PANAMA CITY — A small-town copy shop employee is now the proud recipient of a big-time award.
Omar Torres, a technician at Reliable Copy Products in Panama City, took home first place at a nationwide competition led by Kyocera Document Solutions America, a leading provider of document imaging and document management systems.
The company is part of the Kyocera Corp., a leading manufacturer of advanced ceramics products used in telecommunications equipment and other electronic components. Worldwide, the company employs nearly 70,000 people.
Torres’ efforts in the contest, which included a series of written and live troubleshooting tests on document imaging products, earned him the 2014 Kyocera Document Solutions America Service Award after he beat out contestants in both the regional and national competitions.
“If it wasn’t for Reliable Copy Products, I wouldn’t be there,” Torres said. “We’re just a mom-and-pop business, but we’ve been selling and servicing copiers since 1986.”
Following an extensive online testing process for hundreds of Kyocera technicians across the U.S., five semi-finalists were chosen from each regional office, where written and live tests were administered. Winners from each region attended finals at the company’s National Training Center in mid-December, where Torres emerged victorious with lightning-fast diagnostics.
“They bug three machines and you go in and you fix the machines,” Torres said of the live tests. “They look at how you come to diagnose the machines, the steps you take and how quick you fix it.”
Torres will join winners from Canada, Latin America, Brazil, Europe and Australia on a trip to visit Kyocera facilities and see the sights in China and Japan. Winners also will receive a cash prize.
“We are all very proud of Omar’s accomplishments,” said Cathy Smothers, president of Reliable Copy Products. “We try and instill the values that built our company into all of our employees. Omar is an example of what hard work and dedication brings and when one wins, we all win.”
Torres has been employed 14 years at Reliable Copy Products, an exclusive dealer of Kyocera copiers and printers in the area.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” he said of the award. “I went up against companies in big cities ... dealerships that have accessibility to more products.”