Miraka CEO quits
Māori-owned milk processor Miraka is looking for a new chief executive following the resignation of Karl Gradon last week.
The award was presented to Miraka by the Minister for Maori Development, Te Ururoa Flavell, at the New Zealand Business Awards in Auckland recently.
Smiler says to receive such an award so early in the history of a company is very pleasing. The company was formally opened in late 2011 and sells product into 23 countries including China and Vietnam, and markets in South America and the Middle East.
It has about 100 local suppliers and produces milk powder and UHT milk.
Smiler says Miraka has great people who work well together, applying good skill sets across the business. The team has been very focused on achieving its results.
“We are pleased at our progress. Certainly we are ahead of plan and that is very positive,” he told Rural News. “Naturally, we are going through a tough cycle at the moment, but we are in good shape.
“It’s been a great opportunity to lead the way in a challenging industry dominated in New Zealand by Fonterra. To be able to be benchmarked and perform at a high level and achieve the success we have had to date is very pleasing.”
Presenting the award, Te Ururoa Flavell praised the efforts of Miraka, saying it is the first company in the world to use renewable electricity and steam to process milk powder.
Flavell says the price premium Miraka pays its milk suppliers has seen an extra $5 million injected into the local rural economy over three years.
