Ryan named ‘Best of Belron’
Ryan Millar, a volunteer firefighter from Nairn in Scotland, has won the UK final of the ninth biennial Best of Belron competition.
The competition is open to technicians of Autoglass and parent company Belron around the world who have reached the zenith of what is known as the Belron Way of Fitting, which has been developed to make sure that every vehicle glass customer worldwide receives the same high standards.
This UK final was hosted in the Milton Keynes Arena on 5 October, and saw the top 10 technicians from Autoglass pit their skills against each other in a series of assessed challenges. Each technician was marked on customer service, quality, safety, working methods and car care. To claim the title of the UK’s top technician, Ryan demonstrated high standards of workmanship and excellent customer service skills across the windscreen repair, windscreen replacement and body glass replacement challenges.
Ryan will now face the challenge of competing in the international final in Frankfurt in June 2018, where 30 technicians from across the world will compete to win the coveted international ‘Best of Belron’ title.
If successful, Ryan will achieve prize money equivalent to a full year’s salary. It would also be a rare hat-trick for Ryan, who two years ago also won the UK Best of Belron competition for Autoglass Specials, which covers vehicle glass on everything other than standard cars, including buses, coaches, and combine harvesters.
He said, ‘I’m extremely proud to have competed with the best technicians in the country and to have come out on top. Autoglass is a varied, challenging, and enjoyable place to work. In the 10 years I have been here I’ve had many great opportunities to develop my skills and I couldn’t have done this without the help and support of technicians, technical trainers, managers past and present, and especially my dad, Gavin Millar, a veteran technician who has taught me the job since I was knee-high. I’d also like to thank Billy Johnston, my Technical Trainer. It’s these friends, family and colleagues who I’ll now be representing against the best in the world. I hope I can bring the title home to the UK again.’
Taxiarchis Konstantopoulos, managing director of Autoglass, added, ‘Best of Belron is a truly unique event and a highlight in how we foster and encourage the talents of our technicians and celebrate their successes. This year’s finalists demonstrated great skill, determination and drive that makes them all winners and everyday heroes to be celebrated. Their passion for delivering outstanding customer service and solving people’s problems with real care comes not just from a desire to win a contest, but is clearly a part of their DNA, as it is for Autoglass.’
