It’s a high standard that we uphold in every aspect of our service. To achieve this, we focus on:

• innovative technology,
• tried and tested processes,
• continuous training for our Automotive Technicians and
• dedication to providing the highest level of care to our customers.

So, as we do every two years, we’re once again putting a spotlight on the signature O’Brien® excellence by bringing together our top Automotive Technicians from all over Australia.

The final of the Best of Australia 2024 is nearly here!

Here’s everything you need to know before the adrenaline-fueled showdown that’s being held on 14th March.

What is the Best of Australia competition?

Started in 2007, the Best of Australia competition is an esteemed event held every two years that pits the top O’Brien® Automotive Technicians against each other in a series of challenges designed to test their skills and expertise.

The winner of Best of Australia, then goes on to compete on the world stage against the best Technicians from other countries across the Belron Group (read on for more detail on this exciting event).

This year, there are seven Technicians who each won their state competitions in 2023 and secured a spot to represent their region at the upcoming final event. We’re bringing together these winners for the ultimate test on 14th March at Doltone House, Darling Island, Sydney.

Meet our Best of Australia 2024 finalists

This year’s finalists are proud to represent their regions for the Best of Australia 2024.

Our seven finalists are:

Bengt Stayte of O’Brien® AutoGlass Townsville QLD
Marco Pieri of O’Brien® AutoGlass Morley VIC
Sam Mullan of O’Brien® AutoGlass Launceston TAS
Nat Rouessart of O’Brien® AutoGlass Tuggerah NSW
Jack Karssemeyer of O’Brien® AutoGlass Moorebank NSW
Jack Collins of O’Brien® AutoGlass North Parramatta NSW
Jeremy Marshall of O’Brien® AutoGlass Coffs Harbour NSW

The winner of the Best of Australia Competition will then go on to represent O’Brien® at the coveted Best of Belron Competition in Lisbon, Portugal this June.

We spoke to one of the national finalists, Jack Karssemeyer, from the O’Brien® AutoGlass Service Centre in Moorebank, Sydney, about the upcoming contest.

“Since I started working as a trainee technician with O ’Brien®, the Best of Australia has always been a dream to aspire to being part of. It’s a unique experience to be able to compete in your field of expertise against other technicians for such an honoured title and get the chance to represent O’Brien on the world stage as well!”

“We’ve spent a bit of time together in Brisbane, with each of use working and training closely with our mentors from the Technical Training team. Our goal is to master the Belron Way of Fitting enough that we don’t even have to think about the next step – it’s second nature to all of us now.”

Jack K. competing in the regional competition doing a Chip Repair

About the Best of Belron competition

The Best of Belron is a biennial global event held across the Belron Group, who is the largest automotive glass company in the world, with brands across every continent worldwide, including O’Brien® here in Australia. This competition recognises the best technicians worldwide who specialise in using Belron’s standard repair and replacement processes, known as the Belron Way of Fitting.

The Belron Way of Fitting captures the expertise and know-how of automotive glass around the world and defines a best-practice approach to repairing and replacing vehicle glass.

This signature process maximises safety, endorses technical quality to the highest standard and places a focus on continuous improvement of the service we offer our customers at O’Brien® AutoGlass.

The finalist for each country is decided through a national competition held by each member of the Belron Group (for O’Brien®, this is our annual Best of Australia event), with the winners going on to compete in the international round against 30 other countries.

Find out what it’s like going to Best of Belron here from the winner of BOA 2022, Phil Cole, who went to Barcelona, Spain.

Gearing up for the finals

The seven competitors, with the support of their mentors from the O’Brien® Technical Excellence and Training team, have now completed their final training phase of their preparation for the upcoming event.

“The finalists have poured their hearts into their work, and we are absolutely thrilled to see them bring their A-game to the competition floor.” – Mohamad El-Chami, Technical Training Manager

Sean Brookes, Head of Technical Training and Excellence added, “I am immensely proud of the exceptional work accomplished by our competitors and technical trainers the Best of Australia 2024 competition. It’s the pinnacle of the technical calendar across Belron, and witnessing the dedication and excellence displayed by all involved at O’Brien fills me with immense pride and gratitude.”

Beyond the competition, the O’Brien® Best of Australia event highlights our company’s commitment to ongoing training and expertise throughout our organisation.

We understand that our success is only due to the success and dedication of our expert technicians and staff, and this ongoing commitment is a testament to the quality of service that O’Brien® provides to its customers right across Australia.

The Technical Trainer team, cheering on the competitors at the final regional event in 2023.

Support your local O’Brien® techs!

If any of these phenomenal O’Brien® AutoGlass Technicians are from your local service centre, be sure to wish them luck before they head off to Sydney to compete for the O’Brien® Best of Australia crown!

