MF TECHNICIAN AWARD GOES TO IRELAND
Massey Ferguson’s inaugural ‘Technician of the Year’ Award has been won by Dan Kelly, who works for MF dealership Joseph Whelan Tractors, in County Clare.
Dan beat off stiff competition from four other UK regional finalists to be awarded the 2008 trophy at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham.
Dealer Principal Joseph Whelan explained that Dan had joined the company two years ago from an aircraft technician background. “His previous experience, combined with numerous AGCO Academy training modules has led to Dan emerging as the top agricultural diagnostic technician he is today.
“On top of that, Dan experienced a steep learning curve in the workshop with help from the workshop team, so we are all overjoyed at having won the inaugural MF ‘Technician of the Year’ Award and we congratulate Dan on his wonderful achievement,” Joseph added.
Reacting to his success Dan added, “Winning this award just shows that all the out-of-hours work is appreciated!”
The new competition was open to all engineers working in Massey Ferguson dealerships in the UK and Ireland, regardless of age or experience. Initially, candidates were nominated who, in the opinion of the Dealer Principal and MF Area Service Manager, have made an outstanding contribution to the technical support role.
Hard work, dedication and positive attitude are three of the qualities the judges were looking for in the winning candidate, together with initiative, skill and teamwork.
Jason Burbidge, AGCO’s Training and Technical Assistance Group Manager, is quick to stress that the aim of the award is to reward effort and attitude and not purely technical ability. “The winner demonstrated an exceptional all-round performance, in terms of hard work, attendance, team working, appropriate use of technical knowledge and contribution to Dealer Standards,” he explains.
“Next year’s award will be open to technicians working on Challenger, Fendt and Valtra machines, further enhancing the prestige of winning and heightening the competitive element.”
The other finalists
Richard Mee
Robson Tractors
Carlton Husthwaite
Thirsk, N Yorks
Mark Noon
RVW Pugh
Betchton,
Sandbach, Cheshire
Graham Brimble
Walford Cross Garage
Taunton, Somerset
William Addison
Reekie Cupar,
Cupar, Fife