Introduction - The Pestproof Fences difference

The need to manage native plant and wildlife communities and secure them from extinction has never been greater. Pressures such as global warming will worsen an already bleak situation for our threatened species but the effects of this global problem can be reduced by ensuring that there are large and genetically robust populations from which adaptive founders can expand and breed.

It is from this need that Pestproof Fences Ltd was established to support government, community and private initiatives in saving our endangered wildlife by allowing biological communities to breed unmolested in predator safe sites.

The Team

Expertise that underlines Pestproof Fences Limited commitment to quality and service

All four company directors bring significant experience to building a quality fence and providing a service to you the client.

Director profiles

Wishing to build a nine kilometer predator exclusion fence across Cape Kidnapers in New Zealand property developer Andy Lowe quickly discovered that good value was not one of the hall marks of the then only predator fencing company in New Zealand. Andy quickly realized that commercial competition would make predator fencing far more accessible to conservation minded people and it was this that sparked the establishment of Pestproof Fences Limited as a company dedicated to providing high quality predator fencing at the lowest possible cost.

Derek Bowman is an engineer by training and over the years has accumulated a broad and diverse knowledge in engineering mechanical solutions to just about every problem. It was to Derek that Andy turned to design a fence that could withstand the rigours of the extreme coastal conditions of Cape Kidnapers and keep out even the most determined predators. Derek evaluated all the current materials that could be applied to predator fencing and quickly realised that a new solution was required to provide the strength and corrosion resistance for such a demanding site.

The heart of the Pestproof Fences system is its micro woven wire technology. Mark Ullrich owner of Legacy Wire in Christchurch has a long family history of Wire making that goes back three generations and it is to this experience that Derek turned to produce a totally new micro woven wire mesh technology for Pestproof Fences. The micro woven wire mesh not only keeps out predators but is also durable in the extremes of nature.

Nature is what this company is all about and Dr John McLennan is one of New Zealand’s foremost ecologists bringing a wealth of knowledge to the company, not only about the pests our fence excludes, but also the biodiversity protected within.

Collectively the four company principals of Pestproof Fences Limited provide comprehensive knowledge, experience and a strong commitment to ensure you get the best possible predator fence exclusion technology to protect our precious biodiversity

Meet the Directors

Mark Ullrich (Share Holder)

Mark spent his school holidays working in the families wire making business learning the trade of wire making from the factory floor. On leaving school Mark moved to Australia for a short time to work in the families wire business interests there then moved on to Canada expanding the manufacturing operation into that country and down on into the USA. On marrying Pip (a New Zealand girl) Mark decided to give the wire business a break and further his interest in aviation flying helicopters for the forestry company B.C. Canada and then for an air ambulance service out of Halifax, Nova Scotia for Canadian Helicopters.

Back in NZ, on a deer farm in Wanaka, Mark was lured back to the wire business buying up the family interest and creating Legacy Wire in 2006 in Rangiora, Christchurch (link to Legacy Wire web site). Legacy Wire is aptly named as the legacy of skill and quality is a tradition that has been passed on through four generations. The original business started with Marks grandfathers uncle and on through to his grandfather, father and then down to him. With 80 years of wire manufacture standing behind Mark, it is easy to see why Pestproof Fences micro woven mesh is such an exceptional product that can be relied on to perform. With Izy 6, Henry 5, and Will 18mths growing up under Mark and Pips guidance the legacy of quality wire manufacture is set to continue.

Derek Bowman (Share Holder)

Derek is a Registered Engineering Associate in Mechanical Engineering with 42 years continuous engineering experience. Derek runs a property development business called Engineering and Property Solutions (Link to website)which undertakes subdivision development and the larger home projects. He also holds an Engineering Trade Certificate in the printing industry as well as Electrical Registration as a service technician.

Derek’s diverse engineering and practical background is further reinforced with membership to a large number of engineering institutions including, Associate of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, The New Zealand Institute of Electricians, New Zealand Institute of Engineering Technicians, and New Zealand Institute of Engineering Science Inc. Derek is unashamedly parochial about Hawke’s Bay where he now lives wife his wife Lyn. Ask Derek what the weather is like in the Bay and he will always say ‘BEAUTIFUL’. Derek’s substantial experience and engineering skills have created the Pestproof Fence design. His knowledge of metallurgy, common sense and efficient design has created a product that will withstand all that nature can throw at it and a bit more.

Andy Lowe (Share Holder)

Andy was born and raised in rural Hawkes Bay and has gone on to become one of the Bays more successful businessmen developing many of Hawkes Bays more desirable residential locations. Andy shares a vision, with his wife Liz and young son Hunter, to restore components of Hawkes Bay’s natural history through the purchase and protection of land and then reestablishment of kiwi and other rare wildlife. This began with the Pestproof Fencing of 2500 hectares of Cape Kidnappers and the introduction of kiwi that will be used as breeding stock to support failing populations in the back country. It was this desire that first lead to the Pestproof Fence concept of an affordable and effective fence to keep predators out along the 9 Km boundary to the property. Andy was quick to realized that there were other like minded people that were looking for a cost effective quality product to achieve similar outcomes and that the fence he had had designed for his property could be used by others.

Dr John McLennan (Share holder)

John and wife Sue have called Havelock North home for many years. John’s career as a research scientist for the crown research institute Manaki Whenua has seen him follow and then change the predicted bleak future of kiwi by first identifying the scale of loss of our national icon and then identifying the cause. This pivotal research has shown that introduced predators, particularly stoats, need to be controlled to low levels, or excluded, if kiwi are to beat extinction. John has recently branched out into private ecological consultancy work (link to web site) and it is from this that his first contact with the Cape Kidnappers project started. John’s hall mark sage advice has been stamped over this programme with John reaffirming his commitment to maintaining New Zealand unique fauna and flora by becoming a share holder in Pestproof Fences.

Sales

Paul “Scratch” Jansen

“Scratch” has been involved in conservation for over quarter of a century and has recently resigned from the Department of Conservation to take up life in the private sector. Paul brings a wealth of experience with him from those 28 years. In the field of species management Paul lead the team that brought kakapo back from the brink of extinction and also has been a key supporter of community lead kiwi recovery initiatives during his term as Kiwi Recovery Group Leader. The eradication of rats from Motohora (186 Hectare Whale Island) in the Bay of Plenty, using aerially applied Talon bait, was planned and executed by Paul and was the genesis of the many successful eradications by this technique which is now used internationally. Paul’s innovative talents do not stop there and he continually badgers Derek with new ideas and suggested refinements for the Pestproof fence components.