Past Presidents: Nigel Broadbridge

In its 20-year history, FCANZ has benefited from the wisdom, guidance and dedication of six different Presidents. WIRED’s Rosa Watson talked to four of them about the challenges of setting up an incorporated society from scratch, gaining traction with members and corporate partners, their individual focuses as President, and the satisfaction of contributing to the Association’s success.

Nigel Broadbridge

FCANZ President, 2011 - 2013

Driving recognition of FCANZ was a large part of the work carried out during Nigel Broadbridge’s tenure as president of the organisation.

Nigel sat on the board for four years – two of them were as president – between 2010 and 2013.

He says, the main issues facing FCANZ at that time were recognition and funding. It was a chicken and egg scenario, he explains.

“Okay, we’re broke, but no one wants to give us any money because no one knows about us. That was definitely the main issue. It was very small; unrecognised.”

One area that was being pushed was an accreditation programme, “sort of modelling ourselves on the master builders and the master painters”, he says.

“But it was very, very difficult because at that time, I think there were only six or seven of them throughout the country.

“So there, again, it was a chicken and the egg thing. We were knocking on the doors of the local body councils and regional councils and big organisations saying, “You need to choose an accredited fencing contractor because they’ve jumped through all these hoops,” and everything like that.

“But then we had to get a few more of them up to the standard.”

Another push at the time was increasing brand awareness.

“Just getting the whole thing recognised. Today, it is quite recognised – it’s a hell of a lot more recognised than it was in the time period that we’re talking about.”

This was highlighted recently when Nigel was unsuccessful in a Department of Conservation tender.

“Some of the feedback (from DoC) was that ‘these guys (the successful tenderers) have got accreditation’, and that was part of their attributes.

“I never thought to write that myself, so I was kicking myself!”

Another example of the benefits of accreditation was a worker from Wales using the FCANZ website to search for accredited fencers to approach them for work.

To create momentum and get some progress happening, the board at the time introduced regular strategic meetings.

“Every year we would have a strategic meeting to work on five issues that we’re going to cover this year,” Nigel says.

This was very successful, he says.

“There was a lot more structure in it.”

Operations Manager at the time, Susie Osop, was “absolutely brilliant” and liaised with partners to turn the organisation’s finances around, he says.

“So, we got a bit more brand recognition, and then we could go out there and tap on some doors. Then we got a bit more money to spend on giving back, as benefits for association days and whatnot. And then it just snowballed from there. That was probably the significant achievement – going from not much direction and being broke, to being in a good, healthy financial position and able to start delivering some benefits to the industry.”

The board also established a mission statement: To increase the profile of fencing as a recognised profession and encourage a high level of workmanship through knowledge and standards.

“Sometimes, when the meetings were going off track a little bit, I used to stop the meetings, and I would just point at someone at the table, and I’d say, ‘Please recite the mission statement of FCANZ’.

“That was a real good way of getting back to the reality of, “What are we sitting around this table for?’”

Nigel’s motivation for joining the board was noticing a lack of South Island fencers represented.

“The board was solely made up of North Island fencing contractors who were either one or two-man bands, and most of them did the fencing competitions.

“So, the word Waratah, or T Iron, was a foreign concept, and rock drills and things like that. There was no representation for anyone from the South Island, and no representation of the guys who are running staff and are training staff. So that was my main motivation.

“I kind of felt that I could offer a bit more of a focused approach, and move it forward.”

He says being president developed him as a person and his professionalism, and gave him a good insight into governance.

Moving from hands-on work into a governance role was a huge adjustment, he said.

“I was doing the ringing up of the councils to try and push accredited fencers, and I was doing the administrative tasks and losing my focus and energy on the big picture. We were there in a governance role.

“That was a big eye opener for me because that’s not really my natural being. I would rather roll up my sleeves.”

He says it is rewarding to have contributed to what FCANZ is today.

“It’s gone from a few people standing around a room saying, ‘We really need to have an industry body,’ to what we see today. This is the result of a large number of people’s contributions.”

It was a way to give back to the industry, he says, that has given him so much.

“The industry has been very, very good to me. (I was a) pimply faced 18-year-old boy with no self-confidence and no real direction in life.

“Fencing has given me a lot of self-confidence and purpose in life, and we’ve been able to make an income out of it. So, it’s actually kind of cool to give something back.”

He says FCANZ is vital for information sharing and keeping the industry moving forward.

Nigel (middle) with his fencing crew

“Any industry that stagnates and doesn’t move forward will die. It’s really important that FCANZ is sharing that and providing a platform that guys can talk about – the challenges that are in front of us and how to face them.”

A good example of this was the post-COVID time when materials prices were volatile.

“I remember there were some publications about how people were dealing with this.

“The Conferences and association days and everything like that are quite important for people to get together and say, ‘How are you coping with the diesel price at the moment? What are you doing? Have you banged your rates up, or how are you doing it?’”

He says that going forward, FCANZ needs to continue keeping current with developments and communicating these with members.

“It needs to be on top of (things), like today, currently fuel prices ... keep up with what’s happening and spread the word and get everyone talking about how they’re mitigating it.”

“Basically, continue to grow and deliver more benefits for the industry as a whole – not only the contractors, but the manufacturers.”

He says a huge challenge for the industry is attracting young guys.

“It’s a big challenge that the industry is going to face, and I think if FCANZ can try and push that being a fencing contractor is actually not a bad career move. The technology and the tools and the equipment that we’ve got today, it’s actually quite feasible that you can start fencing as an 18-year-old and you can probably still do it until you’re 65.”

Article written by Rosa Watson

Published in WIRED issue 81/June 2026 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

You may also like: Past Presidents: Andrew Cave

Read WIRED online

© Fencing Contractors Association NZ (FCANZ)