Australia’s Top 50 Exporters

In celebration of the recent Australian Export Awards, Cameron Bayley has visited each of the states, with help from Austrade and the Australian Institute of Export, to put together an inspiring list, with case studies, of some of Australia’s top exporters.

How do you create your own international empire?

If you’re in the export game you’ll know there’s no one-size-fits-all formula, but you’ll find plenty of inspiration from our list of some of our favourite export success stories.

Some followed the traditional path of first building a local market, others went global from the start. Their success is idiosyncratic but there are many common themes. Passion, determination, developing and promoting great ideas, finding or creating a niche, respecting and understanding the culture of a target market, building good relationships, delivering what they promise, keeping on when the going gets tough, and coming up with ingenious solutions to problems often outside their control.

In short, entrepreneurs who don’t sit around waiting for opportunity to knock, instead they make things happen. And they don’t always do it by the book. One hasn’t even got a business plan, because “mate, we keep changing the game”. Another’s philosophy for success is profoundly brief: “under-promise, and over-deliver”.

Whatever they do, and however they do it, they’re all winners.

NSW Export Companies

1. The Wiggles

Exporting for more than 10 years, key markets include the US, UK, South Africa and Argentina.

The four Wiggles (Greg, Murray, Jeff and Anthony) were crowned Exporter of the Year at the 2005 Export Awards, and have become a household name around the world, with 70 percent of their business in foreign markets, all produced from their studios in northwest Sydney (they also have an office in North America). The children’s entertainment business now sells into around 60 countries, thanks to a product that is easily translated into different languages and cultures. As well as constantly touring, the Wiggles brand incorporates merchandise such as CDs, DVDs, clothing and toys. The team has also made the most of strategies such as television rights, franchising the concept, and licensing deals to benefit their export plan.

2. Appen

Exporting since 1998, key markets include North/South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Appen provide speech and language processing technology in products such as speech recognition and phonetic transcription devices. Clients include big guns such as IBM, Microsoft, Sony, and Telstra, as well as Australian and US government and defence organisations. While made up of a core team of around 50 staff, the company draws from a pool of over 300 native speakers to assist on individual projects, and according to director Chris Vonwiller, Sydney provides a great source of well-educated, computer literate native speakers in a variety of languages, including Peruvian Spanish and Taiwanese Mandarin.

As large IT companies make up most of their clientele, the company does a lot of business in North America, Europe and Japan, with exporting accounting for 95 percent of the company’s revenue. Appen was named ICT Exporter of the Year at the 2005 Export Awards.

3. aussieBum

Exporting since 2001, key markets include the US, Europe and Asia.

AussieBum’s growing range of swimwear, underwear and leisurewear is going from strength to strength, with 90 percent of sales in foreign markets. After initially being stalled by Australia’s major department stores, owners Sean Ashby and Guyon Holland took the business online and have never looked back. Highly-developed customer service systems—complete with online bilingual translation capabilities—and controlled growth have played key roles in ensuring the company’s success. Just two years ago AussieBum was awarded the national Emerging Exporter award at the 2004 Exporter of the Year Awards, and now sells its wares to around 75 countries.

4. Byron Bay Cookie Company

Exporting since 2002, key markets include the UK, Ireland, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.

Cookies developed by Gary Lines and Maggi Miles are not only found here and overseas, but in the airspace between, on airlines such as Qantas and Virgin Blue. Quality is key, and the team aim to maintain the same quality that was found when Lines and Miles originally baked cookies for their local market. They attribute part of their export success to creating specific market plans, packaging and flavours for each market they target. An office in the UK serves that market as well as enabling them to sell into nine other European markets. They’ve recently increased staff in the UK office as part of a new export strategy to take on the US. The company took home the 2001 NSW Telstra Small Business Award, as well as being named a finalist for the following three years.

5. The Purist Company

Exporting since 2004, key markets include the UK, US, ChinaNew Zealand and Hong Kong.

After developing his first range of products in WA, Will Evans moved to Sydney and set up The Purist Company in 1997 in a small factory in the Blue Mountains. The company’s [Al’chemy] range of hair, skin, and body products (named [A’kin] in international markets due to trade mark issues) trade on the fact they are Australian-made, vegan friendly, and use certified organic ingredients where possible. Industry accolades include success at the 2006 ‘New Woman’ beauty awards in the UK, and the 2006 NSW MYOB Business Award for companies with less than 20 employees. Export plays a big part in The Purist Company’s plans to grow at least 25 percent annually.

6. Infomedia

Exporting since 1997, clients include subscribers from some 160 countries, the latest being the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Infomedia didn’t make a profit until it began exporting, and now it’s found its niche supplying electronic parts cataloguing systems to the global automotive industry. Products are distributed to almost 50,000 dealers in some 160 countries, and are produced in 28 languages. Exporting began when Ford Europe licensed its parts data to Infomedia to produce a version of the company’s flagship electronic parts catalogue, Microcat. From that relationship the company has moved into Ford operations in other countries such as Japan and Mexico, and now counts other major automotive manufacturers such as Land Rover and General Motors among its clients. The company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2000, and as well as its headquarters in Sydney there are support centres around Australia and in Europe, Japan and North America.

7. P.T.W. Architects

Exporting since the mid-1980s, key markets include China, the Middle East and New Zealand.

