Media release Thursday 26 September 2013 It s a hat trick for Aspen Medical Protecting troops on the frontline in Afghanistan is just one project led by the 2013 ACT Exporter of the Year, Aspen Medical whose exports rocketed to $44million in 2012-2013. The Canberra-based healthcare provider won its third straight Exporter of the Year title at the ACT Chief Minister s Export Awards lunch at the Hyatt Hotel a rare achievement which recognises the company s outstanding achievements. In 2012-2013 Aspen s exports jumped 16% from 2011-2012, which represents almost 20% of the company s total turnover. During this time, its worldwide revenue more than doubled and its team doubled in size. Canberra Business Council CEO, Chris Faulks, congratulated Aspen for its incredible achievements. Aspen s success is a testament to the growing strength of the export industry in the ACT, which is increasing by more than 9% a year - the highest rate of growth in the nation, Faulks said. Aspen is a key player within the Territory s vibrant exporting community; for the company to win ACT Exporter of the Year three times in a row is an extraordinary accomplishment. The prestigious Awards recognise the vital services ACT companies provide to clients throughout the world using our country s capital as a base. Aspen, who also won the Health and Biotechnology Export Award, delivers world-class healthcare in remote, challenging and under-resourced environments. Recent projects include providing medical equipment to countries in the Middle East which enables army medical battalions to deploy health care facilities in remote locations in less than 20 minutes. Growth is expected to continue as Aspen leverages relationships with Government departments, the resources sector, Indigenous partners and humanitarian organisations in the US, UK and UAE.
The growth of the Territory s export industry has been reflected with the addition of three ACT-only award categories this year the ACT Exporting Government Solutions Award, the Exporting to Asia Award and the Emerging Exporter Award. The Exporting to Asia award recognises the importance of Canberra s links into Asia, while the Royal Australian Mint was rewarded for its continued leadership in the Government sector by winning the ACT Exporting Government Solutions Award. The winners of this year s ACT Chief Minister s Export Awards are: ACT Exporter of the Year Aspen Medical Agribusiness - Inland Trading Co. (Aust) Pty Ltd Business Services - Northrop Consulting Engineers Creative Industries Bearcage Pty Ltd Education and Training - University of Canberra Environmental Solutions - XP Solutions Health and Biotechnology - Aspen Medical Information and Communication Technology - Seeing Machines Infrastructure and Construction - Windlab Small Business - evalua Pty Ltd Emerging - Quintessence ACT Exporting Government Solutions Royal Australian Mint (ACT only) Exporting To Asia IE Asia Pacific (ACT only) Aspen will join Australia-wide category winners as a finalist in the Australian Export Awards, which will be announced in Melbourne in November. The ACT Chief Minister s Export Awards are an initiative of the ACT Government delivered by Canberra Business Council. Media Contacts: Chris Faulks, CEO Canberra Business Council 02 6247 4199 0421 994488 Hermione Wright, hermione.wright@contentgroup.com.au 6273 0232 0410 872 426
ACT Chief Minister s Export Awards Winners Thursday 26 September 2013 Background information Agribusiness Award: Inland Trading Co (Aust) Pty Ltd Inland Trading Co specialises in the export of premium quality Australian wines to an ever-expanding world market. The wines come from more than 70 wineries and include many of Australia s best labels. In 1996, Inland exported its first wines six cases to Singapore from a bedroom. In 2012-13, it exported more than 360,000 cases to more than 40 countries. Business Services Award: Northrop Consulting Engineers Northrop Consulting Engineers provides consulting engineering services across the built environment. The company started in Canberra 37 years ago and has grown to provide services across Australia and export to South East Asia and New Zealand. Northrop Consulting Engineers exports specialist consulting services to training, defence, emergency services and security sectors. Their key market is providing solutions to high-risk training environments. Creative Industries Award: Bearcage Pty Ltd Bearcage s experience and reputation as a production company with a strong sustainable business model is evident in nearly 20 years in the media industry. Bearcage has increasingly moved into the broadcast and transmedia market diversifying the fee-for-service business. In the past three years, it has focused on international television markets, particularly emerging markets. It has either coproduced or acquired projects in China, Germany, France, UK, USA, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Middle East, Taiwan and Canada. Education and Training Award: University of Canberra The University of Canberra has a strong commitment to international education. The university's Strategic Plan 2013-2017, Breakthrough, gives significant weight to internationalisation. Objectives include building a truly international university that can thrive in the new era of globalised higher education and research. Part of the university s commitment is growing the number of international students studying in Canberra.
