Goodman Asia is the big winner of this year’s Australia China Business Awards, announced at a Gala event in Hong Kong.
Goodman Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX-listed Goodman Group has taken out the top award at the annual Westpac AustCham Australia-China Business Awards in Hong Kong.
Now celebrating its 19th year, the ACBA is a highlight on the Australia-China business calendar, recognising and celebrating the excellence of Australian business across Greater China. The awards are jointly organised by the Australian Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macau, Beijing and Shanghai with the support of Westpac.
This year’s gala awards night, held at Hong Kong’s Grand Hyatt, included special guests Ms Frances Adamson, Australian Ambassador to China and Australian business and finance commentator for the ABC, Alan Kohler, as well as a keynote speech from Ian Bauert, Managing Director (China) of Rio Tinto
ACBA:2011 Winners
Westpac Business Excellence Large
Goodman Asia Limited
This award recognizes an Australian business with more than 100 employees that has demonstrated the most outstanding performance in Greater China over the past year.
Goodman Asia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian-listed Goodman Group, a global fund manager with assets under management of US$19.3 billion, making it the second largest logistics/industrial property group in the world. Goodman operates in 16 countries with 32 offices globally. Its activities are focused on owning, developing and managing industrial property and business space around the world, including business parks, office space, industrial estates and warehouses and distribution centres.
Goodman Asia opened its first offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 2005, followed by Beijing four years later. Goodman Asia will open two more offices in Chengdu and Langfang by year’s end. Currently, Goodman Asia manages assets worth around US$2 billion in Greater China and is the largest industrial/logistics space provider in Hong Kong, owning and managing over 900,000 mô. In China, Goodman manages over 500,000 mô of prime logistics space over seven warehouse and distribution facilities and four development projects.
The Group’s Interlink development in Hong Kong – a 24-level 224,000 mô modern warehousing facility is already 80 percent pre-leased. The project is the first of its type to be awarded both a HK BEAM Gold standard and LEED certifications. Interlink is due for completion in early 2012, and is expected to be Hong Kong’s largest new warehouse project within the next decade.
Goodman Asia’s foray into Mainland China began with a build-to-suit project for DHL in Shanghai. The development is now one of Goodman’s showpiece distribution centres in China, and DHL’s Greater China headquarters. The business has numerous joint-venture and projects in China including most recently, signing a framework agreement with the Langfang Government in May to develop a masterplan for a 5mô site into an eco-city.
Goodman incorporates sustainability into its design principals, operating processes, interacting with government and industry groups and striving for best practice. Goodman has also established The Goodman Foundation – contributing to non-profit organisations that support the needs of the under privileged.
“Since we entered the Hong Kong market in 2005, we have transformed the industrial/logistics property market. We are proud to have lifted the standard of the industrial/logistics properties by continually investing in upgrading works to enhance the properties we have acquired. We plan to do the same in China.”
Westpac Business Excellence SME
Homart Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd
This award recognizes an Australian business with fewer than 100 employees, that has demonstrated the most outstanding performance in Greater China over the past year.
Homart’s vision is to produce and promote quality Australian health supplements and skin care products around the world.
Established in Australia in 1992, and growing from a small family business to now employing 35 staff, Homart specialises in Australian wholesale, global export, contract manufacturing of premium quality Australian health supplements and skin care products.
Homart develops and manufactures an extensive range of over 100 health supplements and skincare products and markets them throughout Australia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, the US and other countries. Homart also provides customers contract manufacturing service (private label) for their health supplement and skincare products.
Its three niche brands in Australia are Top Life, Spring Leaf, and Health N Nature.
Despite the global financial crisis, export sales have continued to grow at a rate of 100 percent y-o-y since 2008 which the company credits to its strong focus and growth in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
“Our market research shows that consumers in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan hold high regards of the quality of Australian health products. We were an early member of “Australian Made” association, and also promote our products as Australian made more proactively than our competitors.”
“Homart Pharmaceuticals proves that growing from a small family business to an international pharmaceutical company takes a tremendous amount of effort and commitment, and we believe, and are determined, to carry it further and higher.”
