The Research

Export-crate prospect pack

New crate customers to spread the ABB concentration — 42 NZ exporters, ranked, with call-ready openers.

The full call-sheet and 5 research reports are supplied separately. This is the working summary.

Where to hunt — sectors ranked

#	Sector	Why it fits	Report
1	Electrical / power equipment	Like-for-like with the ABB work — the credibility line lands unchanged. The densest cluster of top prospects, shipping standardised units to the Pacific on repeat.	R1
2	Hawke's Bay / East Coast heavy manufacturers	The 'we're just up the road' pitch — same-region logistics is a genuine cost and turnaround edge.	R5
3	Post-harvest & food-processing equipment (the machines, not the food)	NZ's strongest capital-equipment export cluster — heavy precision lines shipped worldwide on semi-standard designs.	R2
4	Marine composites & superyacht equipment	Long, rigid, expensive carbon structures — one maker's own site says anything over 3m goes by sea freight.	R3
5	Defence / uncrewed systems	Small cluster, but it holds the single hottest lead in the pack.	R3
6	Precision physics / cryogenics / scientific equipment	800kg+ fragile units where transit damage is catastrophic.	R4
7	Medical capital equipment	Bed/trolley/scanner-scale gear on standardised model ranges.	R4
8	Dairy & agritech platform machinery	Sweet-spot-sized exporters shipping repeat platform components.	R2

Came up dry — don't spend time here: solar/battery-storage manufacturing, mining equipment, audio/broadcast and dental (distributors only), HB marine/aero/defence.

Playing it — the six angles

The ABB proof line

Lead with it everywhere — 'we build the export crates for ABB' answers 'can these guys handle serious freight?' before it's asked.

The up-the-road play

Hawke's Bay & East Coast first — drop in, open with 'I'm just up the road.' Faster turnaround, no freight on empty crates, spec the job in person.

The recon question

'Who's building your crates today?' — low-pressure, everyone answers, and it maps the account (incumbent, spend, pain).

The second-quote play

For big established exporters — nobody switches on a cold call, but everyone takes a second quote. Be the capacity backup and price check.

The get-in-early play

For the scalers — volume is arriving now, no incumbent owns them yet. Lower revenue today, highest lifetime value.

The repeat-design pitch

Your real edge — sell a repeatable engineered design (CNC-cut, identical, revised properly), not a consumable box. Lead with ISPM-15 if you're sorted.

Tier 1

Call these ten first

The visual centrepiece — each card carries the say-out-loud opener.

Power Assemblies

Napiersame cityelectrical

Custom heavy industrial switchboards — units over 3 tonnes — installed on hundreds of Pacific sites. Won a category at the 2025 Hawke's Bay Export Awards for their Fiji expansion.

AngleUp-the-road + ABB proof

Open with

“Saw the write-up on your Fiji work — three-tonne switchboards heading offshore. We build ABB's export crates here in Napier. Is your crating handled locally, or trucked out for packing?”

Reach them: Napier-to-Napier — phone or drop in. LinkedIn: 'Power Assemblies operations/project manager'.

NZ Frost Fans (FrostBoss)

Hastingsregional

~80 staff, ~800 frost fans a year, ~70% exported to 16 countries. New blade facility (2023) tripled output — ~15 exported tower-and-fan units a week.

AngleUp-the-road + repeat-design

Open with

“You're shipping around 15 fan units a week to 16 countries — is your crating supplier keeping pace with the tripled output from the new blade facility?”

Reach them: Omahu Rd, Hastings — direct call. LinkedIn: 'NZ Frost Fans operations/production manager'.

ETEL Transformers

Aucklandelectrical

NZ's largest transformer manufacturer (Unison-owned). Exports over half its output to Australia and the Pacific — Fiji, PNG, Samoa, the Cooks. The exact ABB product category.

AngleABB proof, one-for-one

Open with

“We build the export crates for ABB's transformers down in Napier — same gear, same Pacific utility customers. Worth a conversation on your Fiji and PNG runs?”

Reach them: 0800 893 835 · etel@eteltransformers.co.nz. GM (NZ) reportedly Leslie Oelofse — check LinkedIn first.

Enatel

Christchurchelectrical

Industrial battery chargers and DC power systems. 95% of output exported to 70+ countries; just opened a new export-focused Christchurch plant. Textbook same-crate-over-and-over profile.

AngleRepeat-design

Open with

“You're shipping chargers to seventy-plus countries — we build the protective export crates for ABB's transformers out of Napier. Is your packaging keeping pace with that volume?”

Reach them: enatel.net contact form; LinkedIn 'Enatel' for the NZ ops/logistics lead.

