Started in 2007, and held every two years, the Best of Australia competition is an esteemed event that pits the top O’Brien® Automotive Technicians from around Australia against each other in a series of challenges designed to test their skills and expertise. On March 14th, O’Brien® staff from across three divisions, key customers and suppliers came together to witness the competition final and see the 7 skilled technicians battle it out for the title of Best of Australia.

We’d like to congratulate the following discipline-specific award winners:

• Jack Karssemeyer of O’Brien® AutoGlass Moorebank NSW – Best Side and Body Glass
• Nat Rouessart of O’Brien® AutoGlass Tuggerah NSW – Best Recalibration
• Jack Collins of O’Brien® AutoGlass North Parramatta NSW – Best Chip Repair

Of course, in the end, there could only be one overall winner, so we’d like to extend a huge congratulations to:

Jack Karssemeyer – the O’Brien® Best of Australia 2024 Winner.

After being awarded the title at the gala event held on the same night, we were lucky to have a chat with Jack to get an insight into his journey to the podium and what the title of ‘Best of Australia’ means to him.

Here’s what he had to say.

Introducing Jack K. – the O’Brien® Best of Australia 2024 Winner.

Jack, joined O’Brien® as an 18-year-old straight out of high school, going from trainee Technician to the Level 5 Technician he is today, in just over 4 years. He perfectly embodies the O‘Brien® commitment to excellence and has had his eyes set on being part of the Best of Australia competition for some time.

It’s no surprise that when his skills and achievements were recognised; he was in awe when his name was announced as the winner:

“It was surreal. I was so nervous standing up there and when my name got called, it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off me… it meant everything. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and something I’ve always had my focus on.”

As a Sydney local, this was Jack’s first time competing in the Best of Australia (BOA). As he describes, his success is a testament to his manager, John Paton, and his technical trainer mentor, Mark Cameron.

“I’d like to shout out my manager, John, my mentor Mark, and the whole technical training team for the amazing job they did to help me prepare for the event. They helped me in so many ways – I hope they’re proud of what we achieved together.”

Celebrating A Century of Service

Jack’s achievement comes at an exciting time for the team at O’Brien® as the company celebrates 100 years of service in Australia. The Best of Australia 2024 was combined with a 100-year celebration event held after the competition wrapped up, where the winner was announced in front of over 300 people.

“Having BOA and the big 100-year celebration was really special – to be a part of such a milestone for the whole company was amazing and it really encouraged the best out of all the competitors as well. There was an amazing buzz out on the competition floor!”

True to the O’Brien® way, Jack admits that he made lifelong friends with his fellow BOA competitors and describes this comradery as one of the highlights of his experience:

“I love O’Brien® as a company. There are so many different branches of progression you can go through. It is like a giant family and the night showed that. People from all aspects of the company came together to support one another and although we were competitors, each of us shared ideas and insights throughout the process and had a great time – I’ve made some friends for life.”

Looking forward: The Best of Belron competition

The Best of Belron is a biennial global event held across the Belron Group. This competition recognises the best Belron technicians from 39 countries worldwide who specialise in using Belron’s standard repair and replacement processes, known as the Belron Way of Fitting. The finalist for each country’s national event is invited to compete on the world stage, which means Jack will now head to Lisbon, Portugal to compete against the best in Belron this June.

“In three months’ time, I’ll be heading over to Lisbon to compete in the Best of Belron competition. It really is an honour to be going over there to compete on behalf of O’Brien®, and to test myself against the other competitors and to show what I’m made of. I’m so excited!”

The road to Lisbon looks much the same as the lead-up to the BOA competition with ongoing training and practice alongside the Technical Training team and no doubt plenty of advice from our Australian BOA Judges and fellow competitors.

We wish Jack the best of luck before he flies off to compete in three months and no doubt plenty of advice from the alumni of Best of Australia winners who’ve represented O’Brien on the world stage. We’ll be keeping across how Jack’s preparation is going, so stay tuned for more updates on Jack’s journey to Lisbon.

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

Do you think you’d love a career at O’Brien®? We’d love to have you!

