Pacific Wide (NZ) Ltd

Pacific Wide (NZ) Ltd was established in 1988 by Clive Washington. Originally we were formed to meet the needs of export customers of Country Traders, a large, broad based commodity trader which ceased business in 1988. Pacific Wide began business as a trader of Sphagnum moss and Aged Pinus Radiata bark (Monterey pine). Both of these products were sourced from independent suppliers before the decision was made to invest in our own production facilities.

During Pacific Wide's existence our innovative approach has allowed us to diversify into many areas. Although not all of these have long term success stories they have given us valuable knowledge and also some good laughs during and after the experience. Some of these experiences have included the following. In the early 1990's we produced Wasp Larvae, a local delicacy for the Nagano province in Japan. To this day a small amount of this product is shipped out every Autumn.

The Wasp Larvae business presented us with another opportunity with a scientist who was breeding Bumble Bees for pollination. We set up a small operation in Christchurch breeding nests for the Japanese market. There was also an opportunity to export to Europe but found that there was a Dutch and Belgium company also doing some development in this area. It was agreed that we would not enter into Europe if they left Japan to Pacific Wide. The market in Japan expanded rapidly and our operation had to cope with extreme growth. Any spare hands were collaborated into transferring nests for export. Regrettably the Belgium's and Dutch saw the possibilities in Japan and began exporting to Japan cutting prices for market share. Soon the market was unprofitable and we withdrew.

During the mid 1990's we created an interest in Japan for Trellis products. This was a very large market for a new product and we exported many containers. As we expanded the market a potential distributor took our samples to China. Soon after this the market was flooded with much cheaper products from China. Trellis continues to be a substantial seller in Japan but unfortunately only a small amount is now exported from New Zealand. When this market opportunity was lost to China we diversified into smaller wooden products. Initially these were manufactured by a contractor before we started up our own factory, Earthcare Ltd. This was relatively successful for a short time but we chose to refocus on our growing media products the factory was closed down. We continue to offer a range of high quality wooden garden products made from Macrocapa through our independent suppliers.

Through these trials Pacific Wide has gained valuable experience in developing new products and markets. We have refocused our efforts on our core Besgrow products and continue to develop these further. Our markets have continued to expand and we continue to explore opportunities in Horticultural growing media.

Our core values revolve around products that are from renewable resources, are recyclable, environmentally friendly, sustainable, consistent and made to a high quality. We strive to be professional and relationships with our staff and customers are important to us. We aspire to continue to grow our products, staff and customers.