VISTA semi-finals end in Gothenburg

During April, over 150 teams from all over Europe, Africa and the Middle East, have been in Gothenburg to take part in the VISTA 2015-2016 semi-finals. After three weeks of intensive competition, the stage is now set for the world final starting 31^st May.

It has been all hands on deck at the Volvo Trucks Training Center in Gothenburg these past three weeks, which has had to host eight regional semi-finals. Adding to the logistical challenge was the fact that the semi-finals were originally scheduled to take place in Brussels. But the recent terrorist attacks meant the entire event needed to be postponed by a week and relocated to Gothenburg at very short notice.

“The semi-finals have gone very well!” says Jessica Lindholm, Project Manager for VISTA. “I am proud of the whole project team – the Volvo personnel, our event management team and logistics, and we have had great support from TDS (Technical Dealer Support) who have manned some of the stations here at Arendal. We really have all worked together towards one goal.”

“There have been various challenges these past three weeks, and we have overcome them all. Minor technical issues have kept us on our toes, but the team has managed to solve them together. In this way, the competition mirrors the problems and challenges that the VISTA competitors normally face in their working lives.”

Each semi-final consisted of one half-day of competition, involving six work stations. Teams were assessed on their skills and knowledge, as well as their ability to find information and work together as a team. “There has been a noticeable level of tension and excitement at the stations,” adds Jessica Lindholm. “It’s interesting to see how the different nationalities and teams handle the competition.”

Over the past month, semi-finals have also been held in Greensboro, Curitiba and Bangkok, and with the completion of the Gothenburg semi-finals, this stage of the competition is over. Now just 32 teams remain, who will return to Gothenburg on 31^st May to take part in the world final.

The winners of each semi-final are as follows:

 

Baltic Sea Markets

Riga – Volvo Trucks Latvia SIA, Latvia

Central Europe

Swissta – Volvo Trucks AG St.Gallen, Switzerland

OST(Schwiiz) – Volvo Trucks AG Zurich, Switzerland

BeneLux

Zarren 1 – Automobilia Trucks & Cars, Belgium

De Fietsemakers – Bluekens Truck en Bus, The Netherlands

UK/Ireland

I-Tools – Volvo Truck and Bus Centre Norwich, UK

Europe South

Los Cornuter – Volvo Truck Center (Valdemoro-Madrid), Spain

Veinsur ZF1 – VEINSUR (BARCELONA), Spain

Douro South Side – Auto Sueco (Maia), Portugal

Svista – Cavidue (Fombio), Italy

New team – Volvo Truck Center Bretagne, France

Middle East and North West Africa

SMT RDC – SMT DRC (Kinshasa), DR Congo

Russia

ShtrafBat – Volvo TC Moscow South, Russia

Southern and Eastern Africa

Rangers – Volvo Durban (Pinetown), South Africa

Central East Europe

Polgar 1 – Volvo Truck Center Polgar, Hungary

Nordic

Just for fun – Wist Last & Buss Syd Västerås, Sweden

Rookies – Wist Last & Buss AS Heimdal, Norway

Team Harju – Volvo Truck Center Tampere, Finland