Two outstanding Yamaha technicians from the Yamaha Technical Academy (YTA) Gold level training classes proudly represented their dealerships and the United States in the World Technician Grand Prix (WTGP) at Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. world headquarters in Iwata, Japan, on October 23 and 24, 2012.
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Mark Sagers
Eric Romanowicz
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This is the 5th WTGP hosted by Yamaha over the past 12 years. 28 top technicians representing Yamaha distributors in 20 different countries competed in this event. The highly skilled group represents the very best among Yamaha technicians as each is a national winner in their own market's Technician Grand Prix.
WTGP puts the world's best Yamaha technicians in an international head-to-head contest to prove their skill and knowledge with multiple hands-on trials and a challenging written test.
The U.S. competitors - Mark Sagers from South Valley Motorsports in Draper, Utah, and Eric Romanowicz from Mondus Motorsports in Hudson, Wisconsin - proved their world-class skills by finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Of the 28 top-tier Yamaha technicians, only Germany's Thorsten Brand was able to surpass Sagers and Romanowicz, while France's Damien Vincent tied for 3rd.
Left to Right: Mark Sagers, Thorsten Brand, Damien Vincent, and Eric Romanowicz
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On the Road to Excellence
But WTGP is more than a competition. It is a celebration of a key spoke in the wheel of Yamaha's future success. Communicating to the competitors, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. President Hiroyuki Yanagi reinforced their role in Yamaha's corporate mission to “offer new excitement and a more fulfilling life for people all over the world.†Yamaha calls this 'creating KANDO'.
He reminded each competitor they are a customer point of contact, and by delivering excellent service they are providing each and every customer with KANDO. "As a Yamaha technician, your position fulfills an important role with the customer," he said. "Your work always provides a value-added service to differentiate us from competitors."
Finally, the president explained that the training programs offered by YTA are the foundation for excellent service.
'One to One Service' serves as a guide for the Service Division of all Yamaha distributors, aiming to build a better relationship with each customer. As the foundation of these efforts, the YTA training programs have been developed and promoted in order to continuously increase the skills of Yamaha technicians at the forefront of our service activities.
We are proud to recognize and reward our YTA-trained technicians, as well as recognize and support our Yamaha dealers who pursue service excellence.
Congratulations to the winners! |
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Mark Sagers (L) with Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd. President
Hiroyuki Yanagi |
Eric Romanowicz (L) with Yamaha Motor Company, Ltd. President Hiroyuki Yanagi |
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