Thermo King recently crowned Nate Morris, who works for Transport Refrigeration in De Pere, Wisconsin, as its top dealer technician of 2023 at the company’s annual dealer principal meeting and awards banquet.
The transport refrigeration unit manufacturer launched its Top Tech Dealer Technician competition last year to recognize the value technicians bring to the dealer network, customers, and transport refrigeration industry, the company reported.
“The competition is one more way we are investing in the dealer network,” Mark Nyman, Thermo King Americas channel excellence leader, said in a news release. “Our Thermo King dealer technicians play a vital role in our business and the entire transport refrigeration industry because they keep our customers on the road.
“They help us move the industry forward by ensuring today’s—and the next generation of—equipment is operating correctly, and perishables are protected throughout transport.”
The inaugural competition attracted more than 100 technicians from Thermo King dealerships across Canada and the U.S. It consisted of three phases—a time-constrained qualifier test, a virtually proctored and timed knowledge test, and a hands-on skills test where the final 10 technicians worked against the clock to troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair various refrigeration units and auxiliary power units while being critiqued.
The top three finishers won an all-expense-paid trip to Thermo King’s dealer principal meeting where Morris was crowned the 2023 Top Tech Dealer Technician. Earning second and third place respectfully were Tom Peterson of Thermo King Sales & Service in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Scott DeWaal of Peak Thermo King in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“The engagement from our dealers in the competition not only demonstrates the commitment to excellence by our network, but also their dedication to recruitment, retention, and ongoing training of this skilled workforce,” Nyman said.
“This competition showcases the talent that has come from those efforts and illustrates how we are transforming the future of the industry.”