Established in 1889 (as Peddle, Thorp & Walker), a milestone in PTW Architects’ export journey occurred 100 years later, when, along with Hua Yi Designing Consultants, the company won an international design competition for the Shenzhen Development Bank Head Office project. This gave the company extra confidence to enter projects in foreign markets, and their folio includes a range of prestigious projects such as their collaborative involvement in the Watercube Swimming Centre for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the impressive Palm Jumeirah project in Dubai. Offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hanoi and Sydney help the company maintain their global presence. John Bilmon, managing director, was recently named an Australian Export Hero by the Australian Institute of Export.

8. Croker Oars

Exporting since 1965, key markets include the US, UK, New Zealand, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

Croker Oars are based at Oxley Island in regional NSW and claim to be the second largest oar manufacturer in the world, with their range of oars designed for all types of rowing. Croker Oars’ export success has come largely from word of mouth, and reputation gained from putting their products in the hands of several international rowing teams, such as during the 2000 Sydney Olympics when Australia and teams from around the world used their racing oars. The company now has 26 agents located around the globe and is exporting into some 30 countries.

9. Mulwarra Export

Export can present extreme challenges that the Australian market so far hasn’t suffered, or not directly. This exporter’s success is partly due to determination and figuring out how to work around problems beyond their control.

For Mulwarra Export, it was never a case of making the move into exporting. As the name implies, exporting is integral to the company. Managing director, Greg Darwell, had been involved in export marketing and saw an opportunity to supply beef, lamb, and veal, to five-star hotels through an exclusive importer or distributor in each country, under the one brand. Mulwarra Export now export these plus a range of other products including poultry, seafood, and specialty cheeses.

Established in New South Wales in 1997, the company’s first overseas deal was with Singapore. Indonesia and Hong Kong quickly followed, and now Mulwarra exports to every country in Asia (except Japan) as well as Russia and North America. Being able to supply Halal meats (those permitted under Islamic laws) has meant the company can also enter markets such as the Middle East and Indonesia.

It’s been a steady progression, and the company takes things at their own pace. “We spend a lot of time identifying appropriate channels for an appropriate importer/distributor to work with,” explains Darwell. “If we don’t find an appropriate importer/distributor we don’t go into the market. When we’ve found the right one, who’s got the same focus on quality and service as us, then we look to start some business.”

All exporters come up against challenges, and Mulwarra Export has definitely had its fair share. The SARS outbreak, September 11, bird flu, hotel bombings in Asia (including some of Mulwarra’s customers, like the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta) have all had an impact on the business. As a supplier to airlines, Mulwarra Export certainly felt the recent decrease in air travel due to these world events. “It had a short to medium-term impact on demand and created extreme pressure on prices and margins at the time,” says Darwell. The company had to compensate for this by expanding their supply to hotels in existing markets, and branching out into new ones.

And with an Australian dollar fluctuating wildly in other countries, as well as the other challenges, Mulwarra Export is proof that to make a go of export you need to roll with the punches. “You have to be prepared to stick at it if you believe in what you’re doing,” says Darwell. “Everyone’s got challenges. It’s just a matter of how you manage and make the most of the opportunities as they come along.”

The company has seen the fruits of its persistence, and was named one of Cathay Pacific Catering Services top 10 suppliers from around the world, as well as winning the agribusiness category at the 2005 Export Awards.

Darwell sees many in the meat export game focusing purely on making the sale. For Mulwarra Export that’s not the whole picture. “We don’t work on that philosophy, we work on a long-term relationship.”

On top of that, Darwell says the company works hard to keep the brand known for quality, something he advises any exporter to follow. “Maintain your consistency through your marketing, and results will follow.” And while extremely proud of Mulwarra Export’s achievements so far, he remains a little modest about the company’s export success, saying the formula for export is surprisingly simple: “Under-promise, and over-deliver.”

ACT Export Companies

10. Aspen Medical

Exporting since 2003, key markets include the UK, South East Asia and the Pacific.

Born of a need to provide high quality surgical care in areas of high demand, one of the first jobs completed by Aspen Medical was in the UK. Recognising the UK had “hit a wall with health care”, Aspen Medical sensed an opportunity; visiting areas of need, generating leads and locking in contracts with key players. As a recognised leader in the practice and supply of medical care—they claim to have conducted more urology surgical procedures worldwide than any other Australian company—and building on strengths in co-ordination and logistics management, Aspen secured its niche, with 30 percent of sales in export markets.

11. Ronin Films

Exporting for 30 years, key markets include New Zealand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Although Ronin Films has been exporting on and off for some time, including a huge sale of Strictly Ballroom to Japan in 1992, is hasn’t been until recently that Ronin has focused attention on exporting as a component of its core business activity (10 percent of revenue over the last three years). Fostering business relationships over this time has produced much goodwill and confidence in the strategy to provide quality rather than quantity. And taking care of distribution, production and exhibition arms of the business in-house enables Ronin to establish two-way relationships with key companies overseas. This is particularly helpful in consolidating existing overseas ties and introducing these contacts to new products and services.

12. Tower Software

Exporting since 1995, key markets include the US and the UK.

