GOVERNOR LINGLE ANNOUNCES EXPORTER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

For Immediate Release: December 16, 2004

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today recognized Kona Bay Marine Resources, Inc., an aquaculture firm that grows highly valued shrimp brood stock and bivalve seed, as the 2004 Governor's Exporter of the Year.  In announcing the award, she praised the company for its exporting success and solid commitment to growth in Hawai`i.

Kona Bay was among seven companies and individuals honored at an awards ceremony at Washington Place for outstanding achievements in exporting products and services.

“Through the export of Hawai`i-grown and Hawai`i-made products, these businesses are helping expand and diversify our economy, as well as promote Hawai`i around the world,” said Governor Lingle.  “We want to recognize these top exporting firms for their business achievements, and thank them for what they do to support our economy and improve the lives of many here in Hawai`i.”

The following winning businesses represent the vitality of Hawai`i’s export diversification efforts:

• Exporter of the Year was awarded to new exporter Kona Bay Marine Resources, Inc.  The company was recognized for its resourceful and innovative products and marketing strategies.  Kona Bay discovered methods to produce healthy and disease-resistant varieties of shrimp using biotechnology.  As a result, businesses and governments around the world seek the company products and expertise to strengthen and develop their own shrimp industry.  
• Plum Hall, Inc. was awarded Exporter of High Technology and is recognized worldwide for their work in software development.  Plum Hall is best known for its high-tech products deliverable from anywhere in the world.  The company has developed and marketed software that enables their clientele to securely carry out valuable transactions and movements of trade secrets around the world.
• Koyo USA Corp., awarded Exporter of Manufactured Products, has a unique product of desalinated Hawai`i deep-sea water, which has been successfully introduced to the Japanese market.  The company ships more than a quarter million bottles daily under the brand name MaHalo Deep Sea Water.
• Pacific Floral Exchange, Inc. was awarded Exporter of Fresh Commodities and is recognized as a leader in Hawai`i for their innovative marketing and business strategies in establishing a significant presence and share of exported flowers around the globe.  In addition to their own anthurium and decorative foliage products, the company exports tropical flowers from more than 80 independent growers.
• Three individuals were recognized for Outstanding Contributor to Exporting: Robert Krant, President of Hawai`i Roasters, LLC, for his selfless efforts to increase trade between Hawai`i and Europe, resulting in new opportunities for other local companies; and Lyle Wong from the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture and Ralph Iwamoto from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for their tireless work to increase agricultural exports from Hawai`i. Lyle and Ralph work together to develop protocols and procedures to expand international and interstate trade from Hawai`i.

The Governor’s Exporter of the Year Awards program is co-sponsored by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the Hawai`i State Department of Agriculture. Participating in support are the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawai`i and the Pacific Business News.

For more information about the Governor's Exporter of the Year Awards program or exporting and overseas marketing opportunities, please call DBEDT Communications at (808) 587-2784; fax: (808) 587-2427; or e-mail to Exporter@dbedt.hawaii.gov.

- # # # -
For additional information, contact:

Ted Liu 
Director 
Dept. of Business, Economic Development 
and Tourism 
Tel: 808-586-2355

Sandra Lee Kunimoto
Chairperson
Board of Agriculture
Tel: 808-973-9550

Lenny Klompus 
Senior Advisor – Communications 
Tel: 808-586-7705

Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Tel: 808-586-0043

2004 EXPORTER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

Exporter of the Year and new exporter
Kona Bay Marine Resources, Inc.
Brian J. Goldstein, President
Sponsor: Lyle Tamagawa, Bank of Hawai`i

Kona Bay Marine Resources, Inc. is a company on the cutting edge of biotechnology. Their distinctive mark is producing specific pathogen-free and pathogen-resistant shrimp. For example, Kona Bay can help a variety of shrimp stricken by an epidemic become strong and resistant to the disease, or provide a healthy new variety to replace the vulnerable one.

In addition, the company relies on innovations to be one step ahead and is organized to integrate research findings, products development, and marketing to bring to the global market place its products, positioning itself as the answer to healthy marine resources.

