Team Mission Impossible, from the city of Zelenograd, will be representing Russia this year at the world final after finishing first in the Russian semi final, in Thessaloniki, Greece last April. The team members are Aleksei Vasilyev, Warranty Engineer; Pavel Tabachkov, Technical Support; Aleksander Polyansky and Aleksander Zhurakovsky, both Supervising Foremen.
Just like the team of secret agents in the TV series from which they borrow their name, they believe their strength lies in having a team of specialists, or what they call “optimal team composition”. Each member can boast a specific area of expertise, ensuring that collectively they can draw from a large body of knowledge and experience. They also pride themselves on their professionalism, team spirit and mutual respect of one another.
“Through VISTA we have acquired supplementary knowledge that has helped us, more than once, in our service dealership’s everyday activities,” says Aleksei, the only member of the team taking part in VISTA for the first time.
Pavel Tabachkov is the most experienced member of Mission Impossible, having worked for Volvo service dealers for ten years. He also has a successful track record in VISTA competitions, and was a member of the Russian team who reached the world final in 2007. Yet, he also continues to learn new things every time he participates. “Every year the questions at preliminary rounds are getting more and more sophisticated,” he says. “VISTA is constantly improving and always forging ahead. This helps maintain the professional qualification level. After all, trucks are also changing.”
So what are Mission Impossible doing between now and the world final? “We cannot say at the moment. That is a secret!”
