Sponsor article: JW Group

TRANSITIONING NZ TO CLEAN ENERGY TRANSPORT

“So, you want to be a mechanic?

Well, you’re even dumber than you look”

These were the words the grizzled old boy said to me on my first day on the job. The date was September 12, 2001. I had awakened that morning to the horrendous news footage of planes crashing into New York City’s Twin Towers, not that I even knew what the World Trade Center was. With no time then to absorb the details of the tragedy as it unfolded, I was pumped to be starting my first day in a new role as a heavy diesel apprentice at Tranz Rail.

Had I known that those first few days would be spent mainly scraping bits of dead cow off the underside of locomotives I might not have been so eager! I am thankful for the experience gained from working there and elsewhere over the years. From humble grunt to becoming appreciated for my technical and people skills, I’ve learned any job or situation has positive take-aways.

Fast forward 20 years and my days of cow scraping are long behind me. As General Manager for JW Group, I am proud to work with a team at the forefront of New Zealand’s task to transition its commercial vehicle fleets to clean, quiet, zero-emission electric. Our workshops in Auckland and Christchurch are expert providers of diesel bus and truck services and within the last 3 years have an added focus and passion to supply and service electric buses and trucks. Our staff embraces the change and has a healthy outlook for the future of their employment and skills development.

2021 continues to bring economic challenges and all things strange we’ve become used to with Covid in our lives. The JW Group team has still had strong results over this year with delivery of 21 Yutong full electric buses for the Go Bus Christchurch fleet among others and sees us building electric buses promised for New Zealand service into next year. In 2021 we had New Zealand’s first ever full electric touring coaches built for Mahu City Express. These also came from Yutong, the world’s largest bus producer turning out over 60,000 buses a year from a 2 million square metre factory in Zhengzhou, China. Yutong has sold over 125,000 electric buses globally which gives us confidence to replace diesel fueled buses with a well proven product.

I’m wowed at how times have changed! Technicians now have a better blend of interpersonal, mechanical, and computer-based skills. Advanced remote and onsite diagnostic equipment is making life a lot easier for technicians who can couple their good computer sense with vehicle knowledge to hunt down and resolve issues or just carry out maintenance and accumulate vehicle data for analysis and improvement. The further knowledge of battery electric vehicles and charging systems is becoming a valued commodity for new entrants in the motor trade.

I would strongly encourage young people to consider a career in the motor trade as it is a diverse, exciting, and fast-paced field where no two days are the same. JW Group supports EVolocity and the fun of learning about electric vehicles because we share the vision of a healthier environment, and the part young minds will play in transitioning to clean energy transport.

If I think back on the words of that grizzled old mechanic, he was right at the time, but I think he would be chuffed today to see how the industry has developed and the huge range of opportunity that lies in wait out for qualified technical people. Get into it!

Jo Crickett

GM, JW GROUP