About APlus Plumbing & Gas
APlus has been owner-operated by Jacob Mildon from Hastings since 2020. We're a team of 8 covering plumbing, gas fitting, and drainage across Hastings, Napier, and the rest of Hawke's Bay
Certified across plumbing, gas, and drainage
We're certified across plumbing, gas fitting, and drainlaying, all in-house.
That means we can quote, install, and sign off plumbing, gas, and drainage work on the same job, without bringing another contractor in for the drainage side. One team, one quote, one invoice.
How we work
Jacob walks the jobs. He drops into sites to see how the work's going, talks to the team and the builders, and if he doesn't like something he'll have it changed before the job closes. That's the standard he sets for the boys.
We clean up after ourselves before we leave site. Tools packed away, offcuts and packaging gone, floors swept. That's been Jacob's standard since day one.
If we do something wrong, we own it. We come back, fix it, and don't charge you for our mistake. That's how we keep the builders, property managers, and homeowners who call us back year after year.
Meet The Team
Jacob Mildon - Director
Jacob is a certified plumber, gas fitter, and a hands-on owner, who works in the business as well as on it. Day-to-day, that's quoting jobs, visiting sites, getting the team set up for the day's work, and staying on top of quality. The larger projects and the key builder relationships are his.
When you call APlus, you're dealing with a business owner who's connected to the work and actually cares about how the job lands.
Jacob's a Hawke's Bay local and as a St John's College old boy he's been invited back to talk to the school's gateway students about going into the trades. That's how he snagged his newest apprentice Dalton (read more about him below).
After years away from running he's back at it, currently training for a full marathon. Jacob also likes to get out on his mountain bike when time allows.
Beano (Michael) — Senior Plumber
Beano is a certified plumber and certified drain layer. He also carries a backflow prevention ticket, which lets him certify council backflow valves as part of compliance work. He came over from the UK with deep central heating, radiator, and boiler experience, plus years on bigger commercial projects, some running over multi-year timelines.
When a bigger, more complex job comes in, Beano's usually the one Jacob puts on it. He likes to plan jobs out properly and works through them methodically.
Customers tend to love Beano. He's great. He gets on with them well. He loves a chat, and he won't stop until he's happy with the quality of the job.
Outside work, Beano's a bit of a cricket man and still gets out there even though he's the oldest of the crew.
Trav — Senior Plumber
Trav joined APlus in late 2022. He's a registered plumber, registered gasfitter, and certified drain layer, and came over from a fully commercial background, never having done residential work. He adapted quickly and is now the team's go-to for new builds.
On new builds and bigger residential jobs, Trav is the lead. He runs his own jobs end-to-end, and every new apprentice at APlus spends their first stint on his crew, learning to work to the standard the whole team carries.
Trav moves quick without cutting corners. He keeps everyone on his crew moving at the same pace, and the finish still comes out right.
Outside work, Trav hunts, is renovating his place, and enjoys a cold beer.
Jaeydn — Plumber
Jaeydn has been with APlus since mid-2021 and is on track to qualify as a plumber and drain layer over the next year.
Jacob has trained him up as APlus's gas lead, so pretty much anything gas that Jacob takes on, Jaeydn can take on too. He also does most of the bathroom renovation work and a lot of the hot water cylinder installs, and is starting to come into new builds alongside Trav.
Jaeydn is the team's methodical one. He takes his time to make sure every job is safe and keeps detailed notes. That means the office knows exactly what's going on, and customers get a clear plain-language explanation of the work as he's doing it.
Outside work, Jaeydn powerlifts, hunts and duck-shoots, and is renovating his first home.
Rei (Reihana) — Plumber
Rei joined APlus in mid-2025. He's a qualified plumber and registered drain layer, and runs most of our maintenance work and emergency callouts: cylinder installs, hot water repairs, blocked drains, and the day-to-day jobs that need handling fast.
When a blocked drain needs more than a plunger or a snake, Rei's also the one running the high-pressure water blaster.
You can see Rei takes pride in his work. His van's always immaculate. His tools are always tidy. He's got a gentle, calm manner on the job that customers tend to respond well to.
Outside work, Rei is a family man with three kids under twelve. He also runs a barber shop out of his home as a side gig.
Harley — 3rd-Year Apprentice
Harley joined APlus in mid-2023 as an apprentice and is now in his third year. He moved into his own van after about eighteen months, earlier than most apprentices.
Over his three years here he's worked through pretty much every type of job APlus does. He started on new builds with Trav, moved to bigger commercial work with Beano, and now runs his own jobs half-time.
Harley loves a chat about everything and gets on well with customers. He's not someone who likes standing still. Give him something to do and he'll do it well.
Outside work, Harley's a young dad with two daughters. He's also an artist (painting's his medium) and likes to do art installations for local festivals. He runs sheep on a lifestyle block and is renovating his first home.
Dalton — 1st-Year Apprentice
Dalton joined APlus in late 2025 through Jacob's gateway-students talk at St John's College, where Jacob is an old boy. Of all the students Jacob spoke to that day, Dalton was the only one who wanted to be a plumber.
He came in on work experience at 17. Inside the first three weeks the rest of the team were telling Jacob to hire him properly. Jacob put him on a week of breaking and cutting concrete, and Dalton worked like a Trojan. Didn't complain, just kept going.
Dalton's the kind of apprentice Jacob says he'd hire two more of if he could. He's a quick learner. Show him once and he's got it. He's polite, hands-on, and turns up on time every day. You'll usually see him paired with Beano on the bigger jobs.
Let’s Get Your Plumbing Sorted
Whether it's a small repair, an urgent issue, or planning for a renovation or new build, give us a call. One of us, usually Rio first, will pick up and we'll take it from there.
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