Fabrum

Christchurchcryogenics

Cryogenic and liquid-hydrogen systems. Confirmed unit specs of 800–1,300kg — proper crate-scale — exporting to the UK, Europe, US, India and Australia off a $23M raise.

AngleGet-in-early

Open with

“You're shipping 800-to-1300-kilo cryocoolers into the UK, US and Australia — who's protecting those on the sea and air legs? We build ABB's export crates in Napier.”

Reach them: Darren Marsh, Manufacturing Manager (LinkedIn) · contact@fabrum.nz.

SYOS Aerospace

Mount Maunganuidefence

Uncrewed air, land and sea vehicles. £66.8m UK MOD contract (drones for Ukraine) plus an NZDF contract; ~50 staff tripling toward 150 — scaling too fast to have crating solved in-house.

AngleGet-in-early

Open with

“You're shipping unmanned vehicles to a live theatre under a £66m MOD contract — one damaged unit in transit is a very expensive problem. We build ABB's export crates for exactly that kind of risk.”

Reach them: Founder/CEO Sam Vye — sam.vye@syos-aerospace.com · 18 Tukorako Drive, Mount Maunganui.

C-Tech Composites

Aucklandmarine composites

Carbon tubes, spars, masts and camera booms up to 15–18m. Their own website states anything over 3 metres ships by sea freight — the best-documented crating need on the list.

AngleRecon question

Open with

“Your own site says anything over 3 metres goes by sea freight — that's masts and booms worth a lot more than the crate around them. We build ABB's export crates in Napier; keen to see what you're using today?”

Reach them: +64 9 810 8406 · orders@c-tech.co.nz · Tim Willetts (marine specialist).

C-Quip International

Aucklandmarine composites

Carbon-fibre boarding stairs, ladders and light masts for 100m+ superyachts; bespoke parts for SpaceX and Rocket Lab. ~50 staff — right size, global repeat product lines.

AngleRepeat-design

Open with

“You're shipping carbon boarding stairs to 100-metre superyachts — and building parts for SpaceX. We build ABB's export crates; how's your gear protected in transit today?”

Reach them: Ian Cooke, CEO — icooke@cquip.com · +64 9 573 1973.

Howard Wright

New Plymouthmedical

Hospital beds, stretchers and trolleys exported to 25+ countries for decades, on a standardised model range. Motorised frames and electronics — real transit-damage cost.

AngleRepeat-design

Open with

“With beds and trolleys going to twenty-five-plus countries, how are you protecting the motorised frames and electronics on the export leg? We build ABB's crates in Napier.”

Reach them: Bruce Moller, CEO · howardwright.com/contact.

TWS Energy Controls

Christchurchelectrical

Current/voltage/power transformers and oil-filled metering units; explicit 'global shipping' claim, manufacturing and accredited test labs in NZ and Australia.

AngleABB proof

Open with

“We're the crate manufacturer behind ABB's transformer exports out of Napier — you're shipping metering units and transformers worldwide; want to compare notes on what's protecting them in transit?”

Reach them: transformer.co.nz/contact · Companies Register: TWS Energy Controls Limited.

Tier 2 — strong follow-ups

⭐ = Hawke's Bay / East Coast.

Company	Where	What / export evidence	Why they fit	Report
Napier Engineering / Niven ⭐	Napier	Marine pre-breakers + abattoir/rendering plant 'all over the globe'	Heavy machined equipment, mid-size shop, down the road — a drop-in. Darren Biggs, Ops Mgr	R2
LECO Switchgear	Auckland +2	Switchboards to 26 countries (PNG, Fiji, Solomons…)	Heavy panels to remote Pacific; named contacts on file	R1
Waikato Milking Systems	Hamilton	Rotary platforms to 20+ countries; 120 staff	Standardised heavy components; sweet-spot size	R2
Wyma Solutions	Christchurch	Veg-handling lines; 95% exported, 50+ countries	Modular repeat line components	R2
BBC Technologies (TOMRA)	Hamilton	Berry/cherry sorters; ~98% exported	Precision optics in every machine	R2
Milmeq (MHM)	Dunedin	Plate freezers; 90% of Australia's installs	Standardised freezer models, capital plant	R2
J&D McLennan	Upper Hutt	250+ airport boarding bridges across the South Pacific	Bespoke heavy equipment — the ABB shape	R5
Pultron Composites ⭐	Gisborne	Mateenbar FRP rebar to 20+ countries; HB Exporter of the Year 2023	Long heavy composite; East Coast corridor	R5
Pacific Technologies	Auckland	Packaged pump stations into Fiji/Samoa/Tonga/Vanuatu/PNG	Heavy kit to rough-handling ports — crate quality matters most	R5
WASSP / ENL (Furuno)	Auckland + Nelson	NZ-made multibeam sonar to 30–40 countries	Ceramic transducers = fragile freight. MD Gareth Hodson	R3
HTS-110	Lower Hutt	World's only commercial HTS magnet maker; ~20 staff	Six-figure precision coils, too small to crate in-house	R4
KiwiStar Optics	Lower Hutt	Telescope-grade optics installed in Hawaii/US/Australia	Most damage-sensitive freight there is; reusable crate spec	R4
NZ Spars & Rigging	Kumeu	One-piece carbon masts exported worldwide	Boutique scale; timber cradles are industry standard	R3
BREMCA	Multi-site	Switchboards + switchrooms to Fiji/Samoa/PNG; 170+ staff	Heavy Pacific project freight	R1
Howick Ltd	Auckland	Roll-forming machines in 75–80 countries	Clean crate need; 50-yr exporter may have an incumbent — pitch a second quote	R5
Vortex Group	Rotorua	Hydro turbines, mostly South Pacific	Remote-island freight. ⚠️ Website domain lapsed — verify the company's state first	R1
Powerhouse Wind	Dunedin	Wind turbines + 'PowerCrate' units shipped to Honiara	Crate-dependent Pacific exports; small company	R1

