Testimonials

• Sedgman Limited Winner Queensland and Australian Large Services Award 2010
• Yeahpoint Pty Ltd Winner Information and Communications Technology Award 2010
• NOJA Power Switchgear Pty Ltd Winner Queensland and Australian Exporter of the Year 2009
• Wesfarmers Curragh Pty Ltd Winner Queensland and Australian Minerals and Energy Award 2009
• John Russell, Managing Director, Russell Mineral Equipment Winner Australian Export Awards Hall of Fame
• Andrew Roberts, Ephox Winner Richard Joel Young Export Entrepreneur Award 2008
• Peanut Company of Australia Finalist, Agribusiness Award 2008
• Urban Arts Projects (UAP) Winner Emerging Exporter Award 2008, and finalist Arts and Entertainment Award 2008
• Xstrata Technology Winner Queensland Exporter of the Year 2008

Sedgman Limited

Winner Queensland and Australian Large Services Award 2010, and finalist Minerals and Energy Award 2010

As a Queensland-based and founded engineering services company, we are extremely proud to have received the Large Services Award in Queensland.

Going on to win the same category at the Australian Export Awards was another very significant milestone

The public recognition provided by the government has enabled us to formally acknowledge the achievements of our staff and to promote our export success. We are sincerely grateful for this.

Ron Scott, General Manager Client Relationships

Yeahpoint Pty Ltd

Winner Information and Communications Technology Award 2010

Winning the Queensland Export Award in 2010 has certainly raised our profile and assisted Yeahpoint in finalising one of the most significant investment deals the digital media industry has ever seen.

This is proof that Queensland companies can and do compete on the global stage and win.

John Anderson, Chief Executive Officer

NOJA Power Switchgear Pty Ltd

Winner Queensland and Australian Exporter of the Year 2009

The national and international recognition we received as a finalist and an award winner of the state and national Exporter of the Year Awards significantly contributed to our largest order intake ever in the last quarter of last year.

We would wholeheartedly recommend participation in this awards program to acknowledge your company and staff's achievements in export.

Neil O'Sullivan, Managing Director

Wesfarmers Curragh Pty Ltd

Winner Queensland and Australian Minerals and Energy Award 2009

Being involved with the awards has been a very positive experience for us.

The official recognition that comes with being a finalist or an award winner further enhances our position and credibility in the marketplace.

It's a fantastic opportunity and I would encourage businesses to consider entering this prestigious award.

Stewart Butel, Managing Director

Russell Mineral Equipment

Winner Australian Export Awards Hall of Fame

The Premier of Queensland Export Awards program (leading to the Australian Export Awards program) provides a unique platform, highlighting the necessity for Australia to be an exporting nation. The foundation of our export earnings is currently provided by our farmers and miners. In the future, Australia's long-term sustainability will depend upon its people and their capabilities.

Australian firms face export difficulties with our high-cost environment and disadvantageous currency exchange rates. Russell Mineral Equipment (RME) proves that Australian-based technology companies can also be successful manufacturing exporters. One of Australia's manufacturing futures is to be the best of the best in significant technology niches. RME and Cochlear are both examples.

People love to be part of a winning team. Success at the Premier of Queensland's Export Awards (five times) and the Australian Export Awards (three times) helps define RME within our regional community and attracts the highly competent personnel that we need to prosper and grow.

John Russell, Managing Director

Ephox

Winner Richard Joel Young Export Entrepreneur Award 2008, and finalist Small to Medium Services Award 2008

Ephox creates products to manage content for intranets, extranets, corporate websites and other web-based applications. While almost all of our software is developed locally, most of our sales are from outside our home state of Queensland, so we tend to keep a low profile locally. Winning a Premier of Queensland's Export Award is a great opportunity to boost our local profile and help recruit staff, find business partners and create new opportunities. It is also a great motivator and morale booster for our Queensland team.

The Export Awards gala dinner provided a great forum for networking with key figures in Queensland business and government. It also provided a great opportunity to celebrate the success of our Queensland team with a fun evening.

