Venture Timaru

07/10/2026

What do our young people of the district think?

Almost 1,400 young people aged 12–24 from across Waitaki, Mackenzie, Waimate, Timaru and Ashburton have had their say through The Y’s Youth Survey.

The bi-annual survey asks young people about education, employment, health and wellbeing, housing security and the pressures they are facing.

Now it’s time to hear what they told us.

The Y Central South Island NZ is bringing the survey results together and inviting the people who have a role to play in supporting young people across our communities to come along and listen.

Whether you’re from a workplace, sports club, community organisation, education, local business or are involved in decision-making, if you have an interest in our young people and the opportunities and outcomes they have ahead of them, this is a conversation worth being part of.

Head along, hear directly what young people are saying, and think about what we can do with that information.

Wednesday 14th October at the Timaru District Council Chambers, 2 King George Place from 5:30pm.

Please RSVP to Lynne Porter - [email protected]
by October 2nd 2026.

25/09/2026

We’re heading to Ōtautahi Christchurch next week for the 2026 Aerospace New Zealand Summit.
Venture Timaru Business Development Lead Tania Stoddart will be joined by MachineCraft owner and precision engineer Andrew Geddes, who has recently started working with notable New Zealand aerospace companies.

Tania and Andrew will be promoting the new South Canterbury Aerospace Capability Prospectus, developed by Venture Timaru in partnership with the South Canterbury Aerospace Strategy Group.
The prospectus brings together businesses already working in aerospace and related activity, alongside businesses with capabilities that could support future opportunities.

Our focus is to showcase what South Canterbury can contribute, build relationships and understand where there are opportunities for our businesses to connect into the sector and add value.

We’ll be based within the ChristchurchNZ exhibition site, attending industry sessions and meeting with companies, researchers, investors and other organisations working across aerospace.

If you’re attending the Summit, come and talk to us about the capability available across South Canterbury and where there may be opportunities to work together.

South Canterbury’s aerospace capability will be showcased to national and international industry leaders with the launch of a Capability Prospectus at the New Zealand Aerospace Summit.

17/09/2026

We’ve launched a new Venture Timaru website, created to showcase the strengths of our district as a place to do business, invest, live and work, and to make it easier for businesses to access the information and support they need to grow.

There are also seemless links through to visitor and events information- everything a first or multi-time visitor needs to know about our great district.

Explore the new site, vtdevelopment.co.nz
We encourage you to use the insights and resources to support your own business planning and get in touch with our team if there’s a way we can help.

04/09/2026

Here’s your chance to learn about the cruise sector and how you can get involved.

Read the post below to find out more about the Cruise Ready Workshop.

To register email [email protected]

Calling would-be cruise tour operators! 🛳️

Here’s your chance to learn about the cruise sector and how you can get involved. The Cruise Ready Workshop is designed for those new to the cruise sector.

It’ll cover:
• Insights into NZ’s cruise industry, from market breakdown to visitation, spending and economic impact
• Attracting passengers – bookings, ship excurisons, key attractions
• Working with the cruise lines
• Plus plenty of time for Q&A.

📅 Thursday 24 September 2026
📍 The Grosvenor, Cains Terrace
🕑 9.45am – 10am meet and greet with morning tea
10am-12pm Workshop

Free to attend, to register email [email protected]

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 B**r 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/