FedEx Freight’s Pinter wins TMCSuperTech for 2nd time, while runner up Greenwood makes history

CLEVELAND—For the second time in four competitions, FedEx Freight’s Phillip Pinter became Grand Champion of TMCSuperTech, the annual American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Councils’ National Technicians Skills Competitions. The event was held in Cleveland's Huntington Convention Center from Sept. 25-26. Pinter’s FedEx colleague Bonnie Greenwood came in second place, which is the highest ranking ever for a female in the competition’s 17-year history.

Pinter last won the intense two-day event, which tests a technician’s knowledge and hands-on skills in regards to heavy-duty trucking maintenance, in 2018. There was no competition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He credits pouring over TMC’s Recommended Practices and manufacturers’ maintenance manuals as the key to his success. “It's a lot of reading and it's a lot of work,” Pinter said. “There's a lot of time that goes into it.”

Pinter also credited his shop teacher at his Dundee, Michigan, high school for pushing him into the trades. He attended Michigan Institute of aviation technology in 2009, but switched to the more in-demand automotive repair field. He went to heavy-duty diesel in 2015, when he joined FedEx Freight.

“I haven't really looked back since,” he said. “The automotive and heavy truck industries have treated me very well.”

The win also paid quite well, with Pinter taking home nearly $20,000 in shop equipment and prizes, supplied by companies including Cox Automotive, Hendrickson, Imperial Supplies, MOTOR Information, Noregon, NEXIQ, Premier Tuck Group, Reliance, Snap-On, and Truck-Lite.

Greenwood, a shop technician in the Salt Lake City area, was also the first woman to win TMCFutureTech, the student version of SuperTech.

Greenwood, who has Bachelor’s Degree in wildlife biology, went to WyoTech in Laramie, Wyoming, to learn how to become a diesel technician. She was attracted to the math and science aspects of the trade.

FedEx Freight shop technician Bonnie Greenwood placed second at TMCSuperTech 2022, the highest score ever for a female technician.

“This was a very good industry to get into,” Greenwood said, who hopes to work more on alternative-fuel vehicles in the future to blend her passions together. “It has been exactly what I needed.”

Greenwood’s victory may also be just what the industry needs to attract more female technicians. Female technicians account for about 2-3% of the vehicle repair sector, according to industry estimates.

“I feel incredibly proud to be representing women in this industry today, to have this opportunity—I'm really thankful,” Greenwood said shortly after the event. “And I just encourage more and more women to get involved. The trades need more people. And there's a whole other half of our population that we haven't tapped fully into.”

While SuperTech only had one other female competitor, women represented about a quarter of the 17 FutureTech participants, all from WyoTech.

Greenwood reiterated that female techs “can do any job we set our minds to,” and that any women thinking about a career in the trades should “chase that down and go after it.”

And what would Greenwood say to anyone questioning that she is one of the most capable techs in the country, regardless of gender?

“I'd say, ‘Step back and watch me work. I can do any job, and I will find a way to do it,” she asserted.

FedEx Freight swept the top five of the two-day competition, with Eric Vos finishing third, Doug Nickles fourth, and Kelby Bentley fifth.

This year, Mario Kjuka, a student at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, won TMCFutureTech. Timothy Rose from Ferris State University finished second and Braedon Pollard from DMACC Transportation Institute was third

FedEx Freight’s Cory Westfall won the TMCSuperTech Trailer Track competition, with Cox Automotive’s Michael Kerfoot Jr. finishing second. Travis Cox of FedEx Freight placed third.

In the light- and medium-duty track, Phillip Barlow of FedEx Freight came in first, edging out Kevin Malczyk of Frito-lay North America (2^nd place) and FedEx Freight’s Chris Czerwinski (3^rd place).

The first day of the competition for the heavy-duty track, Sept. 25, comprised a series of written exams at 12 stations, while the second day was more hands-on.

“After a two-year pause, having a full competition with all of our tracks and hosting 140 technicians was tremendously gratifying,” said Robert Braswell, TMC executive director. “Congratulations not just to the winners, but to all the competitors for making it to Nationals and we look forward to seeing them all back here next year.”