Aussie technicians win through to VISTA finals in Brazil

An Australian team has triumphed at the Volvo International Service Training Award competition in Gothenburg, Sweden. Teams from South Central Trucks in Adelaide and CMV Derrimut in Melbourne qualified for the semi-finals, with the latter advancing to the world final in Brazil this June.

Judged across six modules under strict time limits, 56 teams from Volvo Trucks International markets, who spent two months qualifying for the event, tested technical knowledge and teamwork across a range of timed practical applications such as resistance checks and vault-trace wiring. Justin Westcott, a breakdown mechanic, whose Derrimut team won through on a wildcard to represent the Australia and New Zealand region, said the experience was invaluable for the knowledge he gained.

“It was a great opportunity and the wealth of information you are exposed to is a real education,” Justin said. “As a team we all worked really well together. All the boys got into it and we all knew what we had to do. As the team leader they made it easy on me.”

Open to all service market professionals with the Volvo Trucks’ and Buses’ global network VISTA is an international competition geared at developing and improving the skills and knowledge of its employees. This year marked the 60th anniversary of the competition, which is reportedly the world’s largest competition for service market personnel. A total of 5,712 technicians in 56 teams participated.

“VISTA is the world’s largest Service Market competition. It is really Olympics for technicians,” said Heléne Mellquist, Senior Vice President, Volvo Trucks International. “For everyone who takes part, there are opportunities to learn with your colleagues, and be part of a winning team who knows how to work and play together."

For the complete story stay tuned for the June issue of Prime Mover.