The date was the official opening of the Show Technology New Zealand office in Auckland with managing director Emmanuel Ziino welcomed officially onto the land in a P?whiri - a M?ori welcoming ceremony involving speeches, dancing, and singing performed by a local school 'Kapa Haka' group. The P?whiri concluded with a Hongi, a traditional M?ori greeting done by pressing one's nose and forehead (at the same time) to another person at an encounter.
"It was an absolute honour to be welcomed onto the land by their chief," commented Emmanuel. "The P?whiri welcomed us (the owners) and our guests (the future users) during a dedication of the building."
The evening was an industry event attended by invited guests who make up the cream of the professional lighting industry in New Zealand. Many guests travelled far to attend the opening including several who came from Wellington and Christchurch.
The event was supported with attendees from Show Technology in Australia including Harold Hassapis (CFO), Vince Haddad (technical director), Stephen Dallimore (BDM), Paul Nicolaou (Victorian branch manager), Elisha Blanch (sales coordinator) and company owners Emmanuel and Gina Ziino. Jonas Stenvinkel from Martin was lucky enough to be visiting during this time and was also at the opening.
"The opportunity to be able to work alongside our clients day to day and to be able to provide them the support they deserve, is great step and I'm very excited about what the future holds," said Stephen Dallimore, business development manager.
Harold Hassapis, Chief Financial Officer for Show Technology, has been delighted by the welcome and support that the industry has given the company since announcing the opening of a New Zealand office.
"It was humbling to see so many people in the industry here at the opening particularly as many travelled from Wellington and Christchurch having to take time away from their businesses," he said. "We have put a lot of effort into setting up a full service model with a significant amount of stock and a large showroom space that is useful for customers and which we will use as a training space for MA and M1 control."
Emmanuel remarked that the new Auckland office was not just an important symbol of Show Technology's commitment locally, but would provide new opportunities for the company to engage with local customers, and for customers themselves to interact with Show Technology more directly and with greater convenience than ever before.
"The Auckland office is our first off-shore venture and while it is part of Show Technology Australia, the NZ operation is a locally incorporated company," Emmanuel added. "We have invested heavily into the local market: we own the property, we carry a lot of stock to support the local market, we have service and support locally, plus we have employed three local staff. Our New Zealand staff are locals and have many years' experience in the industry both locally and abroad. They are very keen to offer support and advice to our customers across New Zealand."
Heading the team in New Zealand is branch manager Karla Kimi who remarked, "Show Technology is a family focused company and it is such a pleasure working for a great team. We also have the best product range available on the market - this role is certainly the best decision I have made!"
Technical sales are taken care of by Nick Reeves who added, "Making the move from lighting for production to Show Technology was an amazing decision. It was the perfect time and when the opportunity arose, I leapt at it. Now I'm very happy to be involved in such a fantastic team in the industry I love."
"Show Technology has a well-established team culture which not only makes being a part of the team a joy, it also enables us to supply the New Zealand market with class-leading support and expertise from decades of hands on experience," added Thomas Butler, operations coordinator and final member of the team.
Over a period of four months, extensive building works were undertaken to transform the vast industrial building to suit Show Technology's technological needs. The new office holds an extensive range of stock, undertakes warranty and general service work in-house, as well as providing technical support and operator training. The premises include a large warehouse, sales room, client meeting area, and a massive demo room with training areas as well as client parking.
The first MA University training programme has already been announced for Tuesday 20 September and Wednesday 21 September 21 and details are online now with places filling fast. Show Technology intend to roll out a variety of training programmes over time in addition to their one on one programmes for individual companies as required.
(Jim Evans)
