Smith & Smith has revealed the winner of last month’s Best of New Zealand competition, where its leading technicians from around the country competed to be the best in vehicle glass repair and replacement.

After two days of tests and challenges resembling the Olympics of vehicle glass repair, Hamish Bedwell from Dunedin was named the winner of the competition – earning $3,000 cash, a $700 travel voucher, and a new Samsung phone. He was also given the opportunity to compete at the Best of Belron international competition in Spain next year.

Commenting on the competition, Bedwell said it was such a relief when the event concluded and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“It’s still sinking in. I was really surprised to win because the other techs had done so well,” he said. “I’m really proud to bring it [the ‘Best of NZ’ title] back to the South Island, but I think I’m going to have to shout lunch on Monday.”

Meanwhile, Tini Sao from the Smith & Smith Glenfield branch came second and Gavin Wairau from the Palmerston North Smith & Smith branch came third.

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The awards night also featured Brian Castleberry, vice president of business development at asTEch, who highlighted some of the challenges in diagnostics and calibration.

He noted the vast difference between vehicle safety features, shortage of technicians, importance of calibration given the rise of ride-sharing services and the increased use of such vehicles, and the time-consuming nature of dynamic calibrations.

He concluded that regulations around calibration are coming, which will become part of a vehicle’s regular “check-up.”