Wayland Chrysler technician Kelvin Lapham has been recognized as one of only 27 Mopar “Top Tech” award winners.

Lapham, a Wayland High School graduate, was selected from more than 25,000 eligible technician candidates across the FCA US LLC dealer network and was among the best and brightest FCA US LLC dealership technicians recognized during Jan. 10 awards ceremony at historic Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester, Mich.

Pietro Gorlier, Head of Parts and Service (Mopar), FCA – Global, was on hand to help honor Lapham and fellow elite technicians. The Mopar “Top Tech” program, introduced in 2014, recognizes elite-performing technicians in categories including Fixed First Visit (FFV) scores, dealership tenure and training achievements.

“Customer satisfaction and retention will continue to be key drivers of our business, regardless of vehicle or make,” said Gorlier. “The decision to purchase a particular vehicle brand is determined not only by the attributes of the vehicle, but also as importantly by the level of service that the customers receive. That is why it’s so critical to make sure that our top technicians receive the proper training, and that we recognize superstars of the service lane such as these 27 high-performing technicians, as well as the dealerships that support them.”

Lapham is one of only two technicians to repeat with Mopar Top Tech honors. He has been with Wayland Chrysler since 1982.

Mopar “Top Tech” winners participated in an all-inclusive two-day trip to Metro Detroit. In addition to the awards ceremony at Meadow Brook Hall, a National Historic Landmark constructed in the 1920s, “Top Tech” recipients received a tour of the FCA US headquarters and tech center on January 10 and a visit to the industry preview of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Jan. 11.

Lapham acknowledged that he could not have achieved this without his fellow technicians at Wayland Chrysler and his family’s support. Wayland Chrysler has been in business since 1982 at 3611 N Main St Wayland.

PHOTO: Kelvin Lapham (left) and Pietro Gorlier.