The IT firm provides records and document management systems for government agencies and regulated industries such as the finance and pharmaceutical sectors. This niche and the strong focus on export (including expectations that overseas staff will overtake the number of local staff) means export sales now account for around 70 percent of total revenue. Tower’s success has been helped by its commitment to strict compliance with international legislative and corporate standards, which has enabled Tower to win prestigious US government contracts. Tower celebrated its 21st anniversary in 2006, the same year its founder, Brand Hoff, was recognised as an ICT Export Hero by the Australian Institute of Export.

QLD Export Companies

13. Bundaberg Brewed Drinks

Exporting since 1987, key markets include New Zealand, Asia, South Africa, the UK, US and UAE.

The company began exporting by sending its ginger beer to New Zealand, and soon became a leader in that market. By 2005, the company was exporting almost a third of its production to around 30 countries, leveraging its reputation on the good name of Australian products in overseas markets and the company’s use of traditional brewing methods. It has distributors on the ground in various markets. Last year Bundaberg Brewed Drinks was named the Queensland Regional Exporter of the Year, as well as taking home the Agribusiness and Regional Exporter of the Year at the 2005 Wide Bay Burnett Region Export Awards.

14. GroundProbe

Exporting since 2003, key markets include Indonesia, the US, Chile and Africa.

Shortly after opening its doors, GroundProbe was contacted by a South African mine following a serious collapse on their mine site. GroundProbe airfreighted its Slope Stability Radar system to them within a week, signalling the start of its export activities. Although a small company, GroundProbe works with the world’s major mining companies because of their commitment to safety, vision to apply new technology, and the resources to support new applications. These alliances have provided the confidence to enter diverse export markets and commit to establishing offshore operations to support clients. GroundProbe was winner of the 2005 Queensland and Australian Emerging Exporter Award, and the Australia–Latin America Innovative Emerging Exporter Award in 2006.

15. Birkdale Nurseries

Exporting since 1990, key markets include China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Birkdale’s first export was to Expo 90 in Japan, and has since gone from strength to strength, with exports now making up 80 percent of their revenue. As well as supplying a wide range of plant varieties, the company also provides consultancy and advice, particularly to international clients in areas such as plant selection and landscape management. It established a production nursery in Guangdong Province, China, to service China, Hong Kong and other markets in Asia and the Middle East. Maintaining relationships within a large network of complementary businesses has played a big part in the company winning major contracts, one of the largest being selected as one of the key plant suppliers to Hong Kong Disneyland.

16. Redmap

Key markets include New Zealand, Phillipines and the US.

Redmap works in the area of information management. While it originally started out as a document-scanning bureau, the company now focuses on email, e-documents, and paper archiving and retrieval. High profile international customers include Sony, Asia United Bank, FedEx and New York Telecom and agreements with companies such as Toshiba and SurfControl have helped the company expand the use of its products around the globe. From 2003, Redmap was named ICT Exporter Of The Year three years running at the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards.

17. Suncoast Gold Macadamias

Exporting since 1986, key markets include the US, Europe and Asia.

One of the largest producers of macadamias in the world, the company is a co-operative of 150 nut growers in Gympie, Queensland. Exporting 70 percent of its products, Suncoast says its success is due to its multi-tiered approach to relationships with customers, making communication between all levels (quality assurance, logistics, R&D) a high priority. Suncoast Gold Macadamias also take a region-specific approach, and adopt taste profiles of certain regions (such as abalone, wasabi and seaweed-flavoured macadamias) to enter new markets that may not be traditional consumers of the product. In an effort to conserve energy, waste macadamia shells supply part of their plant’s power.

18. Russell Mineral Equipment

Exporting since 1996, key markets include South East Asia, South America, North America and Africa.

Russell Mineral Equipment (RME) is a specialist mining equipment designer. Since its first piece of mill relining equipment was shipped to Highland Valley Copper in Canada, RME’s export activity has grown from 30 percent to approximately 90 percent of the businesses overall activity. And while the volume of business in Australia is still strong, the acceptance from the rest of the world has grown significantly, particularly with the growth and interest in the Australian mining industry. A large part of this success is attributable to a focus on tailoring solutions to customers, and providing quality equipment that delivers greater efficiency than previously available. Also, all 93 employees have passion and knowledge to deliver reliable client solutions.

19. Cutting Edge

After making a British television giant an offer they couldn’t refuse, this Queensland company is now forging lucrative deals in other overseas markets.

“It’s a great ego boost to be successful overseas,” says Ray Smith, CEO of Queensland-based post-production company Cutting Edge. And when it comes to working in television, especially reality television, it certainly doesn’t get any better than working for UK giant Grenada Television, or, as he puts it, “the home of television”.

Smith is suitably chuffed with the company’s affiliation with the UK television group, through shows such as I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Making inroads into that market is the company’s greatest export achievement thus far, he says. “The fact is, we took these guys on at their own game, and won,” he adds proudly. “This is a Queensland company winning because we provided a smarter alternative.”

Smith admits Grenada weren’t intending to use a post-production company on the other side of the planet. “They were looking at doing it any place but ours.” However, Cutting Edge tipped the scales in their favour by creating their own software for the work involved (purely because they couldn’t find an existing one they were happy with). “What that did was propel us into the world market,” Smith explains.

Cutting Edge is more than reality television, however. Operating out of their post-production facility, which Smith says is the second largest in the country, the company also works in film, and half of its output is in television advertising. On this front, it’s also had particular success, forging lucrative deals in the Japanese market. “We’ve done that by having two Japanese reps. One full-time in Yokohama, and one full-time in Brisbane. We’ve also established some fantastic representation in New York.”

