About • Guide to Suppliers • Join • Winetech • Events • News • Export • Import • Innovation • Contact

News

15 November 2007

WISA'S SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR INAUGURAL AWARDS GALA DINNER

The 25th October 2007 will be a memorable day for many who attended the Supplier of the Year Awards Inaugural Gala Dinner - as noted in WBM's electronic newsletter "The Week That Was" the day after the event: "Last night WISA came of age in many respects".

"Last night, WISA came of age", noted the editor of WBM's electronic wine industry newsletter 'The Week That Was' as Wine Industry Suppliers Australia celebrated their inaugural Supplier of the Year Awards.

More than 100 guests attended the event at Adelaide's National Wine Centre on the 25th October, and were warmly welcomed by Peter Fuller, MC and Steve Dorman, Vice-Chair of the Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (WISA). In his opening speech, Peter gave a brief account of the history of WISA, from its humble beginnings in mid 2000 as a new body representing suppliers to the Australian Wine Industry to today's representation on national wine industry issues and leaderships on initiatives such as Winetech, international trade shows, industry consultation, promotional activities with media partners' support, to name a few.

WISA's role in representing members' interests at all levels in the Industry and its involvement in consultation processes with State and Federal Government departments such as the Dept of Primary Industry Resources SA, Department of Trade and Economic Development and Austrade were highlighted, as suppliers play an important role in the continued leadership of the Australian wine industry. All this was said with great seriousness but also with a touch of humour here and there, "the worm" being a great feature on the night, setting the tone for the relaxed nature of the evening.

The South Australian Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, the Honourable Rory McEwen, acknowledged in his speech that it was time suppliers to the Wine Industry received the recognition they deserved and invited suppliers to make the State Government aware of their concerns and where assistance might be most needed. The Minister also offered a solution to the "worm", which surprised and amused our guests - he ate it!.

The Awards Gala Night will be most memorable for our Award Winners who experienced the elation of receiving public recognition, not only from their peers, but also from the Wine Industry at large and in the presence of industry officials such as Peter Wall AM, Professor Sakkie Pretorius from Australian Wine Research Institute, Lawrie Stanford from the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, Jane Zadow from the Winemakers' Federation of Australia, Leon Deans and Russell Johnstone from Orlando and many more. State and Federal Government representatives were also present, including Kris Roberts from the Dept of Primary Industry Resources SA, Cheng Teoh from the Department of Trade, and representatives from Austrade.

Steve Dorman, Vice-Chair of WISA gave a brief account of each Award category, explaining the particular areas of achievement each category aimed to recognise. The ASVO Environmental and Sustainability Award looked at how a supplier met the implementation of environmental systems or supported the reduction of environmental impact of wine industry companies or organisations. The WBM Innovation Award winner sought to reward a supplier whose service or product offered novelty, usefulness, market practicality and wine industry benefits. The Reed Exhibitions Chairman's Award aimed to acknowledge an outstanding contribution by a supplier or individual to the Australian Wine Industry. The overarching Provisor Supplier of the Year Award recognised the supplier who best demonstrated excellence in meeting customer needs and providing service to the industry. Customer testimonials were sought for this Award.

All nominations for the awards were of excellent calibre and our Platinum and Gold Sponsors were invited to judge the award entries, together with industry identities.

We congratulate our winners for being selected in their category: Tarac Technology for receiving the Environmental and Sustainability Award, sponsored by the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO), Ospack Systems from Victoria for receiving the Innovation Award sponsored by Australian Wine Business Magazine, Nick Yap from AB Mauri in New South Wales, for receiving the Chairman's Award sponsored by Reed Exhibitions, and finally Pellenc Australia Pty Ltd for receiving the Supplier of the Year Award, sponsored by Provisor.

It was wonderful to witness the genuine emotions of surprise and great joy as the Award winners received their awards in their category. For the first time, suppliers had the opportunity to recognise and be recognised by their peers - a very worthwhile thing for both the individual companies and for the Australian wine industry at large.

Celebrations followed the Award presentations, with great entertainment provided by live band Ve-lure, allowing some of our guests to show off their fantastic dancing talents on the night.

Following the great success of the Inaugural event, the Management Committee of WISA is pleased to announce that the next Supplier of the Year Awards Gala Dinner will be held on Friday, 8th August 2008 in the Exhibition Room at the National Wine Centre. We hope to make the Supplier of the Year Awards Gala Dinner a unique annual social event allowing the Wine Industry to celebrate together the great achievements of our suppliers, for the betterment of the Australian Wine Industry.

For any further queries or if you wish to sponsor the event, please contact Sylvie Clarke, WISA Executive Officer, on (08)8231 2091 or by email: wisainc@bigpond.com