Fancy a wine? Tim can get it - with his 13-tonne digger

By VICKI WATERHOUSE
It was a little wooden toy digger that inspired Tim Graham to make a career out of using a real life one.
Now, with only six years experience on a 13-tonne digger, he has conquered every facet of his work and taken out the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional Excavator Competition at this year's Fieldays at Mystery Creek.
Mr Graham, who lives in the Kaimai Range, got the highest score ever recorded at Fieldays, creating a new national record of 91.5 per cent - and will now compete at the national finals in Fielding next March.
The 25-year-old said he first got into the line of work because of his fond memories as a small boy. "It was just something I always enjoyed, playing in the sandpit with it," he said.
In the last six years on the job he has got his work down to a fine art. The Fieldays' competition involved 10 different components and he proved he was the best in the business.
One category involved a wine glass filled nearly to the top with red wine being placed on a manhole. The manhole was attached to chains, which were then secured to the digger. The task was to lift the wine glass from one manhole to another without spilling a drop, and Mr Graham did just that.
Although it sounds difficult, Mr Graham said several competitors managed to do it without spilling wine in the assigned time limit. He said what really impressed the judges was his painting abilities.
CAT sponsored the event, and with a paintbrush attached to the bucket Mr Graham painted a CAT logo on to a canvas with precision and style.
He has competed in the event twice before in previous years, so knew what he had to do. Up until this point, however, he had never been successful.
Mr Graham has stuck with being a digger operator because he does something different every day. "You get to create something that you can look back on at the end of the day," he said. "It's quite satisfying."
He insisted he did not practise painting or carrying wine glasses in his spare time on the digger, but he does spend no less than 40 hours a week operating one for his job with civil contractors RPL Services.
Mr Graham attributes his success to "experience, time and a lot of patience". He said although the job had risks, he had never been in a serious accident.
"I've seen diggers tipped over before but I've never done it myself and I never plan to," he said. "I've still got all my arms and legs."
For his efforts, Mr Graham received $1600 worth of equipment, including $500 cash. He will also get a Diploma in Civil Plant Operations paid for as part of the prize.