Pettibone announces telehandler skills champion

Len Mackowiak of Midwest Masonry in Mundelein, IL, took home Pettibone's grand prize this year at the 2nd annual telehandler skills championship held during World of Concrete, Feb. 3-6 in Las Vegas. Mackowiak won a Harley Davidson Super Glide from Pettibone.

Operators chose from two Pettibone telehandlers, either the Extendo fixed pivot machine or the Traverse, transfer-capable machine. Each operator then inspected their units and demonstrated certain functions for a panel of judges before starting the challenege.

The competition consisted of two challenges, the first being a depth-perception testwhere participants had to retreive three 2-inch by 6-inch boards from a fixed location. The operators then loaded all three boards onto the telehandler forks, fully retracted the boom and then extended the boom and replaced the boards to their original positions on saw horses.

The second test was landing height perception, which involved moving the machine down a lane to the base of a scaffolding system. They then had to raise the telehandler's boom and place the forks into a box resting at the top of the scaffolding. When inserted correctly, a box illuminated and let the operator know the task was finished. The operator then lowered the boom and returned the machine to its original starting position while judges recorded the final time.

Mackowiak won with 2 minutes and 53 seconds, and second place was awarded to Wayne Sheffield of HJK Masonry in Pasadena, MD, who came in 8 seconds after Mackowiak. Sheffield was awarded a $500 Visa gift card.