Exporting the Ultimate in Wheel Technology

The tagline goes: ‘Reinventing the Wheel" and the Rotarola Wheel Company mean it…

The Rotarola Wheel Company has designed a new revolutionary multi-directional wheel that steers from a rigid position. On paper that doesn’t sound like much, but have you ever suffered ‘trolley rage’ due to steering problems with a shopping trolley?

This Hunter Export Centre member should be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

The Rotarola Wheel has the ability to move in any direction without a swivel offset mounting. In English, this means the steering is achieved by a series of rollers around a circumference that each rotate on their own individual axle.

The Rotarola Wheel is being used in almost all facets of industry, commerce and the home. It is particularly suited for use in hospitals, hotels, warehouses, workshops, factories, shopping centres, supermarkets, airports – any area where movement of items is required on trolleys, carts, racks and bins, on frames or conveyor systems.

Rotarola Wheel Limited is an unlisted public company specialising in the design, development and manufacturing of multi-directional wheels and movement systems for all facets of the materials handling industry and anywhere products or goods need to be moved in multiple directions.

For more information on this exciting company, please go to http://www.rotarolawheel.com.au/about_us.htm

A typical trip to the supermarket…

What a great opportunity!

How would you like to be able to listen to your favorite music from your surfboard? Or your snowboard, kayak or wakeboard?

Well, I’m proud to say that a local Hunter Valley company has a Waterproof Digital Media Player for surfers. The company is called Austrol and the product is the AquaSoundz.

Using Austrol’s words…"With the Freestyle Audio Digital Music Player (DMP), you can take your music everywhere! Freestyle Audio created the Freestyle Audio DMP to meet the needs of outdoor athletes that go beyond other MP3 players…our waterproof, lightweight, durable, and sleek design moves with you on land and in the water!"

Now, if that’s not going to be an export success, I don’t know what is…

If you would like more information just go to http://www.austrol.com.au/index.htm

Surfing

Photo taken Saturday, 28th April 2007

Coal ships anchored at Newcastle: 40+

If you would like to help reduce the number of waiting coal ships at the Port of Newcastle, please send an email with ‘40+’ in the subject line to Mr Costa, Minster for the Hunter, mailto:costa.office@minister.nsw.gov.au

Exporting

Local Hunter Valley TV and Online advertiser ‘Hunter’s Best’ has this month smashed through 350,000 web hits.

Last January, I was lucky enough to advise the Hunter Export Centre on how to conduct an Online Survey. With a free Zoomerang account, we invited Hunter Export Centre members to complete a half-yearly export survey that would assess local export trends.

Our members represent the Hunter Valley’s exporting leaders and key decision-makers. Most are director or manager level and almost all are directly involved in export management decisions.

However, due to whatever reason, my export survey never got published. Therefore, I would like to share with you some of my key findings in my export survey’:

• 49% of members increased export sales in the period between July 06 – Dec 06, only 18% suffered a decrease in sales
• 62% of members increased employment in the period between July 06 – Dec 06
• 81% of members exported products or services in the period between July 06 – Dec 06
• 73% of members conducted overseas market visit in the period between July 06 – Dec 06
• 67% of members are planning to conduct overseas market visits in 2007

This survey highlights the great work members are doing in the export world.

Through our unified voice, the Hunter export Centre has established strong links with business, academia and government to become the voice of local exporters.

Today the Hunter Export Centre represents a vast array of exporters throughout the Hunter Region, including Banks; Building & Construction; Education and Training; Electrical; Engineering; Environmental; Food & Beverage; Freight Services; Government Departments; Health Products & Services; Legal; Livestock; Manufacturing; Marketing- Communications; Microlight Aircraft; Mining; Port Services; Test Instruments; Veterinary Pharmaceuticals; Water Systems; and Wine.

To do for 2007: Increase Australian paid search.

According to a survey from eMitch and Roy Morgan Research, this year major Australian advertisers plan to spend 22% of their total advertising dollars online.

That is up from 16% in 2006.

Display ads dominate the online mix, but classifieds and search
are moving up, and will account for nearly half of Australian online ad
spending in 2007.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported advertising online during the previous 12 months.

Like their US counterparts, a
number of marketers think that online ads provide "insufficient
accountability." That goes hand in hand with the feeling that "Internet
users ignore advertising."

The general optimism around the Australian online ad market
comes against a backdrop of broadband growth. Increased competition and
lower prices have driven growth in broadband adoption to such an extent
over the last two years that eMarketer estimates that 78.7% of
Australian households will have broadband by 2011 — up from 45.4% in
2006 — and the country will pass Japan to become second in penetration
only to South Korea.

Source: eMarketer, March 2007

In the following case study, I detail how the Hunter Export Centre assisted one its members PCWI to grow its design and manufacturing business, in the export market Download PCWI_Exporter_case_study.pdf. 

In the following case study, I detail how the Hunter Export Centre assisted one its members Moray and Agnew Solicitors to grow its legal business, in the export market Download Exporter_case_study.pdf.

Trade Mission to China Falls in a Heap…

After months of hard work it was disappointing to hear that the Hunter Export Centre’s Trade Mission to China had been canceled because of bureaucracy.   For 10 years Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD) have been actively supporting the Hunter Export Centre (and doing an excellent job) 

However, the word on the street is that when the Hunter Export Centre planned to use private service providers to support its members on this mission…things fell in a heap.

It’s time long held beliefs changed, the Hunter Export Centre is unique, it has the support of industry including private service providers.  I see no reason why private industry and Governments can’t work together to create export opportunities.  When it comes to exports we all have the same objective.