Napier excavator operator and contractor Steve Galbraith has been named New Zealand's best excavator operator for the second year in a row.
The award was made on Friday night after two days of competition involving 10 operators from throughout New Zealand during the Central Districts Fieldays at the Manfeild Autocourse in Feilding.
There were five exercises covering advanced skills of excavating during the Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) national competition, and Mr Galbraith was presented with the Cable Price NZ Number One Excavator Award.
He had first won the title at the CD Fieldays in March last year, after two previous third placings at nationals from five attempts.
He worked for Gair Contracting for 20 years and was Napier operations manager before recently going out on his own and he has competed at the Hawke's Bay Excavator Competition 12 times.