Ebrahim K. Kanoo, the sole distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the Kingdom of Bahrain, took the top spot in both categories of the 2016 GCC Body & Paint Technicians Skills Grand Prix. The Paint category was won by master technician Jaffar Eid, while the Body category was awarded to Body Technician Vipin Kappara. The annual event showcases the skill levels and competencies of body and paint technicians in a contest against their peers from distributors across the GCC.
Held at the Toyota Training Centre in Sitra, the two-day activity consisted of a written test and rehearsal on the first day, followed by the main contest on the second day. Contestants from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and Oman flew in to take part in the competition, which helps determine the technicians’ strengths and identify any areas that might require improvement.
The contest was attended by the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Mr. Subah Al Salem Al Dossary, Japanese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, H.E. Kiyoshi Asako, and officials from the General Directorate of Traffic. Also present were representatives of Kansai Paints and the Japan headquarters as well as the Bahrain Regional Office of Toyota Motor Corporation.
Mr. Kazuhiro Sato, Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Company, Japan said via a video message: “At Toyota, it is our responsibility to make better cars, and part of what helps us achieve that are the people who work on our cars and directly interact with customers on a daily basis. They are indispensable in making our customers smile, and I hope to see more events like this where we continue to challenge ourselves.”
Mr. Michael Goode, Senior General Manager of Service at Ebrahim K. Kanoo and Chairman of the Body and Paint Skills Grand Prix, said: “It is always an encouraging sign to see the level of skills and commitment put on display every year at this competition. We are very extremely proud of our performance this year, which is a testament to the high quality of our training programme and the dedication of our staff.”
The participating teams included guests from the other GCC distributors, namely MNSS (Kuwait), Saud Bahwan Automotive (Oman), Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros. (Qatar), Abdul Latif Jameel (Saudi Arabia), and Al-Futtaim Motors (United Arab Emirates).