A NARANGBA-based business that exports high-performance kangaroo leathers to the world was named the winner of the Queensland’s Export Awards held in Brisbane last night.
The top award went to specialised kangaroo leather processor Packer Leather which won the top award after earlier being named the Agribusiness Exporter of the Year.
Packer Leather, which was established in 1891 and now employs about 120 people, exports to about 20 countries as well as supplying Australian companies including R.M.Williams.
The extremely thin but durable leather is used by virtually of world’s leading sporting shoe manufacturers.
Packer Leather international marketing director Graham Packer said he was stunned on hearing the family owned company had won the award at the Brisbane Convention Centre last night.
“We’ve persevered through innovation and R&D to take our leather to the world,” Mr Packer said.
“We have a product that performs like no other and we work very closely with our long term partners to ensure we are producing and supplying exactly what is required.”
The Environmental Solutions Award went to FarmscanAG.
The Toowoomba based business focuses on specialised electronic control systems for farmers including auto-steering tractors and harvesters to sophisticated GPS controllers for spray, seeding and spreading applications.
The company was described as representing the embodiment of the precision farming concept and, in some areas, leads the world in equipment for the application.
The Manufacturing Award went to the Yatala based company Digga Australia which makes machinery attachments and planetary drive gearboxes for the construction and earthmoving machinery industry. Digga also specialises in custom designed and manufactured planetary gearbox drive solutions for the waste, mining, energy, screw anchoring, and piling and construction industries.
The Regional Exporter Award went to MDH at Cloncurry, a fully integrated beef production company owned and operated by the McDonald family. MDH breeds, grows, finishes and sells its high quality beef around the world, predominantly to Japan and South Korea.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said exporters made a huge contribution to Queensland’s economy, with goods exports of more than $47 billion and service exports of about $10 billion.
“The Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards – now in their 26th year – acknowledge the important contribution that Queensland’s exporting businesses make to our state’s economy, through the jobs they create and the increased prosperity they generate,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“Queensland has always been a trading economy as we know how to sell things to the rest of the world.
“And we know how to adapt to changing times and to keep finding new opportunities in both traditional and emerging market sectors as these awards highlight.
“We’re sending a very strong, very clear message to the world that Queensland is Australia’s foremost location for trade and investment.”