Auckland Excavator Operator Comp at Big Boys Toys

MEDIA RELEASE
Civil Contractors NZ

10 Oct 2016

Excavators compete to be the Auckland champ

35 excavator operators from across the Auckland region are practising how to pour tea from their machines to prepare for the Civil Contractors New Zealand regional excavator competition later this month.

The Auckland competitors will battle it out on 28 to 30 October at the Big Boys Toys expo at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane.

As well as pouring tea, the excavator operators will also use their machines to move uncooked eggs, putt a hole in one, 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 opening beer, though, as Auckland regional competition co-ordinator Regan Burke points out.

“These tasks demonstrate what excavators 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 Regan Burke.

The construction and maintenance industry carries out $12b of work annually, employing 60,000 workers including excavator operators. Operators are involved in some of Auckland’s most significant projects including building Tunnels, Motorways, and developing land to to cater to Auckland housing demands.

Simon Birchall 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 all of the excavators the competitors operate during the 3 day-long event. The machines have a minimum of 12 controls and are becoming increasingly sophisticated with GPS and satellite controls that allow excavators to assess how far to dig and where to dig, giving greater accuracy and avoiding underground utility services.

Regan Burke encouraged the Auckland 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 Canteen. There is also an opportunity for grown-ups to have a go at one of the competition challenges this year to raise funds for Gigi, the foundation supporting research to help fight gastro intestinal cancer. Cable price will also have their John Deer Forestry simulator for anyone to have a go chopping down trees as well as the Westpac helicopter simulator. So there is plenty for everyone.

Some of the Auckland competitors from:

• ICB Retaining Walls, CPB, J&R , Harker Underground, Opie, Fultan Hogan, United Civil, Stevensons Recources, Higgins and Ross Reids >

The winner will receive approx. $2000 worth of prizes including cash and a spot at the Final to possibly be the national winner.

There is also prizes for 2nd & 3rd place as well as the Good Bugger award, Non CCNZ member prize and also The Legacy team prize that is awarded to the company that has the most accumulated points. All prizes are kindly donated by our great sponsors, including- CablePrice, Hirepool, Enzed, CivilShare, Humes, Z energy, Total Lubricants, Unitech, ICB Retaining Walls, Contractor Mag, Stellar Recruitment, Connexis, Pilehire & Before U Dig.

There will be a celebrity dig off on the Saturday lunchtime so come join in the fun of everything Big boys Toys and see who can dig it!

The Auckland regional competition will be held daily between 10:30am – 3pm, Friday October 28 to Sunday October 30 at Big Boys Toys at the ASB Showgrounds.

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