“We make fencing easy,” says Hugh McGaveston, Managing Director of Boundaryline, “and when you look deeper, you’ll find a company built on the foundations of partnership and working with every level of the industry.”
From their head office in Invercargill and branches in Auckland and Christchurch, family-owned Boundaryline brings quality products from a global supply chain to New Zealand that have been designed and curated for the local market. As the country’s leading supplier of fencing, gates, and screen systems, their team works with trade professionals, fencing contractors, developers, engineers, architects, and suppliers across a range of projects, nationwide. “We’re involved in the residential, commercial and civil spaces,” Hugh says. “Since we were founded in 2009, we have worked consistently to evolve with the market, which has changed significantly over that time. We’re constantly looking at new products to meet current and changing needs.”
A significant market shift they have seen in the last decade is the increase in medium-density housing, Hugh says. “This has reshaped the fencing demand, and products that would’ve worked 10 years ago aren’t as suitable now. We’ve had to adapt, which we do by keeping in touch with the industry on an ongoing basis and having a large network of industry leaders and customers who are constantly giving us feedback on how we can do better.”
The outlook for the New Zealand fencing industry is very closely tied to the construction industry which, Hugh acknowledges, has faced a challenging couple of years. “There are some retrofit fencing projects including schools and industrial spaces, but the majority is tied to new-build residential. As a result, we rise and fall with fluctuations in new construction projects. It’s a huge industry for New Zealand, with one in ten of us being involved in construction in some way, but it’s also cyclical. We’ve experienced a pretty long and deep trough since about 2023, but the good news is that we’re now seeing recovery. I’m confident that the next five or six years will be very strong for construction as a whole and, in turn, for fencing, particularly in the medium-density housing space as demand picks back up. Multi-unit residential is a major driver of consent growth, with residential footprints trending smaller, and that will remain a strong segment in the coming years, especially in our major cities.”
Since its inception, Boundaryline has worked hard to provide customers with complete solutions for any project. “The fencing industry is incredibly diverse, with unique projects that might have multiple different requirements on the site. It could be fall-from height, pool compliance, safety fencing, decorative or privacy fencing. As the leader in the New Zealand market, we need to have a range that’s broad enough that a single contractor or decision-maker can source everything they need for one site. Particularly in that medium-density space, even on a very small platform, you could have a wide variety of products required for different reasons. Servicing those diverse needs is at the core of our operating model.”
Alongside their residential projects, Boundaryline does a lot of work with education solutions: public and private schools and early childhood education centres. With many of New Zealand’s older and traditional schools having inadequate fencing to meet current Health & Safety requirements, there is a big opportunity for retrofit and upgraded fencing. “There’s a significant investment by the Government and by private schools to improve their child safety capacity, accessibility, and also making sure that allowance is made for special needs,” Hugh says. “For example, wheelchair access maybe wasn’t top-of-mind when some of these facilities were built. We’re working closely with industry to create speciality solutions that meet child safety compliance guidelines set out by the Ministry of Education and are also practical, robust, and will stand the test of time in a public environment. The direct impact is that staff and parents gain peace of mind that their children are safe and secure during school hours. Schools can also use this as an opportunity to significantly improve their aesthetics with custom main entrance fencing or gates.”
One education project that best showcases Boundaryline’s work in the sector is Pāpāmoa Primary School, a safety- and security-focused primary school project using their SentryPanel School Panel and Gates. “This creates a durable, low-maintenance boundary that supports a safe and inclusive learning environment. Pāpāmoa is a great example of how school fencing can provide strong anti-climb performance, respond to uneven terrain through raking panel options, and integrate seamlessly with design features such as the school’s mountain-inspired entrance structures and values mural.”
As Hugh looks ahead to the rest of 2026 and beyond, he’s excited to see new Boundaryline products in development. “We have a solid product development pipeline emerging with some really exciting products that we believe will be game-changers for our industry. Innovation is a key part of what we do, and new product development provides a unique opportunity for us to proactively respond to changing needs across multiple sectors. We do a lot of collaboration with the industry and with our global supply chains to get anything new right for the market, which is what we’re working on now. It’s our reputation on the line, so we want to do it properly.
“There’s also a lot of focus on our mission to be customer-obsessed. We’re investing heavily in internal systems and processes to ensure we’re delivering consistently good service to our customers. We know it’s hard out there at the moment, and that the construction industry is known for its upsets and changes. Our goal is always to soften those bumps for our clients and make sure we’re seamless to deal with.”
Reflecting on the wider landscape of New Zealand’s construction industry, Hugh is hopeful for what’s to come in the next few years. “Since the COVID boom dried up and the Government put an abrupt stop to a large housing rebuild programme a couple of years ago, everyone in the industry has been doing it pretty tough. It’s taken time to adjust. But as I look forward, New Zealand is sitting in a pretty positive space, globally. We’re insulated from a lot of the unrest happening overseas, and we’re seeing a lot of high-net-worth individuals relocating here, which I expect to drive construction and fencing demand. If we keep our focus on doing the right job for our clients and for their clients, I know there will be sunnier times ahead.
“We all just need to hang in there. It’ll take some good, old-fashioned hard work, but kiwis are good at that. Things are going to get better, and we’re going to be ready.”
To learn more and connect with Hugh, visit https://www.boundaryline.co.nz/ or reach out to the team directly on 0800 003 006. “Business can be a lonely place, especially for owner-operators,” he says. “As a company, we’re here to help. My phone is always on.”
