50 | Northland Business Excellence Awards: Northland Waste T T Richard Loader Supreme award a fitting accolade Northland Waste is now the third-largest recycling and waste operator in New Zealand, with 10 branches located from Cape Reinga to Wellington. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Growth driven by customer-focused service and innovation has been handsomely rewarded at the 2024 Northland Business Excellence Awards, with Northland Waste receiving the Supreme award along with winning Best Digital Adaption, and Excellence in Large Business categories. The company, which was founded just 14 years ago in Northland, was also a finalist in the Workplace Injury Prevention category, a reflection of its culture of workplace safety. April Peter, group manager – marketing, says Northland Waste’s entry into last year’s awards was a direct result of passionate encouragement from the company’s branch administrator, Maria, who has been with the company since the beginning, and was a big part of the growth journey. “We’re probably not great at self-promotion, but entering the awards has been Maria’s ambition for many years. It provided us with the opportunity to take a step back and reflect on how far the business has come from its beginnings as a small Northland waste and recycling trucking business, to what it has become today,” says April. “You look at the graphs, charts and narratives and realise that we have come quite a long way. It enabled us to look at our business a little bit differently, because you generally get caught up in the day-to-day operations. Entering the awards was also a nice thing for the team to do together. “Maria was absolutely stoked with our success at the awards, as was the entire team. We probably don’t take enough time to pat ourselves on the back, so it was nice to get the awards. We were all pretty overwhelmed with how well we did – we weren’t expecting it.” Proudly New Zealand owned and operated, Northland Waste is now the third-largest recycling and waste operator in New Zealand, with 10 branches located from Cape Reinga to Wellington. “We started off with a couple of trucks in Northland with really good people and took our opportunities where we saw them. One of the big moments for us was our entry into the Auckland and Wellington market. “We saw there was an opportunity to fill a gap in that market by providing a customer-focused service and responding quickly to residential and commercial customer requirements. We found a niche in providing that service,” says April. Technology is a key cornerstone of success for Northland Waste, and not long after commencing operations the company did due diligence of off-the-shelf industry software, finding nothing that entirely suited its business. Deciding to invest capital into employing its own IT team and build its own platform has provided a range of business benefits and a competitive advantage. “We’re leading the development of ‘pay-asyou-throw’ technology. The street bins have a microchip that reads the waste volume, so the customer is only charged for what they’re throwing, which helps them minimise waste to landfills. There’s also technology to make life easier GET IN TOUCH Proud supporters of Northland Waste Ltd WARKWORTH 09 425 8456 | WHANGAREI 09 438 6915 | KERIKERI 09 407 5514 0800 266 628 CALISUZU.CO.NZ YOU CAN COUNT ON US TO KEEP YOU MOVING CAL>ISUZU CONGRATULATES NORTHLAND WASTE ON THEIR RECENT SUCCESS AS SUPREME WINNERS AT THE 2024 NORTHLAND BUSINESS AWARDS. NORTHLAND WASTE ISUZU TRUCKS
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