Autoglass®, the UK’s leading vehicle glass repair, replacement, and recalibration company, has announced the champion of this year’s Best of Belron® UK competition, which aims to find the best windscreen technician in the UK.

The Best of Belron® UK winner, George Pim from Grantham, Lincolnshire, will now go on to compete in the international competition in Lisbon where the global Best of Belron® champion will be crowned. The event, running its 12th year, brings together the best 30 technicians from across the Belron® family of businesses around the world, with more than 2,000 people attending the bi-annual event.

George competed against seven other top technicians from across the UK business in the final earlier this week.

The eight finalists competed for the champion title by demonstrating their expertise in how to repair and replace a windscreen and door glass and carry out the recalibration of an advanced driver assistance system. The competition ended with a ‘mystery task’ to apply Rain Repel, the advanced windscreen treatment by Autoglass®.

Each task was meticulously evaluated by a panel of judges, who checked that the technicians were adhering to the Belron® Way of Fitting™ and accurately utilising tools and procedures.

Ahead of the big event, the eight technicians had gone through a specially designed week of training at Autoglass® National Skills Centre in Birmingham. From swapping roles for better understanding of the assessment process, to running through a full mock of the event with thorough performance feedback, the finalists sharpened their skills in preparation for the Best of Belron® UK Final.

Autoglass® also invited one of its Operations Leaders Jaclyn Swanston – who coached 2019 Best of Belron® UK Winner Richie Wilkinson – to host a session on mindset management with the finalists, providing them with some practical takeaways on how to stay focused during the contest.

Announcing the winner, Simon Blake, Operations and Supply Chain Director, said:

“George demonstrated remarkable expertise and composure throughout the contest, with his triumph serving as a testament to the comprehensive training and knowledge at Autoglass. It was a fantastic event and displayed the exceptional skills of our technicians nationwide.”

George said: “It’s a dream come true to be crowned Best of Belron UK 2024 Champion. I started working at Autoglass in 2011, so it’s an incredibly proud moment for me to be crowned the best in the UK. I put in a lot of work and training to achieve this, and I want to thank my trainers and all the people at Autoglass who helped me along the way. I can’t wait to compete in the global competition.”

Best of Belron UK Final took place on 27-28 February in Bedfordshire and was attended by the Autoglass® Executive team, Technical Training teams and other supportive employees from across the country.