October 2017

Garage wins game – changing makeover with Workshop Winners Pagid has awarded a UK workshop a £10,000 upgrade through its Workshop Winners campaign, which took place this summer. ABP Motorsport, based in Shavington near Crewe were the lucky winners. ABP Motorsport’s Chris Meredith entered the Workshop Winners competition after purchasing Pagid brake parts from his local Euro Car Parts. After over 12,500 entries, Chris was drawn as the grand prize winner. Chris was presented with the cheque for £10,000 by head of UK sales for TMD Friction Nick Hayes and Euro Car Parts marketing director, Bill Stimson. The cheque allows ABP Motorsport to choose from the biggest range and best workshop equipment from Euro Car Parts Workshop Solutions – with Pagid picking up the tab. Chris Meredith, managing director of ABP Motorsport, commented: “Lots of our equipment here at ABP needs upgrading, especially our MOT bay. The money will help us to make the necessary improvements and will kick start our bigger plans to make substantial investments to benefit our team and loyal customers.” There have been many more winners in the campaign, with instant wins including 18-piece pneumatic wind back toolsets, 10-piece pro brake toolsets, Workshop Winners t-shirts and A3 retro signs. Karl Weaver named Top Technician 2017 winner Top Technician has crowned Kent-based mechanic Karl Weaver as its 2017 winner, marking him as the Top Technician in the UK automotive industry. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2017, Top Technician saw one of the closest-run finals in its history, with Karl , of Bull Lane Garage in Boughton under Blean, near Faversham, taking the title by showing superior diagnostic prowess and fault finding skills on a range of cars. Shaun Miller of Miller’s Garage in Newbury was named as runner-up. This year saw almost 1,000 techs take the initial online test, with that number brought down to ten for a practical semi-final and five for the final, where contestants have to show their skills fixing faults placed on vehicles by a team of industry experts. The annual competition ended with Top Tech Live, the seminar day held at the Henry Ford Academy, where Karl was announced as the Top Technician winner. Commenting on his win, Karl said: “I was so surprised to get to the final but never thought I would end up winning the competition. I entered as I am passionate about my job and the industry and always want to expand my knowledge. I was in shock when my name was announced.” The contest is run by Aftermarket magazine. Editor Alex Wells observed: “Top Technician is a great competition which aims to find the best automotive techs in the UK, and Karl is a fantastic winner, more than worthy of the title. He is certainly one of the best in the country.” As well as the title and trophy, Karl also received a £1,000 cheque from Aftermarket Magazine, a Verus Edge scanner from Snap-on and a prize bundle of garage equipment from Ring Automotive. Karl also received £500 of training from industry training provider Auto IQ. Pico Automotive Technology gave the choice of a WPS kit, NVH kit, or a voucher equivalent to spend on Pico products. Runner up Shaun received a £500 cheque from Aftermarket Magazine, a Solus Edge scanner from Snap-on, and a Ring Automotive product prize bundle. Pico Automotive Technology gave the choice of a 30A or 2000A current clamp, sight block kit or a voucher equivalent. Top Technician 2017 is sponsored by Snap-on and Ring Automotive, see pages 24-31 for more about Top Technician and Top Tech Live. OCTOBER 2017 AFTERMARKET 5 www.aftermarketonline.net