Qualifies
on all counts, and we can prove it...read on.The team
How does a technician differentiate one automotive magazine from another?
Qualifies
on all counts, and we can prove it...read on.
Here are the people behind Tat, as well as those regular contributors who offer their skills to the technicians of Australia and New Zealand.
Jeff Smit Technical Director
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Jeff is the consummate technician professional who believes passionately in the need for constant training to stay ahead in the automotive repair industry. He owns and operates his own auto electrical, general repair and air conditioning workshop in Sydney, and this year joined with other partners in The Automotive Technician project. Jeff has spent many years as secretary of the Association of Automotive Electricians now merged with VASA, and he currently serves on the VASA Board of directors. He has undertaken more than 45 post trade courses in all areas of mechanical and electrical. He is a community college teacher in Sydney and is currently undertaking Cert 4 in automotive workplace training and assessment. Started auto electrical apprenticeship at Bosch dealership in Brookvale, Sydney and achieved high results at TAFE (2nd in state 2nd year - top overall in 3rd year) and passed trade course with honours.
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 Deyan Barrie - TaT Director and Technical Research Division |
Joined the RAAF in 1971 as an adult trainee in aircraft electrical. Completed RAAF technical training in Wagga Wagga covering aircraft
electrical mechanics, Worked mainly on the Mirage and Caribou aircraft, some ground support equipment and Hercules equipment like AC generators and control modules. He also cross trained as instrument fitter and radio technician on Caribou. Spent some time in New Guinea as leading aircraftsman and part of
the air crew. Worked for Charles Auto Electrics in Hurstville then Purnell brothers in Bankstown. Was the only auto electrician in the complex and mainly fixed warranty jobs in the used car section. Had 18 mechanics that he assisted as required. Subsequently discovered that his position was previously filled by two auto electricians and they left due to work load and technical difficulty. In late 1977, responded to an advertisement for an auto electrician to start his own business in Moruya, a small town on the South Coast of NSW. Opened Moruya Auto Electrics. A year later, opened a second workshop in Bateman’s Bay NSW, called Shoreline Auto Electrics. By that stage he had employed a tradesman and an apprentice. A friend from the RAAF days ran the Bateman’s Bay workshop and became his long term partner. In 1981 sold Moruya Auto Electrics and started Barrie Auto Electrics
in Hornsby NSW The business grew to a mid 1990s high of 20 staff including a
secretary and a minimum of four apprentices. Over the years he has
employed more than thirty tradesmen and trained almost as many
apprentices. He has specialised in automotive air conditioning repairs,
service and installation continuously since 1978. In the last
six seasons, the workshop has carried out more than 800 retrofits
without a complaint. From the early 1990s he pledged to give something back to his industry, and pave the way forward. Was President of the Australian Association of Automotive Technicians from 1997 through to its merger with VASA in 2007. He is now a member of the VASA Board of Directors. Has been the MTA councillor of the Auto Electrical division since 2000 and a member of the Wire & Gas organising committee. He is a specialist in remanufactured parts, and has a huge stock covering many vehicle makes. He is proud of the fact that his workshop has the skill to repair the majority of components that fail, meaning that he doesn't have to rely solely on replacement quality parts and imports. Barrie Auto Electrics has received many business awards over
the last decade. |
Ken Newton Editor The Automotive Technician and CEO of VASA since 1999. Still operates the longest established PR company in the national tourist city of Gold Coast.
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Ken turned a successful journalism career in newspapers, radio and television, into a long term corporate affairs and public relations practice. He specialises in distilling complex academic concepts, manufacturing processes or planning ideals into entertaining documentaries or printed material, for political reasons, public feed-back, or to change perceptions. In private practice, Newton's has consulted to local government authorities
and a range of private companies involved in technology, education, manufacturing,
architecture, project development and town / regional planning. His company's documentaries have promoted technologies and complex strategic planning and urban renewal concepts in Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. He has travelled widely across Asia and India, and for a time was documentary consultant to the Institute Sultan Iskandar and the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, based in Johor, Malaysia. He has written and produced documentaries on significant national concepts for presentation to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and several documentaries promoting scientific discoveries. He is currently CEO of VASA, representing AC and auto electrical specialists across Australia and New Zealand, and makes many presentations in influential boardrooms of the automotive and refrigerant industries. He writes industry newsletters and magazines and contributes many articles to publications.
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Nick Murphy |
Nick is a very hands on technician, managing a busy workshop on Sydney’s North Shore, but his background covers a wide range of activities from being a scan-tool trainer, writing technical literature for NRMA, training patrol officers and delivering TAFE training in scan equipment. He’s an automotive engineer, whose speciality is engine management systems. He’s done many courses in electronics and EFI and has been ‘on the tools’ for the past 30 years. Nick contributes a technical article under Murphy's Law in every issue, and is also a TaT trainer.
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Jack Stepanian Trainer and Technical writer |
Jack has extensive sales, marketing, business and
technical experience in the Automotive Industry. He is able
to present
sophisticated management concepts in simple ways and this ability is
drawn from his grounded
industry experience. Originally an academic with the University of Sydney, involved in Communication
and Education, he spent the first 14 years of his career with undergraduates
and in the teaching and research environments.
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Wayne Broady Speciality: LPG industry and EFI repairs Iinvolved in LPG since the early 1990s and the
original Gulf War when increase in petrol prices put focus on alternative
fuels. |
Natural Gas Tradesman’s Certificate Awards:
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Julian Hentze was well known and respected in the AC and electrical aftermarket supply industry having worked in senior positions at Ashdown and ADAIR before moving permanently to the US in late 2007. He also served on the VASA Wire & Gas committee and gave a great deal of time and effort to industry associations. He currently works for a Parts Distribution company out of Georgia USA. |
Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers (Associate, retired) National Sales Manager
2005 – 2008 |
Gil – Auto Service & Maintenance Bondi Junction Sydney Hybrid trainer |
Gil realised as long ago as his apprenticeship in a low level auto repair shop, that if he didn't do something for himself, he would never succeed. The question he asked himself when he finished his apprenticeship was "Do I know it all or do I want to know it all?" He invested in an Allen engine analyser and spent every Saturday morning, in his own time, hooking it up to different cars belonging to friends and family, learning how to use it and to diagnose faults. Gil's view is that anyone who thinks they know it all, can probably exist in the trade for another five years, moving to the bottom of a steadily descending slope. Those who intend being in the trade for an indefinite number of years need to be committed to pursuing continuous life-long education which is not always easy. It requires dedication, plus an ongoing investment of time and money. Gil personally invests hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars each year on education, training and practical experience. He has also learned how to persevere against a number of obstacles including often uncooperative vehicle manufacturers. Vehicle manufacturers are reluctant to provide technical information to independent workshops. In many cases they deny them access to even purchase their scan tools. Persistence, ongoing interaction with like minded mechanics, and attending as many trade courses and conferences as they can, is a way of life for Gil and his staff. He is a firm believer that flying his mechanics interstate to attend courses, and sending them to the USA to attend international conventions is definitely an essential investment for the future of his business.
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Hayley Windsor |
Hayley's age belies her level of experience in the corporate communications world. She was representing her country in international sport
at the age of 12. High academic achievements at tertiary level were followed
by an ambitious round of media and sports engagements, which took her
around the world. She has presented news on radio and television, crewed on yachts in many foreign waters, spent a year in Scotland as a teaching assistant at a primary school, wrote and illustrated a children’s book and been commissioned to anchor yachting documentaries to be aired on Fox Channel 4.
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