We wish all our finalists the very best of luck for the upcoming competition, and we look forward to announcing the Best of Australia winner soon!

Want to join the fun and be part of one of Australia’s most iconic brands?

Fancy competing in BOA in the future? If you think you would, why not consider a career at O’Brien®? We’d love to hear from you!

O'Brien® is always on the hunt for talented people who are looking to start a career with us. Head on over to O’Brien® Careers and find the perfect role for you.

Of course, for all your vehicle glass repair and replacement needs, call 1800 059 829 and speak to one of our expert team at O’Brien® today!

The post Gearing Up for O’Brien® Best of Australia 2024 appeared first on O'Brien.

Jake has worked for 12 years with O'Brien®. While he’s normally well at home on the tools repairing or replacing windscreens out of our new O'Brien® AutoGlass Moorebank branch, this month he was put slightly outside of his comfort zone, starring in a series of new service related videos.  

The videos, which cover topics such as windscreen chip repair and explaining ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) see Jake star as an O'Brien® AutoGlass expert. He helps explain and demonstrate the processes of a windscreen chip repair, windscreen replacement and the O'Brien® Cal-Tech ADAS Recalibration. 

Jake was picked to feature in the videos for his experience and passion for his job but here we learn a bit more about him outside of the bright lights and cameras. 

What was your first job with O'Brien® and what other jobs have you had in your time here? 

I started working with O'Brien® 12 years ago in the Bus and Truck division and then later moved on to be a trainee doing windscreen repair and replacements on cars. From there I worked my way up to become a Level 4 Tech (the most experienced automotive technician level at O'Brien®) and most recently I have been working as a leading hand (senior technician managing and overseeing other technicians) at our O’Brien® AutoGlass Moorebank branch. 

What do you like most about working for O'Brien®? 

I like working with the great bunch of people I have around me. We all help each other and have a laugh while we work. 

What is your career highlight so far? 

I replaced a windscreen of a car that was on set for the movie Hacksaw Ridge (the World War II movie released in 2016, starring Sam Worthington and directed by Mel Gibson). Once I had finished the job, I was shown around the movie set. It wasn’t your average day in the office that’s for sure and one that sticks out for that reason. 

When you’re not at work, how do you spend your time and what do you enjoy doing? 

I have two little kids who keep me pretty busy but outside of that I also own a project car. I love working on it and even take it racing. It’s a 2003 Subaru WRX that has been built to be a street and track car. I have raced it at the drag strip, at roll racing as well as various racetracks including Eastern Creek Circuit, Wakefield Park Raceway and Pheasant Wood Circuit. I have even raced it on the skid pan against NSW Highway patrol. 

If you’d like to see Jake in action replacing windscreens, repairing chips and performing an O'Brien® Cal-Tech ADAS Recalibration then cehck out these videos:

• Windscreen chip repair 1
• Windscreen chip repair 2
• Windscreen recalibration 1
• Windscreen recalibration 2 

Our O'Brien® technicians are experts in this field, so if you need your windscreen repaired, and Jake is not around to help you can rest assured that you’re in good hands with any of our experts. Just call 1800 059 829 or go on online today to book in your car.

The post Meet Jake – Our Senior Auto Technician and YouTube Star! appeared first on O'Brien.

The scoring criteria was extremely thorough and covered health and safety, working methods, car and customer care, as well as final quality and speed of completing the job. Even though our O'Brien® (and Australian) representative Jason Tomlinson didn’t win, he made us all so proud! His hard work and dedication leading up to and during the competition was a true representation of an O'Brien® expert. Congratulations Jason, and we can’t wait for Best of Belron® 2020!

The post And the best of Belron has been decided! appeared first on O'Brien.

On the 22nd of March 2018, the 7 excited but slightly nervous O'Brien® finalists from across Australia competed at Best of Australia 2018, held in Sydney – the biggest & best event we have had to date! Each finalist completed several challenges whilst being judged on their workmanship, car care, safety, customer service, speed and knowledge. The competition between the technicians was fierce but extremely close, with Jason Tomlinson from Underwood QLD crowned the ultimate winner and awarded the highly coveted ‘Best of Australia’ title. This year was also the first year we were able to stream all the action LIVE on Facebook, which meant that for those who couldn’t be with us on the day didn’t miss a moment of the action. In June, Jason will travel to Frankfurt, Germany to represent Australia and compete against the best technicians from other Belron® group countries, trying to claim the ultimate prize – the ‘Best of Belron’. All of us at O'Brien® will be getting behind Jason, and supporting him on his journey. Stay tuned for more details!

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