Commercial Success for AHI exports

Press, 16 January 1979, Page 15

Commercial Success for AHI exports

Fruit juice and bathtubs 1 do not necessarily mix, but; for Alex Harvey' Industries. Ltd, they illustrate the com-, panys successful diver-; sitication m exports. An export deal by Alex; Harvey Sheetmetal Products, Ltd into the Australian 1 bathtub market has evolved; into a bilateral agreement worth several hundred thou-' sand dollars. The company produces a range of enamelled bathtubs which has been gaining an increasing market share across the lasman. A trans-tasman agreement was reached to rationalise; the marketing of Sheetmetal Products’ bathtubs in Australia and to extend the company’s product range in New Zealand. Under the agreement with the Lindsay D. Mee and Modern Maid companies in Melbourne (both part of the Mcllwraith group) Sheetmetal Products will export several thousand finished bathtubs a year to Australia in the next three years. In return, Sheetmetal Products will import a lot of unfinished pressings from Australia for finishing in the | Mount Wellington enamel-{ ling plant. Fruit juice from New Zea-; land is proving a big seller' in the oil-rich nations of the I Arabian Gulf, because of ef-i forts by AHI Metal Containers Group and New Zealand Glass Manufacturers Com-i pany, Ltd. Both sought food exports in the hope of increasing demand for metal and glass containers. Not only is the demand

being realised, but it is also producing new work for sister companies involved in labelling, packaging and carton making and generating further business for AHI customers involved in the preparation and processing of food lines. The Export sales manager for the Meta! Containers Group (Mr John Pryo) says food exports began some

‘years ago, but only really I got started in the last 12 i months. That was when AHI Metali Containers obtained the j marketing rights for FreshUp fruit juices in the Ara-1 bian Gulf, he said. [ Market studies showed 80: i brands of juice were avail-j able in the gulf area, in-{ ■volving 365 M cans of juice a! iyear. Testing of samples showed; that all had added w.-‘er,| colouring, sweetening and 'artificial preservative, and; most had no more than 201 ;per cent real juice. In comparison, Fresh-Up 1 'was 100 per cent pure fruit juice with no added water,' [sugar, colouring or pre-; : servative. The Vitamin C; level was guaranteed, and; i the product had a shelf life! I of tv o years. Furthermore, Arab testing; panels indicated that the [ taste was acceptable to the Arab palate as a superior product. Initial shipments of apple juice and apple/orange juice were exported to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and | Bahrain where AHI has its jown branch office. AHI launched an extensive [ advertising campaign on five i television stations in the {Arabian Gulf emphasising -I the purity of Fresh-Up. The commercials, plus 1: other advertising in papers

; and radio, proved so effec- ! Itive that 90 per cent of thei initial shipment to Saudi I i Arabia, for instance, was I [sold after three weeks, and: repeat orders were received! {from all six countries. Now AHI is moving intoi [other food exports to the! Gulf where emphasis is ; placed on the quality of 'New Zealand produce. i “At the moment we are: [working as a food exporting! !division of the Metal Con-! Stainers Group. But we’ve! [gone a long way past just! : trying to sell canned prod-1 Suets. We’re developing: 'export markets for al! types' of foods involving a wide: .[range of AHI packaging in; [plastic, cardboard, pap°r and; {metal,” Mr Pryor says. I “Our products might not ■| be the cheapest available,! {but we fee! they are the .{best, and quality is what; :icounts in Arabian markets! i these days. The New Zealand Glass Manufacturers Company is mounting an allied attack on ; the Arabian market. The marketing manager : (Mr Roy O’Shanassy) said I that while Fresh-Up aimed ;|at the everyday market, N.Z. [Glass was exporting a sparliking apple juice presented in : a champagne-style bottle for ilthe dinner and luxury mar-i ; ket — where alcohol is banend. Produced in two sizes, . 750 ml and 275m1, the spark-

ling juice is processed and bottled for AHI by Big Apple Products under the brand name Waireka (Maori for “sweet water’’) juice. The bottles are bodly label-[ Jed in English and Arabic' "Produce of New Zealand. ’’ One container-load of. about 1000 dozen bottles: was sent to Saudi Arabia in August, for distribution by; the United Trading Com-: pany, Ltd. A second load! went to Kuwait in October,! for marketing by the Conserved Tinned Foodstuffs: Distributing Company, Ltd. { Further orders are ex-1 pected at a steady rate, be-: cause it is as good as the [ best on the market and 15; to 20 per cent cheaper, Mr! O’Shanassy said.