Pettibone Telehandler Challenge Winner Drives Away with a Harley

Enlarge Image Jason Hershberger places planks on sawhorses during the Pettibone Telehandler Skills Competition.

February 9, 2008 • Jason Hershberger, a second generation telehandler operator with Herschberger Steel Erectors of Abbeville, S.C., won the Telehandler Skills Competition at last month's World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Nev. The competition, sponsored for the first time by Pettibone, Baraga, Mich., drew 36 skilled competitors from across the country and was designed to test the skill, accuracy and finesse each competitor had while operating either a Pettibone Extendo Series 8044 or a Pettibone Traverse Series T8044.

In stage one of the two-stage competition, the operators had to drive a machine from its starting point to a designated mark and pick up three planks from a sawhorse, then deposit one plank on each of three different sawhorses. The operator then had to pick the planks back up and return them to the original sawhorse. Next, in stage two, operators had to maneuver over to a second mark in front of a Hydek scaffolding system on which a 4' x 4' x 4' fork box rested 35 feet up. Operators had to simulate picking up an overhead load by raising the boom, then guide the forks into matching slots on the box, triggering a light that indicated the task was complete. The operator then had to maneuver the telehandler back to its starting place.

Enlarge Image Chris Yeghoian simulates picking up an overhead load.

After the preliminary competition, the top two finishers from day one and top three finishers from day two returned to repeat the two-stage course in semi-finals. The semi-finalists included Hershberger; Len Mackowiak of Midwest Masonry, Alsip, Ill.; Chris Hartman of Hartman Construction in Unityville, Pa.; and Chris Yeghoian and James Hendricks, both of R.E. Serrano in Martinez, Calif. As the two top scorers in the semi-finals, Hershberger and Yeghoian then competed a third and final time to determine the overall champion.

 

Both finalists performed almost flawlessly in the competition and final scores were remarkably close. In the end, Hershberger had performed most consistently and drove away the winner, on a 2008 Harley-Davidson® Fat Bob® motorcycle, valued at $15,000. Yeghoian won a $500 Visa® gift card for his second place finish.

 

The competition, which was organized, operated and judged by Pettibone staff, will be sponsored by the company again in 2009. “We were really impressed by the skill level of the participants,” said Dan Blondeau, product manager. “And we're already thinking of ways to make it even better next year.”

 

The equipment used in the competition was provided by Pettibone dealer Inland/Hobbs Material Handling of Las Vegas and by Pettibone customer Seedorf Masonry of Strawberry Point, Iowa. Co-sponsors of the event included Hydek Hydraulic Mast-Climbing Systems of Atlanta and Power Great Lakes of Wood Dale, Ill.