{"id":328602,"date":"2026-03-14T01:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T01:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/328602\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T01:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T01:42:10","slug":"drones-a-barbershop-and-big-wins-tauranga-business-awards-2026-celebrate-bay-of-plentys-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/328602\/","title":{"rendered":"Drones, a barbershop and big wins: Tauranga Business Awards 2026 celebrate Bay of Plenty\u2019s best"},"content":{"rendered":"

SYOS Aerospace develops and manufactures autonomous uncrewed vehicles, including drones, robotic vessels and ground vehicles. It is dual-headquartered in Mount Maunganui<\/a> and Britain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe founded SYOS in 2021 and it\u2019s been a wild ride. The more successful we go, the more complex things get,\u201d Vye told the audience at Mercury Baypark in one of his wide-ranging acceptance speeches.<\/p>\n

Vye said Tauranga should be a national and world leader in technology development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can have amazing export sales of technology and I think we can do incredible stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unfiltered Brit drew laughs through the night with the odd not-so-safe-for-work story (locked naked out of his hotel room in Sydney) and enthusiastic swearing.<\/p>\n

Vye took his final opportunity at the mic to hype-up local entrepreneurs and heap praise on his wife, as well as on his team of 170 employees worldwide, bringing several out on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got this amazing team of beautiful, sexy people behind me. Can I just have a round of applause for these beautiful people,\u201d Vye said.<\/p>\n

He singled out a few who had been with the company from its early days, sharing how he lured them to Tauranga to join the start-up.<\/p>\n

\"SyosSyos Aerospace senior flight mechanics design engineer Keshika Warnakula.<\/p>\n

Award-winning aerospace engineer Keshika Warnakula<\/a>, for example, was picked up for her interview on the side of a highway by a ute towing an under-development uncrewed helicopter to a test site in P\u0101p\u0101moa.<\/p>\n

\u201cPicked her up, she jumps in the back, and like, honestly, you tell your kids not to bloody do that, hey? It\u2019s like insane, but she did it,\u201d Vye said.<\/p>\n

He told the Bay of Plenty Times the win \u201cmeans so much\u201d to the SYOS team. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives them the understanding that SYOS is an award-winning company and they can be proud about wearing SYOS on their shirts.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the company was \u201claser-focused\u201d on solving problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe robotics industry in the world is on steroids at the minute, the rate of growth is exponential, as demonstrated by contracts we\u2019ve won overseas, and now in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are one of the global companies on the leading edge of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SYOSSYOS Aerospace founder and chief executive Samuel Vye. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n

SYOS has secured major defence contracts<\/a>, including a $66.8 million deal with the British Defence Force to supply drones for Ukraine, and a New Zealand Defence Force contract to provide air, land and maritime drones for Army and Navy trials.<\/p>\n

Vye said SYOS was achieving \u201cmajor milestones\u201d every week.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur strategy is to expand here significantly in New Zealand, expand our overseas presence, and we do want to be the next success story, the next, Rocket Lab.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special Judges Impact Award \u2013 Barber Spence & Co <\/p>\n

Spencer McNeil, 21, of Brookfield\u2019s Barber Spence & Co, won the evening\u2019s first award, taking home the surprise Special Judges Impact award. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m blown away. I don\u2019t know what to say. I don\u2019t know what to think. I\u2019m just honestly so, so blessed,\u201d a tearful McNeil told the Bay of Plenty Times after receiving his award.<\/p>\n

A crowd favourite, he drew constant applause and praise from fellow winners \u2013 including Vye, who suggested his team should take out a subscription for haircuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a massive wake-up call for me to realise there are a lot of people watching,\u201d McNeil said. <\/p>\n

\"SpencerSpencer McNeil (left), of Barber Spence & Co, with head judge Jamie Lunam after receiving the Special Judges Impact Award. Photo \/ Salina Galvan<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of eyes on me, especially now, and to realise that everything\u2019s in front of me, I just have to chase it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barber Spence & Co has built a loyal following by combining grooming with a commitment to community, becoming a hub where locals connect and support one another.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe care about the people, we\u2019re here for people to know that regardless of what you\u2019re going through, if you come to us for a cut or if you just want to pop in, sit down and have a chat, we\u2019re here for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overcome with emotion, McNeil said he was \u201cso grateful\u201d to be standing on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis award goes to my mates I\u2019ve lost, my old man, who I lost five years ago to cancer. It means more to me, it\u2019s way beyond me, and means absolutely everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

