Celebrating Our Award-Winning Dealers for 2021
At John Deere, we are known for reliable equipment, advanced precision ag technology, customised financial solutions and excellent service from the largest Dealer Network in Africa and the Middle East.
Servicing such a diverse clientele with various needs, would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of our committed John Deere Dealers. It was our honour to celebrate the best of the best for 2021 at our John Deere Dealer Awards.
This year we were joined by host Andries Vermeulen and a number of our John Deere Dealers from across the country at the Raddisson Hotel and Conference Centre in Kempton Park to celebrate this year’s achievements and give honour to all who went the extra mile to ensure our customers are always looked after.
“At John Deere, we have a strategically competitive advantage,” said Jaco Beyers, John Deere Managing Director Africa Middle East, as he opened the Awards Ceremony. “We invest billions of dollars in research and development each year to ensure that we stay on the cutting edge of technology, to ensure that we can help our farmers farm more precisely, more accurately.
Our customers will not benefit from our technology and equipment without our John Deere Dealers. Having the best equipment and solutions is nothing if we don’t have the support to back it up.
Our dealers are one of our key differentiated advantages,” continues Jaco. “And today, we celebrate the unsung heroes who keep our customers running.”
Sales Expert of the Year
Lucas Groenewald, Division Sales Manager – Southern Africa, started off the announcements with the Sales Experts of the Year category. With a total of 2,150 tractors, 108 combines, 83 self-propelled sprayers sales for the financial year, this team exceeded their goals and truly deserved the recognition.
PowerGard ™ Sales Expert of the Year
- Combined 2nd Place: Phillip Human (AFGRI Standerton) and Attie Diedericks (AFGRI Polokwane with each 15 contracts sold
- Winner: Peet Vorster (AFGRI Delmas), 22 contracts sold.
Small Ag Sales Expert of the Year:
- 3rd Place: Eddie Fryer (Senwes Hartswater)
- 2nd Place: Peet Vorster (AFGRI Delmas)
- Winner: Wessel Visagie (Senwes Wesselsbron)
Large Ag Sales Expert of the Year:
- 3rd Place: Andre Botha (GWK Douglas)
- 2nd Place: Peet Vorster (AFGRI Delmas)
- Winner: Kwek Dietrichsen (Senwes Hoopstad)
Extra Mile Award
The Jacky Pretorius Extra Mile Awardis awarded to the person who goes beyond their regular duties to assist the sales department in meeting their goals. With a consensus within John Deere, Cora van der Merwe, Account Credit Manager, won this award.
Dealer of the Year
Thamsanqa Tembani, John Deere Channel Development Manager, announced the second category, Dealer of the Year.
Dealer of the Year - Single Outlet:
- 3rd Place: AFGRI, Botswana
- 2nd Place: Hoffman’s, Namibia
- Winner: Swazi Trac, Eswatini
Dealer of the Year - Multiple Outlets:
- 3rd Place: AFGRI South
- 2nd Place: AFGRI North
- Winner: GWK
John Deere Financial and ABSA BDO and BA of the Year Award
Antois van der Westhuizen, Managing Director for John Deere Financial Africa, took to the stage next to announce the third category, the John Deere Financial and ABSA BDO and BA of the Year Award.
The role of a BA is a support function. It includes quality control, ensuring applications meet the required standard, doing analysis of applications and providing a support function for the sales team. This is a pivotal position to ensure quick turnaround times and to provide our customers with a fast yes.
The John Deere Financial BA (Business Analyst) of the Year was awarded to Dikeledi Mokwena, who had the best approval rate throughout the year.
A BDO, Business Development Officer, is the face of John Deere Financial to customers and Dealer Sales Personnel. They are the contact point for all application queries, enable sales, and form a critical part of John Deere Financial.
BDO of the Year:
- 3rd Place: Marthie Botha and Lizette Nichols
- 2nd Place: Eddie Schuler
- Winner: Riaan Smith
Parts Expert of the Year
Glenys Millingham, John Deere Manager Aftermarket and Sales for Africa Middle East, announced the Parts Expert of the Year category. After months of training, research, and testing, we recognised the Parts Specialists who excelled in this field and took home an R100,000 prize.
Parts Expert of the Year:
- 3rd Place: Stephanus Fouche (AFGRI Grootvlei)
- 2nd Place: Deon Britz (AFGRI Malmesbury)
- Winner: Jaco Wessles (AFGRI Marquard) third time winner
Technician and Workshop of the Year
Lafras Cronje, John Deere Manager Customer Support for Africa Middle East, took to the stage last to announce the winners for the Technician and Workshop of the Year categories.
The Workshop of the Year award is based on how effectively a workshop is managed, looking at the finance and marketing of the workshop, general housekeeping and training.
Workshop of the Year:
- 3rd Place: Senwes Hoopstad
- 2nd Place: AFGRI Middelburg
- Winner: AFGRI Bethlehem
Ending the Awards Ceremony, the Technician of the Year was announced. 155 Technicians took part in this competition. The technicians competed in three rounds more challenging than ever, after which the top three winners were determined.
Technician of the Year
- 3rd Place: Albert Landman (Senwes Wolmaranstad)
- 2nd Place: Arno Bornman (AFGRI Pietersburg)
- Winner: Tiaan Oosthuizen (AFGRI Polokwane)
Thank you once again to all our John Deere Dealers and support personnel. We wish you good luck for the new year ahead.