6 | Whanganui and Partners - Unesco City of Design REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T T Richard Loader Whanganui gains global creative status Whanganui is home to many notable design manufacturing business, including Pacific Helmets, which exports around the world.. Build your business in our UNESCO City of Design. Whanganui’s central location, fast-growing economy, developed infrastructure and low operating costs support business success. We help businesses launch, move, adapt and grow. Find out more at discoverwhanganui.nz/business The conferring of Unesco City of Design status on Whanganui in 2021 links the North Island city to a network of 41 other Cities of Design around the globe, and affirms its rightful place as a world leader in a creative context. The application for City of Design Status was led by Whanganui and Partners, the region’s economic development agency, who worked closely with iwi, Whanganui District Council and more than 100 other stakeholders. As an economic development agency, Whanganui & Partners works to attract business and investment to Whanganui. Whanganui and Partners Chief Executive Jonathan Sykes says the City of Design status brings with it considerable international recognition. “We are the smallest of the cities with this status across the globe, but by having all these connections it puts us on to another playing field. “Our Strategic Lead for Creative Industries has just returned from China, having been invited to visit by the Chinese, and they have visited Whanganui fairly recently too. “So, there are many international connections being developed and that enables us to connect with those larger cities and their initiatives, whether that’s around sustainable development or any other area. “From a New Zealand perspective, it puts us into a position of leadership on a creative context that Whanganui may not otherwise have had.” The City of Design status rests with that city forever and because of New Zealand’s comparatively small population it cannot be given to any other city in the country. “We are New Zealand’s City of Design, and that puts us in a unique place with lots of opportunity. The status provides a thread that runs through the city’s manufacturing strength, its heritage, its design capability and indigenous Māori design, joining all the dots to what is the essence of Whanganui’s story and its brand.” Whanganui is home to many notable design manufacturing business, including Pacific Helmets, a company manufacturing safety helmets that are exported all over the world including New York for its firefighters, and ranks in the top three for helmet design worldwide. There is also GDM (Good Design Matters), predominantly a B2B furniture manufacturer that designs and manufactures retail display systems, nationally and internationally, while Sorenmobler Group designs and manufactures high-end furniture. Wight Aluminium is one of the country’s largest aluminium fabricators, and Q-West Boat Builders designs and manufactures boats for the likes of Fullers, Whale Watch Kaikoura, NZ Police, and NZ Customs. Suzuki New Zealand has its Head Quarters in Whanganui. Complementing the city’s design manufacturing industry, is the creative arts sector which embraces a high concentration of successful, small to medium sized product design businesses. “There’s a lot of diversity in the skill sets within those businesses, from graphic designers to architects,” says Jonathan. “We have many highly skilled local Māori creatives, who played an important part in getting the City of Design designation. “We refer to Whanganui as having eight hundred years of design history, and that’s certainly reflected in our historic and contemporary Māori designers who are strong both nationally and internationally.” “We refer to Whanganui as having eight hundred years of design history, and that’s certainly reflected in our historic and contemporary Māori designers who are strong both nationally and internationally.” Jonathan Sykes
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