Homart’s products were the official Exclusive Australian Health Supplement for the World Expo 2010 at the Australian Pavilion in Shanghai.
BDO Business Entrepreneurial
studio505
This award recognizes an Australian business that has demonstrated entrepreneurial excellence in Greater China over the past year.
studio505 is committed to continuously striving to not only designing buildings and structures “but to recast the perception of our worlds.”
The Melbourne-based architecture and design studio has projects around the world, including China, particularly in Jiangsu Province where it recently opened a representative office.
The firm was founded by Melbourne-based architects Dylan Brady and Dirk Zimmerman who met in 2003 while working closely together on the Federation Square project in Melbourne, designing the iconic structure’s facades, folded glass foyers and atrium structures over a period of six years.
Studio505 prides itself on delivering exemplary innovation, elegant integration and sophisticated responses within the complex maelstrom of the design world, working on internationally recognized projects including Melbourne’s famous Pixel building.
In the past two years the Melbourne studio has grown significantly from 13 staff to its current 30.
The studio’s first project in China was the façade design and documentation for the Suzhou Science & Cultural Arts Centre, completed in 2006. Since then studio505’s activities in China have trebled. The studio is currently completing a series of iconic projects in Jiangsu Province including the Wujin Lotus Park, The Wujin Art Gallery and the Lotus Planning and Exhibition Centre. Also under construction is ‘Phoenix Valley’: the Wujin Grand Theatre and Youth Palace, due for completion in late 2012.
studio505’s projects overseas strive to meet and exceed local benchmarks and rating tools for building sustainability. In China, studio505’s Phoenix Valley project is also targeting China 3 Star rating, with green roofs, solar panels, water based heat exchange and highly efficient facades.
“Our experience in China has been established through the power of communication, networks and good relationships. We keep this at the core of our business strategy.”
Business Innovation
Butler Shanghai Inc
This award recognizes an Australian business whose significant innovation has resulted in the successful development of opportunities in Greater China over the past year.
BlueScope Butler is a subsidiary of BlueScope Steel Limited – Australia’s number one steel-making company, playing an important role in the world steel industry.
Founded in 1901, Butler is today recognized as a global leader in design and supply of high quality pre-engineered metal building systems. It also provides relevant design and erection consultancy services.
Butler building systems offer roof and wall panels and other construction products fabricated from high quality raw materials and strict manufacturing specifications. The main applications are used in industrial and commercial buildings in different forms including industrial plants, office buildings, logistic warehouses, supermarkets, shopping malls, and aircraft hangars.
Entering the China market in 1992, Butler established its first plant in 1995 and today has three state-of-art manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou, with more than 1,000 experienced and highly trained employees focused on customer satisfaction.
Since arriving in China, Butler has completed over 3,000 projects across the country, with a total construction area covering more than 42 million mô. Clients in China including Shanghai General Motors, Chery Auto, Motorola, Kodak, Intel, P&G, Wal-Mart, Toyota and the Hai’er Group.
Austrade Business Promotion
OTEK Australia Pty Ltd
This award recognizes a local business in Greater China that has shown excellence in promoting or marketing an Australian product or service.
OTEK is a leading environmental and engineering solutions firm working with Chinese companies both in Australia and Greater China. It also works closely with Chinese governments at all levels along with major Chinese partners and suppliers.
OTEK’s skills include environmental investigation, due diligence, contaminated land cleanup, health and safety, groundwater and heavy metals treatment, and expertise in assisting in defining benchmarks for environmental and remediation issues across Greater China.
OTEK was recently awarded a major environmental clean-up and remediation contract in Hunan Province to provide environmental expertise and technology for the remediation of contaminated land as the country strives towards cleaning up its environment. OTEK’s work in the province will be closely monitored by other local government’s across China and it is hoped the landmark project will help the Australian company establish a foothold in China for working on future environmental initiatives.
CLP Sustainable Development Award
RepuTex (HK) Ltd
This award recognizes the successful implementation of sustainable development programs and process by an Australian company in Greater China.
