| 93 “We’ve been working together for a couple of years and we do the excavation and landscape prep work for the Kapiti/ Horowhenua area.” T T Karen Phelps Will be just an hour’s drive to Wellington Mook, as he is known, started his company in 2020 and remains a sole operator. Mooks Earthworks and other contractors in the area are benefitting from the new expressway Te Pae o Tararua from Otaki to Levin, which is under construction: “Once finished it will be just an hour’s drive to Wellington so it’s bringing a lot of people to the Horowhenua area as they get a lot more for their money here when they buy land, property etc,” says company owner Michael Mook. “That’s generating a lot of work for us.” He says using local contractors such as Mooks Earthworks not only helps keep the local economy ticking over but also has benefits for clients. “I bring local knowledge on ground conditions and relationships with local suppliers. All the local contractors get on well and we help each other out.” Mook, as he is known, started his company in 2020 and remains a sole operator. It means he can tackle five to six smaller jobs for clients each week and he has no plans to compete for larger projects as work-life balance is important for Mook and partner Danielle who are raising two young children. Danielle handles the bookwork and the health and safety for the business and lately she has been helping out on the ground on jobs too, compacting and taking heights with the laser level. “It really take the pressure off and means I don’t have to be in and out of the machine. It makes everything run more efficiently.” Mooks Earthworks has its own plant - a digger, a tracked skid-steer and a tip-truck – and has recently added a mini excavator to the fleet to help with smaller landscaping type work. Mook says local partnerships are important and the company does a lot of earthworks for swimming pools for NZ Pools. “We’ve been working together for a couple of years and we do the excavation and landscape prep work for the Kapiti/Horowhenua area. Every job is different with various ground conditions from hills to flats to sand and I really like the detail involved in pool building, and watching the project develop through its various stages from earthworks to construction and then on to the final landscaping. It’s great to be able to see the vision, do the work, and watch the whole project unfold.” The business also works with other local landscaping companies such as Tungsten Landscapes completing earthworks for swimming pools and all sorts of landscaping projects. Mooks Earthworks CONTRACTING Ohau Quarries based in Levin is a key supplier of metal etc for driveways, shed foundations etc. “We are very fortunate to have access to a quarry that has such high quality products.” Mook has a highly diversified clientele including local builders and developers and other companies who find his small digger is Proud to supply Mooks Earthworks with aggregates. Located at 561 State Highway 1 South Levin, we supply all grades of quality aggregates. We also recycle concrete and hot mix to reduce waste in landfills. Mike Johnson QUARRY MANAGER 027 878 4370 ohauquarries@icloud.com OFFICE MANAGER Michelle Gibson 021 118 9206 admin@ohauquarries.co.nz a useful complement to bigger companies’ heavier equipment. He also takes on a lot of private work for homeowners. “I enjoy being an owner operated small business where I am face to face with clients and can deliver a quality service.”
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