Mark Morley from Greymouth-based MBD Contracting has been crowned the winner of the first-ever Cat Global Operator Challenge (GOC) event held in New Zealand.
Following on from finals held in WA and NSW, the Australasian round of the Cat Global Operator Challenge moved to New Zealand, with the event held at this year’s Wheels at Wanaka, an all-vehicle, all-machinery history-in-motion vintage fair – including steam engines, tractors and farming heritage, cars, motor-bikes, trucks, earthmovers and heavy machinery.
The competition was organised by Caterpillar dealer for New Zealand, Terra Cat, with a record-breaking crowd of 65,000 turning up to view the spectacle.
The preliminary round saw 23 operators compete in three challenges using three different Cat machines – a 325 excavator, a 962M wheel loader and a 255 compact track loader.
The best-scoring six progressed to the final, which saw the competition rise to another level. After a nail-biting finish, Mark emerged victorious, pipping second-placed Allister Dransfield of Dransfield Contracting Ltd, with Jamie Ashby of C & R Developments finishing third.
More about Mark
Machinery has been in the blood of Mark ever since he was born 34 years ago in the South Island settlement of Paroa, just a stone’s throw from the gold mining town of Greymouth, where his father was an alluvial gold miner.
Growing up surrounded by machinery, it was no surprise that young Mark developed a passion for the earthmoving fields and the equipment used to help them prosper.
“I started at MBD Contracting in 2008, when I was 17, first as a digger operator doing farm development prior to moving into more civil works,” Mark said.
“Now, 17 years later, I’m a supervisor with the company.”
MBD offers a diverse and comprehensive range of civil and construction services, from roading works to specialised rail maintenance and emergency repairs.
As specialists in the quarry industry with multiple quarries across the whole West Coast region of New Zealand, its expertise also lies in delivering exceptional protection solutions along sea foreshores and riverbanks to safeguard properties and assets from erosion and flood damage.
“My employers at MBD put me up to the GOC challenge,” Mark said.
“I think the most nerve-wracking part was having three times the population of Greymouth watching me work.
“The nerves were at an all-time high, but I just tried to focus on doing the best I could, staying smooth and finishing each of the challenges within the tight time limits.”
Despite having limited experience driving wheel-loaders and compact track loaders, Morley impressed the judges with his deft skills and accuracy, and after two days of competition was announced the champion.
“It’s still all sinking in. I was really stoked with myself and the performance I put forward on both days of the competition but didn’t really know it was going to be enough.
“I did think I would go all right, but once I got there and saw the skill set of some of my other competitors, I wasn’t so confident.
“I thought I performed well in the loader event, although I typically operate an excavator.
“I was surprised and shocked when they called out my name as the winner.”
The GOC events
1: Load & Go
Contestants had to use a Cat 962 Wheel Loader with CPM technology to move material through a course as fast and accurately as possible, aiming to achieve a pre-determined target payload of 12 tonnes, which had to be done in two laps and four passes.
The wheel loader had to travel to the pile, load the bucket, travel the course, dump and return to the pile.
2: The Big Dig
Using a Cat 325 Excavator with grade technology, operators were challenged to dig a trench to pre-determined grades using 3D Grade at one bucket width and specified depth and length within a specified time limit.
Along the way, they could also use the machine to pick up rugby balls and place into a 44-gallon drum for bonus points.
3: Stay on Track
Competitors had to use a Cat255 Compact Track Loader to lift a pole and manoeuvre the machine through a course, while transporting the post through bars, reversing through cones, pushing a PVC pipe along a rope, while maintaining balance and material control.
Wheels at Wanaka
With more than 50 acres of entertainment, tractor pulling and enduro-X competitions, ATV and rally car demos, an earthmoving extravaganza and a non-stop parade ground program, Wheels at Wanaka is Australasia’s biggest all-vehicle show.
Terra Cat CEO Chris Heaton said the company had been a proud platinum partner of the huge three-day event since 2019.
With this year’s event coinciding with Caterpillar’s 100th anniversary, Terra Cat set up an Earthmoving Extravaganza at which vintage earthmoving machines that have helped shape New Zealand were in action alongside their modern counterparts.
“The Caterpillar Global Operator Challenge held at Wanaka marked the first time the event was held in this country,” Chris said.
“The level of competition at this first-ever Global Operator Challenge was incredibly high, and all contestants represented their companies and themselves exceptionally well, while showcasing the versatility of Caterpillar machines.
“Caterpillar staff helped with the management of the GOC and commented that the hydraulic excavator skills of the Kiwi competitors were the best they’d seen.
“The GOC was a resounding success and we wish Mark the very best as he progresses to the next stage of the competition.”
Looking forward
Mark expressed gratitude to his employers, Darren and Ben, for nominating him to compete, and thanked Terra Cat for organising the event as well as his wife Jamie and four young children for their support.
He also acknowledged the high calibre of his fellow competitors, commending them for making the challenge a truly rewarding experience.
For now, Mark aims to continue combining his work with his pasttimes of jet boating and hunting, but in the longer term, has his eyes set on the next stage of the GOC competition, to take place in Japan this October.
If he is among the top three in that event, he will move on to compete in the global finals at CONEXPO in San Diego next year.
“I’ll be definitely putting my best foot forward to getting into the top three in Japan as I would love to compete in the USA,” he said.
Second and third places were awarded to Manawatu’s Allister Dransfield (Dransfield Contracting) and Cambridge’s Jamie Ashby (C & R Developments).