Scania has announced that its Dandenong Top Team from Victoria has won through its local TopTeam competition and will represent the Asia/Oceania region at the World Finals to be held in Sweden later this year.
At the very least this makes the team one of the top 12 Scania branch teams in the world according to the company.
The Dandenong Scania team has progressed having clinched one of the two available spots at the Asia/Oceania Regional Finals in Bangkok a fortnight ago.
According to Scania the team, comprising Captain Chris Chilver, assisted by Danny Manak, Bede Hutchinson, Frank Jurinec and Kaelan Johnston, were challenged by rival Scania national winners from six other Asian countries, undertaking fault finding and other technical challenges against the clock.
The Dandenong team will travel to Sweden later this year to compete against 11 other regional winners, including a team from China, which was the second Asian regional winner in Bangkok.
In the Bangkok round, Team Dandenong took on teams from Thailand, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Scania Australia managing director, Manfred Streit who watched the competition from the sidelines said that reaching the World Finals is a great success for the local Scania operation.
Str“I am immensely proud that our team will be going to Sweden and it is wonderful recognition for our talented team within the Asian region,” Streit said.
“The Dandenong Team put a lot of hard work into honing their skills and improving their knowledge and drew on many decades of experience in order to achieve this result, guided, supported and well-prepared by their coach, Neil Henderson, and the Australian Top Team Coordinator, Jason Grech,” Streit added..
“Top Team is such is an outstanding competition, unique to Scania, which underlines our people-centric philosophy, valuing those who continually support our customers’ uptime,” he said.
Dandenong Team Captain Chris Chilver had some previous Top Team experience, and narrowly missed out in Bangkok at the previous Regional Finals, but making sure of a berth in the World Finals this time.
“We went into this event a lot more confident and more prepared because we knew what we were dealing with after competing in the 2023 Regionals,” Chilver said.
“We spent a lot of time practicing, focusing primarily on teamwork and communication, which is ultimately what got us over the line. None of it would have been possible without the support of our coaches Neil and Jason,” he added
“I’m incredibly proud of the team for their outstanding performance in winning a finals berth at the Top Team Regionals in Bangkok,” says Liz Mistretta, Branch Manager at Scania Dandenong.
“Their focus, teamwork, and commitment secured an exceptional achievement that clearly demonstrates the expertise they bring every day in supporting our customers. This reinforces the high standards we uphold as a branch and reflects the premium level of service our customers expect from Scania,” said Chilver.
Scania Victoria Dealer Director Alan Hugo said he saw the long-term benefit for customers from the peak performance of the Dandenong team.
“In an environment with tough market conditions, where hyper competition is rife, it is essential for our customers to reduce the costs and risks associated with unplanned downtime,” said Hugo.
“With one of the very best teams in the Scania world conducting routine and preventative maintenance and repairs on their vehicles, our customers benefit from the additional peace-of-mind that their vehicles are in the hands of proven experts,” he added.
“Team Dandenong epitomises the Scania philosophy of delivering dependability and reliability, allowing our customers to maximise the profitability of their fleet and operation through unbeatable uptime,” Hugo concluded
