This award recognises technical excellence and is presented to a tradie that has the potential to be the best in the business.
The recipient of the Tradie of the Year Award takes pride in his/her work and has a solid career history as a technician.
Sponsored by Temperzone, there are four finalists competing for this award. They are:
Elliot Rogan is currently employed at Australian Refrigeration Services and works on ammonia plants and industrial refrigeration projects. This is a tradie that made a big impression even as an apprentice competing in WorldSkills and winning a scholarship through the Air Conditioning Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA). He began his career at Chilledrite working in supermarkets and speciaising in CO2 racks. This tradie is a natural with a passion for working with natural refrigerants.
Kav Amar has been working in the industry for 14 years and is currently the project supervisor at All Seasons Air Pty Ltd. In this role he manages team schedules, supports project and budget goals and reports directly to the project manager. Kav supports fellow technicians and played a leading role in the introduction of on-site safety protocols. Prior to this role, Kav was a senior tradesman at H42 HVAC Solutions for five years and spent three years at AMZ Engineering. He completed his apprenticeship in 2010.
Roger Praussello has been a technician at HydroChem for more than 20 years. During this time he has mentored a service team full of technicians with many of them moving into management. His colleagues call him Roger the Rocket for his strong work ethic and rave about the level of precision he brings to his work each and every day. “Roger has earned this nomination and would be fitting winner of this award,” they said. “He is responsible for servicing some of the most iconic buildings and prestigious businesses in Australia.”
Victor Strahan has a long history in HVACR making him a well-established technician who now runs his own business. He spent a decade at York before moving to Haden and Temperzone. Although he is working in management today he always stood out as a tradie and applied himself with the same energy he has applied to all aspects of his career. For more than a decade Victor was the managing director of Green Star Air Conditioning. Today he is the go-to man for Dunham Bush chillers which have returned to Australia after a 30-year absence.