Our Team

The year was 1964

Mac Tatana attended secondary school in Levin for only five months until he turned 15 and then he left to enter the 'School of Hard Knocks' to work for his older brother for 5 years.
His first job - September 1964 - he used a borrowed car, hired trailer, a concrete mixer and boxing from his older brother Alec to do curbing and channeling work for a subdivision in Kings Drive, Levin. For the next several years Mac did curb, channel and footpaths mainly for the Levin Borough Council. Essentially he was wielding a shovel. Then he got his first excavator with a very expensive loan.
Life was tough in the early days, Mac had to work six days a week to survive. As a result of his work load Mac in his younger years missed valuable time with his own children but is now able to spend time enjoying his grandchildren. A great achievement of which Mac is very proud is that he was a prime mover in getting Matau Marae rebuilt after the original one was destroyed in the Wahine storm. The new Marae was opened on the 26th November 1985 and is a beautiful asset in the Horowhenua. Mac is also a life member of the Cosmopolitan Club, honored because of his years of service.
Tatana Contracting is now a family affair, based in Cambridge Street, Levin. He originally had one helper, today he employs over 30 in the workforce with 3 office staff and 3 professional engineers. Tatana Contracting undertakes work on a regional basis, contracting throughout the lower North Island and undertaking a wide range of civil engineering projects.