Ashburton District is home to many internationally and nationally recognised businesses....

Ashburton is blessed to have an increasing "dual" economy.  Whilst the underlying economy is agriculturally based, there are a number of innovative companies in the District.

Locally owned and internationally recognised businesses exporting worldwide are numerous, a sample includes -

• Designline Coach Builders
  The leading coach manufacturer in New Zealand producing buses, coaches and specialised vehicles for the tourist and city passenger transport industry
   
• Ashford Handicrafts
  Ashfords have manufactured over 500,000 spinning wheels to date and export to over 40 countries.
   
• New Zealand Sock Company
  Turning out 18,000 pairs of socks every week from their Ashburton factory.  Trusted by New Zealand's leading labels, their socks now end up on the feet of not only Kiwis, but Americans, Canadians, the English, Japanese and Australians.
   
• NZ Wine Aspics
  This new company has developed a range of wine gelee into the New Zealand premium gourmet market and has received international recognition at the SIAL food fair in Paris in 2004.
   
• RX Plastics
  An innovative company specialising in plastics for agriculture and municipal uses.  Manufacturers and distributors of piping systems, compression thread and lateral fittings, tanks, troughs and K-line irrigation systems. 
   
• Peter Lynn Kites
  A world leader in the design of kites both large and small.  From kids' kites to world record holders and the latest in extreme sport power kites, all designed by Peter Lynn in Ashburton
• Midlands Seed
  One of New Zealand's top producers of dried peas, herbage and vegetable seed, as well as grain.
   
• Guardian Print
  One of the main printers of commercial newsprint product in the South Island and one of only two newspaper printing plants in Australasia being IS0 9002 registered.
   
• Pluck's Engineering
  Innovative engineering, specialising in irrigation, effluent systems, heavy duty cultivators, bale feeders, land rollers and Z-Jacks.

National companies with bases in Ashburton include -

PPCS  New Zealand’s largest meat-marketing company, exporting lamb, beef, venison and associated products to about 60 countries. PPCS has a large processing facility based in Ashburton with 500 employees.

CMP  Canterbury’s product processing plant specialising in year round production of lamb, beef and co-products is located in the Ashburton District, employing 700 and has customer bases in South East Asia, North America, North Asia, Continental Europe and the UK.

Talley's Vegetable Division runs a processing factory in Ashburton with 150 employees.  The Vegetable Division operates their own farms and contracts the supply of vegetables with a wide base of growers.