Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers

What Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers does

Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers is a New Zealand-headquartered structural engineering firm founded in 1979, operating from four offices (Palmerston North as headquarters, Wellington, Auckland, and Hastings) with 75 professional staff. The firm provides structural design, seismic assessment, seismic strengthening, and construction monitoring services across four primary service lines: Residential (houses, apartments, aged care), Dairy/Meat & Process (specialised industrial process buildings, particularly dairy dryers), Commercial (education, government/defence, office, industrial, retail), and Seismic (assessment, strengthening, and seismic restraint systems). Clients include Fonterra, Bupa, Summerset, Olam Foods Ingredients, Woolworths New Zealand, the New Zealand Defence Force, and Wellington City Mission, with a documented track record of 26,000 completed projects representing $1.5 billion in total designed construction value.

The firm's core technical platform is a proprietary 3D BIM modelling capability developed over 15+ years, which enables structures to be virtually constructed in-office prior to on-site work for clash detection, sequencing coordination, and cost optimisation. This capability has won international recognition, particularly for dairy sector projects. Specialist engineering expertise includes friction pendulum base isolation systems for high-seismicity dairy plants (notably Fonterra dryers at Pahiatua, Darfield, and Edendale), which allow dryer operations to continue after 500-year return period earthquakes. The firm has also delivered hybrid steel moment frame with CLT (cross-laminated timber) structures, including the Wellington City Mission project, and won the 2015 NZSEE Best Adaptive Reuse award for the 21 Hania Street Life Centre strengthening. Partnerships with process engineer GEA, design-build constructor First Principles Constructor (FPC), and general contractor Ebert Construction enable integrated project delivery.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model, charging fees as a percentage of construction cost or fixed project fees, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led enterprise field sales, initiated primarily through architectural firm referrals, contractor partnerships, and direct client relationships, with strong reliance on repeat engagements from established enterprise accounts. The firm is 100% New Zealand owned and operated, privately held, with no disclosed funding rounds or external investment. Service delivery is domestic-primary with stated international work, and the firm engages in community involvement and maintains a project case study website plus social media presence (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Pinterest) as marketing channels.

Name

Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers

Legal name

Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers

Website

https://silvesterclark.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers is a New Zealand structural engineering firm founded in 1979, employing 75 professional staff across four offices to deliver design, seismic assessment, and construction monitoring services for residential, commercial, dairy/process, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural Engineering Services

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

Keywords

• Structural engineering services
• Seismic strengthening design
• Dairy processing facilities
• Building information modeling
• Commercial building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Consulting: Professional engineering services for building design including structural design, seismic assessment, seismic strengthening, and construction monitoring. Revenue generated through fees for design and documentation services, typically charged as a percentage of construction cost or fixed fee per project.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Silvester Clark is a structural engineering consulting firm that designs buildings throughout New Zealand. The firm delivers structural engineering design, documentation, and construction monitoring services for projects ranging from small residential houses to multi-storey commercial buildings and large industrial facilities. Service offerings are organised into four categories: Residential (houses, apartments, aged care), Dairy/Meat & Process (food processing plants), Commercial (education, government, office, retail, industrial), and Seismic (assessment, strengthening, restraints).

Product overview

Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers is a structural engineering firm offering professional engineering services across New Zealand. The company operates a single, unified service offering centered on structural engineering design and consulting, organized into four primary service categories: Residential (including aged care, apartments, and houses), Commercial (covering education, government/defence, office, industrial, and retail sectors), Dairy/Meat & Process (specializing in dairy processing facilities and meat industry buildings), and Seismic services (including seismic restraint, assessment, and strengthening). The firm utilizes 3D BIM technology on all client projects to virtually construct structures prior to on-site building, providing enhanced understanding and cost savings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Structural Engineering
• Dairy, Meat & Process Engineering
• Commercial Structural Engineering
• Seismic Engineering Services

Quantifiable outcome

• $5 million in build cost savings achieved through alternative structural design for Ohakea RNZAF Base
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GEAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProcess engineering partner for dairy projects including Olam Dairy Tower. GEA serves as the process engineer for spray dryer plant designs, working alongside Silvester Clark's structural engineering expertise.
• First Principles Constructor (FPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction partner for design and build projects including the Olam Dairy Tower project in Tokoroa.
• Ebert ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner on multiple projects including Ohakea RNZAF Base Squadron, Mataura Valley Milk Plant, Fonterra projects, and Yashili Powder Project. Collaborated on alternative structural designs achieving significant cost savings.
• Wellington City MissioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerClient for new Wellington City Mission building project - a 4-storey hybrid structural building in Newtown using innovative steel moment frames and CLT floors.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dunning Thornton: Wellington-based structural engineering firm renowned for seismic engineering and innovative earthquake-resistant design. Direct peer given shared NZ structural/seismic specialization and similar project archetypes including heritage strengthening.
• Beca Group: Largest NZ-headquartered engineering consultancy delivering structural, civil, and multi-disciplinary services across buildings, industrial, and government sectors. Direct peer across commercial and industrial structural work, though broader in service mix.
• Holmes Group: New Zealand structural and civil engineering consultancy with a similar specialist focus on seismic design, base isolation, and complex building structures. Closest like-for-like peer given overlapping seismic expertise and NZ-centric delivery model.
• Tonkin + Taylor: NZ environmental and engineering consultancy with structural capability across buildings, infrastructure, and natural hazard mitigation. Comparable on seismic assessment, geotechnical, and large commercial/industrial structural projects in NZ.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consultancy with NZ structural engineering capability spanning commercial, industrial, and government buildings. Broad incumbent competing for larger programs where multi-disciplinary bundling is valued.
• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with deep structural and seismic design heritage and presence in Australasia. Competes for premium complex building and seismic projects but offers a much broader services platform.
• Stantec: Global engineering and architecture firm with a NZ presence providing structural and building services. Competes in the same commercial and institutional structural design market but as part of a diversified international platform.
• Mott MacDonald: International engineering, management, and development consultancy with structural capability in Australasia. Overlaps on large commercial and industrial projects but typically engages as a broad multi-disciplinary firm.
• Aurecon: Global engineering and infrastructure advisory with established NZ structural practice. Competes for major commercial, industrial, and government projects but operates as a broad multi-disciplinary incumbent rather than structural specialist.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with a large NZ structural and buildings practice following the acquisition of Opus International. Overlaps on commercial and industrial structural design but as part of a much wider services portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/silvesterclarknz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silvesterclark

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silvester Clark Consulting Engineers