John Deere Australia and New Zealand managing director Luke Chandler said more than 100 nominations from across New Zealand and Australia were received for the second annual John Deere Technician Awards.
Mr Chandler congratulated Mr Robertson (30), of Invercargill, and Josh Alexander, of Whangarei, on their ‘‘great achievement’’ of representing New Zealand in the apprentice category.
Mr Robertson said he had always loved being ‘‘hands-on tinkering and fixing machinery’’ and had a particular knack for emerging technology.
After leaving school, he became a qualified motor mechanic at a rural garage and then further developed his skills with heavy machinery and precision agriculture technology through accepting an apprenticeship with John Deere dealership, Southland Farm Machinery.
"John Deere is a world leader in precision agriculture technology, and that has made my role heavily involved in introducing new technology to farmers and contractors which will help to streamline and enhance their operations,’’ he said.
"While I have worked with farmers who might be a little reluctant to adopt this technology at first, I have been able to demonstrate to them how tools like JDLink can not only improve their businesses but also help me provide faster backup support and empower them to maximise machinery uptime during critical peak season times."
Mr Robertson would finalise his apprenticeship this year and was looking forward to further mentoring the next generation of technicians.
Other Southern awards finalists include Southland Farm Machinery parts manager Megan Tree, of the Gore branch, and Otago Farm Machinery parts manager Megan Foster, of the Mosgiel branch, going head-to-head in for parts technician of the year.
Mr Chandler said Mrs Tree had "deep roots" in the agriculture industry.
She was raised on a sheep and racehorse farm and had worked as a veterinary nurse for three years before changing career.
Mrs Tree said one of her greatest achievements was having taken on a large new client for the dealership and successfully managed the account.
Mr Chandler said Ms Foster had wasted no time progressing her career in Mosgiel and had climbed the ranks to become the John Deere dealership’s parts manager.
With a background in customer service, Ms Foster has exceptional communication skills and was renowned for a cool, calm nature when faced with difficult or complex challenges, he said.
Otago Farm Machinery service technician Greg Bishop, of Mosgiel branch, is the fourth and final Southern finalist and would vie for the title of agriculture service technician of the year.
Mr Chandler said Mr Bishop worked for years in management positions within the dairy sector, then switched careers to become a field service technician at his local John Deere dealership about three years ago.
The dual-qualified tradesman also had a Bachelor of Science, double majoring in genetics and plant biotechnology.
He had also completed an auto-electrical trade qualification, which he anticipated would bring great value to the farmers he serves given John Deere’s announcement that it will launch a range of electric tractors in New Zealand in 2026.
Mr Chandler said the finalists would travel to Brisbane for a second round of judging, where their hands-on skills and technical expertise for providing remote backup support would be tested.
The winners would be announced at a gala night in Brisbane on August 5.
SHAWN.McAVINUE@alliedpress.co.nz
