Allison Transmission said the winner of the Allison Guild Technician Skills Competition is Matt Kagarise from Penn Power Group.
He was named Grand Champion of the competition at the Guild Star Awards. The banquet was hosted in Dallas during First Line 2023, Allison’s biannual event for its North America service channel professionals that focuses on product updates and best practices in service procedures.
The competition was part of the event for partners of the expanding Allison authorized service network, comprising of approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealers with recent significant growth in Europe and Australia.
A lot of the growth of its network of independent distributor and dealer locations has come overseas. Penske Australia recently expanded its presence in southeast Queensland to support customers. Earlier this month, Allison announced a strategic partnership with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) to strengthen Allison’s supplier network in Europe. The expansion of Allison authorized services allows customers to have Allison propulsion solutions serviced in their own locale quickly and efficiently, which reduces the overall cost and vehicle downtime for maintenance.
The Allison Transmission Guild, established in 1975, promotes the technical knowledge and expertise of Allison distributor and dealer service and parts professionals. The guild’s mission is to expand Allison’s world leadership in transmission and propulsion system technologies through ongoing service professional development.
“Allison is proud to recognize the technician skills competition finalists for their ability to deliver industry-leading service to our mutual OEM and fleet customers,” said Todd Dawn, director, global product training and technical publications at Allison Transmission. “These skilled professionals make it possible for our transmissions to operate at optimal levels leading to maximum vehicle productivity and efficiency in the field.”
Four additional Allison Guild Technician Skills Competition finalists were recognized at the Guild Star Awards banquet including Alex Lindberg, Clarke Power Services, Inc.; Antoon Vossen, Wajax Power Systems; Lance Geiss, Interstate Power Systems; and Tyler Yannacito, Stewart & Stevenson.
The finalists competed head-to-head by rotating between five hands-on timed skills stations designed to gauge each technician’s understanding and troubleshooting abilities related to Allison 1000-4000 Series diagnostics, service, repair and chassis integration. Each station was hosted and judged by Allison’s regional customer support managers, service engineers and product training personnel.