Penske Australia and New Zealand has announced it has presented Jason Gavin and Frederich Pfuhl its 2024 Penske Guild Master Technician awards for on-highway and off-highway, respectively.
Penske said its Guild members from around Australia and New Zealand competed in qualification rounds prior to the final, vying for the title of master technician, including general procedural tasks and advanced diagnostics scenarios, with the 12 finalists competing against each other and the stopwatch.
Jason Gavin, who is based at Penske’s Perth branch, has expertise across Western Star, MAN, and Detroit product which are the full Penske product portfolio, and in particular he was strongly aligned to Western Star, having worked with the brand for 14 years.
“The on-highway battle was fierce. Demonstrating his competitive spirit and commitment to excellence, Jason is a worthy winner,” said training manager – northern region, for Penske Australia and New Zealand, Russell Koch.
“In his acceptance speech, Jason humbly credited his win to the supportive culture and the training investment made in him by the organisation,” Koch said.
Frederich Pfuhl is a field service technician based in Auckland, joined Penske in 2017, and in addition to his wide-ranging field experience, has completed multiple mechanical, electrical, and automation training courses for the mtu 2000 series and 4000 series, which the company said led to him working across all off-highway markets, particularly in energy solutions and marine.
“Among a very experienced field of technicians, Frederich is a very worthy winner of the off-highway Master Technician award, showcasing his vast expertise,” said Daniel Raine, technical training manager, Penske Australia and New Zealand,” Koch said.
“All competitors did a fantastic job on the day, and it’s a testament to the depth of capability we have at Penske to support our mtu customers across various industries, including mining, energy solutions, marine, rail, defence, construction and industrial, and oil and gas across Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
Penske says that the Master Technician competition is in its ninth year, having commenced in 2016 with former winners on hand to congratulate their fellow champions.
“Over the years, the calibre of participants has gone from strength to strength,” said Leigh Henderson, chief operating officer and Penske Guild chair at Penske Australia & New Zealand,” Koch added.
“While being crowned a Master Technician is prestigious, customers benefit most from our Penske Guild program.
“Covering the breadth of operations, Penske Guild represents a tangible standard of excellence that ultimately delivers high quality and prompt solutions for customers,” he said.
Penske Sid that the 2024 Master Technicians Jason Gavin and Frederich Pfuhl will enjoy trips overseas to the United States and Germany to visit Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ mtu plant as well as the Detroit Diesel plant.