The company has opened an office in the UK, which Smith says has been invaluable. “It’s an important step for the obvious reason that you are there and you can react very quickly. But it’s more than that. Clients like to see relationships and they like to see commitment.”

He’s quick to praise the Queensland Government for the work it does in promoting state business in foreign markets. “We’ve got a premier [Peter Beattie] who goes overseas and works extremely hard talking to overseas markets about Queensland.” And if Smith is enthusiastic about exporting, he’s equally as passionate about being an exporter from the Sunshine State. “We know every time we step onto the world stage it’s on behalf of Cutting Edge and it’s on behalf of Queensland,” he says. “And this is the smartest state in Australia.”

One of the benefits of export has been the broader scope of work it offers staff, which helps decrease turnover. “By attracting business from overseas we’ve found it augments the very interesting projects we get in Australia,” he says. “It gives our staff an opportunity to work on worldwide projects that really stimulate them. And that helps us to keep them in the long term.”

The future will hopefully see the company build on exporting, which currently stands at around 30 percent of the work undertaken. Apart from that, Smith happily admits he doesn’t quite know what lies ahead. “We’re terrible here at Cutting Edge because we don’t have a business plan,” he says. “And I know that flies in the face of everything you’ve ever heard. But mate, we keep changing the game.”

SOUTH AUSTRALIA Export Companies

20. Steriline Racing

Exporting since 1999, key markets include North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Steriline Racing design, produce, and install starting gates and running rails for the horse racing industry. The company exports to some 40 markets, and has supplied racing venues everywhere from Melbourne to Dubai and Stockholm, as well as the equestrian venue for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Managing director John Fargher credits the company’s success to a strong focus on safety, reliability, durability, quality and service. All products are manufactured in Mount Barker, South Australia, and are accompanied by a technician when sent overseas. Fargher was named an Australian Export Hero in 2004.

21. Astec Paints

Exporting since early 1990, key markets include Japan, China, Malaysia, and the UK.

Beginning in 1978 as specialists in roofing, waterproofing and facade restorations, Astec Paints developed its own products and systems to help building exteriors cope with the Australian climate. The company branched into international markets in the early nineties, exporting into the Asia Pacific region, and now more than 60 percent of the company’s turnover comes from export. Astec Paints have been careful to pay respect to traditional marketing approaches in the countries they enter, such as conducting seminars as a way of introduction to potential clients. Separate websites for the Chinese and Japanese markets facilitate export in those regions.

22. Nukorc

Exporting since 2002, key markets include Europe and the US.

Nukorc was established to provide an alternative closure product to the traditional cork. The last two years have seen the company’s export really take off, reversing their previous ratio of 20 percent export, 80 percent local sales. Nukorc has seen its local sales decrease as Australian wines have been switching to screw-tops, while the American and European markets have embraced the use of synthetic corks, especially key European wine-producing countries such as France (the company’s biggest export market) and Italy. Currently trading in 28 countries, export is a major focus and therefore a lot of time is spent visiting international markets.

23. Haese & Harris

Exporting since 1998, key markets include the US, UK, and Europe.

School textbook company Haese and Harris started its export story sending textbooks specifically designed for the New Zealand education system to the market in the late 1990s (a series which is now adopted by many NZ schools). However, publishing books for students undertaking the International Baccalaureate (IB) qualification has transformed the business’s outlook, and it now exports to 106 countries worldwide, with growth in Asia and India as the number of students taking up the IB diploma in those markets increases. The company attributes its success to a quality product that combines traditional textbooks with electronic technology, personalised customer relations and effective use of the internet to access international markets. Since commencing export, the company’s turnover has doubled.

24. Maggie Beer

Exporting since 1997, key markets include the UK, US, Japan, New Zealand, UAE and Thailand.

Maggie Beer and her husband Colin began selling the gourmet products used in their Pheasant Farm restaurant. It proved so successful they closed the restaurant to focus on selling the gourmet range, which now includes 30 products. In 1996 a state-of-the-art, export-accredited kitchen was established and the company sent its first export to Japan after receiving interest from a local distributor. Using the quality and reputation of Barossa Valley products as their point of difference, two products leading their success have been the flagship Pheasant Farm pate and verjuice. (This is the juice of unfermented grapes, and Maggie Beer claims to be the first Aussie company to commercialise this product.)

25. Outback encounter

While Tourism may not be widely recognised as a valuable export industry in Australia, a company specialising in luxurious and unusual travel experiences to the outback and, literally, off the planet, is rapidly changing that perception.

When Richard Branson was looking for travel agents to handle Australian bookings for his Virgin Galactic endeavour (which offers customers a space trip into zero-gravity), South Australian travel company Outback Encounter was a logical choice. “That was a no-brainer,” says Ian Launder, general manager. “Virgin Galactic is one of those things that went hand-in-glove with what we do.”

Outback Encounter deal in luxury travel experiences, whether it’s an upmarket farm stay (“three star accommodation, but with a five or six star experience”), hiding away in a secluded villa on Sydney harbour or on a private island, or touring via helicopter. “We’ve gone from hosted accommodation through to continually innovating and finding new product and providing what people want,” he explains. “It would be nothing for us to sell a trip of over $200,000.” The company makes no bones about targeting the top end of the consumer market, which Launder says is largely made up of “empty nesters” looking for that trip of a lifetime, not to mention the odd celebrity or two.