Environmental Solutions: XP Solutions Through UK and US export offices, together with a distribution network throughout the world, XP Solutions has grown export sales. The company is establishing operations in Latin America and South East Asia. In 2013, XP Solutions launched xpdrainage; an application for sustainable, low impact stormwater design. With the recent expansion into new markets where environmental sustainability has come to the forefront, this product is poised to capture an emerging market. Health and Biotechnology Award: Aspen Medical Aspen Medical delivers world-class healthcare in remote, challenging and under-resourced environments. In 2012-2013, Aspen Medical s exports grew to $44 million - an increase of 16% over 2011-2012 and accounting for almost 20% of total turnover. During this time, worldwide revenue more than doubled and their team doubled in size. Growth is expected to continue as Aspen Medical leverages relationships with Government departments, the resources sector, Indigenous partners and humanitarian organisations in the US, UK and UAE. Information and Communication Technology Award: Seeing Machines Seeing Machines was founded in 1997 within the Australian National University (ANU) when a professor and three students developed a breakthrough computer algorithm that, through an attached camera, allowed computers to determine a user s eye gaze direction. The company now exports products to 10 countries including Brazil, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. Infrastructure and Construction Award: Windlab Global wind energy company Windlab was founded in 2003 as a spin out from Australia s scientific research institute, the CSIRO. Windlab owns and utilises atmospheric modelling and wind energy prospecting tools to identify and develop ready to build wind farms. Windlab sites now represent over 20% of the renewable energy capacity in South Africa. It is developing 10 further sites in South Africa and multiple sites in Australia and the US. Small Business Award: evalua Pty Ltd evalua provides online electronic tendering and evaluation software. The company recently signed a contract with the New Zealand Government for the Next Generation Government Electronic Tendering Service (NG GETS) for the next five to 10 years. NG GETS is a major plank of the NZ Procurement Reform program and will enable New Zealand to meet emerging World Trade Organisation obligations whilst introducing new standards in government procurement.
Emerging: QuintessenceLabs QuintessenceLabs, a technology leader in quantum science and its application to cyber security has recently partnered with a joint venture of CBA and CISCO called Agora - a cloud-based service delivery platform that will enable the company to deliver unique technology as a service to international markets. ACT Exporting Government Solutions: Royal Australian Mint The Mint (RAM) has produced circulating and collectable coins since the introduction of Australia s decimal currency in 1965. RAM has delivered many international circulating coin projects, culminating in the recent coinage reforms in Samoa (2011-12) and Solomon Islands (2012-13). In 2012-13, RAM achieved $12.9million in export revenue, compared to $14.9million in 2011-12 and $2.9million in 2010-11. This increase was generated by the Solomon Islands coinage reform, international collectable coin contracts and the release of the 2013 Canberra Engineering Excellence Award winning 2012 Southern Sky Crux Curved Coin. Exporting to Asia: IE Asia Pacific IEAP, established in 2009/10, provides niche products, services and solutions that improve the detection capability for military Air Defence Radars and increase safety of civil Air Traffic Control. The company exports products and services to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, with plans to expand into India and Thailand. The company recently influenced change in Malaysian Government regulation for monitoring Radar performance and began work on a complex project on Malaysia s civil Radars.