About Us People

Gary Caulfield joined the PrefabNZ board in August 2010 and is the current board chair. Gary is the Director of Stanley Group, with responsibility for Stanley Ecobuild and for the business development and project definition for Stanley Modular. He is an active member of the Project Management Institute and a member of the NZ Green Building Council Core Credits Group.

Gary moved to New Zealand in 2004 bringing with him a number of years of experience in the construction sector in the UK. Prior to coming to New Zealand he spent a number of years in the PPP sector on educational and healthcare projects. His experience with international prefab projects includes modular construction of McDonalds in the UK and prefabricated toilets in airports. He has spoken at the last four Tonkin Modular Conferences in Australia. 

Gary has been involved with recent projects in New Zealand including: Knoll Ridge Café and Cat Shed, Tuwharetoa Settlement Trust Ablution Block, Casita Miro, Hobbs Wharf Market Building, Cooper & Co Relocatable Retail along with a number of with schools and educational institutes. 

Gary hopes the future for Prefab in New Zealand includes a change in mindset from “leaky, cold prefab classrooms” to value for money products. 

Dr Wayne Sharman is the Treasurer for the board of PrefabNZ. Wayne has held a number of positions at BRANZ: as a scientist, General Manager Science Operations and now as Strategic Business Development Manager. 

He was involved at start-up of the NZ Green Building Council and is currently a board member of the Building Industry Federation. Wayne is also a member of the Evidence Working Group of the Productivity Partnership and is on the Commercialisation Committee of the Structural Timber Innovation Company. 

Wayne admits his own experience with prefabrication is limited but he sees it as a key factor in increasing productivity in the construction sector. BRANZ is currently researching the impact of prefabrication on the sector. 

Wayne says in order to meet housing needs in New Zealand, Auckland and Christchurch in particular, a faster method of construction needs to be found than is traditionally used. Prefabrication could be the solution but it is currently a long way from filling its potential. That’s the challenge for PrefabNZ.

Dave Strachan is Architect Director at Strachan Group Architects (SGA Ltd) and is currently an adjunct professor at Unitec School of Architecture. Dave has a Master of Architecture degree in sustainable design and has over 35 years experience in the field of building, interiors, teaching and architecture. Dave was also a contributing author to the book ‘A Deeper Shade of Green’. 

Dave is a Licensed Building Practitioner in Carpentry and Site 2 and was recently made a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. Dave has hands on experience with prefabrication; he has built four fully volumetric houses including prefabricating the timber joinery, windows, doors and cabinetry. 

Dave has been involved with the Studio 19 project assisting students at Unitec to design and build the Onemana transportable bach. The design and construction was undertaken at Unitec’s Mt Albert campus in Auckland and transported to its final site at Onemana beach on the Coromandel. The bach won a NZIA award in 2011 and was a finalist for home of the year in 2012. 

Dave says prefabrication is the way out of traditional stick built construction. It provides the opportunity for higher performance, efficiency and faster construction processes with less waste and higher quality buildings. He thinks PrefabNZ can bring the right people together who can deliver these solutions for the future.