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General Motors South Africa (GMSA has honoured the top three technicians who came tops across its 132 dealerships across the country, with the award for the best Chevrolet, Opel and Isuzu technician in the country going to Gawie Engelbrecht (30), of Williams Hunt Port Elizabeth, who hails from Nelson Mandela Bay.
Engelbrecht received his coveted award during the annual Top Technician Skills Awards organised recently in Port Elizabeth by GMSA.
Hendre Hulscher of Reeds N1 City (32) in the Western Cape and Sujit Munnisunker (47) of South Coast Motors in Kwa-Zulu Natal, who claimed second and third place respectively, were the runners up.
The three top technicians were the last men standing after a total of 327 technicians across GMSA’s 132 dealerships participated in the first knockout round. This was followed by round two where 67 technicians competed for a place in the top 10. During the semi-finals the top five remained and they competed in final round during two days of gruelling diagnostics and problem solving.
Engelbrecht went home with a prize of R30 000 and the runners up received R12 000 and R10 000 respectively. In addition, the first and second prize winners are billed to travel to Thailand in November, to attend the international Isuzu 1 Grand Prix.
The five finalists who made it to the last round were: Sujit Munniseker (South Coast Motors), Gawie Engelbrecht (Williams Hunt Port Elizabeth), Hendre Hulscher (Reeds N1 City), Michael Nyakudya (Imperial GM Germiston) and Kieran Vermaak (Edmond Auto).
Engelbrecht, who has been working for Williams Hunt Port Elizabeth for the past 11 years, described the competition as challenging and tough.
“I just concentrated on fixing the problems. Throughout the competition I stayed focused and gave it my best,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued in Port Elizabeth.
Recently promoted to the position of a service manager, Engelbrecht said he remains hands-on in the workshop, often working long hours to diagnose vehicle issues.
“Winning the competition and having your skills and abilities recognised is a huge honour. I must admit that I feel very proud of myself. Our Chevrolet, Opel and Isuzu customers are everything and they deserve technicians that are trained to the highest standard,” he was quoted as saying.
President and Managing Director of GM South Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa, Ian Nicholls, congratulated the technicians for delivering service excellence. He said one of the company’s core values is putting the customer at the centre of everything they do.
“The Top Technician competition is proof of this commitment to our customers, where the focus is on ensuring that our technicians meet and exceed our customers’ expectations,
“Our technicians play a critical role in determining the level of satisfaction which our customers experience with their vehicles,” the statement obtained by AUTO REPORT AFRICA quoted Nicholls as saying.
The statement disclosed that GMSA provides approximately 60 000 hours of regular and extensive training per annum for all service personnel.
On this, Nicholls added: “We want to ensure that we continuously improve service levels at our dealers. All Chevrolet, Opel and Isuzu service centres are equipped with a complete range of equipment and analytical systems to carry out maintenance and repairs.”
A joint initiative of the Service Division of GMSA and the National Dealer Council, the competition complements the company’s Complete Care programme and aims to promote excellence in customer service, technical expertise, and support GMSA’s technological innovations in vehicle manufacturing.
