payment platform, connecting online merchants to banking networks to accept credit card payments through their website. Payments are processed securely in real-time, with the transaction result returned to the merchant’s website within seconds.  eWAY’s achievements include opening a UK office this year, integration into 160 global shopping cart providers and 450 development houses, and processing over 1.5 million transactions per month and over $8 billion in transactions.

Sentinel Pty Ltd – Minerals and Energy Award.  This Award recognises outstanding export achievement in the production or primary processing of extractive and value-added minerals or energy products, technology, equipment and services to the minerals and energy industries. Sentinel  was founded and commenced exporting in 2000. Sentinel designs, installs and manages environmental and water resource monitoring networks. These monitoring station networks continuously record environmental parameters, including air quality, river depths, flow rates and water quality.  Sentinel’s services are used in projects in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific and South America by small and large mining companies including mining giants such as Newcrest, Barrick, Xstrata and Rio Tinto, as well as many other smaller mining companies.  The company employs 15 personnel, has active projects in 10 countries and completed projects in an additional 5 countries. Over 70% of their work is international.

Recruitment Systems Pty Ltd – Small Business Award. This Award recognises outstanding export achievement by any business with total annual sales not exceeding $3 million. Recruitment Systems develops and markets advanced systems for data capture and recruitment operations management to the global recruitment industry. Their core product, known as TRIS Recruitment CRM, helps recruiters effectively manage relationships with their clients and job candidates by better organising key documents and communications. The Canberra-based business was established in 2001 with three employees and achieved its first export sale to New Zealand that year. Recruitment Systems now works with 252 separate recruitment industry clients across a dozen countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, UK, USA and Vietnam.   The company now employs 21 staff, a 20% net gain in staff over last year.

Noetic Group – Small to Medium Services Award.  This Award recognising outstanding export achievement in a recognised services industry such as the consultancy, fashion, finance, insurance, engineering, legal, health, design, community, sports, events and tourism sectors with total annual sales of less than $15 million. The Noetic Group, established in 2001, provides professional services to government and to the infrastructure, energy and resources sectors in Australia and overseas through five subsidiary companies.  Their services cover strategy and knowledge consulting services to all levels of government, specialist consulting services to the US Government national security sector, infrastructure consulting services and delivery of ‘best in class’ solutions to public and private infrastructure organisations in Australia and Asia; general consulting services in PNG; and enterprise risk and regulatory consulting services in Australia and overseas.  Noetic has grown from 2 to 45 full time staff and 200 subcontractors, with annual revenue growth over $7m.

Lipotek Pty Ltd – Microbusiness Award. This Award recognises outstanding export achievement by an ACT business employing less than five people. Lipotek is a small, privately-owned, biotechnology company established in 2001 to commercialise specific technologies developed by the John Curtin School of Medical Research.  Lipotek has developed several platform or enabling technologies for use in a range of human medical applications including the Lipovaxin platform that can be applied to treat cancers, infectious diseases like Tuberculosis, Dengue Fever or for the targeted delivery of pharmaceuticals. They secured their first licence deal with a major UK-based pharmaceutical company in 2009 to co-develop Lipovaxin-MM, a therapeutic treatment product for Malignant Melanoma now being trialed in an Australian hospital.

The Microbusiness Award is a new ACT-specific category introduced this year to recognise the large number of successful Microbusinesses operating in the ACT that employ less than five people.  It was introduced to encourage Microbusinesses that export, but aren’t yet ready to compete at the national level, to use the Awards as an opportunity to showcase their export business locally and prepare for entry into national categories in the future.

Sponsors

The 2011 ACT Chief Minister’s Export Awards are an initiative of the ACT Government, managed and delivered by Canberra Business Council and proudly sponsored by the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, Commonwealth Bank, ACT Exporters’ Network, Austrade, Canberra Business Council, Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, Inland Trading Co (Aust) Pty Ltd, Hyatt Hotel Canberra, Meyer Vandenberg, Sentinel Pty Ltd, Staging Connections, Canberra Times and Why Wurry Internet Solutions.