MEDIA RELEASE

01/02/17

Excavator Operators compete to be the Wellington/Wairarapa region champ

Excavator operators from across the Wellington/Wairarapa region are practising how to pour tea with their machines to prepare for the Civil Contractors New Zealand regional excavator operator competition later this month.

Competitors will battle it out on 25th February at the Upper Hutt Summer Carnival, Trentham Memorial Park in Barton Rd, Upper Hutt.

As well as pouring tea, the excavator operators will also use their machines to move an uncooked egg, pop a champagne bottle, open a bottle of beer and slam dunk a basketball.

The competition is one of 10 being held around the country to find New Zealand’s current best excavator operator and the finalists will battle it out at Central Districts Field Days (Manfeild Park, Feilding) in March 2017.

It’s not all about pouring tea and popping corks, though, as Wellington/Wairarapa regional competition co-ordinator Michael Carson points out.

“These tasks demonstrate what excavator operators can achieve in their day-to-day work and how specific their tasks can be as they navigate drain pipes, gas pipes and electricity cables. Contestants will also be judged on the health and safety precautions they take and their planning and foresight.

“Excavator operation is a highly skilled job in a thriving industry and the competition is a chance to show to the general public the rewarding careers available,” said Mr Carson.

The construction and maintenance industry carries out $12b of work annually, employing 60,000 workers including excavator operators. Operators are involved in some of the region’s most significant projects including Transmission Gully, Mackays to Peka Peka, various large drainage jobs, and a fair bit of work generated by recent earthquakes - all requiring ‘gun’ operators.

Alex Kelly of competition Platinum Sponsor CablePrice said his company was delighted to support the regional and national competitions as the events

demonstrated the level of skills required to operate an excavator and also how technology was transforming the industry.

CablePrice sponsors, provides and services the two 12 tonne Hitachi Zaxis 120 excavators the competitors operate during the day-long event. The machines have a minimum of 12 controls and are becoming increasingly sophisticated with GPS and satellite controls that allow excavator operators to assess how far to dig and where to dig, giving greater accuracy and avoiding underground utility services.

CCNZ is also very grateful to the other national sponsors, Hirepool, Humes, Z and First Gas, plus the Wellington regional sponsors, Holcim Aggregates Kiwi Point Quarry, Hynds, Winstone GBC, and Tudor Distributors; all of whom make these competitions possible.

Michael Carson encouraged Wellington and Wairarapa general public to come along to watch the competition, which was always a lot of fun and especially popular amongst families with young children.

Children will have a chance to drive “Gerald, the CablePrice Digger”, which is a 1.7 tonne Hitachi mini digger that kids 2 year olds and older can drive with a supervisor for a gold coin donation, raising funds for the local Child Cancer foundation.

Some fabulous prizes sponsored and donated nationally and locally are up for grabs!

ENDS

The regional competition starts on Saturday 25th February and kicks off at 7.30am each day.

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