Teams from TransDiesel finished in first and third place at the prestigious Volvo CE Masters finals in Eskilstuna, Sweden, in March.
Battling it out against eight other highly experienced teams from across the globe, the TransDiesel crews produced a masterclass of grit, determination and innovative engineering in the finals.
The Volvo CE Masters is a highly demanding annual skills competition open to technicians and parts personnel of authorised Volvo CE dealers worldwide. Designed to showcase the unparalleled know-how and practical knowledge of Volvo-accredited staff, TransDiesel took home the crown for the first time.
The winning team, Team Tech Whites, was made up of Mike Beilby (service), Grant Low (service) and Graham Walker (parts). Team Tech Blacks, consisting of Nathan Short (service) Aaron Barnes (service) Jessie Baucke (parts), took third place.
A special mention was made at the prize ceremony of Jessie Baucke, who is the first woman to compete in the global finals. Jessie follows in her father‘s footsteps, as he also competed in the Masters finals for the previous NZ Volvo CE dealer.
Originally created in 1990, the Volvo CE Masters competition was designed to inspire employees, while developing their core in a fun but competitive environment. Its key focus is a dedication to developing the most important attribute of any dealer – world-class customer service.
The road to the finals is not an easy one, with 3235 applicants tested over four rounds of rigorous competition. Competing teams were judged on various performance metrics. Their technical and parts systems knowledge and skills are evaluated, alongside their judgement around the proper handling of tools, and demonstrations of Volvo‘s brand values. A huge variety of Volvo products are used in the finals, across the whole Volvo range, and the teams‘ triumph shows TransDiesel‘s commitment to across-the-board employee expertise.
“After being placed second last time around we wanted to go one better this year and are so proud of the two teams who represented us. It‘s fantastic that we had representation from across the company and New Zealand and this truly reflects the quality of the people we have on the ground to service our customers machines,” said Mike McKessar, CEO TransDiesel Ltd.
Brent Mitchell, group team leader, said he was immensely proud of the two teams‘ placings.
“This is a big achievement for our company and the team members themselves on the world stage. At the start of the presentation awards we were quietly optimistic that we may place in the top five, but were surprised and very overwhelmed to have placed one and three. All members are happy for the experience and looking forward to the future competition, and a chance to compete and defend our titles.”