With three quarters of the company’s clientele coming from overseas, Launder says it can be frustrating that the travel industry doesn’t get as much recognition as it should for the export it provides. “If you were to ask anyone, people wouldn’t consider tourism as an export business,” he says. “The challenge is linking tourism to export trade. People’s first thought with export is something tangible.”

Most of Outback Encounter’s overseas clients come via a network of travel resellers in the US and UK. “As a company we would be better known overseas than we are domestically, through those networks,” Launder explains. As a result, a lot of time and money is spent going overseas and meeting up with resellers. “It’s also very important to get them here to experience it themselves,” he adds. “Because of the nature of it, because we’re talking about the experience and not just the destination, it’s very hard to convey what you’re getting.” Once their prospective resellers come out and see what sort of experiences Outback Encounter offers, it’s not hard to get them onboard, he adds.

The company also attends trade shows, such as the Australian Tourism Exchange held this year in Adelaide, where they met travel representatives from around the world. The aim is to eventually have an on-the-ground presence in foreign markets, with the lucrative California market at the top of the list.

Launder admits the luxury side of travel in Australia is still relatively new, and faces competition from destinations like Africa and New Zealand, both with established luxury travel industries. And there’s also the “tyranny of distance”, where it’s not just a challenge to get here from anywhere else, but also to get between locations once you’re Down Under.

But the company is seeing its work paying off, due to its unique offerings. “It comes down to the level of service, and the product knowledge. But also to the product innovation,” says Launder. He’s also proud of the fact that the travel solutions offered by Outback Encounter have a two-fold impact on the economy. “Not only is tourism itself incredible from an export point of view, but very important in terms of regional economies.”

While many Australians would prefer to jet off overseas than have a luxury holiday at home, the upside for Outback Encounter is that the opposite is proving true. “From an overseas point of view I think people would put as much credence in the Australian Bullo River experience as they would in shopping in Paris.”

26. Balco

Exporting since 1990, key markets include Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Exporters of oaten hay and grain products, Balco relies on a national network of growers, and its output now accounts for approximately one-fifth of Australia’s hay exports, and half of South Australia’s. The company started in 1990 in the agricultural district of Balaklava by four friends who wanted to rejuvenate a struggling country community. Turnover has grown from $250,000 to more than $40 million since it began operations. The company now has processing plants in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria, and has used funding for research and development to implement cost-effective hay processing systems. Japan makes up 90 percent of the company’s exports.

27. Optimatics

Exporting since 1996, key markets include the UK, US and New Zealand.

Optimatics provide water optimisation services to the water industry. Optimatics’ work centres on the successful genetic algorithm technology based on the research of the company’s founders, two professors and an academic from the University of Adelaide. It has completed some 80 water optimisation projects for water utility companies in three major markets as well as Australia. The company’s growth comes from increasing their international work, and export now contributes 60 percent of the company’s revenue. They received the 2004 Export Development Award from the Water Industry Alliance.

VICTORIA

28. Arrow Karts

Key markets include North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tahiti.

Arrow Karts are a range of go-karts and associated products designed and produced by Drew Price Engineering. Many of the company’s go-karts have found success in national championships around the world. Most of the go-kart production is handled in-house at the company’s manufacturing facility in Melbourne. Around 20 percent of the company’s production is sent overseas, and distributors have been established in key markets.

29. Jenador

Exporting since 2003, key markets include the US and Germany.

Jenador, in the town of Bendigo in central Victoria, is where Jennifer Benaim and her small team creates gem opal pictures, a painstaking process which involves etching an image on a black glass background and then embedding the picture with gem opals. Exporting has come by way of exhibiting at galleries, private commissions, and relationships with interior designers and architects. Work has been exhibited in Las Vegas, New York, and Osaka, Japan, where a variety of works are displayed in the Consulate General’s Residence. After exhibiting in Tucson, Arizona this year, the company made its first sale into Germany.

30. Thomson Perrett

Exporting since 1964, key markets include China, Indonesia, Japan and the UK.

Established by former professional golf player, Peter Thomson, and landscape architect, Ross Perrett, Thomson Perrett is a golf course design firm based in Melbourne. Exporting its services for around 40 years, a London office was established to help increase work in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and help secure projects in Egypt and Turkey. In 2006 the company furthered its work in China by undertaking major projects in Melbourne’s sister city, Tianjin, as well as an 18-hole course in Beidaihe, and a 27-hole course in Guangzhou Province. The company uses an approach encompassing landscaping, urban design and golfing knowledge, to differentiate itself in the world market.

31. Tee2Green Technologies

With a potential global market of 57 million customers, the future looks bright for a portable gadget using G.P.S. technology to give golfers information about courses.

Simon Webb has a passion for golf. In fact, he lives on a golf course. And having spent enough time in golf buggies equipped with built-in global positioning systems (GPS), he figured a portable equivalent was a good idea. “It was a culmination of the right time, with the right technology,” he explains.

Along with three colleagues who share a love of golf and have backgrounds in technology, he founded Tee2Green Technologies in Victoria. Their star product is the SureShot GPS, which takes GPS technology and applies it to the golf green so players can know exactly where a particular hole is from the front, back and centre of the green, and can record individual golf courses and measure shots taken. Subscribers can also download any course from around the world, or system updates, via the internet.

