About the Products Database

a'Court's Database of Products and Brands in New Zealand constitutes an amazing collection of over 52,000 brand names, classsified in over 43,000 product categories. It illustrates the rich tapestry of industry and trade in New Zealand, being at a cross-roads of cultures from America, Europe, Australia and the Orient. As a result the variety of products found in New Zealand is astonishingly rich.

This database has been brought together gradually, starting from 1972, the past and present data accummulation is reflected in the accuracy of the information and the way it has been presented in book form, CD and on the Internet.
Unlike other business handbooks which focus on marketing (a sell-to database), a'Court's database of products and Brands focuses on where to find products (a buy-from database). Consequently it has become indispensable for purchasing officers, contractors, engineers and manufacturers.

The database on computer consists of keywords and paragraphs linked together in an orderly way. It affords access from all angles, idealfor maintenance, and for producing the various editions. The business handbook of over 1600 pages in very fine print, is now run automatically to disk for the printers.

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About the company

The company, then named a'Court Publications Ltd, started in 1972.  customers were looking for a directory of products and brands which had to be complete in order to be useful. As a consequence, initially all companies with products and brands had to be listed. The idea worked, and together with the concept of tiered indexes, the handbook became a success.

In the early days the book was produced in a very ingenious way on a papertape-driven typesetting machine. Strips and strings of papertape were stored on coathangers, which allowed them to be sorted and re-used in the various sections. To produce a 400 page edition took at least 2 months of sweatshop labour. But a change loomed on the horizon.

In the early days of computers, before the word 'microcomputer' existed, WANG came out with a family of 'model 2200' computers which were instructed by a well-designed BASIC language. Anthoni Computer Automations Consulting, Dr Floor Anthoni took the challenge to convert the papertape nightmare to computer. For that purpose a special database management system was programmed that could handle keywords and variable-length paragraphs without duplicating these.
It took about six months in two shifts to enter and to tidy all existing information. Typeset-ready copy was produced on half inch magnetic tape which was then processed by the Auckland Star daily newspaper, in their slack night-time hours.

As computers became more powerful, the computer hardware was upgraded gradually and the output was processed by a high quality Kyocera laser printer. In 1998 a Pentium computer would do in a few hours what the early WANG computers took a week to process.

In the past 28 years the book has grown phenomenally, both in quality and quantity. Its customer base has grown even faster. And now with the Internet edition, the database opens its doors public worldwide.

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Disclaimer and Copyrights clause

The a'Court editions of the products and brands database have been produced with the utmost care and dedication. We aim to provide access to all products available in New Zealand, but we are aware that such may never be attained. New Zealand has experienced a period of very rapid change, during which not only many new products have been introduced into the country, but also many companies have disappeared while others have appeared.

We are only too happy to replace faulty products such as Handbook with pages missing or CD discs with read errors.
 

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How to reach us
 

a'Court Ltd



P O BOX 25 017
Auckland - 1071

Phone: 0064 9 480 9547. Fax: 0064 9 480 9546
e-mail: kiwimall@acourt.co.nz
web site:  http://www.acourt.co.nz

The information on our web site is updated regularly.

The last week of November is the deadline for each new edition which appears in print by February the following year.

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Products and prices

The Business Handbook of Products, Brands, Services and Companies contains over 1600 pages in four sections of fine print. 'Every effort has been made to produce an accurate and comprehensive book to serve the business community ...a'Courts Business Handbook is ideal for where a modern computer is not available, in homes, small businesses, libraries, offices and centres of commerce.

The CD Database of Products and Brands contains all the information found in the Business Handbook but expanded further while providing over 200,000 fast links to facilitate browsing. The CD edition is ideal for those who use the database regularly and who would benefit from fast and convenient access.
Each CD is registered for one computer however it may be downloaded on to
a single computer and networked

The Internet Gateway to Products and Brands contains all the information and facilities of the CD edition while being free of charge. It provides direct access to companies' own web sites and e-mail letter boxes. The Internet Gateway will be used by tens of thousands of people occasionally looking for product information and who don't mind waiting a little. The Internet Gateway is updated regularly.It is indispensable for those who wish to reach a very broad audience and those who have web sites themselves.

Bold listings give a company the opportunity to draw attention to its products, to say more about itself and its products and to assist the user in making up his mind. Any company can have a free listing. It contains the company name, address and  e-mail address, fax, phone and box number
.

Bold company : The company name is made to stand out in the Brands, Trades and Companies sections.A short company description, purpose, mission statement, etc. is added to the company name. The address can be extended to include branch locations and several e-mail and web-site URLs can be included. The product narrative can be more descriptive while more attention is paid towards linking the brands to their product classifications. In the CD and Internet editions a 'Bold Company' gets its own page with fast links from the Brands and Trades indexes.

Bold Brand : The brand name is made to stand out in the Products and Brands sections. A short brand description is added to the brand name. The companies address is listed under the brand name, including internet addresses and telephone numbers.A brand narrative describes the brand in more detail. In the CD and Internet editions, fast links are provided from the Products and Brands sections direct to the companies own page.
 

 

Business Handbook		$ 175 + GST
CD Database		$ 175 + GST
Bold Company listing Includes Handbook or CD		$ 586 + GST*
Bold brand listing		$ 110 + GST*
Home Page - 1x A4 page 4xA4 pages  5-12 pages, each Over 12 pages, each		$ 399 + GST@ $ 999 + GST@ $ 190 + GST $ 150 + GST#

(*) These are indicative amounts, depending on the size of the order.
(@) You must have a bold company listing first. To include more features, please ask for a quote.
(#) Depends on the number of images in each page.
 

