ATA honours trucking maintenance, training and sustainability leaders at 2026 awards
News · October 17, 2026
The Australian Trucking Association has recognised four winners and an honorary life member at its 2026 Technology and Maintenance Conference in Melbourne, with awards covering workshop expertise, workforce training, fleet sustainability and engineering leadership.
The awards were presented on 14 October. The ATA named Russell Borchard of Borchtrans as winner of the Craig Roseneder Award for Technical and Maintenance Excellence, recognising his practical approach to truck and trailer maintenance, including electronic braking system diagnostics.
Border Crane Consultants, based in Baranduda, Victoria, received the TRUCK TECH Training Excellence Award. The ATA said the 37-person business had completed 23 apprenticeships and 12 traineeships, with another 11 apprenticeships and two traineeships underway.
Ron Finemore Transport received the National Sustainability Award. According to the ATA, the company has reduced its diesel burn rate by more than 22 per cent over the past decade and operates a tyre-retreading facility at Derrimut, Victoria. The company reports using retreads for approximately 75 per cent of its fleet tyres and producing around 16,000 retreads annually.
The Castrol Industry Achievement Award went to Nemanja Miletic of SAF-Holland Australia, recognising his technical and engineering contribution to the heavy vehicle sector.
The ATA’s Industry Technical Council also granted honorary life membership to Denis Robertson, a founding ATA member and former chair, for his long service to the industry.
The awards place attention on the people and businesses behind the trucks: maintenance standards, technical capability, training pathways and the operating cost of improving fleet efficiency.
Source: Australian Trucking Association, 14 October 2026. Figures describing individual businesses are attributed to the ATA’s announcement.