![]() This year a new award was included to commemorate Geoff Duff of Carterton – a nationals judge and truck driver who passed away last year due to pancreatic cancer. The award recognises teamwork and goes to the person judged to be the one you’d most want to have working by your side. ![]() The Humes MVP award went to Bay of Plenty regional champion Marni Kemp, of Central Demolition, who demonstrated a willingness to chip in and help others out as well as all round positive approach through the event. George impressed the judges with his seamless approach and took the highly respected trophy home. One of the more job-specific challenges was the Z Energy One-day Job Challenge, where competitors had to demonstrate start-to-finish competence for a common task, such as planning, layout, and execution of a particular job. “Every run is different, the organisers try to throw you and put you through a real pressure cooker.” “On Friday night after the first day of competition my nerves were shot – I was still awake at 2 am and had to go for a walk around the hotel carpark to calm myself. The 2021 runner-up, veteran Waikato competitor Mike Bowe, of Bowe Brothers Excavating Ltd, placed third.Ĭalteaux said the standard of competition was high and the newcomers this year were “sharp”. The runner-up this year was Northland champion Steven George, of Steven George Contracting Ltd, who put in an impressive showing at his first shot at the nationals. The competition saw regional champion excavator operators manoeuvring their 13-tonne Hitachi excavators through a series of high-stakes challenges, including crowd-pleasing tests of skill such as uncorking a champagne bottle, pouring the perfect cup of Earl Grey tea, or slam dunking a basketball using the buckets of their machines. “There was a massive crowd, it was so awesome and a great bunch of guys, real camaraderie this year. I focused on each task and it just went mint, that was the best performance I’ve had at the nationals. Calteaux’s success at this year's competition, held on 17 and 18 March at Manfeild Park in Feilding during the Central Districts Field Days, follows national titles in 20 and puts him alongside the most successful operators in the competition’s history. The Milton local and Andrew Haulage 2011 Ltd employee dug deeper than ever before, securing the win and becoming a three-time national champion. ![]() Otago’s Troy Calteaux has emerged as ‘top dug’ at the 2023 Civil Contractors NZ CablePrice National Excavator Operator Competition, showing the weight of his mettle to defend his national title against a formidable field of 12 regional finalists. ![]()
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