Published on the 19/11/2013 | Written by Newsdesk
A 120-people strong audience, including a who’s who of the New Zealand hi-tech industry, gathered to see Bill Buckley honoured as the peer-reviewed ‘Tait Communications Flying Kiwi’ and the next member of the New Zealand Hi-Tech Hall of Fame…
The Flying Kiwi award recognises its recipients’ lifetime of achievement in the technology industry. For Buckley the award acknowledges his achievements in engineering, business and export and as the founder of Buckley Systems Limited (BSL) – the world’s leading supplier of precision electromagnets.
Buckley saw the opportunity in electromagnets, which are used in the manufacture of silicon chips, flat-panel screens, high-end medical machinery and particle accelerators. After more than 20 years in business, BSL supplies machinery used in the manufacture of more than 90 percent of the world’s silicon chips. Today the company employs more than 300 people and is a global technology leader exporting its products to customers around the world from its headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.
Buckley is known for having said: “It’s no good doing what anyone can do. You have to go after the stuff that is too complicated for the average engineer so you can be Johnny on the spot when the demand hits.”
In his humble and, at times, emotional acceptance speech, he recognised the relationships, both personal and professional, that have helped him and his company to succeed, including the time his wife put her house on the market and the day Fletchers put up a bond for a make-or-break Taiwanese deal that would hold BSL’s assessors at bay during the GFC. He also recalled his start in life as a farm boy dreaming about building the biggest things he could – beginning with ships before he took an early interest in nuclear physics, and his curiosity and passion drove him to establish his first company.
Before unveiling the newest inductee into the hall of fame NZ Hi-Tech Trust chairman, Wayne Norrie, acknowledged the great strides the industry has taken in recent years and the role that our Flying Kiwis have played, many of whom attended the event, making it the largest turn out of fellow Flying Kiwis in the event’s 10-year history.
Referring to these technology luminaries, Norrie said: “Individually these fine Kiwis have created achievements worthy of celebration, but collectively they have been the driving force behind the success of our industry. Each of them has striven to develop future generations of companies with bigger and better stories than their own. They are people who have quietly achieved greatness and given back so much. We owe them our thanks. Not enough New Zealanders know the achievements of tour Flying Kiwis.”
James Kyd, chief marketing officer of Tait Communications, sponsors of the Flying Kiwi Award, said: “Like all our Flying Kiwis, Bill is humble, and unassuming, and outside of people in this industry, few New Zealanders would be aware of his fantastic achievements. Which is why it’s so important we celebrate our Flying Kiwis and tell their stories more widely.”
During the course of his career to date, Buckley has won many awards including:
- Twice being named New Zealand Trade Exporter of the Year
- Receiving the Ernst & Young New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2011
- Being a finalist for New Zealander of the Year in 2013
- Receiving the NZ Order of Merit in 2013 for his services to technology, business and motorsport.
Members of The Hi-Tech Hall of Fame:
- 2013 Bill Buckley
- 2012 Sir Ken Stevens
- 2011 Brent Robinson
- 2010 Paul Hargreaves
- 2009 Selwyn Pellett
- 2009 Rod Drury
- 2008 Dennis Chapman
- 2008 Ian Taylor
- 2008 Sir Gil Simpson
- 2007 Trevor Eagle
- 2007 Sir William Gallagher
- 2006 Sir Peter Maire
- 2005 Sir Woolf Fisher and Maurice Paykel
- 2004 Neville Jordan
- 2003 Sir Angus Tait
