On 19 May 2025 the 2024 Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence to Industry were presented by Hon. Judith Collins KC. Since 1998 these awards have highlighted and acknowledged the major contributions made by industry to New Zealand Defence.
About the 2024 Awards
Every year the New Zealand defence industry is acknowledged for its contribution to New Zealand's defence, economy and workforce at the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence to Industry event.
This year there were 15 finalists across four categories, nominated by Ministry of Defence staff, New Zealand Defence Force personnel and staff, and defence industry. Ten companies and individuals were presented with an award, recognising their high standards, skills, innovation and impact on local communities.
Minister of Defence Hon Judith Collins KC congratulates the winners and finalists of the 2024 Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence to Industry.
Category Winners
Category Winners
Prime Contractor of the Year: Hawkins
Hawkins partnered with the Ministry of Defence to construct new facilities for the P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft fleet at RNZAF Base Ohakea. Named Te Whare Toroa, there's a range of facilities including two hangars, a flight simulator, office space, flight stores, ground service equipment storage, and an apron to the runway. The complicated construction process required a number of bespoke solutions to meet strict compliance requirements and a high earthquake standard. The nominators described the Hawkins team as flexible, perseverant, and collaborative, with health and safety a part of the culture.
Sub-Contractor or SME of the Year - Product
In 2024 there were two winners:
Build N Concrete
Build N Concrete constructed facilities in Tonga for the Pacific Leadership Development Programme, which is a multi-agency initiative of the New Zealand Defence Force and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. From 2023 to 2024 Build N Concrete helped to design and build classrooms, office space, kitchen, storage, and ablutions. The Auckland- and Tonga-based company, went above and beyond, navigating local customs and practices, representing Defence’s interests, and providing experts such as an engineer early in the design process. Throughout the project they also built skills in the local Tongan workforce, incorporated local cultural design and tsunami design considerations.
As part of Ohakea’s infrastructure upgrade, Christchurch-based Seipp construction completed Civil works including potable water, the North-East quadrant wastewater pump station, and wastewater pipeline. Works were completed quickly and effectively. Their dedication and commitment was evident as significant challenges were navigated, such as unexpected geotechnical conditions and minimising operational disruption to roads and infrastructure from trenching. They are a responsible company that cares for its workforce, with a percentage of profits made available for educational grants for staff families. Seipp Construction were described as trustworthy, innovative, and collaborative.
Sub-contractor/SME of the Year - Service: Sysdoc Group
Sysdoc delivered the design and development of the learning system for the Seamanship Combat Specialist workforce review and the Engineering Training Reform. This work aimed to enhance the knowledge retention and training state of Royal New Zealand Navy sailors and to refresh training packages as old as 15 years. Sysdoc has brought strong contemporary experience in the pedagogy of adult learners. They are open and share industry trend information and have been described as positive, involved, invested, strategic, passionate, and energetic. The Seamanship Combat Specialist project involved a lengthy process of developing job scalars and working through a process to review and replace the approach and content. Sysdoc's revision of the curriculum across all ranks ensures a holistic programme of training is delivered.
Special Award Winners
Special Award Winners
Tū Kaha/Courage: Dr Laura Robichaux (Beca)
Dr Robichaux is a specialist who is expert in the field of climate change adaptation and leads the Defence estate collaborative engineering group to identify and understand the impact on medium- to long-term estate planning. The Assessment Panel recognised her deep expertise and ability to create strong influence and decision making positions to get productive outcomes. She was described as indomitable, expert at her craft, and tenacious.
This year there were two winners for this Award.
Tū Tira/Comradeship: Paul Grant (Kuehne + Nagel)
Mr Grant is the Operational Key Account manager who interacts with many parts of Defence to support freight forwarding of equipment and components. Mr Grant has been pivotal in ensuring the smooth and efficient delivery and minimisation of interruption to Defence operations. Working across a very wide range and number of stakeholders in Defence, Mr Grant has personally intervened to ensure equipment and goods have been delivered between countries and Defence accurately and effectively.
Kotahitanga/Unity: Annette Smith (Sysdoc)
Award Finalists
Award Finalists
Alongside the winners, there were five finalists across three categories.
Finalists for Prime Contractor of the Year
ADA New Zealand redesigned facilities for clothing stores across nine New Zealand Defence Force sites, streamlining the sizing and fitment process for personnel. The company introduced 3D full body scan technology, enabling rapid and accurate sizing with better displays of clothing ranges, change rooms, and a full tri-service uniform facility ensure a modern and respectful experience for personnel. Their commitment and dedication brought innovation and vision to the project.
The company was commissioned to support the New Zealand Defence Force with an urgent upgrade of the secure communications system for a Seasprite helicopter in preparation for Operation Crucible. A highly compressed timeframe and the need for a bespoke solution, along with aged aircraft and high technical complexity, challenged the skills of the Beca and NZDF teams. A high level of collaboration was shown, along with Beca’s resourcefulness and adaptability.
Finalist for Sub-Contractor or SME of the Year - Product
The Centre for Strategic Studies is in its seventh year of delivering the Master of Strategic Studies academic programme. The Centre quickly ascertained that military students and the programme required a bespoke curriculum, testing, assessment, and support model. The Centre used a lot more active marking, rather than relying on tools for this process, to enable a richer layer of feedback to students.