It is with great pleasure that we announce that 4Sight Consulting has acquired Ryder Environmental, a Dunedin based company established in 1995 that provides specialist advice and laboratory services in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecology, and water quality for clients throughout New Zealand.
A great deal of thought and planning naturally goes into these decisions, and Ryder’s Partners, Greg Ryder, Mark Sanders, Ruth Goldsmith, and Ben Ludgate, have created a business that prides itself on sticking to its values and creating an inclusive culture where its staff feel valued, and clients feel like they’re number one. An ethos that immediately resonated with us when it came to our own values, and we had a strong sense of shared common purpose.
Founding Partner Greg Ryder says, “After operating under the Ryder name for nearly 30 years, the time for change has come, and we are excited to be making the change with 4Sight.
Our small team is loyal and close-knit, and we value the skills and experience everyone brings to our work.
Our local connections are strong, with seven of our staff being graduates of Otago University. Many more graduates have gained experience with us over the years, and we look forward to continuing to embrace this aspect of our Dunedin roots.
I have worked as a consultant for over 30 years and have worked alongside Mark, Ben and Ruth under the Ryder name for 20 years. These long associations are valued and were an important consideration in all discussions about possible change for Ryder.
The decision to join with 4Sight was not taken lightly, and we considered the values of Ryder, all our staff, and the desire to continue providing high-quality advice to our clients. The team values and people support that 4Sight stand by were key elements in our decision to join with them. With humble beginnings like Ryder, but with increased support systems, their continued focus on sustainability and positive environmental outcomes, and the range of future opportunities for our staff, meant that 4Sight was an obvious choice.
Our team will continue to provide high-quality services throughout New Zealand, and we are looking forward to many opportunities to engage our experience and skills in different aspects of New Zealand’s environment with 4Sight.”
Complementing Greg’s thoughts, 4Sight Managing Director Aaron Andrew remarks, “Like Ryder, we are a tight-knit, and passionate team who believe in helping people of all kinds make better planning and environmental decisions no matter how big or small the project.
Over the last 20 years, it has been exciting to see our offices and service offering grow across New Zealand, which we believe brings us closer to the communities within which we work. Like Ryder, we have a strong relationship with Otago University, where many of our recent planning graduates have come from, and with Ryder becoming part of our team, we feel our presence in Dunedin strengthen and our roots grow deeper.
With Ryder coming on board, we can now offer a much greater breadth of ecological and water quality management experience across New Zealand, with expertise in our Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, and Otago regional offices, and we look forward to further building our Ecology Team across our Canterbury and Wellington offices in the near future.
We are also thrilled that 4Sight can now offer a more integrated Planning, Environmental, and Ecology service offering from Dunedin, plus present greater opportunities to our combined team and our valued clients.
Consistent with our obligations as members of the New Zealand Sustainable Business Council and Climate Leaders Coalition, we see strengthening our locally based teams as another positive step toward reducing our carbon footprint, which will also see cost efficiencies for our clients.
I would like to thank Greg and the Ryder Team for putting their trust in 4Sight, and I am confident that together we will all continue to thrive.”
For now, Ryder will remain in their existing premises at 195 Rattray Street while we find a new bespoke home for our much larger combined whānau. We want to reiterate that the same trusted people Ryder’s clients have come to know, and love, will still be servicing the area and beyond, except with the added benefit of having 4Sight’s wider set of expertise and core services at their disposal.
The opportunities this acquisition brings truly excites us. We seek to be the best in our field and great to work with, and this partnership with Ryder can only help us get there. We know it is the beginning of something fantastic and anticipate we will continue to thrive together so that we can bring about balanced solutions for land, people, and water.
If you are interested in joining the 4Sight team and being part of this exciting journey, please visit our Careers page, or contact Aaron Andrew (aarona@4sight.co.nz).