Prince George's team of truck mechanics at Babine Truck & Equipment can forever call themselves world champions.
The four-member team of Clarence Oosterhoff, Matthew Giesbrecht, Dan Orser, and Tyler Kronebusch are certified master technicians who work at the city's Volvo and Mack truck headquarters.
They dominated the continent in Volvo's intramural mechanics competition and placed well at the Volvo world championships in Sweden in 2013.
This year they turned their professional attention to the Mack side of the business. Mack also has a mechanical championship, so the Babine team threw their wrenches into the ring. It was the first such tournament that Mack Trucks had ever held.
"The Mack Masters Competition stretched over eight months and featured three rounds of online theoretical testing which culminated in a rigorous hands-on event," said Mack Trucks Academy director Matthew Flynn.
More than 260 teams entered.
Based on regional results, five teams advanced to the hands-on finals.
Babine was the representative from Canada, the other four from various quadrants of the U.S.
Those five teams convened in Allentown, Pennsylvania for the head-to-head matchup in Mack's state of the art factory.
"This performance-oriented portion of the competition required teams to work together in timed training activities to solve problems and complete repairs related to a variety of parts, technical, and warranty management situations that might be encountered in the dealership," said Flynn.
He added, "More than just a competition, Mack Masters is a training event geared toward fostering teamwork, honing skill and knowledge, and improving customer satisfaction. This spirit is embodied in the performance of Babine Truck & Equipment Ltd. as they exhibited their commitment to excellence throughout the entire competition. Their achievement sets a standard of excellence to which we all can aspire."
