Allison Transmission announced the winner of the Allison Guild Technician Skills Competition. Matt Kagarise from Penn Power Group was named grand champion of the competition at the Guild Star Awards banquet hosted in Dallas, Texas, during First Line 2023, Allison’s biannual event for its North America service channel professionals that focuses on product updates and best practices in service procedures.
Allison said it has experienced significant growth of its network of approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. Penske Australia recently expanded its presence in southeast Queensland to support customers of Allison Transmission. Earlier this month, Allison announced a strategic partnership with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) to strengthen Allison’s supplier network in Europe. The expansion of Allison authorized services allows customers to have Allison propulsion solutions serviced in their own locale quickly and efficiently, which reduces the overall cost and vehicle downtime for maintenance, the company said.
The Allison Transmission Guild, established in 1975, promotes the technical knowledge and expertise of Allison distributor, dealer service and parts professionals. The Guild’s mission is to expand Allison’s leadership in transmission and propulsion system technologies through ongoing service professional development, the company said.
Four additional Allison Guild Technician Skills Competition finalists were recognized at the Guild Star Awards banquet including Alex Lindberg, Clarke Power Services, Inc.; Antoon Vossen, Wajax Power Systems; Lance Geiss, Interstate Power Systems; and Tyler Yannacito, Stewart & Stevenson.
The finalists competed head-to-head by rotating between five hands-on, timed skills stations designed to gauge each technician’s understanding and troubleshooting abilities related to Allison 1000-4000 Series diagnostics, service, repair and chassis integration. Each station was hosted and judged by Allison Regional Customer Support Managers, Allison Service Engineers and Allison Product Training personnel.
