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Cream of the crop: from left Liam Gee, Daniel Stoneley and Marcus Vine with their awards.
Three New Zealanders took top honours at the fourth annual John Deere Technician of the Year Awards.
The wins were recently announced in Brisbane, where John Deere Australia and New Zealand managing director, Luke Chandler, congratulated the Kiwi winners and acknowledged the value they bring to their local communities.
Marcus Vine was named New Zealand's Agriculture & Turf Service Technician of the Year. Having grown up in town, to become New Zealand's leading John Deere agriculture & turf service technician, Marcus has developed a deep connection with the industry and customers he serves.
After school, Marcus pursued a pre-trade light automotive course and mechanical apprenticeship, before making the "best decision he's ever made" by signing up to work at a John Deere dealership in Foxton. Eighteen years later, now based at the Brandt dealership in Feilding, he said new technologies like GPS and autonomous solutions meant every day still presents new learning opportunities and career growth.
"Time is money for them, and they really appreciate what we do and the skills we bring in keeping them up and running," Marcus says.
"There's a lot of variety in this role, and John Deere provides awesome support in terms of in-person knowledge-sharing and online courses, so you always have the right resources. Even getting to this point as a finalist in the Tech Awards is a huge honour, let alone winning the title."
Not too far away, Daniel Stoneley of Brandt Masterton never thought too much about agriculture until he began working as a parts technician, but has proved you can be the best in the country, regardless of your background, by taking out the award for the New Zealand Parts Technician of the Year.
"I was more of a city person, but now I love the challenge of working in agriculture, as the industry is always evolving and growing, and the different technologies keep things interesting," Daniel said.
"Farming is the backbone of the community, and I find it very rewarding helping our customers get up and running," he said. "The technology in John Deere equipment is always evolving too, such as automation, and I'm proud to work on the market-leading brand and be part of such a great support network."
Further south, Liam Gee, Drummond & Etheridge, Blenheim, was awarded the John Deere New Zealand Construction & Forestry Service Technician of the Year.
Liam says, "No two days are the same. One day I'll be in the workshop carrying out repairs, the next I'll be two hours away in the middle of a forest repairing a machine. My job takes me to some cool locations, and I get to work on the great product that John Deere produces."
Now mainly specialising in forestry equipment, Liam had grown up around machinery and always had a keen interest in figuring out how things worked. Liam approached the service manager at his local John Deere dealership about the chance to undertake work experience after he finished school, which developed into an apprenticeship. Six years later, Liam is now the leading construction & forestry technician in the country.
Established in 2021, the prestigious awards champion the important contribution technicians make to New Zealand agriculture, construction, and forestry industries, via outstanding service and support to John Deere's valued customers.
More than 130 technicians were nominated by their dealerships in 2024, with input from customers, and the 32 finalists travelled to the company's Australian headquarters in Brisbane this week to be put through a rigorous assessment process, testing diagnostic capabilities, technical knowledge and customer service skills.
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