Tauranga Terra Cat technician Brenton Page has qualified for the world finals of the Caterpillar Top Tech competition in Las Vegas next year.

The heavy diesel field service technician finished fourth at the semifinals of the Caterpillar Global Dealer Technician Challenge in Malaga, Spain, on November 3-7.

Terra Cat spokesperson Simon Makker said that means “the bloke from Tauranga is one of Cat’s 10-best technicians worldwide”.

Makker said the Australasian techs “smashed it” with two Australians taking out first and third, followed by Page in fourth.

Caterpillar's Global Operator Challenge competitors in the semi-in Spain: sportsmanship award winner Jacque Taljard from South Africa, fifth-place winner Leen Waardenburg from the Netherlands, second-place winner Tom March from the UK, first-place winner Leon Archibad from Western Australia, third-place winner Rhys Bishop from Queensland and fourth-place winner Brenton Page from Tauranga. Photo / Supplied

Page said it felt “pretty unreal”. “I needed to get into the top five to progress forward, but managed to get fourth, so really stoked with that,” he said.

Page believed the reason the Australasian contestants did so well was due to the lack of people in the industry in the region compared to the rest of the world.

Specialised competition

He said in other countries with more technicians, they tend to specialise in one machine, whereas in this competition you have to have a broad overview of all of the construction equipment.

“If you’re only good at one area, then you’re not going to excel in the competition.”

Tauranga’s Brenton Page spends his days servicing all manner of big machines working for Caterpillar dealership Terra Cat. Photo / Supplied

He said the competition was any man’s game, and all the other competitors were already at the top of their regions.

Page said this round was tough, and most machines had more than one issue that they had to solve.

“The Cat team had thought very long and hard about it and put a whole lot of effort into it.

“I feel as though they weren’t designed to actually get sorted.”

The early-November competition consisted of three hours of solving issues on different pieces of construction machinery.

A spanner

At one point, the competition put a spanner in the works by adding a completely new, and not yet released, piece of machinery that they had to work on. “None of the technicians would have ever seen [it] before.”

Page finished on the podium at the Asia-Pacific qualifier in Melbourne, when he went up against nine of the best Caterpillar technicians in the region. Photo / Supplied

Page said he looked forward to the next and final round in Las Vegas in March 2026, adding that he didn’t feel as much pressure heading into it.

“I don’t need to place to get any further. I’ll go into it doing my best and doing what I can do. If I place, awesome, if not, I’m still within the top 10.”

With the next round scheduled for early-March, and with the shutdown during Christmas, Page said he has limited time to prepare.

Huge achievement

He said that after the round in Vegas, he planned to celebrate with the fellow competitors before returning to Tauranga to celebrate with the guys at Terra Cat.

Page has worked as a heavy diesel field service technician for 11 years and said he loves his job. Photo / Supplied

Terra Cat CEO Chris Heaton said he couldn’t be prouder or more excited that Page had proven he was one of the best Caterpillar dealer technicians in the world.

“This is a huge achievement – not only for him, but for Terra Cat as a whole. The whole mood around the business has lifted after his result was announced.”

Heaton said the company prided itself on training and developing world-class technicians who were skilled, customer-focused, adaptable and able to solve issues quickly and effectively.

“Brenton’s a testament to that, and a great representative of the quality of technicians we have working for us.”

The focus now turned to the grand final in Las Vegas – called Conexpo.

“Brenton will be up against nine of Cat’s best techs, but if he continues to lift and perform at the level he’s already shown, we’re confident he’ll taste more success in a few months’ time.”