Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The most important key players in the agricultural and construction sectors were invited to partake in the glamorous and prestigious annual awards ceremony hosted by John Deere Middle East Africa. John Deere dealers and support staff, including technical experts, sales managers and financial specialists all play an integral role in the success that John Deere Africa Middle-East (AME) has experienced in its region.
In an effort to thank the dealers as well as to reward exceptional service, John Deere identified the top performers in the relevant sectors who contributed to one of the most outstanding financial years in the recent history of John Deere.
The event took place at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre in Kempton Park. Jaco Beyers, managing director of John Deere Middle East Africa, thanked every attendee for their support and service towards John Deere and its clients for thinking out of the box in a very challenging year.
Read more about Astral’s excellent performance here.
Lucas Groenewald, Division 1 sales manager, announced the winners of the following categories:
- The PowerGard™Contract Expert of the Year went to Paul van Rensburg – AFGRI Bethal in first place, Theunis Verster AFGRI Bethlehem in second place and Kwek Dietrichsen of Senwes Hoopstad in third place.
- Small Ag Sales Expert of the Yearwas awarded to Sias Humphries – AFGRI Marble Hall with second place winner being Sarel Opperman from AFGRI Delmas and third place went to Trevor Bauer of Mascor, Kokstad.
- Large Ag Sales Expert of the Yearwas won by Peet Vorster AFGRI Delmas, with second place going to Hansie van Rooyen of AFGRI Marquard and third place going to Wessel Visagie of Senwes Wesselsbron.
Herman Groenewald, general manager of John Deere Financial, presented the John Deere Financial Finance Specialists of the Yearto Riaan Smith with runner up Marthie Botha and third place going to Willem Roets.
Maggie Shepperd received the John Deere Financial Business Analyst of the Year award, with Dikeledi Mokwena as the runner up. Both these awards had marginal separations between the winners and runners up, which is testament to the exceptional skills and dedication of these nominees.
Aftermarket Sales Manager in the AME region, Glenys Millingham, presented the awards for the Best Parts Expert of the Yearto Morné Cloete from AFGRI Polokwane with the following runners up:
- Second place: Johannes Hannes Haefele – AFGRI Frankfort
- Third place: Deon Britz – AFGRI Malmesbury
- Fourth place: Stephanus Fouchè – AFGRI Grootvlei
- Fifth place: Wynand Pretorius- AFGRI Polokwane
The award for Parts Sales Branch of the Yearwas won by AFGRI Polokwane. The Alternative Parts Sales Competitionwas won by Bati van Aardt from Settlers Service Station. Jaco Wessels from AFGRI Marquard received special recognition by being included in the Parts Expert Wall of Fame.
One of the most coveted awards, namely the Technician of the Year Award,was presented by Lafras Cronje, customer support manager AME to Arno Bornman from AFGRI Polokwane with runners up being Tiaan Oosthuizen, also from AFGRI Polokwane and third place going to Jaco van Zyl of AFGRI Piketberg.
John Goncalves, channel development manager at John Deere presented the Divisions 2 and 3 Dealer of the Year Single Outlets awards to TATA – Zambia in first place, DAL ENGINEERING – Sudan in second place and ALKHORAYEF – Saudi Arabia in third place.
The Dealer of the Year Single Outlets was presented by Lucas Groenewald to Hoffman’s Farm Implements in first place, Swazi-TRAC in second place and AFGRI Equipment Botswana in third place.
The last awards of the evening were presented by Lucas Groenewald to the Dealer of the Year Multiple Outlets to AFGRI North West in first place, AFGRI Western Cape in second place and GWK in third place.
It was an evening of glamour, entertainment, good food and good company to celebrate and thank the best in the industry. – Press release, John Deere