How you can help

It is to everyone's benefit that the products database be as complete as possible. You are invited to notify us of mistakes in the database, new products or products that you could not find through us. Our database has always enjoyed terrific public support and we hope to be able to keep it that way.

One way you could help is by telling others about us and by  mentioning to our advertisers that you found them through our database.

Our products do not have in-built expiry dates that make them inaccessible after a certain date. But due to the many updates each year, each edition is rendered obsolete the next year. You are encouraged to donate such editions to public institutions such as schools, local libraries, the elderly, etc. who cannot afford to buy them.

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How to submit information

In this chapter we will describe how you can submit informationon your own accord. Should you wish to advertise your company with us,please do not hesitate to invite one of our salesmen to visit you. You can use our HTML form for the free listing.

For a free listing, you need to supply:

Company name: in the space of 50 letters you need to fit your company name followed by a short description.
Company address: variable length to fit your address, which is normally printed as one line in the book. You can provide one e-mail address.
Contact name: this does not appear in the book but enables us to reach you.
Telephone: your telephone number, which also appears in the Brands and Trades sections.
Main area and sub area : see the list below.
Trade headings: see section 3 for appropriate service or trade or industry.
Brands and product classifications: List your brands in ranking of brand level (manufacturer to agent, see list below). For each brand level, mention approprate keywords from our database or where these are not appropriate, your own new keywords. For examples, see the brands auto-script listings of bold companies and/or free companies in the CD edition. Note that although all information on your brands appears in sections 1 and 2, they may not be listed fully in section 4 following your company address,the way they are for bold-listed companies.
Brand name: inside 31 letters the brand name followed by a short description.
Note! Brands will not be linked in auto-script for brand levels below NZ Service Agent, see table below.
Brands auto-script: appears in the CD and Internet editions to allow search engines to find your company. Auto-script is generated automatically from the brand names and the many ways these have been classified by product group and class.
Signature: you need to sign the data sheets you provide. Add a date and location as well.

For a bold listing you need to supply:

Company name: as above.
Company description: a variable length snappy description of what your company is all about. It is printed directly underneath the company name as if part of it.
Company address: your address, as precisely as you wish, including e-mail letterboxes and Internet links. You can also list contact names and branch addresses.
Contact name: as above.
Telephone: as above.
Main area and sub area : see the list below.
Trade headings: see section 3 for appropriate service or trade or industry group classifications, or use a better one that has not been listed. You can choose any number (within reason) of trade headings.
Company narrative: variable-length description of your activities and products, where these cannot be classified by keywords. The Company narrative can be made to mix and mingle with groups of brands (consult with our salesmen or data entry staff for this).
Brands and product classifications: see above. Bold-listed companies will have all their brands listed in autoscript in all editions of the database.
Bold brand: Indicate which brands you wish to stand out in the products section 1 and brands section 2. In addition to the brand name, short description and classification, you can also provide an extended brand description of variable length which is printed immediately following the brand name; and a brand narrative which is printed under the company address in the brands section 2.
Signature: you need to sign the data sheets you provide. Add a date and location as well.
 
 

Main Areas: 1=Whangarei 2=Silverdale 3=Auckland 4=Marton 5=Huntly 6=Cambridge 7=Hamilton 8=Te Awamutu 9=Te Kuiti/Otorohanga 10= Taumaranui 11=Thames 12=Paeroa 13=Waihi 14=Te Aroha 15= Morrinsville 16=Matamata 17=Putaruru 18=Mt Maunganui 19=Tauranga 20=Rotorua 21=Taupo 22=Whakatane 23=Kawerau 24=Waipawa 25= 26=Gisborne 27=Napier 28=Hastings 29=Havelock North 30=New Plymouth 31=Hawera 32=Wanganui 33=Feilding 34=Palmerston Nth 35=Levin 36=Pahiatua 37=Masterton 38=Foxton 39=Wellington 40=Dannevirke 41=Picton 42=Blenheim 43=Nelson 44=Westport 45=Greymouth 46=Hokitika 47=Rangiora 48=Kaiapoi 49=Christchurch 50=Ashburton 51=Temuka 52=Timaru 53=Waimate 54=Oamaru 55=Dunedin 56=Mosgiel 57=Balclutha 58=Invercargill 59=Gore 60=Ohakune 61= Tirau 62=Queenstown 63=Oxford 64=Dargaville 65=Alexandra/Cromwell 66=Taihape 67=Motueka 68=Te Puke 69=Wairoa 70=Eltham 71=Greytown 72=Katikati 73=Wellsford 74=Otorohanga7 75=Stratford 76=Te Kauwhata 77=Te Puke 78=Tokoroa 79=Otaki 80=Australia 81= Warkworth 82=Wellsford 83=Northland 84=Opotiki 85=Opunake 86=Geraldine 87=Featherston 88=Mid Canterbury 89=Inglewood 90 91=Takaka 92=Taihape 99=General Areas,

Brand levels: Manufacturer Manufacturer under Licence MasterNZ Agent Sole NZ Agent, NZ Agent Joint NZ Agents Master NZ Distributor Sole NZ Distributor NZ Distributor NZ Service Agent Master Agent MasterDistributor Agent Service Agent,

Please note that the counter does not record the number of 'hits' or 'downloads' because these are not very helpful. Some sites claim tens of thousands of hits or downloads each day and here is how they arrive at such high claims: each download is counted, including each little picture, logo and even bullets. Each time a new page with new or the same images is accessed, all little downloads are counted. In this manner a single visit of a few minutes can amount to hundreds of hits.

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