Alberta’s own David Chester has just returned to Canada after claiming the title of world’s best auto glass technician. He competed against the best glass technicians from 30 countries at the 12th edition of the prestigious Best of Belron competition in Lisbon, Portugal. David claimed the title after excelling in windshield repair, windshield replacement, side-glass replacement and ADAS2 camera recalibration procedures.

From Calgary to the banks of the Tage River in Portugal

David Chester, who works as a technician and manager of a Speedy Glass service centre in Calgary, is the first Canadian to win the title. Throughout the four-stage competition, David demonstrated exceptional skills in promoting windshield safety and care, impressing the highly experienced panel of international judges.

“Winning this title is the result of years of dedication and passion and would never have been possible without the incredible support from my colleagues and peers. It’s an honour to bring this recognition home and to inspire others in our extraordinary community to strive for excellence in their respective field or area of interest. Anything is possible when you set your eyes on a goal and work hard towards it, surrounded by the right people.”

The Best of Belron Competition

The Best of Belron competition was founded in 2002 and is held every two years. To qualify for the global event, each technician first faces fierce opposition domestically to win their national country title, competing in a series of regional and national events. David Chester, who has been working as an auto glass technician for over 20 years, performed at both the Alberta provincial final last fall and at the national final events before being selected as Canada’s representative for the 2024 edition.

During the global competition, each of the four procedures the technicians need to accomplish is scored against a grid including up to 95 steps, additionally measuring several key criteria, including work quality, customer service experience, the respect of health and safety protocols, and execution speed.

Why this quest for excellence? The little-known role of windshield and ADAS in vehicle safety

Windshields are a crucial part of vehicle structural integrity and the advanced driver assistance systems that most cars are now equipped with, which include adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning, operate with a front-facing camera that requires recalibration as part of the windshield replacement procedure.

“As auto drivers, we sometimes tend to take our windshields for granted. People may tolerate chips or cracks, but one thing I have learned throughout this journey is just how important it is, for safety reasons, to have windshields professionally repaired or replaced, and for ADAS front-facing cameras to be recalibrated. ADAS recalibration must today be part of each windshield replacement and mastering it is one of the techniques that helped me win the competition,” explained David Chester.