Robert Kesselring has been named the 2022 AEMP Technician of the Year.
Kesselring is a technician for Branch Civil, based in Roanoke, Virginia. He was named the winner at the Association of Equipment Management Professionals' Shift Conference on October 27 in Cincinnati. John Deere sponsors the annual award.
“He’s our rapid response guy,” said Chris Caldwell, who nominated Kesselring and is an equipment field maintenance and logistics superintendent at Branch Civil. “He's the person that we call when no one else can figure it out.”
Kesselring will drive hundreds of miles at the drop of a wrench to fix equipment, saving the company many thousands of dollars by getting it back running in the field, Caldwell said. He has numerous certifications and even writes code.
“He works safely,” Caldwell said. “He looks out for others, and he’s just a pleasure to work with every day.”
Kesselring, 43, came to Branch Civil after working for a heavy construction equipment dealership. He also has experience as a GM technician. He got his start in the field working on his car in high school because he couldn’t afford to pay someone else to keep it running. He has an associate degree in automotive technology from Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina. He has been at Branch Civil for about two years.
Colleagues described him as a hard worker, always willing to pitch in to fix equipment.
