Wellington
We, as in NZ Inc, and particularly the companies that get them, are always keen to beinternationally recognised.
And when the company involved, Simcro , devotes 10-12% of itsannual turnover to R&D, there's even more reason to celebrate walking the talk when it comes toinnovation.
The Hamilton animal health pharmaceutical delivery solutions company (that is, vaccine injectorsand drench guns; at least at this stage) has just picked up the design equivalent of an Olympic goldmedal.
It has received an International Forum (IF ) 2011product design award from Germany; one of three leading design awards in the world.
Simcro's Sekurus (in Latin securus means safety), is a self-tenting gun, that virtuallyeliminates accidental pricking of the operator while also allowing one-handed operation. It andSimcro were reported on earlier in sticK,
Managing director and part-owner of the company, Will Rouse, says the IP behind the Sekurus isquite defendable as well.
"It's clever, and we've spent a long time developing its mechanism, so we're happy to take outpatents," he says.
It's 13 person product development team has more than 70 products under current development,though in the stop/start, approve and move forward nature of its partnership development programme,"they're only working on 10-12 at any one time," Rouse says.
More than 90% of its products are exported to more than 65 countries. Generally these aredistributed alongside an animal health company's product (such as Novartis, Pfizer and Ancare amongothers), the delivery system part and parcel of the whole.
Rouse would like to see Simcro doubling its product development team within a couple of years asthe company looks to expand beyond farm animals and into the more lucrative companion animal as wellas human health sectors (which is much more heavily regulated).
Such is the company's rapid fostering of partnerships with animal health companies, it alreadyhas an open invitation to develop products for human health from a major pharmaceutical player.
The company's most limiting factor is capital for development he says. Given unlimited funds,he'd hire more product development personnel, being confident Simcro's management culture canexecute the company's strategy.
"From a small place like New Zealand, we're able to produce inventions at the highest level," hesays. "These days, we're well aware of what we're capable of."
In short, they're capable of gold medals!