With 57 million golfers worldwide, Webb says export was always on the cards. “It was the criteria when we started that we had to be a global company,” he says. “From day one we went global—in terms of the hardware, design, and the marketing side of the company.”

Their first international sale was to Brazil, via their website, but the company weren’t content to wait for web traffic to get their product into other export markets. “It’s a lot of hard work. There’s no easy way, other than visiting the countries,” explains Webb. “So we’ve attended a couple of big trade shows in the US.” Heading to the PGA Golf Show held annually in Florida, one of the major shows for the golfing industry, was a big factor. “That was great because it gave us exposure to people we wouldn’t normally have exposure to,” he explains. “It really was a case of educating the market, and to do that you’ve really got to visit them.”

Next on the agenda came talking to the media, especially in the US, to establish their name and the SureShot GPS point of difference.

At present, Webb says the device is the only one of its kind with a colour screen, with extra features such as back-lighting and polarised filter making it easier to see on the green. “From an export point of view, we had to make sure we could differentiate our product from the competition,” he explains. This straightforward strategy has paid off, and already the US market makes up half the company’s business.

Making sure the device can measure yards as well as metres, and spell ‘center’ as well as ‘centre’ were things the company had to bear in mind to make sure it could enter markets, says Webb. “Thinking about it from a global perspective stopped us having problems six months down the track.”

The company recently secured a specialist UK manufacturer to take over that side of the business, and to assist growth. “We’re now in 24 markets. What we’ve got to do now is build on the volume in those markets,” Webb says. And the Tee2Green team are looking to add new elements, such as ball-finding technology and the ability to download a video fly-over, for a bird’s eye view of the chosen course.

Webb admits, happily, he was wrong to be hesitant about succeeding overseas. “Australia’s got a great name in the industry,” he says. “To start with I thought it might be something of a hindrance, and people might ask how could it compete with an American or UK product, but it’s been the opposite.” In September this year online US technology magazine PC News Weekly awarded the SureShot GPS its Editor’s Choice Award for performance and value.

And the growing use of GPS technology in car navigation devices and on PDAs is helping people to become more familiar with, and aware of, using a product such as the SureShot GPS, Webb adds, so the timing couldn’t be better. “We’re fortunate enough in that we’ve seen an opportunity and we’re ahead of the game.”

32. RightShip

Exporting since 2002, key markets include South America, Europe, US and Asia Pacific.

RightShip has created a web-based ship vetting system which allows the global shipping industry to find all the relevant information about vessels that are available for charter. Initially serving charterers and shippers, the company widened its client base, targeting the entire maritime industry, such as ports, terminals, and insurers, and has seen its export grow to around 60 percent of its revenue. With a targeted approach to sourcing potential clients in new regions, and building on relationships and good word-of-mouth, RightShip is now selling to customers in 52 countries.

33. Bluefish444

Key markets include Europe and the US.

Bluefish444 produce video capture cards for the broadcast industry. Due to the small size of Australia’s industry, export has been crucial to the company since day one, and export makes up 99 percent of its business. The company now exports to any country that has television, with Europe and the US being their biggest clients. Having a personal presence is vital to the company’s overseas trade, says managing director Craige Mott, and the team attend two industry trade shows each year to promote their products and establish key industry contacts on the ground.

34. QSR International

Exporting since 1995, key markets include the UK, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

As producers of qualitative data analysis software for researchers, QSR International’s first exports were brought about by word of mouth, as local users (academics, teachers, students) spread the word to colleagues overseas. The company’s software is sold into 90 countries, with 95 percent of their exports going into the US and Europe, assisted by four sales offices across these two markets. Having saturated the local academic market, export is a key focus for the company. Forming key relationships with resellers, distributors and strategic partners has seen the company increase the number of resellers by 450 percent over the last 18 months.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

35. Wild Child

Exporting since 2003, key markets include the UK, Ireland, Holland, Czech Republic, and the US.

Wild Child was founded by Leanne Preston in 1997 when she resisted using lice treatments containing insecticides on her children but couldn’t find a natural alternative. While the company’s first export was to Denmark in 2003, negotiating a contract with the huge Boots chemist chain in the UK in 2004 opened the floodgates for more international trade. Exporting is now half of the business, and Preston expects export earnings to overtake Australian earnings in the next 12 months. The company has a representative in the UK and the US to assist with export. Preston and her team have an ongoing focus on research and development for further health care products, and the range now includes 20 product lines.

36. HarvestRoad

Exporting since 1998, key markets include the Netherlands, UK, France and Mexico.

HarvestRoad develops software that provides solutions for digital marketplaces within defence and education industries. Their key product, HarvestRoad Hive, has been created to apply across cultural and geographical boundaries, and one export highlight for the company was when the HarvestRoad Hive was selected by a US consortium to be implemented in organisations and institutions across 50 states. Early in 2006 the company was the first to be acknowledged as conforming to a newly created international set of standards for the industry.

37. Ayres Composite Panels

Exporting since 1997, key markets include Scandanavia, US, Asia, Middle East and India.

Starting in 1996, Ayres Composite Panels has firmly established itself as a leader in providing lightweight materials for use in the interiors of high performance marine vessels. Colin Ayres, founder, created its aluminium panelling after recognising a niche to be filled in Australia’s fast-ferry building industry and the global marine industry. The only company with approval from the US coast guard, Ayres opened a production facility in the US in early 2006. There’s also has a sales office in Europe. Regular trade show exhibitions and maintaining a strong reputation has strengthened its customer base, which includes US space giant NASA.

