Shane Pendergast from Air Brake Systems has won the prestigious Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence at the Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner.
The announcement was made as part of the Australian Trucking Association’s annual Technology and Maintenance Conference in Melbourne on October 17.
Pendergast has 39 years of experience in trucks, trailers, earthmoving, fleets and as a workshop manager, and his main goal now is to inform the transport industry about the importance of functioning EBS/ABS/RSC.
He said winning the award means a lot, not just for him but for his colleagues.
“It’s a recognition, not for me but for everyone else that I help and assist and train.
“We’ve got a long way to go, and winning the award will help me achieve that.”
Pendergast, who is the NSW EBS service manager and national EBS training manager at Air Brake Systems, was previously nominated for the award in 2019 but lost out on the day.
“Here I am today, so the message is never give up!” he continued.
He thanked his mum, who was so proud of her son when he was first nominated for the award, but sadly never got to see him win.
“It was mum who bought me my first toolbox, from the 1985 Brisbane Truck Show if you can believe it,” he said.
When asked about the highlights from his career, he said: “The highlight is today. It’s sharing the stage with our competitors, it doesn’t matter what brand of EBS or ABS we’re running, we need to be coming together as an industry for better industry for better end results.”
As part of his prize, Pendergast will be heading off to New Orleans, USA to attend the US-ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition.
The trip includes $1,500 spending money and five nights of premium conference accommodation.
Also announced at the TMC Awards was the winner of the Castrol Vecton Industry Achievement Award, Ian Thompson of BPW Transpec.
The Castrol Vecton Industry Achievement Award recognises technical innovation and achievement within the Australian trucking industry.
Thomson, who is engineering manager at BPW Transpec, has over three decades of experience in road transport and related equipment engineering.
He has worked hard to improve safety in the industry via implementation of EBS in trailers, as well as carrying out new vehicle PBS assessments and design.
He said he was surprised and delighted by the win.
“I’m happy to receive the recognition for my years of input to the industry and certainly amongst my peers, working with ATA, ITC, and so on,” he said.