TJ Tirado, a technician with Windshield Fitters Inc. of Katy, Texas, won the gold medal in the Windshield Repair Competition, during Auto Glass Week™ (AGW), June 7-9 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Tirado took home $5,000, the winning trophy and bragging rights as the “World’s Best Auto Glass Repair Technician for 2021.”
Auto Glass Week™ is the only event that offers the original equipment (OE) and aftermarket auto glass repair and replacement industry the opportunity to learn from peers and industry experts. The Windshield Repair Competition is designed to recognize the technician who performs the best windshield repair. The areas judged include professional attire, greeting to the client, technical behavior, preparation of the vehicle, proper use of tools and products, quality of the repair technique and appearance of the complete repair, post-repair and customer procedures, in-depth knowledge and ROLAGS® proficiency.
Tirado, who has 16 years’ experience in the industry, had attended the conference in the past and was familiar with the highly competitive, three-day event that includes a series of heats leading into the final competition. Each competitor repaired a complex break on a car’s front windshield in accordance with the industry’s Repair of Laminated Automotive Glass Standard, or ROLAGS®. He placed third in the last competition.
“I was very surprised to get the Gold,” said Tirado, who admitted he was thrown a bit of a curveball in the competition with a rock chip that was not repairable. “I did my best, followed the ROLAGS® standards and made it here.”
Like most competitors, Tirado is an Auto Glass Safety Council™ certified technician and a National Windshield Repair Division certified technician. He lives in Katy.
For more information, visit www.autoglassweek.com. Photos and video clips are available.