Venture Timaru

30/08/2026

Timaru's been getting noticed internationally as a visitor destination after UK independent travel writer Harry Bullmore visited in March and rated visiting here as one of the highlights of his trip!

It's hard to measure the impact this content has, but with a monthly audience of around 20 million, you can begin to imagine the views. We certainly are seeing a trend in our visitor data reports of increases in international visitor spending and overnight stays.

Special thanks to Simon at U-Bake for making Harry feel so welcome ... and supplying delicious treats of course 😀
Read more here

Timaru has reached another massive international audience after being featured in a piece which ran in the UK’s Independent online publication.

24/08/2026

Exciting news out today - Timaru now has 17 cruise ships coming this season, another record year! PrimePort Timaru Limited and Venture Timaru have been working hard together to build the cruise sector here and in our joint Cruise Strategy released last year, we're targeting 25-30 ships by 2030, and now tracking well to meet this!

Read the Timaru Herald story for more

Investment in infrastructure at Timaru’s port and strong relationships with international cruise lines have been attributed to landing a scheduled record cruise season.

20/08/2026

New economic figures out this week show a good result for Timaru District, with our GDP growth to the end of June, tracking ahead of the national figures.

Consumer spending and visitor spending are also up, as are guest nights in the district.

The figures are in the latest Quarterly Economic Report produced for Venture Timaru by Infometrics. Read the news story here

Strong primary sector returns and widespread growth across most industries is being attributed to a 2% lift for the Timaru District in the June quarter.

19/08/2026

Great to see local business MachineCraft and owner Andrew Geddes recognised on the front page of the Timaru Herald this morning.

Andrew’s work, alongside the commitment of the SC Aerospace Strategy Group, reflects the growing momentum behind aerospace capability here in South Canterbury.

We’re looking forward to attending the Aerospace Summit in October and continuing to promote the innovation and expertise already present across our district.

Congratulations Andrew, MachineCraft, and everyone contributing to this exciting journey.

A special thanks to David Wright and Sarah Pratt from Aesteria Engineering for recognising the important role regional communities can play in contributing to the global aerospace sector.

https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/361061907/timaru-firms-components-head-international-space-station

A Timaru engineering company’s work on specialist components for scientific hardware is destined for the International Space Station.

10/08/2026

We love welcoming The Networkers group to the Venture Timaru boardroom every Friday morning.

With around 24 local businesses coming together each week, the group is a great space for building relationships, sharing knowledge, and supporting one another across a wide range of professional and service industries.

Last week, the group stepped outside the boardroom for a visit to Timaru MG hosted by Sales Manager Nick Woodall. Nick shared more about MG’s extensive vehicle range, including hybrid options and leading EV brands such as BYD. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the future of transport, sustainability, and the features now available to businesses and drivers.

A big thank you to Lynda Brodie for always facilitating such a warm, welcoming, and well-connected group.

At Venture Timaru, we support local business growth by helping people connect, share ideas, and access the right support. If you’re keen to meet like-minded local business leaders, The Networkers Group is a great place to start.

Check out The Networkers website https://thenetworkers.co.nz/groups/

06/08/2026

Cheers to International Beer Day! 🍻
Venture Timaru is proud to celebrate DB Draught Brewery's enduring presence in Washdyke and its contribution to our local economy. Since opening in 1976, the brewery has been part of Timaru's manufacturing story, showing resilience across decades of changing markets and customer preferences.

We're especially proud to acknowledge Adrian Finlayson (pictured) and his team for the work underway at the brewery to improve water and energy efficiency, supported by ongoing investment in plant and operational upgrades. DB’s internal data shows reductions in heat, electricity and water use at the site over the last few years, and there have been a number of exciting upgrades including replacing coal with biomass for process heat, and improvements to wastewater treatment.

“In a regional economy like ours, investment of this nature matters. It helps sustain specialist skills, supports local supply chains and reinforces Timaru’s role as a place where nationally significant production can thrive,” says Nigel Davenport, CEO, Venture Timaru.

Read the full article here https://vtdevelopment.co.nz/2026/08/07/celebrating-db-breweries-international-beer-day/

04/08/2026

We sat down with Gary Fahey of Dan Cosgrove 2014 Ltd to talk about diversification and how it sets his business up for success.
"The strength of Cosgrove’s lies in its investment in capability. Strategic investment in plant has enabled Gary and his team to manufacture for multiple industries, creating the flexibility to respond to changing markets and building the resilience that has underpinned its success” says Nigel Davenport, CEO, Venture Timaru.
Watch the clip or read the full story via our website blog here https://vtdevelopment.co.nz/2026/07/15/dan-cosgrove-ltd-diversification-driving-long-term-success/

Did you know?
The Timaru District is one of the most diverse regional economies in New Zealand.
Informetric reports Timaru District as having a diversity index of 245, compared to 489 across New Zealand’s 66 territorial authorities. The lower the number, the more diverse the economy.
That diversity helps to drive resilience within our local economy.

We actively support business looking to establish, relocate or expand here.
Explore the advantages of investing in our district.
https://vtdevelopment.co.nz/make-timaru-your-business/

22/07/2026

Māia, Matatū! All the best for Saturday's final - our amazing Wāhine toa. We are with you all the way from all of us here at Venture Timaru. Matatū

22/07/2026

We spent time earlier this week with the newly appointed managers of the Timaru Ballantynes Department Store - Store Manager Jo Cockrane and Store Supervisor Brie Ashley.

Jo is a familiar face to many, having been part of Ballantynes for more than 20 years and supporting six store managers along the way. Her move into the Store Manager role is a natural next step for someone who knows the business, the team, and the customers so well.

Brie’s journey is equally worth celebrating. She first joined Ballantynes as a casual while still at school five years ago and has now stepped into the Store Supervisor role - a great example of the career pathways and leadership development happening within the business.

Their appointments bring fresh energy to a store with an incredible local legacy. Ballantynes Timaru was established in 1883 and remains one of the CBD’s landmark retailers, continuing to play an important role in our local retail landscape.

The famous Ballantynes sale begins this Friday, 24 July - which also happens to be World Self-Care Day — the perfect reason to pop in, treat yourself, and support a long-standing Timaru business.

Did you know? The Timaru branch was established in 1883 and moved to its present site in 1913, with new premises opening in 1986 and an extension into the first floor added in 2006.

Its history is closely connected to the people and architecture of the town, with the Stafford Street building designed by Messrs Clarkson and Ballantyne. Mr Clarkson was a son of the founders of Dunstable House (Christchurch Store), while Mr Ballantyne was a nephew of John Ballantyne (opened the Timaru store)

17/07/2026

Voting is now open for the ANZ People's Choice Award, the finalists would be incredibly grateful for your vote!

Vote here: https://southcanterbury.org.nz/peopleschoice/

Voting closes 7 August