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This year will mark the 46th year for the staging of the Australian Export Awards, now recognised as one of the most important events on the Australian business calendar.
Exporting is important to Australia, it gives businesses the opportunity to grow their markets, it makes our industries more efficient and accounts for over one fifth of our Gross Domestic Product.
Previous winners have come from all parts of Australia, from small family businesses in rural townships through to leading household names such as Cochlear, BridgeClimb Sydney, ResMed, The Wiggles, Australia Zoo, Wild Child and Rio Tinto Iron Ore. Indeed the major strength and appeal of the Export Awards has been this diversity of applicants and winners.
Since the first presentation ceremony in 1963 some 600 Australian firms have won national export awards with the vast majority of winners being small and medium sized businesses.
Many outstanding export award winners have been based in regional areas, and their efforts were recognised in 2001 with the introduction of the Regional Exporter of the Year Award.
The inaugural winner was Russell Mineral Equipment of Toowoomba, which emerged as the top selection from a field of 99 regional firms that applied for the award in 2001. Their Award demonstrates what can be achieved by a company with the drive and determination to successfully grow a strong reputation around the world as a designer of equipment which delivers effective solutions to everyday processing problems. In 2007, Russell Mineral Equipment was once again successful in taking out the title of Regional Exporter of the Year.
Some exporters have been multiple winners, and in 2002 an Australian Export Awards Hall of Fame was established. Its inaugural members – BRL Hardy Wine Company, Clough Engineering, and the University of New South Wales, were inducted to recognise their achievement of having been national winners of their award category on at least three occasions.
In 2005, Casella Wines was inducted into the Hall of Fame, with Ausenco and Rio Tinto Iron Ore joining them in 2007. This year, Cochlear and BridgeClimb, Sydney will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In recent years, the Awards have expanded to include the Sports, Events and Tourism category, the Small Business category and the Special Achievement Award, which recognises the contribution of a well-known Australian who has enhanced Australia's image internationally while earning export income for this country.
In 2008, the Services category has changed with the creation of two new categories, the Small to Medium Services and the Large Services categories. These categories reflect the increasingly diverse range of companies in this export sector.
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