RepuTex is a leading carbon and ESG analytics firm specialising in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon cost intelligence on the power, energy, transport and metals industries. The company has comprehensive coverage of Environment/Social/Governance research on Asian stocks, with the largest coverage and analytical team in Asia.
RepuTex ESG insights and intelligence is made available to financial institutions, companies and third parties. It also provides in-house training to companies seeking to grow knowledge in ESG and carbon risk exposures. The company has offices in Hong Kong, London and Melbourne.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, RepuTex has assessments in the market for over 2,500 companies globally covering over 30 markets. Its principal areas of commercial activity are Australia, Hong Kong, China and the United States.
In June 2005, RepuTex’s Australian Chief Executive Officer was approached by a Chinese government contingent to participate in a specialist workshop to explore future risk factors for Chinese business and community based organisations. Following the event, interest from senior Chinese officials led to the establishment of a RepuTex WOFE in Shanghai in November 2005, with the support of the IFC.
Since 2006, RepuTex has actively driven the agenda of sustainability performance measurement in China providing specialised advice to various organisations including Chinese government bodies, multinationals and small-to-medium businesses. It has worked with Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.
In 2009, RepuTex signed a significant contract with Hang Seng Index Company in Hong Kong as its research partner to support the compilation of Hang Seng Indexes’ new Corporate Sustainability Index Series. Through this, RepuTex undertakes annual analysis of the ESG performance of the top 95 percent of companies in the Hong Kong market. The Corporate Sustainability Index Series was launched in the Hong Kong and Mainland China market in July 2010.
Cheung Kong Infrastructure People’s Choice Award
Transtar
Since launching its Asian headquarters in Hong Kong in 2008, Australian-owned freight and logistics company Transtar, has experienced rapid growth. In 2010 alone, the business’s total Asian sales grew almost 1000 percent.
The company’s dynamic female Asia CEO, Annie Meyer, has been the driving force behind the business’s aggressive move into the Greater China region and she was recently nominated for the 2011 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Independently owned with offices in Hong Kong, China, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, Transtar has been delivering sea and air supply chain solutions in the Asia-Pacific region for over 25 years.
Using an integrated IT platform, bonded warehouses and cargo handling facilities, superior customer service and absolute reliability, Transtar says it is redefining door-to-door by offering customised solutions.
Transtar opened its Asian headquarters in Hong Kong in 2008, following that same year with the opening of a data centre in Shanghai after making the strategic decision to extend its Australasian network to include the key trade lanes of China and Hong Kong. This year, Transtar has celebrated the opening of its Shanghai office as a full Representative Office and opened a further two offices in Ningbo and Qingdao – all operating as a fully licensed enterprise.
The Shenzhen office was granted its ‘A’ class licence in November 2010 allowing Transtar China to invoice local exporters and importers, quote customers, negotiate with local transporters and shipping lines and, importantly, to dispense with third party agents.
Transtar now plans to open further branch offices in Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei.
Today, Transtar employs 153 staff – split evenly between China and Australia.
The business credits its rapid success in the Greater China region to its stringent focus on personalized customer service.
“We have found that establishing direct relationships with our customers’ suppliers has opened up doors to other new business opportunities. A factory exporting to Australia is almost certain to be exporting elsewhere, and we are starting to capture some of this burgeoning intra-Asia activity.” ■
ACBA: 2011 Finalists
Westpac Business Excellence Large
Aconex
Goodman Asia Limited
Mitchells Equipment (Hebei) Co., Ltd
Transtar
Westpac Business Excellence SME
Advanced Aquarium Technologies (HK) Ltd
CBD Energy Limited
Homart Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd
Volume Group Ltd.
BDO Business Entrepreneurial
Aristocrat (Macau) Pty Ltd
Blackmores
Laservision
studio505
Business Innovation
Butler Shanghai Inc
China Australia Mining Development Alliance
Toll Global Forwarding
Woods Bagot
Austrade Business Promotion
HocusAdabra
Yellow Earth
OTEK Australia Pty Ltd
Truth & Faith International Limited
CLP Sustainable Development Award
Australian International School Hong Kong
Envirosax Asia Limited
HASSELL
RepuTex (HK) Ltd
