Hino Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to developing the skills of the technical and service staff within its dealer network by expanding and renovating its national training centre at its head office in Caringbah in southern Sydney.
A significant investment was made by Hino to update the training centre and provide more space and the latest in training and IT equipment for Hino technical and service staff.
The official reopening of the updated facility on 25 October coincided with the finals of the fourth Hino National Skills Contest in the refurbished facility.
Senior Hino executives from Japan and senior members of the Australian management team attended the reopening, including Hino Australia Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Sekine and President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Lotter, along with divisional managers, Hino dealer principals, service managers and the 16 skills contest participants from the dealer network.
Hino Australia Divisional Manager, Product Support and Business Development, Greg Bleasel, said Hino Australia was committed to ensuring the technical and service staff within the dealer network were well trained and had access to the best resources available to hone their skills.
"The high level of skills and knowledge flow down to benefit our customers in the form of timely and efficient service and support," Mr Bleasel said.
"The refurbishment and expansion of the national training facility only confirms our commitment to improving the customer experience, while helping to retain those customers in the future.
"We want our people to be the best of the best, and we believe that providing first-rate training and assessment is vital to the future success of Hino in Australia."
National Training Centre Manager Sergio Bonvini said the emphasis Hino Australia places on service quality was driven in part by customer expectation.
"Our dealer parts and service staff are on the front line and in many ways are the 'face' of the business," Mr Bonvini said.
"We want to have the best staff and give them the best training.
"We want them to feel good about working for Hino and reward them for their efforts."
The 16 finalists in the 2012 National Skills Contest were drawn from dealerships around the country.
Each competitor took part in practical exercises and on-screen tests to determine the eventual winners in the Parts and Service categories.
The national Parts winner was Matthew Preston of Scifleet Hino in Brisbane, while the Service division was taken out by John Elliot from Prestige Hino in Melbourne.
The contest was followed by a gala dinner attended by senior Hino staff from Japan and Australian senior management.
Skills contest finalists are drawn from service technicians and parts interpreters from the Hino dealer network around the country who respond to a series of questionnaires distributed throughout the year. Those with the highest scores are invited to attend the final in Sydney.
Last year Hino Australia won the prestigious global 'double victory' award by being named the 2011 Parts Department of the Year and Service Department of the Year by Hino Motors Limited Japan.