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Safearth recognised for Resilience – Premier’s NSW Export Awards
The team at Safearth is proud to have been selected by the Premier’s NSW Export Awards as one of the most inspiring NSW exporters in 2020. From a pool of 150 companies the 2020 Premier’s NSW Resilience Roundtable recognised 15 companies for their remarkable resilience, innovation, perseverance and leadership in the face of new and unforeseen challenges.
There’s no doubt that 2020 was extremely tough for many businesses. At Safearth we began 2020 on a high: 2019 had seen tremendous growth, with a new office established in Canada, and we had solid plans for further expansion into the UK, North America and Europe. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, international travel restrictions and state border closures had a dramatic impact on the way we interacted through training and conferences, and with prospective customers through the usual sales and promotional channels. Consequently, we faced underemployment of resources in our local factory due to the resulting lower demand for our products.
We knew we had to be ‘resilient’. While we weren’t exactly certain of what this meant in a practical sense, as ever we remained open to new opportunities, ideas and solutions, and we believe our embedded culture of collaboration and problem solving helped us to not only survive but thrive.
Highlights of our year included:
- Greater diversification and R&D: As a solutions-oriented company, Safearth jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Ampcontrol and NewieVentures, successfully developing an Intensive Care Unit Ventilator for NSW Government Health Infrastructure within two weeks, which has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. We were hand-picked due to our ability to bring our expertise in R&D and product development (including our in-house manufacturing) and insights on developing products for safety-critical systems, despite our lack of medical industry experience. We’ve also developed prototypes for the microgrid and transportation sectors that we’re very excited about.
- Awards recognition: We won the Collaboration Partnership Award for the above project at the prestigious Hunter Manufacturing Awards 2020. It didn’t stop there, as we also picked up the Excellence in Business award from the Lake Macquarie Business Excellence Awards 2020. To be picked out of the 13,000 businesses that call Lake Macquarie home was an honour indeed.
- Going online: Activating our online sales strategy has seen improved traffic to our sites and Safearth’s new online store has helped keep revenue flowing while our traditional sales channels are suppressed.
- Loyal, supportive clients: Our client base has remained loyal, some having been with us since our 1999 establishment.
What this recognition means for Safearth
It’s even more important to celebrate successes during tough times. We’re incredibly proud of our team, many of whom have been impacted professionally and personally. Being recognised for our resilience gives us the added impetus to persevere in developing solutions to real-world problems, knowing that our work truly makes a difference.
Premier’s NSW Resilience Roundtable
Safearth was invited to attend the Roundtable on 28th April 2021, alongside Investment NSW, Department Foreign Affairs and Trade, Austrade, and a selection of impressive businesses: FlavourTech who are known for their solution of alcohol removal to produce low and zero alcohol wines; Hivery who provide cutting edge AI solutions to the retail sector; and DroneShield who provide innovative technology to military, government and law enforcement organisations around the world.
Our director, Stephen Palmer, was able to share his ideas and Safearth’s experiences of how government organisations and programs have assisted our export business and what improvements might be considered moving forward.
Thank you
Many of the challenges of 2020 continue well into 2021, however we are fortunate to have been able to celebrate some significant achievements.
Safearth would like to thank our team for their dedication and hard work in the face of adversity. We also thank our clients and partners for their loyalty and the opportunity to collaborate on problem solving that makes a meaningful difference in the world.
As we start to see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, we wish you all well.
About the Premier’s NSW Export Awards
Every year, for the last 57 years, the Premier’s NSW Export Awards have honoured the achievements of outstanding exporters in New South Wales.
In the face of unprecedented challenges, NSW exporters have shown remarkable resilience and these efforts deserve to be recognised. In 2020, NSW Government used the awards program as a platform to recognise and promote stories of resilience, perseverance and pivoting under pressure in the NSW export community.
Businesses were selected among the pool of many as the most inspiring business stories of 2020 from across NSW – the tales of innovative businesses, quick-thinking pivots and determined business leaders. From regional to metro, exporters big and small, goods and services.
“While many business owners will continue to feel the strains of a global economic downturn for some time to come, the stories from NSW exporters have inspired others to adapt, innovate, and diversify.”
– Dianne Tipping, chair of the Export Council of Australia
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