The winners and runners-up of the 2020 New Zealand Groundspread Fertilisers Association (NZGFA) awards have been announced.
It was recently held online as part of the annual general meeting with NZGFA executive officer Melanie Dingle congratulating the winners for their service to the industry.
Ted Usmar, head of engineering at Waikato-based Wealleans Ltd, was awarded the Trucks & Trailers sponsored Innovation Award for his long-term commitment to continuous improvement to technical efficiency and driver safety.
During his 30 year career, Usmar has created engineering solutions that ensure spreader trucks work as efficiently as possible while offering the best safety features for operators. From making small tweaks to full re-designs, his foresight and innovation is recognised in New Zealand as well as overseas.
Nathan Callander, of Callander Groundspread, was named the runner-up for the Innovation Award as an enthusiastic and talented ambassador for the industry who has the mechanical aptitude to solve complex spreader truck issues through clever engineering design.
Phil Johnson, driver trainer at Canterbury Driver Training, scooped the Graymont-sponsored Health & Safety Award.
Johnson was commended for his diligence in developing thorough training programmes that create competent and qualified ground spreader operators, who are highly proficient in the area of health and safety. He regularly reviews his training modules in his quest to provide the best quality health and safety training for the industry.
The runner up for this award was Jessie Freer, of Taranaki-based the Sandford Group, who was praised for successfully updating old systems and implementing new health and safety procedures across 10 sites, 140 staff and 100 trucks.
The Ravensdown-sponsored Young Achiever’s Award, a category for aspiring under 35s, was presented to 22-year-old Matthew Blomfield of Transport Services Southland Ltd.
Blomfield, a natural communicator, was recognised for his respect of the environment as well as his passion for farming and his profession, and his ability to engage effectively with his customers. His advocacy for ground spreading has led him to attend careers events and youth groups, where he has been transparent about his love of agriculture and his job and encouraging of others to join the industry.
Jared Usmar, operations manager for Wealleans Groundspread, was named the runner up for this award, based on his competency and his commitment to training new recruits as well as testing new innovations.
Grant Anderson, of Transport Services Southland Ltd, was named the winner of the prestigious President’s Award, sponsored by Ballance Agri-Nutrients. Anderson, who is a vice-president of the NZGFA as well as its dedicated health and safety representative, was congratulated on his leadership and mentoring skills as well as his advocacy for the industry standard, Spreadmark. His commitment to growing the industry professionally, while augmenting health and safety practices such as incident reporting was also recognised.
Marty Crafar, formerly of Safe Business Solutions Ltd, was named the runner up in this category. He was applauded for his commitment to guiding ground spreader operators through business challenges, providing ideas, hands-on advice and resources across human resources, health and safety, management and auditing.
The AGM, hosted via Zoom, also saw John Schultz of Mainland Groundspreading, remain as president. Schultz was unchallenged, alongside vice-presidents Grant Anderson and Graeme Martin. He says he’s delighted to represent the membership for another term.
