Combilift’s Regional Driver of the Year

Combilift Ltd will be holding the first of its 2008 Regional Driver of the Year competitions during the Health and Safety 08 Show at Sandown Park. It will be overseen and judged by Mentor Training, the UK’s leading provider of operator training, and will take place on the first day of the show.

This will be a good opportunity to get some fresh air whilst checking out the skills of some of the best Combilift drivers in the South of England.  “As the Combilift range of forklifts is well known for its contribution to safer handling practices, this competition and show complement each other very well,” says Roy Redman, Combilift’s UK Product Director.  

The 4-way capability of the Combilift forklifts means that drivers will not only be  tested on their skills whilst operating in forward and reverse modes, but will also need  to prove their control and accuracy with the trucks whilst travelling sideways. “Once you are familiar with the 4-way Combilifts, they are actually very straightforward to operate,” says Combilift’s Paul Hopkinson, “but we have added that extra challenge by designing a course which involves picking up and carrying large and bulky loads around obstacles, tight corners and, just for fun, backwards and forwards through a figure of eight – all against the clock, with penalties for unsafe operation!” 

Mentor Field Training Manager Neil Beard judged last year’s inaugural event at Haydock Park: “The standard was very impressive, and the winner, Mark Thompson of GAP, achieved an outstanding score.” As well as receiving a handsome trophy, the winner of this heat will compete with other regional finalists for the title of overall Combilift Driver of the Year, to be held at Combilift’s headquarters in Ireland in the autumn.

Information on the wide range of Combilift models will be available from the Combilift stand No 90 in the hall, and personnel will also be on hand on the 2nd day of the show to give demonstrations of the trucks’ capabilities.