Heavy Metal Mettle To Be Tested At National Excavator Operator Competition Finals

The elite ‘SAS’ of New Zealand’s excavator operators will be put through their paces in Feilding at the end of this week as they vie for title of New Zealand’s best at the Civil Contractors NZ CablePrice National Excavator Operator Competition.

No stranger to contests of high-octane performance, Manfeild Park will host the heavy metal showdown, which will take place on 17 and 18 March during the Central Districts Field Days.

The event will see the defending champion and 12 regional winners manoeuvring their 13-tonne Hitachi excavators through a series of high-stakes challenges, including crowd-pleasing tests of skill such as uncorking a champagne bottle, pouring the perfect cup of Earl Grey tea, or slam dunking a basketball using the buckets of their machines.

CCNZ Chief Executive Alan Pollard said the competition was about celebrating the exceptional skill of New Zealand’s top excavator operators and inspiring the next generation to get behind the controls.

“The more unusual tests of skill always bring the spectators but the competition also has a more serious side, with plenty of more traditional tasks such as trenching, operating around underground services, and tests of operator’s health and safety knowledge.”

One of the most challenging elements of the competition is the Z Energy One-day Job Challenge, which tests all aspects of an operator’s skillset and involves site planning and layout, as well as execution, for a task such as constructing a house foundation.

Among the competitors taking part is the winner of the Hawke’s Bay’s Regional Excavator Operator Competition, Dan Mepham, from Gair Contracting. Mepham has been hard at in his home region following Cyclone Gabrielle and will compete in the competition during one of his first periods off. He played a key role in building the stop banks alongside the Tutaikuri River in Taradale which held out during the cyclone when many others around the region were breached.

Defending champion Troy Calteaux from Andrew Haulage 2011 Ltd in Otago will be aiming for his third national title at the event. He said he was looking forward to giving it his best shot on the day.

“You turn up and you don't know what they’ve got in for you – it’s a mental challenge and you’re in a pressure cooker the whole time. The unknown is the biggest challenge.”

New Zealand’s national excavator operator competition was founded in the mid-1990s by CCNZ Manawatu Branch as the brainchild of local contractors Graeme Blackley and Grant Smith. Pollard said it was “one of the most unique spectacles New Zealand has to offer”.

“The operators at our national finals are the elite, the ‘SAS’, if you like, of our excavator operating community.”

He urged people to turn out in force to show their support for the competitors; many of whom have been involved in the response to Cyclone Gabrielle.

“Excavator operators play a critical role in nearly all of our country’s biggest projects. Not only do they transform the terrain for roading and water projects, but they also build stop banks to defend against flooding and assist with the clean-up when the worst weather hits.”

He said there was more demand than ever for civil construction workers and there had never been a better time for job seekers to enter the industry and make a real difference to communities in need.

An EPIC Careers Hub will be at the Central Districts Field Days from 16 to 18 March, situated next to the excavator operator competition course. The careers hub will feature a VR excavator, truck driving and traffic control experiences, a Connexis digital simulator, an excavator experience, floor talks from infrastructure construction workers and opportunities to meet and be hired by civil infrastructure construction companies.

The CCNZ CablePrice National Excavator Operator Competition has been running since 1994. Despite a break last year due to Covid-19, the captivating event is still going as strong as the lift strength of a Hitachi ZAXIS-135 excavator.

The Platinum Sponsor for this year’s competition is CablePrice, which has been a longstanding supporter of the industry and the competition. CablePrice also provides and services the Hitachi excavators the competitors operate during the event. Other major competition sponsors include Attach2, BeforeUDig, Connexis, First Gas, Hirepool, Humes, Z Energy, Milwaukee, Civil Trades, Contractor Magazine, and Doug the Digger.

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