My advice to those entering the Export Awards would be to use the opportunity to reflect on your success and your business' success. Winning awards is a great way to validate your team's efforts and encourage them to reach greater heights.

Andrew Roberts, CEO

Peanut Company of Australia

Finalist Agribusiness Award 2008

One of the main benefits of being a finalist in the 2008 Premier of Queensland's Export Awards that PCA has experienced is exposure to other companies who are working in the same market. The contacts developed really helps to share and expand the knowledge base of our company - knowledge which otherwise would cost a significant amount of time and money to obtain.

Being recognised at a government level is also a great introduction point to foreign customers, and helps them build an immediate level of trust with our company. Queensland Government recognition in a foreign country, especially where our Government has foreign offices, is a big headstart.

The Export Awards gala dinner provided PCA with a chance to meet with people in companies we would never have met normally in the course of business.

Spending time on preparing your application is definitely worth it. Take a few days to consider what you have been doing in the market and internally - perhaps make it part of a formal report you circulate around the company. In a medium-sized business like PCA it can be a good way to generate a report for management on what is being done in the export department.

The online entry system is very simple, but also helps to be an integral part of reflecting internally to see "what have we done different this year?" or "Yes, that process or change has paid off in the market place". Some questions are often overlooked in the fast pace of business, but the Export Awards Program is a good reminder.

Daniel Cook, Market Development Manager

Urban Arts Projects (UAP)

Winner Emerging Exporter Award 2008, and finalist Arts and Entertainment Award 2008

Winning a Premier of Queensland's Export Award is valuable to UAP in a number of ways. UAP will be able to use the award as a marketing tool to add confidence in the international marketplace and show that we are an innovative and dynamic business capable of delivering international projects. The award also allows us to reinforce our credentials within the domestic marketplace.

Just as importantly, the award allows our entire team of 65 staff to reflect on their achievements and congratulate themselves on a job well done - a great boost to staff morale and satisfaction levels.

The gala dinner was an excellent opportunity to take some of the staff who have contributed to the development of our export markets out to dinner to be recognised for their achievements. The dinner also gave us the chance to network with various Trade Commissioners and other exporters - a fantastic event.

My advice to potential entrants would be to not put your Export Awards application at the bottom of the to-do list! Clearly and briefly outline the capabilities of your company, your reasons for developing an export market, your achievements and your vision for the future.

Matthew Tobin, Principal

Xstrata Technology

Winner Queensland Exporter of the Year 2008, and winner Large Services 2008

Xstrata Technology is delighted and honoured to win the Queensland Exporter of the Year award. It was a humbling experience to win the Award against such an impressive field of businesses.

These Awards are a wonderful way to recognise the efforts of our exporters. Business success is hard work for any company, and exporters face an additional set of challenges. Like many other exporters, Xstrata Technology is a relatively small team managing a large number of clients and projects around the world. This means a lot of time travelling away from home and dealing with different cultures and in different time zones. We know our work is important to our clients, to the environment, and to Australia. It is rewarding to see those efforts recognised through these Export Awards.

Winning the Award means more than just recognition for our people. Xstrata Technology develops, markets and supports technologies for the global mineral processing and metal smelting and refining industries, in a very competitive environment. The official recognition of being a finalist or an Award winner establishes credibility in the marketplace. It will be a feature in our promotional and marketing material and will definitely enhance our image and help open doors.

While it is great to win an Award, there are a lot of other benefits from entering the Export Awards. Firstly, you form useful contacts with Trade Queensland, and find just how helpful they can be and the range of services they can provide. Secondly, just completing the application form helps you think about how you approach the export market, and where you might improve. And finally, I find the Awards ceremony each year an inspiring chance to meet a wide range of impressive and successful export businesses, and to see the level of Government support.

Xstrata Technology is proud to be part of the Queensland Export Awards, and will continue to support it in the future.

Joe Pease, Xstrata Technology Pty Ltd