Tier 3 — worth one question, verify before investing

HamiltonJet · Chch — 20 standard jet models, 97% exported — perfect repeat pattern, but 440 staff + new factory likely means crating is solved. One call to find out.
R2, R3
Buckley Systems · Auckland — Magnets into 90% of the world's ion-implant tools; ~600 staff.
R4
Scott Technology · Dunedin — Processing automation to 75+ countries; public company, expect inertia.
R2
Southern Spars · Auckland — Superyacht masts, but a 500-staff multinational.
R3
McKay / MGE · Whangarei — Marine switchboards for naval and superyacht work; $135M group.
R1
Sealegs · Auckland — 1,850+ amphibious boats to 55 countries; the pitch is container-internal cradling, not a full crate.
R3
Dawn Aerospace · Chch — Small thrusters ship as parcels; ask only about the coming multi-ton systems.
R3
Magritek · Wellington — 70–120kg NMR units worldwide; flight-case vs crate is the open question.
R4
MARS Bioimaging · Chch — FDA-cleared portable CT entering the US; low volume today, get-in-early play.
R4
Peterson Portable Sawmills · Rotorua — Mills exported worldwide with a named export-logistics person, but a sawmill company may crate in-house.
R2
Robotics Plus / Yamaha · Tauranga — Vehicle-scale ag robots, volumes still ramping.
R2
HDT Ltd · Lower Hutt — NATO fire-control systems; defence approved-supplier chains may gate entry.
R5
KlipTank · Tauranga — 280 tanks to the Marshall Islands, but the flat-pack design exists to solve their own packaging problem.
R5
Izon Science · Chch — US$47.5k instruments to 50+ countries; confirm the unit size first.
R4
Dynamic Controls · Chch — 98% export on paper, but manufacturing has largely moved to China — check what still ships from NZ.
R1

Getting to the right person

Cold — the mechanics

1.Companies Register (companies.govt.nz, free) → confirm the legal entity + directors' real names.
2.LinkedIn → company + 'founder / general manager / operations manager'. Under ~100 staff the owner usually carries GM or Ops Manager, not CEO.
3.Company website → team page for a named ops/production manager + a direct dial. Never open with info@.
4.Call, and ask for the person by name — the crating problem is owned by operations/production, not sales. NZ manufacturing runs on the phone.
5.Email is the follow-up, not the opener — send what they asked for (quote, spec, photos of the ABB work).

Warm — the doors that open faster

1.Your own supply chain — the freight companies trucking your crates touch other exporters weekly. 'Who else around here ships heavy gear offshore?'
2.The TUMU / BBI network — anyone in it who exports, or supplies someone who does, is a warm door.
3.HB Chamber of Commerce + the Export Awards — the awards night is a room full of verified exporters, one evening a year.
4.LinkedIn connect-note when a call can't land — two lines, no pitch: 'We build the export crates for ABB here in Napier — keen to compare notes on protecting heavy gear in transit sometime.'

Pace: Tier 1 is ten conversations — at two or three calls a week, that's a month of light effort, front-loaded with the three local ones. Track it simply: company, date, who you spoke to, their current crate supplier, next step.

Honest caveats

All of this is web research — verify each company's current state on the first call. Known flags: Vortex Group's domain has lapsed; Dynamic Controls manufactures mostly in China now; some strong fits (TOMRA, Yamaha acquisitions) may have packaging dictated by an overseas parent. The richest untapped seam is the Hawke's Bay Export Awards finalist lists 2022–24 — independently verified exporters, only partly mined.