Member News
After pitting himself against some of the best service technicians in the world, Ben Fletcher, from Killingworth, has won the Kyocera Service Award Finals for Europe.
The competition allows service technicians to benchmark skills and knowledge, helping improve their knowledge and also to engage and network with colleagues across the world.
Ben is Service Manager at Gateshead-based SOS Group, where he has worked for 10 years, and previously won the UK awards before testing his technical skills and knowledge against the best of Europe in a competition that also included national winners from Russia, the U.A.E, South Africa, Ukraine, Jordan and Tunisia.
A mixture of skills tests and questions about Kyocera products and service quality, the competition normally takes place in Germany and was held online this year because of Covid.
Likewise, as the overall winner, Ben would usually have received a trip to Japan as his prize but instead received a fantastic package of high-end technical equipment.
Ben, aged 39, says: “It was a seriously testing competition. There were four different tests, each lasting about 40 minutes, and the kind of questions asked were not the sort of thing you’d come across every day.
“I’m really proud to have won because the competition was very tight. The results were pretty even, so I know there were a lot of very skilled technicians taking part.”
SOS Group supplies and maintains leading brand digital office equipment and offers a full range of office management services, including unified communications, IT support, document management, cost consultation and managed print services.
In addition, the firm’s DDB Workspace Solutions Division supplies a range of furniture, designed and constructed in the UK, that helps tackle common issues including posture and lack of space.
Now in their 20th year, the company pride themselves on their community involvement and have donated more than £250,000 to support charities, talented young individuals and community organisations since they set out in business.
John Behan, Director, says: “Ben’s achievements are a source of pride for the whole company. We all know how knowledgeable and skilled he is, and so do our clients, so the win is not wholly unexpected!
“He’s done incredibly well against some of the very best service technicians in the world and is fully deserving of all the plaudits coming his way.”
For more information, please visit www.sosgroup-ltd.co.uk.