People\u2019s Choice Award \u2013 Bay Paediatrics <\/p>\n

Bay Paediatrics won the People\u2019s Choice Award, determined by public vote.<\/p>\n

The private paediatric clinic specialises in ADHD diagnosis and treatment of children<\/a> and was co-founded by Dr Sarah Moll and Freddie Bennett.<\/p>\n

Bennett said he was \u201cabsolutely blown away\u201d by the win and it was \u201cjust the beginning\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes in life you wonder if you\u2019re going to make an impact or if anyone\u2019s paying attention, especially as a boy with ADHD who has a boy with ADHD. Sometimes we all feel like giving up, but this is recognition for the amazing work that our team does every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FreddieFreddie Bennett (left) from Bay Paediatrics, which won the People\u2019s Choice Award, with NZME’s Greg Murphy, representing category sponsor Newstalk ZB. Photo \/ Salina Galvan<\/p>\n

He said the motivation behind Bay Paediatrics was that \u201cno family gets left behind\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about giving every family in the Bay of Plenty the clarity, the certainty and the confidence to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other big winners on the night included Supreme Award runner-up JNP Aviation, which also won the Excellence in M\u0101ori\/Pasifika Business award. <\/p>\n

The mother-daughter team behind Nomu Matcha and husband-and-wife-run pergola company Archishade each took home a highly commended and a category win.<\/p>\n

Tauranga Mayor Mah\u00e9 Drysdale said he enjoyed being at the awards to see the \u201ccool businesses\u201d Tauranga had in its economy.<\/p>\n

He said there were so many success stories and it was great to see them being recognised. <\/p>\n

\u201cBarber Spence, I\u2019ve seen his story before, and what an inspirational person helping a community, and then there\u2019s small little companies like SYOS, who started in a garage and are now selling millions of dollars of gear around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it was important to celebrate the people who had worked hard and achieved some \u201cexcellent\u201d results. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are the ones that drive the economy, employ people, and, hearing their stories is quite inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deloitte and Farmer Autovillage Tauranga Business Awards 2025 Winners: <\/p>\n

Deloitte and Farmer Autovillage Business of the Year \u2013 SYOS AerospaceNewstalk ZB People\u2019s Choice Award \u2013 Bay PaediatricsToi Ohomai Emerging Business \u2013 ArchishadeCooney Lees Morgan Excellent Women in Leadership \u2013 Jacinta Horan, Bureta PhysiotherapyMercury Baypark Excellence in Industry Achievement \u2013 Collab DigitalTauranga Business Chamber Excellence in Manufacturing \u2013 ModcomPacific Growth Services and Sequal Lumber Excellence in M\u0101ori\/Pasifika Business \u2013 JNP Aviation LtdKingSt Advertising Excellence in Marketing Impact \u2013 Nomu Matcha2Degrees Excellence in Innovation \u2013 SYOS AerospaceZespri Excellence in International Trade \u2013 SYOS AerospaceUniversity of Waikato Excellence in Supply & Logistics \u2013 Container CoFarmer Autovillage and New World Mt Maunganui Special Judges Impact Award \u2013 Barber Spence & Co<\/p>\n

Kaitlyn Morrell<\/a> is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SYOS Aerospace develops and manufactures autonomous uncrewed vehicles, including drones, robotic vessels and ground vehicles. It is dual-headquartered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2246,95,10779,23301,1561,3390,8834,138,177,11286,111,139,69,1118,19389,1227,6202],"class_list":["post-328602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-2246","tag-and","tag-awards","tag-barbershop","tag-bay","tag-best","tag-big","tag-business","tag-celebrate","tag-drones","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-plentys","tag-tauranga","tag-wins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}