CEO REPORT
TERRA’S BRENTON PAGE HEADING TO GLOBAL DEALER TECHNICIAN CHALLENGE GRAND FINAL
Tauranga lead hand Brenton Page is officially one of the best Caterpillar technicians on the planet after qualifying for the grand final of Cat’s Global Dealer Technician Challenge in the States next March. In November the 36-year-old pitted his skills against 10 of the best techs from Africa, Asia and Australasia in the semi-finals at Málaga, Spain, finishing an impressive fourth against some fierce competition. “It was full-on and the old brain was pretty tired by the end,” says Brenton. “We had to be switched-on for four full days, trying to solve each of the challenges they threw at us.” “Caterpillar did a really good job setting up the stations, where there’d be faults on top of faults. So you’d fix one issue, only to discover another one, then another one,” he recalls. “I don’t think anyone was able to completely resolve a challenge before it was time to move on to the next station." As for qualifying for the grand final, Brenton says he was shocked when his name was called out. “I couldn’t believe it, to be honest,” he says. “Of course the goal was to finish in the top five, but we were up against the best from half the world.” The top five from the two semis progress to the final in Las Vegas next year, with the winners announced at CONEXPO.
more new models still coming. The one release that stood out for me this year is the 982 XE wheel loader that delivers a 45 per cent reduction in fuel burn and therefore dramatically reduces CO 2 emissions. Another big milestone this year was the move to, and opening of, our new Christchurch premises. The all-new parts and service branch, state- of-the-art Terra Analytical laboratory and new support office building have been a significant commitment, and one that demonstrates Sime’s dedication to the New Zealand market. Last but certainly not least, 2025 has seen us make some huge improvements in our health and safety performance. We’ve placed significant emphasis on our safety culture this calendar year, and this has helped reduce workplace injuries by more than 65 per cent and seen our TRIFR (total recorded injury frequency rate) drop to one of the lowest in the Sime group of businesses. The Terra team has faced a lot of challenges this year and we’ll continue to work hard every day to stay safe and deliver great outcomes for our customers; I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff for their commitment in 2025. Have a safe and enjoyable summer break, and I look forward to working closely with you all again in 2026.
I’m sure many of you will feel that 2025 has been a challenging year and the upcoming summer holiday break has been especially hard-earned. This has certainly been the case for Terra Cat, but it feels like the worst of the economic downturn is behind us – now it’s not a matter of ‘when’, but ‘how quickly’ activity levels will return to a relatively normal state. 2025 has also been a year of significant change for our business, as we moved to a new operating model to improve the efficiency of the business. While many elements of these changes have played out well and have improved our way of working behind the scenes, we’re very aware there are aspects that haven’t quite hit the mark. We have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to improving our communication with our customers and streamlining our processes when you’re dealing with us for parts and service. We’re working hard to get this right; our absolute aim is to be easier to deal with, so we’re working with urgency to improve the areas where we are currently falling short of our customers’ expectations. There have also been some real highlights for the business over the past year that are worth sharing. 2025 marked Caterpillar’s centenary anniversary, and to celebrate 100 years of Caterpillar at the final – and largest ever – Wheels at Wa - naka event was a real thrill. We also delivered some large, complex electric power projects this year, which have set us up well to compete for further large projects in the future. At the same time, we’ve seen Caterpillar release some outstanding new products in 2025, with
“We couldn’t be prouder or more excited for Brenton,” says Terra Cat CEO Chris Heaton. “This is a huge achievement, not only for him, but for Terra Cat as a whole. We pride ourselves on training and developing world-class technicians who are skilled, customer-focused, adaptable, and able to solve issues quickly and effectively. Brenton’s a testament to that, and a great representative of the quality of technicians we have working for us.” For Brenton, the opportunity to make the grand final is rewarding enough, and he’s got no expectations heading to the States. “Even qualifying for the finals feels like I’ve succeeded. It’s not really something you can practice and prepare for, as I don’t know what the challenges will be. I’ve got no goals for Vegas and I’m just going to enjoy the experience.” Australasian techs smashed
it at the Spain semi-final, claiming three of the top four places. Leon Archibald from WesTrac won the competition, while Rhys
Bishop from Hastings Deering placed third.
Chris Heaton CEO & Managing Director
Click here to learn more about Brenton's challenge.
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