Azeem Nilar is a senior technician at Scania, Prestons, and Scania’s oldest company-employed technician on the tools anywhere in the world. He has been working here for 24 years, ever since he migrated from Sri Lanka, where he used to run his own transport business.

“We owned Scania trucks in Sri Lanka, so I was quite familiar with them, and it was a positive experience running them,” Azeem says. “So, when I saw the vacancy at Prestons, I straight away came in here and they were very happy to take me in. It was great to start here because the tools in the Scania workshop are much more advanced than the ones we had in Sri Lanka,” he says.

“I migrated to Australia to ensure my children received a good education. I was very well off there, but their education was my priority, so I had to come here,” he says of his five children, and now eight grandchildren.

“One of my sons is a qualified heavy vehicle mechanic and a qualified mechatronic engineer. He did his apprenticeship in heavy vehicles and he's now working for the federal government developing Australian Design Rules for all new vehicles supplied to Australia” Azeem says proudly.

Azeem says the team at Prestons, the culture and the working environment are the key factors that has held him in the job for so long.

“I have a lot of mates here and the management is fantastic. My mentor is Frank Muscat, our Workshop Team Leader. I have learned a lot from him,” he says.

“If you're happy in your job, why would you want to go somewhere else? And they look after me very well here as well,” he says.

“Most of the time I am rebuilding engines and gearboxes, a full strip and rebuild. It’s what I have specialised in, and I have done so many over the years, I can do the job more efficiently and quickly than the other guys,” Azeem says.

“I have rebuilt countless engines. Frank says I can do it with my eyes closed, but of course I don’t,” he deadpans.

“A former Workshop Manager here, Dave English, called me Zoom because I used to do things faster than anybody else. The other technicians come and ask me for technical advice when they are doing things,” he says.

“I like working as a mechanic. I've always been hands-on, even at home I always keep messing around with things. I’m still working at Scania at 72 years-old because my kids are interstate, and I like it here. I'm keeping fit by working. I could retire any time, but our management is keen to keep me on, especially to work on the older trucks and buses,” he says.

Azeem is very passionate about his role in the workshop and always wants to encourage new talent to get a start on the tools.

“I tell them to come and work in the workshop. There’s a lot of advanced technology in our brand, and I tell them that we will train them well, but” he cautions, “you can't be lazy. That's important!”

Commented Lionel Saunders, Dealer Director for Scania NSW-ACT: “We are proud to have the most senior technician in Scania globally, work for us here in Prestons and be a part of our Scania family. ‘Zoom’ as we affectionately call him is proof that with a modern, safe, value-based employer like Scania, only you decide what your limitations are, and a job in Scania can be a job for life. I look forward to many more years working alongside Azeem.”