Bangkok--10 Jul--Volvo Group
- New prize category to encourage teamwork
- Winner this year to represent Thailand in the final round in Australia
Volvo Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd., the sole distributor of Volvo trucks in Thailand, elevates the FuelWatch contest this year by adding a new team prize category and new winning criteria to bring quality of the contest to international standard.
Mr. Jacques Michel, Chief Executive Officer, Volvo Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd., reveals that, “The FuelWatch safe and fuel efficient driving contest is now in its fourth consecutive year with constant improvement over previous installments. There are a total of 81 contestants this year — a number 45% greater than the first year.”
“Contestant quality has improved consistently every year over these three years. Increasing numbers of Volvo truck drivers have shown great interest each year, making the competition more intense.”,says Mr. Michel.
Volvo Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd., the organizer of the contest, has decided to add one more prize category for teamwork to elevate team spirit. The 81 contestants this year will be screened through competition until the 24 best performers remain. There will be five zones of competition this year.
The semi-final round will begin in Surat Thani and finish in Phuket.
The 24 contestants will be divided into six teams of four drivers each, selected by a draw. The four sections of the route will combine to reach 160 kilometers. Each team will send a representative to compete with the five other teams in each section in order that four drivers with best fuel efficiency in all sections will compete in the final round for the position of Thai FuelWatch champion.
In the case where fuel efficiency is a tie, time will be used as the deciding criterion. Nevertheless, in the case where both criteria are a tie, the score from the writing test of each contestant will be considered as well. The winner will be entitled to a cash prize of 500,000 Baht, plus the opportunity to represent Thai drivers of Volvo trucks in the Asia Pacific final round in Australia in October 2013.
For this year, the winner is Mr. Pipat Malipant from KAF Import and Export Company Limited, the 2nd place is Mr. Anusit Kanahard from Yok Panich Transport Company Limited, the 3rd place is Mr. Ekrak Marin from Intel Logistics Company Limited and the 4th place is Mr. Tanarak Jomkan from Tanarak Petroluem Company Limited. The winner has received reward worth 500,000 baht with the right to participate Asia Pacific FuelWatch Competition at Australia in October.
Mr. Michel added that this year only 4 qualifiers passed to final round in Thailand in accordingly with the competition rule of this year and the outcome was excellence because the gap of fuel consumption among the 4 qaulifiers was narrowed to only 6% dramatically reduced when compared to 30% from the first year of the competition which 24 qualifiers participated the final round.
“Though the number of qualifiers is less than the previous years, the improvement of the gap of fuel consumption is reduced to only 6% because the competition in this year is more tougher than the previous year and off course our drivers are also improved,” said Mr. Michel.
The team winner of this year competition was Team B, comprising Mr. Anusit Kanahard from Yok Panich Transport Company Limited, Mr. Ekarak Marin from Intel Logistics Company Limited, Mr. Taveeporn Nilkaew from Kiat Tana Transport Company Limited and Mr. Somchai Changwang from Akara Mining Company Limited.
According to Mr. Michel, the contest this year will see a change of rules, although the philosophy of safe driving, skill improvement and fuel efficiency will remain the same.
Mr. Michel further noted, “The people who benefit directly from fuel-efficient driving are the employers who own the vehicles and the drivers themselves. Although this benefit may be difficult to quantify in monetary terms, the invaluable achievement is the preservation of the environment which is consistent with the green initiatives of executives of Volvo Trucks. One other benefit is safe driving practice. This is where the drivers stand as the primary beneficiary. Good, disciplined drivers are in great demand by the market. One other party to enjoy direct benefit from this is the business owners who trust their products to the transportation by Volvo trucks. This is how their goods are delivered safely and on time.”
“This FuelWatch contest is consistent with the philosophy of Volvo Trucks which revolves around three key pillars: safety, environmental conservation and technological efficiency. These three criteria will be used in Thailand and elsewhere in the world to screen country representatives for the global contest,” concluded Mr. Michel.