Offering surveying, planning and engineering services, Patersons started life in Dunedin in 1900 as small surveying practice, N. & E.S. Paterson.
It became Paterson Pitts in 1985 with individually-owned offices in Dunedin, Queenstown (set up 50 years ago), Christchurch, Wanaka and Cromwell and smaller offices in Alexandra and Oamaru.
Queenstown-raised Popenhagen joined the local office in 2004 after leaving university.
He later had five years in Australia involved in infrastructure projects supporting the mining industry before returning to Paterson Pitts Partners in 2013.
He bought into the business in 2018, became a director in 2020 and then board chair in 2021.
"When I became chair, we instigated a structural change, ownership change, and we brought the entire business together so it’s now owned by 12 directors."
Popenhagen says the idea was to improve the business and grab more market share by working collaboratively across the offices rather than individually.
"I would argue we’ve gone through the biggest change in the last few years we’ve ever been through."
It culminated in the rebranded Patersons winning the 2025 Consulting Surveyors of New Zealand Business Excellence Award.
Coinciding with the restructure, Popenhagen says the local land development space "is just on steroids at the moment".
One of their biggest Queenstown projects has been Ayrburn, starting in 2018, involving all its surveying and engineering work.
A major aspect was improving the water quality of Mill Creek, which runs through the site and feeds Lake Hayes.
Popenhagen says Patersons has also worked for local-based Skyline Enterprises for about 30 years, including designing its overseas luge tracks.
It’s been involved with a lot of local subdivisions, and also the Queenstown cable car fast-track application.
"In my professional career, Queenstown’s about as busy as it’s ever been — it’s quite incredible at the moment."
