15 Tweed businesses take home awards

NORCO, a dairy co-op that supports farmers across northern NSW, has won the coveted 2024 Northern Rivers Business of the Year award.

It was one of 15 businesses or organisations operating in the Tweed Shire to receive an accolade at the Northern Rivers 2024 Regional Business Awards night, held at the Ballina RSL Club on Saturday.

Norco won two category awards earlier in the night – Excellence in Sustainability, and Outstanding Business Leader (21 employees and over) for CEO Michael Hampson. It was selected as the Business of the Year from 23 category winners.

Business NSW regional director for Northern Rivers Jane Laverty said the awards celebrated and showcased the diverse talent within the Northern Rivers business community.

“It was a wonderful night of celebration. You could feel the connection between everyone and the sense of comradery among a group of truly dedicated regional business leaders.

“Noro Cooperative was a well-deserving winner of individual categories and recognised as a business that is dedicated to achieving results for their farming partners and has achieved outstanding results for business performance and demonstrating all-round excellence

in business.

“It’s been a tough few years for many businesses, so these awards are a wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight on the ingenuity, strength and resilience of all the finalists who also represented over 30,000 businesses now in the Northern Rivers.”

Other Tweed Shire winners and highly commended recipients

Woodland Valley Farm won the Excellence in Agriculture and Primary Industries category, and Paul Baker from McGloin Baker was the Outstanding Young Business Leader.

Potager won for Excellence in Tourism, Recreational and Visitor Services, and Employer of Choice (20 employees or under). Peter Burr from Potager was the Outstanding Business Leader (20 employees or under).

The Nail Snail won the award for Excellence in Innovation, and Farm and Co Restaurant won for Outstanding Visitor Experience.

Recipients of highly commended awards were: Studioeleven Hair & Beauty for Excellence in Retail & Personal Services; Autism Camp Australia in the Tweed Byron Hinterland for Outstanding Community Organisation and Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion; Highline All Electrical for Excellence in Trade, Construction and Manufacturing; Effective Workplace Solutions for Excellence in Business & Professional Services; for Excellence in Health, Care and Wellness Services; Winchester Farm for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion; Business Murwillumbah for Outstanding Local Chamber; Moneysmith Group for Excellence in Innovation; and 2020 Smokehouse BBQ for Excellence in Micro Business.

For the full list of winners, head to businessnsw.com/events/business-awards/northern-rivers

Winners of state-aligned categories will now represent the region at the State Business Awards to be held in Sydney on October 30.

“I am very much looking forward to seeing Team Northern Rivers, our regional winners, represent our broader business community on the State stage,” Mrs Laverty said.