Two senior leaders of Aptella have won prestigious awards at Topcon Positioning Systems’ recent Tech Xperience event held in San Ramon, California, USA.
The Topcon Spirit of Excellence Award has a long history of recognising pioneers in the construction industry that have made significant contributions and helped to shape it into what it is today.
This year it was awarded to Harry Katsanevas, a founder of Aptella, who was recognised for his relentless drive, energy and passion for the industry, Aptella’s customers, and its people.
Topcon Positioning Systems Chairman Ray O’Connor said that when “you truly understand what the customer needs and what technology is capable of and you connect them together as Harry does, magic happens”.
Aptella CEO Martin Nix said Harry always had the customer front and centre, with a rare ability to envisage the solution and work through all the different components to get there.
Topcon Product Manager Senior Vice President Richard Jackson said Harry would “go to the end of the earth to figure out how to solve a problem for a customer”. “His ideas and determination have helped make me a better engineer and product developer,” he said.
“I have worked with and learned from some amazing mentors in my career, and I am humbled to accept this award,” Harry said. “I’m fortunate enough to know several former winners and to count myself amongst them is a great honour.”
Martin himself won The Jamie Williamson Memorial Award, which acknowledged his encouraging and inclusive leadership style, as well as his advocacy for ethical business practices including Aptella’s support of The Smith Family, a charity that assists young Australians experiencing disadvantage to realise their potential through education.
This award recognises the lifetime achievement of an industry leader, named after Topcon’s former Vice President Jamie Williamson, who passed away in 2022. Jamie was highly regarded for his business and leadership skills, specific to developing a thriving workplace culture and having a positive impact on the lives of people around him.
Aptella Chairman Ian Petherbridge said he had witnessed first-hand Martin’s ability to support many individuals to develop and accomplish things that they probably didn’t think they were capable of.
Aptella COO Greg Macklin said Martin gave comfort in “knowing you’re working with someone that will challenge you, inspire you and make you think”.
“I am surprised and touched to have received this award,” Martin said. “I was lucky enough to learn from Jamie’s attributes over many years and am thankful that the Aptella and Topcon teams, along with my family, gave me their full support.”
To mark the special occasion, Topcon arranged for Martin and Harry’s families to travel across from Australia in secret, to surprise them on the night and share in the celebrations.
“Topcon’s commitment to fostering and honouring relationships is remarkable and unmatched by any other business I have ever encountered,” Martin said.
Meanwhile, Aptella has also been recognised as the Apprentice Employer of the Year by TAFE Queensland.
This prestigious award honours Aptella’s creation of a customised National Field Apprenticeship Program that aims to grow and support talented new field technicians in the industry.
Aptella People and Culture Executive Manager Bernadette Taoro Ashin said the program reflected the company’s dedication and commitment to nurturing talent, advancing skill development, and empowering the next generation of industry experts through impactful and meaningful learning experiences.
“If we want to continue to create the very best experiences for our customers, this is a crucial part of that,” she said.
“By supporting and training upcoming field technicians we are investing our time and expertise back into our industry and that’s the right thing to do.”
The unique apprenticeship program, co-created with TAFE Queensland, aims to teach targeted skills to future technicians, including high precision machine control technology on heavy earthmoving equipment.
“We want to ensure our field technicians are the best of the best and they have the knowledge base to make them the most sought after in the industry. As part of the program we recruited our leading field managers and senior technicians who dedicated their time and expertise to creating and delivering these apprenticeships,” Bernadette said.
Aptella has six apprentices enrolled in the course, who are employed across all major cities in Australia. The training program incorporates a mix of online, face-to-face and on-site learning.