O'Brien® is always on the hunt for talented people who are looking to start a promising career with us.

Head on over to O’Brien® Careers and find the perfect role for you.

Of course, for all your AutoGlass needs, call 1800 059 829 and speak to the experts in our Customer Solutions Centre today!

The post Congrats Jack Karssemeyer, Winner of O’Brien® Best of Australia 2024 appeared first on O'Brien.

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.

The right road to Barcelona

In the week leading up to the competition, Phil headed first to Belgium to practise working on left-hand drive European spec vehicles – as that would be what he would be working on in Barcelona.

“It was different to what I’m used to working on, but it was great to have time to practice as I know it would help save time when I worked on vehicles like this during the competition,” Phil shares.

So, with over two months of dedicated training, Phil finally flew to Barcelona for the event he had waited for years to be involved in.

Getting to know the world

To start the event off right, the Best of Belron team organised activities so the delegates could get to know each other before competing.

“It was a great way to loosen up before the competition,” Phil says, “I met people from 27 other countries and had lunch with the judges before heading to the competition arena.”

Gary Lubner, Belron^® CEO, also took to the stage to talk to the delegates prior to the competition. “His speech was really moving. He recognised that each of us there were already champions – because we were all here as the best from our countries,” Phil adds, “that was a great reminder and a humbling one too.”

Competing with the best of the best

The first event of the competition was a written test to check the delegates’ understanding of all the tools and the processes they had to deal with and use.

“I took my time with it,” Phil tells us, “and by the end, I was confident with 95% of my answers – so I was off to a great start.”

Then, for the main competition, the 28 delegates were given different auto-glazing scenarios – repairing and replacing a windscreen, door glass, remove and replace rear glass, and recalibrating windscreen cameras. Each competitor was assigned to two judges who monitored their performance throughout the competition.

“The competition was replicating what mobile technicians do in a normal workday,” Phil shares. “We checked and gathered our tools, worked on the schedule and monitored our work. It was quite practical, too. The jobs that typically earned the most revenue also earned higher percentages in the scoring system.”

Of the two judges, one acted like a customer while the other handled the score sheet and monitored the process.

“The scoring was comprehensive – it wasn’t just about ticking all the boxes. We had to interact with the customer, too. So, we were scored based on efficiency, quality of the job, observance of safety protocols and customer service,” Phil recalls.

When asked how he felt during the competition, Phil told us that he was surprisingly calm while working, “I did everything as I would on a regular job, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the experience.”

Finally, the moment everyone’s waiting for

“They announced some of the special awards for each event,” Phil shares, “then I was called as a runner-up – I placed equal 4th out of 28 in the world! I was pretty stoked.”

Phil finished in equal fourth place, coming after the US who claimed first, Portugal in second place and Turkey, third. Our New Zealand colleague also placed equal fourth with Phil.

“It wasn’t an easy journey, but it was an honour and a privilege to have represented the Australian O'Brien^® team at such a huge event,” Phil says.

A great experience with an even greater team

When asked what the most memorable part of the experience was, Phil told us that it was still about working as part of a tight-knit team.

“I remember standing up on stage, waving the Australian flag, and thinking that I couldn’t have done this without my dedicated team and network back home. Sure, I was there as a representative alone – but what went into me was years of training and support from the whole O'Brien^® team.”

“It was such a wonderful experience and a great honour to have been the driver of this journey for O'Brien^® – on behalf of everyone back in Australia.”

And with that, we have come to a satisfying end to this series.

O'Brien^® congratulates and thanks Phil Cole for representing the team in Barcelona and for embodying our DNA – the whole O'Brien^® team is proud of you!

Next time you need to get your windscreen repaired or replaced, think of the team at O'Brien^®. We’re your trained experts in all things windscreen glass – book online or call 1800 059 829.

At O'Brien^®, we’re proud to have so many outstanding Vehicle Glass Technicians working for our company right across Australia. If you would like to be part of our technical expertise and service excellence culture at O'Brien^®. visit obriencareers.com.au for more information today.

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