CablePrice secures naming rights for NZ’s national excavator competition

05 Mar 2020

Heavy machinery supplier CablePrice has secured the naming rights for New Zealand’s highly competitive national and regional excavator operator competitions.

The newly re-named Civil Contractors New Zealand CablePrice National Excavator Operator Competition is now in its 26th year. It puts top excavator operators through practical and crowd-pleasing challenges ranging from slam dunking a basketball into a two-storey concrete tower to painting a picture and digging a precision trench in a quest to find our country’s best multi-skilled excavator operator.

The competition is the brainchild of national association Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ), which runs eleven regional championship events as well as the national final at Central Districts Field Days on an annual basis to showcase the ability of excavator operators and the mighty machines they control. The winners of regional competitions held throughout New Zealand go on to represent their regions at the national finals.

CCNZ chief executive Peter Silcock said CablePrice had been a Premier Sponsor of the competition since 2009, and it was outstanding that they had stepped up their support even further this year.

“CablePrice is a household name in civil construction. They go above and beyond, providing excavators, financial and in-kind support for the competition. We’re delighted to have them as Platinum Sponsor for the competition’s 26th year.”

Under the naming rights deal, CablePrice will supply 13-tonne Hitachi ZX130 excavators and smaller 5-tonne Hitachi ZX55U excavators for the regional excavator operator competitions and three-day national final where the 11 regional finalists and Defending Champion from last year’s event compete for the national title.

It will also supply trophies and prize packs for the national and regional competition winners, as well as excavators for use at a ‘mini dig’ experience for children and - for larger events - an EPIC Careers in Infrastructure ‘have a go’ stand at the Central Districts Field Days for people considering careers in civil construction.

CablePrice has provided specialised industrial, agricultural and civil contracting machinery to New Zealand businesses for nearly 70 years.

CablePrice General Manager – Sales Aidan Mahony said CablePrice was proud to be a longstanding supporter of New Zealand’s national excavator operator competition.

“Our Hitachi machines can do remarkable things with a skilled excavator operator behind the controls. We’re thrilled to be able to support an event that showcases the amazing skill possessed by people working in the industry in such a crowd-pleasing way.”

The CablePrice CCNZ National Excavator Operator Competition will take place on 19-21 March during the 2020 edition of the Central Districts Field Days at Manfeild Park in Feilding. Last year’s competition video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/p3iQGTn4ESE. The 2020 event will be livestreamed at www.ctaslive.co.nz.

Young leaders and top training initiatives shine at civil construction awards

Courageous young leaders and top training initiatives have been recognised at the Z Energy People Awards and Connexis Civil Industry Training Awards, held on Friday 30 July in Wellington. Hundreds of people from across the civil construction industry attended the prestigious awards, presented during the The Contractors Conference at Te Papa.