Wellington plumber Tamaiti, 4CET founder

In 2004 Tamaiti and his wife Carley were pregnant with their first child. After years away, he’d returned to an old workplace and was doing air conditioning work full-time.

One day his boss asked him, “What the heck are you doing here, Tamaiti? What do you want to do? Would you like an apprenticeship?” A friend told him, “If you do plumbing and gas fitting you can’t go wrong.” And so the choice was made.

Apparently it was a good choice, because by 2011 Tamaiti and Carly had set up 4CET Plumbing & Gas. The rest, as they say, is history.

When talking about what he does, Tamaiti says, “I like meeting different people all the time, especially when I can help them with an urgent or upsetting problem.

“I like making people happy, and knowing that they trust me to take care of their plumbing and gas fitting needs.

“I often take care of smaller jobs on my own, we all do. But I also enjoy working on larger projects with the guys as a team.”

Tamaiti and Carly are parents to three children, Kaiarahi, Tane and Mila.

Currently, Kaiarahi is studying biological and environmental sciences at Canterbury University; Tane is active in rugby, cricket, surf lifesaving, snowboarding, fishing and kayaking; and Mila does surf lifesaving, along with swimming, underwater hockey, netball, snowboarding and surfing.

With such active and talented kids, it’s obvious what Tamaiti and Carly do in their spare time!