Exporter of High Technology
Plum Hall, Inc.
Thomas Plum, Vice President / Technology & Engineering
Sponsor: First Hawaiian Bank
Chuck Erskine Assistant, Vice President/Branch Manager
Carmela Boteilho, Personal Banking Officer

Plum Hall, Inc. is an active pioneer of the information age. For more than 20 years, the company taught, trained, published and contributed to setting the standard for the C language, a language used to program computers to perform business tasks. The company is a leader in producing specialized software used for testing and validating methods that put together data from various sources to better serve business operations. Plum Hall pioneered the delivery of confidential trade secret via the internet, along with a clear legally-enforceable record of delivery. The company chose the island of Hawai`i as its corporate headquarter primarily for its weather and quality of life.

Exporter of Manufactured Products
Koyo USA Corporation
Mr. Yasuki Takano, CEO and President
Sponsor - First Hawaiian Bank
Elina Grugier, Personal Banking officer

Koyo USA Corporation is a deep-sea water bottling company. Koyo USA uses a high tech filtration system along with a diligent sanitation process to insure the purity of the water and to preserve its heath benefits consumers seek. The company is actively engaged to keep up with the growing demand from Japan and is working to clear the market access-procedure to sell Mahalo Deep Sea Water in the United States.  Presently, the company ships 200,000 to 250,000 1.5 liter bottles a day to Japan. The company has been in operation since August 2003 and obtains Hawai`i’s deep-sea water through the Natural Energy Lab of Hawai`i Site’s (NELHA) pipeline from 2,400 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Exporter of Fresh Commodities
Pacific Floral Exchange, Inc.
Mr. Grayson Inouye, Majority Owner/General Manager
Sponsor: First Hawaiian Bank - Hilo Branch
Howard Higashi, Assistant Vice President

Pacific Floral Exchange, Inc. is an exporter and marketer of flowers. The company ships the tropical floral products of more than 80 independent growers in addition to its own anthuriums and decorative foliage. To overcome competition from low-labor-cost countries in Latin America and Asia, Pacific Floral Exchange relies on quality, product innovation, trends analysis and e-commerce. This well diversified strategy expresses the company business, marketing, and organizational model that help the company prevail as a global competitor.

Outstanding Contributor to Exporting (2 winners)
1)      Robert Krant
President, Hawai`i Roasters, LLC
Sponsor: Bank of Hawai`i
Roberta Chu, Senior, Vice President

Robert Krant wanted to expand trade between Hawai`i and Europe. He devoted his energy to initiate business-to-business contact between Hawai`i and the Europeans. His efforts and conviction convinced the U.S. Embassy in Paris and the Department of Agriculture to fund a trip of seven of the largest food distributors from France to Hawai`i. Robert then enlisted the help of the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture to coordinate the mission. This single mission in 2004 generated the equivalent of more than 50 percent Hawai`i’s exports to France in 2000.

2)      Lyle Wong, PhD., Plant Industry Administrator , Hawai`i Department of Agriculture and Ralph Iwamoto, Jr., Deputy Administrator, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Sponsor: Jo Ann Johnston & Company
Ms. Jo Ann Johnston, President

Dr. Lyle Wong and Ralph Iwamoto, Jr. have been working together to facilitate the movement and expansion of trade between Hawai`i and the world. Their primary objective is to minimize any possible rejection, denial, or obstruction in accessing Hawai`i’s exports markets.

For these reasons, they concentrated their efforts on developing logistics, acquiring equipment, supporting research, and initiating effective exporting principals to guide and facilitate Hawai`i exports around the world.

For example, in 1995, in collaboration with the USDA, Dr. Wong developed test shipments of papaya, lychee, carambola, rambuttan and other Hawai`i tropical fruits to commercial irradiators in Illinois and New Jersey for treatment and distribution in the Mainland. These shipments established the market acceptance of irradiation as a quarantine treatment and the feasibility of irradiation as a quarantine treatment for Hawai`i agricultural products. In 2000 the first irradiation facility to meet post harvest quarantine requirements went into operation. Similar efforts were done to facilitate exports of Hawai`i flowers and foliage to Japan.