Waikato’s the place to be
Mike Rudling is proof of Waikato’s growing reputation as a place to do business.
According to the Waikato District Council’s annual report, the Waikato is attracting businesses and job growth at a rate faster than the national average – and its reputation as a place to do business is growing with it.
The report shows the district attracting 183 new businesses and nearly 1000 new jobs last year.
Business owners rated the district as 8.7 out of 10 to do business and the net number of respondents prepared to recommend the district as a place to do business doubled.
Mike Rudling, CEO of Radix Nutrition Ltd, moved his company from Auckland down to Horotiu saying Waikato’s simplicity was one of the major attractions.
Logistically, Waikato is so much easier than Auckland, he said.
‘‘Auckland is just so congested, it was so hard to get around. Here most staff have between a 10 and 15 minute commute, a fraction of what it was in Auckland.
‘‘The cost of living is also so much cheaper, there are so many things in Waikato’s favour.’’
Radix Nutrition produces freeze-dried high-nutrition meals for high-performance athletes and people on specialised diets.
There are a lot of specialised skills in the Waikato around food production, Rudling said.
‘‘I think it takes quite a lot to be in an environment where manufacturing is made simple and easy.
‘‘We identified early on in our research this would be possible in the Waikato.’’
Rudling said he is also excited to be so close to the high performance sports hub in Cambridge.
‘‘We’ve done a lot with these athletes and I hope we can do a lot more going forward.’’
The business has worked with a wide range of New Zealand’s top athletes and featured at the Rio Olympics.
It’s also popular with people in high-performance roles like executives and airline pilots, Rudling said.