Isuzu Truck Technicians End In Top 6 In International Competition
PORT ELIZABETH – Isuzu’s truck technicians recently held the South African flag high at the Isuzu World Technical Competition, also known as I-1 Grand Prix held in Japan.
SA's team ended in sixth place in the Commercial Vehicle division where they competed against 22 other countries.
SA's team was represented by Miles Swanepoel from the Isuzu Truck Centre in Cape Town and Donovan Murray from Bates Shelly Beach in Durban. They were coached by Stevan Smith, Isuzu Motors SA (IMSA) Field Service Engineer. They also won a new award, the Star Distribution and Dealer Award for aftersales performance.
The South African flag was further raised by Miles Swanepoel who came fourth in the individual mechanic's competition which featured 64 mechanics from around the world.
Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of Isuzu Motors SA, Michael Sacke, said the company was honoured to receive these awards and to be rated amongst the very best in the world.
“The winning technicians certainly embrace our mission to be a highly motivated team who deliver the best customer experience."
“We are extremely proud of the technicians at our dealerships who continue to raise the bar in delivering quality service. We are also delighted that our technicians have been recognised for their focussed, agile and flexible approach to finding innovative solutions to ensure that truck customers vehicles remain in operation,” said Sacke.
The competition consisted of a written and practical component of vehicle inspection and repair, as well as a single unit inspection and repair, conducted by Murray and Swanepoel, with guidance by Smith.
South Africa has improved its ranking every year in the I-1 Grand Prix for Commercial Vehicles. In 2014, the first year SA participated, the team finished 19th overall. In 2015 the team received the “Jump Up” Award for the most improved team, finishing 15th overall and the teamed reached 7th place in 2016.
Isuzu has hosted the I-1 Grand Prix for 13 years. Technicians compete against each other by testing their technical skills and expertise to motivate and elevate their service skills levels.
The bakkie technicians also represented IMSA in the Light Commercial leg of the I-1 Grand Prix competition in Thailand where they came third out of 24 participating countries.
Looking for reliable a truck (maybe even one that Miles Swanepoel assembled?) F-Series trucks hold all the aces in the heavy commercial vehicle segment. If you would like to know more, leave your details so we can call you back.