North Canterbury fencing contractors Andrew and Claire Osgood are no strangers to change and believe being open to diversification within the industry and upskilling are key to maintaining a strong and viable business. They share their journey with Alice Scott…
Andrew Osgood has worked in various fields of fencing over the 30-plus years he has been in business. After leaving school, he worked for a fencing contractor in North Canterbury. He then moved to Western Australia where he ran his own fencing business. “I did about 100km of fencing on the Nullarbor Plain.”
The heat of the day dictated his working hours, often starting before dawn, knocking off when the temperature got to 36 degrees and then going back to the job in the evening when it had cooled down again. “It definitely had its challenges, snakes and ants being some of them.” Andrew’s wife Claire was also working on the fence line and she laughs as she recalls a terrifying encounter with a tiger snake. “Instead of picking up what I thought was a black waratah, I nearly picked up the snake. It gave me a hell of a fright, much to the amusement of the guys working the line ahead of me.”
After 20 years in Australia, the couple decided to move home to North Canterbury and Andrew went farming for 10 years, “I found I could only get so far with farming though, so I moved on and worked for a silage and baleage contractor.”
When the Canterbury Earthquakes hit, Andrew could see there was an opportunity to get back into fencing, and he and his business partner, also called Andrew, set up Andrews of Canterbury and focussed on residential and commercial fencing jobs around the city of Christchurch.
Starting a business from scratch meant the duo had to be proactive and motivated to find the work. “I always kept a high vis and a hard hat in my truck, and if I saw a worksite, I would stop in and introduce myself and give them my card.” While some find the hustle of cold calling a challenging aspect to drumming up business, Andrew says he never had any problem doing it, “it has never bothered me, I guess it comes down to how passionate and motivated you are about what you do,” he said.
Over the years, the business has continued to evolve to keep abreast of the different scope of work they have taken on. They now offer a broad range of services: residential fencing, farm fencing, commercial and corporate fencing, retaining walls, pool and security fences and decking.
Staff personnel has also changed, growing from two to eight staff three years ago, and currently, they have 15 staff on the payroll. “The other Andrew has moved on, but we have grown quite rapidly in the last few years.”
Following the COVID pandemic, the shortage of building materials became a well-known issue for many contractors in New Zealand. “We hadn’t lost our staff as we were classed as an essential service, but a lot of mills had been closed, and when they reopened, they had staff shortages.” A few phone calls later and Andrew managed to solve the problem with ITM Kaipoi, where a few of his workers would each take turns doing two or three weeks of making palings and other fencing materials. “It meant we had first dibs on the materials, and we also picked up a bit of work as well.” Working at the mill wasn’t hugely enjoyable for his workers however, “they definitely found a new appreciation for fencing; working
outside and having variety in their day,” he laughs.
Andrew also credits his business’s growth to engaging the services of Chris McBreen of Strategize. For those familiar with the television programme Clarkson’s Farm, Andrew jokes that Chris is the “Cheerful Charlie” to their business. “He got us to take a good look at our business model, improve the HR side of our operation and ensure we are fully compliant with all the health and safety requirements and a member of SiteSafe.” While it was an admin-heavy undertaking, it has given the business a strong level of professionalism. “We have been successful with tenders for the likes of Kainga Ora, the Ministry of Education and Otautahi Community Housing Trust. Having all your ducks in a row gives you good clout when it comes to tendering to these types of organisations.”
They also travel South Island-wide. “We have done jobs all over such as Queenstown, Dunedin, Harihari on the West Coast and Havelock. “Most of our workers are in their 20s and don’t mind staying away the odd time.”
Andrew will also be called in to undertake small “tricky” jobs where security or vandalism might be an issue. “We recently had a job at Riccarton Mall where we needed to come up with a solution to prevent graffiti on an advertising screen outside the mall. That was quite an interesting job. I enjoy coming up with solutions to problems like that.”
While she did pull a few wires for Andrew when they were living in Australia, Claire has since been busy raising their family and worked as a registered school teacher. This year, she has finished in the classroom and taken on a full-time administrative role for the business. “She’s on a three-month trial period as my office lady”, Andrew jokes. The business has Andrew pulled in many directions on any given day, and Claire’s support will relieve some of that workload. “My strength is dealing with clients and being out on the jobs, not so much in the office and dealing with the paperwork side of things. Claire is much better at that than me,” he said.
Written by Alice Scott
Pictured from left, back row: Kaihi Rupene, Ollie Stanley, Andrew Osgood, Hamish Joblin, Tyson Barnes, Mikaere Ceson, Chris Conlan Front row: Wiremu Brown, Carlos Lancaster-Bartlett, Karika Tuake, Jonty Box, Reid Exton, James Wagstaff, Brock Brown and Claire Osgood Absent: Kruz Anderson, Deyell Turnbull.
Andrew Osgood on a job with staff member Ollie Stanley
Published in WIRED issue 76/March 2025 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ
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