Service technicians from Babine Truck & Equipment of Prince George, Canada, earned first place at the 2012-2013 Volvo Trucks North American VISTA World Championship semifinals, earning a trip to Sweden for the World Finals.
Members of the winning team – Tyler Kronebusch, Dan Orser, Matthew Giesbrecht and Clarence Oosterhoff – out-performed 208 other teams representing Volvo dealers across North America. All four members of the Babine team are Volvo Master Technicians, the highest level of certification for service technicians. Master technicians typically have more than two years of work experience, more than 115 hours of training and have completed a series of tests to achieve and maintain the status.
The competition, conduced every two years, recognizes technician excellence among Volvo dealer service personnel. The team from Babine Truck & Equipment will be among the best 32 teams in the world and compete for the world championship at the VISTA World Finals, to be held June 25, 2013, in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The VISTA 2012-2013 (Volvo International Service Training Award) began in August 2012 and included three rounds of online competition involving technical questions. The field was narrowed to five teams of finalists from the U.S. and Canada who traveled to Volvo Trucks’ North American headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., for the final round. The other finalists represented M & K Quality Truck Sales from Byron Center, MI, Burr Truck & Trailer Sales of Vestal, NY, Truck Enterprises Inc. from Harrisonburg, VA, and Mobile Fleet Service of Yakima, WA.
In Greensboro, the finalists were tested on their knowledge of service and parts literature and ability to look up parts and service information within the Volvo system. Contestants also had to troubleshoot pre-determined faults placed on two Volvo trucks and a Volvo D13 engine.
“The competition has been a great team-building experience, creating a lot of unity within our team and the dealership,” said Giesbrecht. “It’s good to have a team of really accomplished individuals that can do their job and work well under pressure.”
This year’s competition was the largest yet, with a 70 percent increase in dealership participation compared with the 2011 event.
“The high level of participation in the 2012-2013 competition is a real win for technicians, dealers and customers,” said Göran Nyberg, president, Volvo Trucks North American Sales & Marketing. “The VISTA competition boosts training, builds knowledge and strengthens teams, which ultimately improves the customer experience.”
To view a brief video from the North American VISTA competition, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iJS4tGfUys&feature=youtu.be
