The most important key players in the Agricultural and Construction Sectors were invited to partake in the glamorous and prestigious annual Awards Ceremony hosted by John Deere Middle East Africa. John Deere Dealers and support staff, including technical experts, sales managers and financial specialists all play an integral role in the success that John Deere Middle East Africa has experienced in its region. In an effort to thank the dealers as well as to reward exceptional service, John Deere identified the top performers in the relevant sectors who contributed to one of the most outstanding financial years in the recent history of John Deere. 

The masquerade ball- themed event took place at the Radisson Hotel and Convention center in Kempton Park on 11 November 2022. Jaco Beyers, Managing Director of John Deere Middle East Africa, thanked every attendee for their utmost support and service towards John Deere and its clients by thinking out of the box in a very challenging year.

Lucas Groenewald, Division 1 Sales Manager, announced the winners of the following categories: 

PowerGard™Contract Expert of the Year went to Paul van Rensburg – AFGRI Bethal in first place, Theunis Verster AFGRI Bethlehem in second place and in third place Kwek Dietrichsen – SENWES Hoopstad.

Small Ag Sales Expert of the year was awarded to Sias Humphries – AFGRI Marble Hall with second place winner being Sarel Opperman from AFGRI Delmas and third place going to Trevor Bauer- MASCOR Kokstad.

Large Ag Sales Expert of the year was won by Peet Vorster AFGRI Delmas, with second place going to Hansie van Rooyen – AFGRI Marquard and third place going to Wessel Visagie – SENWES Wesselsbron.

Herman Groenewald JDF General Manager presented the John Deere Financial Finance Specialists of the year to Riaan Smith with runner up Marthie Botha and third place going to Willem Roets.
The John Deere Financial Business Analyst of the year award was won by Maggie Shepperd, with the runner up being Dikeledi Mokwena. Both these awards had marginal separations between the winners and runners up, which is testament to the exceptional skills and dedication of these nominees.

Aftermarket Sales Manager AME, Glenys Millingham presented the awards for the
Best Parts Expert of the year to Morne Cloete from AFGRI Polokwane with the following runners up: 

2nd: Johannes Hannes Haefele – AFGRI Frankfort

3rd: Deon Britz – AFGRI Malmesbury

4th: Stephanus Fouchè – AFGRI Grootvlei

5th: Wynand Pretorius- AFGRI Polokwane

The award for Parts Sales Branch of the Year was won by AFGRI Polokwane. The Alternative Parts Sales Competition was won by Bati van Aardt from Settlers Service Station. Jaco Wessels from AFGRI Marquard received a special award by being included in the Parts Expert Wall of fame. 

One of the most coveted awards namely the Technician of the Year award was presented by Lafras Cronje, Customer Support Manager AME to Arno Bornman from AFGRI Polokwane with runners up being Tiaan Oosthuizen, also from AFGRI Polokwane and third place going to Jaco van Zyl from AFGRI Piketberg.

John Goncalves, Channel Develop Manager at John Deere presented the Divisional 2 & 3 Dealer of the Year Single Outlets awards to TATA – Zambia in first place, DAL ENGINEERING – Sudan in second place and ALKHORAYEF – Saudi Arabia in third place.

The Dealer of the year single outlets was presented by Lucas Groenewald to Hoffman’s Farm Implements in first place, Swazi-TRAC in second place and AFGRI Equipment Botswana in third place.

The last awards of the evening were presented by Lucas Groenewald to the Dealer of the Year Multiple Outlets to AFGRI North in first place, AFGRI Western Cape in second and GWK in third place.

It was an evening of glamour, entertainment, good food and good company all in an effort to celebrate and thank the best in the industry.

Source: John Deere