38. CommtechWireless

Exporting since 1994, key markets include the US, Europe and the Middle East.

Producers of wireless messaging systems, CommtechWireless provide paging systems to a variety of industries including health care, hospitality, childcare and casinos. They’ve been exporting since Omerau Hospital implemented one of their products in 1994, with Telecom NZ rolling out the system in all of the country’s public hospitals the following year. Commtech has a large focus on export—selling its products to almost every country—and maintains continued training of their global partners to provide support for international customers.

39. North Star Cruises

Key markets include Europe and North America.

North Star Cruises offer luxury cruises and expeditions up the west coast and through the Kimberley region, and promote their activity-based itineraries as a point of difference within the high-end travel market. While it has focused mainly on the domestic travel market in the past, the last three years has seen a focus on export dollars. The company took home three awards at the 2005 Western Australian Tourism Awards, including the Western Australian Tourism Export Award.

40. Palandri Wines

Exporting since 2001, key markets include the UK, US, Europe and Asia.

Palandri was established in 1999 to promote WA wines here and overseas. Everything from the label design to its state-of-the-art visitor and winery centre in Margaret Valley is designed to push the company’s international focus. Part of the company’s export approach to maximise sales in the UK market was to sell their wines exclusively to supermarket chains, a move which the company says resulted in the largest shipment of branded wines from WA to the UK. Palandri has learnt to target their product for individual countries, such as introducing their successful three-litre cask into the Scandinavian market, targeting the high numbers of travellers from the region.

41. Divex

Exporting since 2003, key markets include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.

Formed in 2003 to service the Asia–Pacific region, Divex designs and manufactures diving and sub-sea equipment for commercial, professional and military divers. Exports for the company make up 30 to 40 percent of the business’s activities, and these services are divided between the international oilfield support market and the military maritime counter-terrorist market. Divex attributes its success in export to being at the forefront of industry technology and building customer relationships, which are particularly vital in the Asian markets. More than half of the 20 staff have travelled overseas on export business.

42. Lazer Safe

Exporting since 2000, key markets include Western Europe.

Specialising in the research, development, assembly and sale of safety systems for metal manufacturing machines, Lazer Safe was established in 1998. The first export was made two years later, and now export sales makes up 95 percent of revenue. The company prides itself on its global approach to customer service, and the availability of senior staff to fly to any customer if needed. Western Europe is the main market but they’re currently expanding into North America and Asia, with representation in several countries, including Japan, Italy, UK and the US.

43. Supply Direct

Niche is the operative word in this success story. Starting out as a string in a parent company’s bow, this exporter is very grown-up these days and its niche market isn’t small either.

In terms of taking the export ball and running with it, Supply Direct are hard to beat. The supply chain management company was set up mainly to service the needs of its parent company, international mining company Ausdrill, in Western Australia.

But to say things have progressed impressively from its start in the mid-1990s would be an understatement. “In that period of time 90 percent of Supply Direct business revolved around the parent company’s operation in West Africa,” explains Steve Budiselic, group general manager. “It’s now the reverse—90 percent is all other mining companies, with 10 percent service to the parent company.”

Budiselic says that when the company was established the concept of taking charge of all aspects of a mining company’s supply chain needs was unique. However, when Supply Direct wanted to branch out and do work for other mining companies, its strong ties to a parent company were a bit of a hindrance, as potential customers had concerns about its independence. “In a lot of areas Ausdrill was viewed as a competitor and the opposition to some of these areas we wanted to get into,” he explains.

The best plan of attack? “Good service and proving we’re a stand-alone operation,” he says. “At the end of the day, you wear them down and do what they need you to do and that makes all the difference.”

Budiselic also credits Australia’s role in the global mining industry for helping the company enormously and providing opportunities in other markets. “A major reason for our success has been the contact with ex-pat companies that have ventured off-shore,” he says. “They have the best name in the world, without a doubt.”

Although the nature of the company’s job is liaising with suppliers and customers from Australia and all over the world, Budiselic says when it comes to export it pays to keep as much in-house as possible. “The biggest lesson we’ve learnt when growing a market is—do it ourselves. The less third party involvement in any part of our operation, the less chance there is of something going wrong,” he says.

Africa is their biggest market, but Supply Direct now exports to most countries, particularly in Europe and Asia. Offices in Ghana, the UK, and South Africa, are an additional help to sourcing customer needs from countries outside Australia.

The company is making inroads into North and South America, and has just signed a four-year contract with a mining house in North America, one of the biggest gold producers in the world. “Which reflects good things for a small company like Supply Direct in a world market,” he says with a hint of pride.

One by-product of the current skills shortage, he says, is there’s a lot of work out there for companies like Supply Direct, who are supplying services and products to large industries such as mining. “It’s crucial to a lot of operations, they have difficulty in getting those niche areas of expertise,” he says. “It’s a good time for small companies to stand up and provide a specialist service.”

NORTHERN TERRITORY

44. Guppytraders.com

Key markets include China, Singapore and Malaysia.

