The Mechanical Services Manager for FBT Transwest in Victoria, John Schulze, is the 2012 winner of the Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence in the Workshop.
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) presents the award each year to recognise the professionalism of the men and women who work in the trucking industry’s workshops. The award is sponsored by Castrol, the world’s leading supplier of specialist lubricant solutions.
The award was announced in Melbourne last night at the Castrol Awards Dinner, part of the 2012 PACCAR and Dealer TMC. The technical and maintenance event is continuing today and tomorrow with technical forums for workshop managers and product training workshops for service technicians
The Chairman of the ATA, David Simon, said Mr Schulze was a great representative of the trucking industry with a history of developing innovative, safe methods for transporting dangerous goods.
“John has been with FBT Transwest since he was an apprentice motor mechanic in 1970, and in that time has been responsible for the development of a number of unique processes and pieces of equipment, including a quad axle side loader,” he said.
Mr Simon said Mr Schulze was also dedicated to assisting his local community, through his work as a Country Fire Authority fire fighter.
“John is now a CFA sector commander and strike team leader, and has fought many fires including the notorious Black Saturday fires,” Mr Simon said.
Mr Schulze said he was rapt to receive the award.
“To get an award like this and be recognised by the industry is great. These are your peers. It’s great that they have faith in you and the work that you do,” Mr Schulze said.
“I will aspire to retain the high standards that got me this award, and I think our people will also aspire to these high standards. I’ve only missed two of the last fifteen TMCs. I think it’s important to get more of our younger ones along to learn at this level,” he said.
The National Sales Manager of Castrol Lubricants Australia, Paul Bardeleben, said the Craig Roseneder Award was a magical award that recognised excellence at the highest level.
“Many people don’t know the judging criteria for the Craig Roseneder Award – it holds its winners to an incredibly high standard, as judged by an expert panel of judges. These judges are highly respected and know the industry, selecting winners not by name, brand or company,” Mr Bardeleben said.
“In the spirit of the Craig Roseneder Award, mechanical excellence is not the only type of excellence that matters - excellence in safety is also very important. All of our nominees exhibit passion not only for maintenance, but also for making our industry safer,” he said.
As part of his prize, Mr Schulze will receive a scholarship to attend the American Trucking Associations’ Maintenance Council meeting in 2013, including flights to Florida, full registration, accommodation and spending money.
