Mission Estate Winery Goes Solar!

Mission Estate Winery boasts a rich history spanning over 170 years, and is the oldest winery in New Zealand. Originally established by the Marist Fathers who planted vines in 1851 and began selling surplus wine in the 1870s, Mission Estate Winery has evolved over time, with significant developments occurring in the mid-1970s when wine production […]

Focus on Business with David Downs, CEO of New Zealand Story

“The future is already here; didn’t you get the memo?” Tech innovation and what it means for you, your job and your health. Join us for breakfast at Focus on Business to hear from guest speaker David Downs for a light-hearted but scary discussion about tech disruption, Artificial Intelligence, and hair loss. David is the […]

Frost Fans: Winds of change

It’s an appropriately chilly morning when I visit Frost Fans, so I assume Andrew will be in a good mood, given that it’s mornings like this the fans earn their keep. And then some. ‘The fans’ that Andrew Priest and the crew make, branded FrostBoss, protect delicate crops on the mornings when the mercury falls […]

Mara: Biowaste to protein

There’s no signage on the nondescript building that is home to Mara Bio in the middle of Hastings. Steve Boggs and Mark Balchin have got no frills down to a fine art at their exciting start-up, as we sit on mis-matched chairs, comforting I’m sure, to any investor or bank – unless they didn’t get […]

Croptide: Today NZ, tomorrow the world!

Agritech start-up Croptide is on a mission to bring greater know-how globally to the simple act of watering crops. Born out of a Massey University master’s project, and founded by Hawke’s Bay engineers Finn Brown and Hamish Penny, Croptide’s pioneering water sensing technology has captured the attention of major players in New Zealand’s horticulture sector. […]

CR Automation: Post harvest automation specialists

We deliver productivity. That’s the mantra of CR Automation, a robotics and automation engineering company based in the heart of Hastings. Perry Field, CEO says the company specialises in post-harvest automation, delivering a mix of bespoke applications and off the shelf solutions depending on customer need. Solutions include material handling, empty and full carton handling, […]

3R: 20 years of solving difficult problems

Adele Rose loves a gnarly problem. The 3R CEO and the company she leads love nothing better than putting their collective brainpower to solving the issue of what to do with difficult-to-manage waste streams, how to keep end of life products out of landfills, while reimagining new uses for them. The Hastings business is playing […]

Innovation positions Hawke’s Bay as premium apple hotbed

When you think of Apple and innovation, you’re probably thinking of Steve Jobs and the iphone, but Hawke’s Bay is the home of another apple innovator, but of the eating kind. Prevar developed the PremA96 apple variety (cultivar) that has become a global sensation under the brand name Rockit™, a pint-sized apple that has rocked […]

Architectural designer wins top national award for Hastings school building

The designers of a Hastings school building and landscape, designed to represent the Heretaunga Plains when viewed from above, have received one of the most prestigious national awards in their field. Heretaunga Intermediate’s technology block was one of two projects to be awarded the 2023 Supreme Architectural Designers New Zealand Resene Architectural Design Award on […]

FrostBoss inaugurates blade manufacturing facility

FrostBoss, the global brand of New Zealand Frost Fans Limited, announced the opening of a cutting-edge blade manufacturing facility on September 26. Based in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, the firm produces frost fans and exports its products to six continents. Frost fans utilize the warmer air located in the atmosphere’s inversion layer to protect crops from […]

HB agritech biz tripling fans

As in frost fans and fan-customers in 11 countries. Check out FrostBoss’ story and new state-of-the-art facility in Hastings. A report from BayBuzz videographer Patrick O’Sullivan.