Kernohan take tops at biz awards

Nelson engineering company Kernohan has taken out the top award at the 2025 Nelson Pine Industries Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.

The 35th iteration of the awards were held before a sellout audience at Annesbrook Event Centre on Friday night.

Engineering company Kernohan was named Supreme and Large Business winner, with the judges particularly impressed by their ability to pivot, adapt, and seize new opportunities in an ever-changing landscape.

Winner of the inaugural Young Business Leader of the Year was Alice Hazlett who is the driving force behind the marketing team at 2024 award winner Keetrax.

Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Ali Boswijk, says award nights are important milestones to acknowledge organisations doing well especially at a time when external pressures make being in business more challenging.

“We all know how challenging the last 12 months have been and yet once again, the businesses of the Nelson Tasman region have demonstrated just how innovative, resilient and varied they are. This year’s awards clearly showed that many businesses are buoyant, strong, and looking forward to a very prosperous future.”

The event was attended by 330 local business people with 23 organisations entering the awards, submitting 27 entries in total.

The 35th Nelson Pine Industries Chamber of Commerce Business Award winners are:

NELSON PINE INDUSTRIES SUPREME BUSINESS AWARD
The Winner is Kernohan

Kernohan is an innovative engineering company based in the heart of Nelson’s port. For over 50 years, Kernohan has provided engineering services to the largest producers on land and sea, building a reputation for providing high-quality services and engineering expertise.

TOP SOUTH MEDIA START UP BUSINESS AWARD
The winner is Global Workshop

GlobalWorkshop is a Software as a Service product for people who build, race, and restore cars, boats and warbirds. It’s designed for boutique workshops and solves common problems that these workshops have that is unique to the custom build & restoration industry.

MEDIAWORKS MEDIUM BUSINESS AWARD
The winner is Master Valet and Apparel Master

Most Nelsonians will know Master Valet, as it has been operating since the 1940’s. Today Master Valet Drycleaners and Apparel Master is the sole drycleaner operating in the region, stronger than ever operating from their new Gloucester Street

NZME LARGE BUSINESS AWARD
The winner is Kernohan

2Degrees INNOVATIVE BUSINESS AWARD
The winner is SquareKicker

At SquareKicker, we harness the transformative power of technology to redefine web design with the Squarespace ecosystem. Born from a need to simplify the complex and often restrictive coding demands of unique web design, our innovative solutions empower designers with no code tools that convert intricate visions into reality. This pioneering approach accelerates the creative process and ensures high quality conflict-free code.

KIWI BANK YOUNG BUSINESS LEADER
The winner is Alice Hazlett from Keetrax.

Alice is the driving force behind our fast-growing marketing team, and has overseen the doubling of the team and revenue. Her leadership has been crucial to the growth and success of Keetrax, as well as our clients - she has kept the team on track, and our service adapting to the ever-changing online environment.

NBS COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD
The joint winners are Nelson Bays Community Law and Whenua Iti Outdoors.

Nelson Bays Community Law Centre (NBCLC) is a dynamic and vital organization at the heart of the Nelson and Tasman communities in New Zealand. For 25 years NBCLC has been unwavering in its commitment to promoting justice, advocating for vulnerable individuals, and fostering legal empowerment within our region.

Whenua Iti Outdoors has been delivering impactful experiential education programmes since its inception in 1986. Today they work with over 5,000 participants every year. A dedicated team of 40, Whenua Iti Outdoors is one of the largest providers of experiential education in Aotearoa.