To restore a tractor to its original former glory
Modelled on a similar initiative run by Chevron in the United States since 1995, the first Delo Tractor Restoration competition was launched in South Africa towards the end of 2013 under the theme Find It, Restore it, and Finish a winner. For a share of the R180,000 bounty, participants were required to restore a tractor that operates on an internal combustion engine to its original former glory.
"Farmers make use of tractors on a daily basis and this competition gives participants a lucrative challenge to not only apply their technical engineering, but also learn about other critical skills," says Colleen Maingard, Channel Marketing Specialist at Chevron South Africa. "This will undoubtedly enable the youth to become future leaders in the agriculture community in particular, and in other levels of their lives."
In a bid to attract more young South Africans to the agricultural sector, the government has committed to strengthening the country's agricultural training institutions over the next five years. Speaking at the Agricultural Youth Summit in Johannesburg earlier this year, the newly appointed Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said that agriculture was a key focus of South Africa's National Development Plan (NDP), primarily because of its potential to create jobs.
Following a period of intense hard labour, including producing a comprehensive workbook, as well as an audio-visual multimedia presentation that recorded each stage of the tractor restoration, independent judges from the South African Veteran Tractors Association (SAVTA), who assessed all the submissions, identified the top three finalists.
Taking the lead, and therefore walking away with R100,000 of the bounty, were the four Gouws siblings from Klerksdorp in the North West Province. Jaco (21 years old), a diesel mechanic apprentice; Ruben (18 years old) a Grade 12 learner; Nadine and Rudolf (both 15 years old) in Grade 10 restored a 1963 Massey Ferguson 35X that came into their possession without an engine, amongst other missing components that they had to replace. "Through participating in this competition, I have improved my technical and product knowledge. I have also learned business skills that will help me in my career," said Jaco.
The runners up, also from Klerksdorp and going head-to-head with their cousins, were Liezel Gouws (16 years old) who is in Grade 9 and provided admin support to older brothers Jannie (20 years old), currently in the second year of his Mechanical Engineering degree at the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein, and Johann (22 years old), who holds a BCom degree in Industrial Psychology and Labour Relations Management. They rescued a 1964 Massey Ferguson MK11 from being cut into pieces and sold to smelters. "The tractor needed a complete overhaul. But we were willing to 'save its life' by turning it into something spectacular," said Jannie.
The 'Rusty Dusty Restorers', made up of four engineering students from CUT, achieved third place for their restoration of an 1928 Farmall regular tractor. "Our tractor was so rusted that it was literally being digested by the unforgiving weather of the Free State," says Marno Ferreira, the team leader. The final product is a vintage tractor restored to full working condition and currently exhibiting at a private museum just outside Bloemfontein.
Denis Usher, one of the competition's independent judges from SAVTA says, "In addition to testing the technical aptitude of participants, the competition challenges creativity, nurtures business acumen, project management, budget management, planning and marketing skills. It also encourages teamwork. All of these skills are essential for grooming future business leaders and, consequently, formed part of the judging criteria."
In his June 2014 State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma said investment in education and skills development were key conditions for achieving the 5% economic growth target for South Africa aimed for 2019. Furthermore, the President highlighted agriculture as a key job driver and the target is for the sector to create a million jobs by 2030.
"What is most encouraging is that so much is being done by various economic role players across all sectors to contribute towards this. Chevron has vast experience in working with farmers in South Africa and understands the severe operating conditions they have to face with their tractors and the lack of adequate skills needed to fuel this vital sector," says Maingard.
She concludes, "We are committed to continue supporting our farming community, working with the government and investing towards skills development in the agricultural sector."
Entries for the 2015 competition are set to open soon. For more information, interested participants can visit http://southafrica.deloperformance.com/.