Guppytraders.com provides international financial market education and training. The business was established by trader, Daryl Guppy, who set up a website in 1996 to provide further information for readers of his first book. With the website receiving a lot of interest, particularly from overseas, the company embraced the internet as an export tool. Now export makes up 40 percent of the business’s revenue. Key to the company’s success in the Chinese market is its understanding of the Chinese financial market, which helps provide analysis for Chinese traders. Guppy’s books and the associated software and other intellectual property are provided in Chinese, and Guppytraders.com’s financial analysis appears in Chinese television and print media.

45. TAAU Australia

Exporting since 2001, key markets include Taiwan, Singapore and the EU.

Founder Bell Huang has taken the advantages of Darwin’s low pollution and high quality mineral water to produce spirulina, an algae that is high in nutrition, containing protein, minerals and vitamins. TAAU is the only company with a licence and patent to produce the product in Australia. With a minute local market, export is the lifeblood of the company, making up 95 percent of sales. Huang attributes this export success to a preference for selling into markets that are willing to pay for quality, rather than engaging in price wars with manufacturers from other countries. The company won the Northern Territory Emerging Exporter award in 2003, and was a finalist in 2004.

TASMANIA

46. Spring Bay Seafoods

Key markets include China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

Spring Bay Seafoods produces, processes and markets a range of blue mussels, scallops, abalone and Pacific oysters. Most is produced in the massive 3,500-hectare marine farm, the largest sub-surface marine farm in Australia. Winners of the state Regional Exporter of the Year Award in 2005, Spring Bay Seafoods became the first company in Australia to market ‘clean shaven’ mussels, installing a state-of-the-art processing facility that removes the beard and leaves the mussel looking decidedly well groomed and ready for the pot.

47. Deep Sea Oils

Exporting since 1994, key markets include Japan, the US, New Zealand, Korea and China.

Deep Sea Oils manufacture bulk pure marine oil products shark liver oil and squalene (which comes from raw shark oil), for use in the health market. Sourcing their product from the Tasman sea and surrounding southern oceans, the company’s first export sales of squalene went to Korea. Now less than five percent of sales come from the domestic market.

48. Stainless Engineering and Design

Exporting since 2004, key markets include France, Ireland, New Zealand and the US.

Stainless Engineering and Design are designers and manufacturers of food processing equipment, particularly in the grading of oysters and other shellfish. Although the local market is strong, it is limited and the company has pursued overseas markets, with staff visiting overseas oyster growers and attending trade shows to broaden their international customer and knowledge base. The company has an agent on the ground in France, their biggest market, and export accounts for up to half of the company’s business.

49. Blue Rocket

Exporting since 2000, key markets include UK, Germany and France.

Because the Australian television animation market is so small, it didn’t take Blue Rocket animation studios long to head offshore. Producing cross-platform short films and cartoons, their first project to get off the ground, Hoota and Snoz, is now available in 115 countries. Blue Rocket has been able to leverage off this television success to take advantage of opportunities surrounding broadband and mobile technology to create animated series for mobile phones, available in 37 countries. Winner of the 2005 Tasmanian Arts and Entertainment Award, Blue Rocket uses licensed distributors to get into other markets, conducting much of its business online.

50. Marinova

While Marinova’s key business interests may sound a little confusing to a layperson, its export success is anything but. And talking ‘fucoidans’ with its C.E.O., you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in a biology class.

Focused on developing innovative medical applications from marine plants, and based in Hobart, Tasmania, Marinova is an early stage biotechnology company dedicated to the development of biological actives from marine macroalgae.

Marinova’s research and development program focuses on the extraction of fucoidans, which are basically sugars derived from seaweed. Then they provide these compounds to be used in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical or cosmetic ingredients.

Sounds complicated, and it is, but CEO Paul Garrott makes it seem pretty simple. This is because he’s not the scientist we were expecting to talk to. Instead, Garrott’s history as a former chartered accountant is about as removed from science as you might get.

His board of directors is made up of similar credentials, and Garrott credits much of the businesses success to this very point. “We’re the only a few biotech companies in Australia with no scientific personnel on the board.” While this might seem a strange thing to celebrate, Garrott says it makes for a more cash flow-focused business. “What’s unique about our company is that only 20 percent of biotech companies in this country are making a profit.” This is blamed largely on what Garrott says is too strong a focus on research and development and a lack of commercial acumen.

Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure, Marinova have carved a neat niche, and it’s a niche on a stage no one else competes on, according to Garrott. “We are the only company in the western world specialising in this field and sourcing our raw material from pristine waters.”

And when you’re dealing with nutraceutical and pharmaceutical clients around the globe, these unspoiled Tasmanian waters, free from metal contaminants, make all the difference in the world.

Like many of the businesses we’ve met in the past, Tasmania’s ‘clean and green’ image works wonders for Marinova. But not all product is sourced from Tasmania, and the company draws on the reserves of Patagonia when necessary.

Revenue for the business is divided into two areas: sales of less refined compounds to nutraceutical companies (for use in over-the-counter supplements) and more refined compounds for pharmaceutical companies for use in medicinal applications.

Although the business is divided into two areas, 100 percent of the business’s income is derived from export sales. In fact the business was ‘born global’ about five years ago after identifying commercialisation partners in the US. Most of the business’s activity is still in North America, although this isn’t exclusive.

What all of this export success comes down to, Garrott says, is the strategic development into new markets. “We’re defining our own niche in markets, with a product that is quite unique.”