Ryder Marks 25 Years of Its “Top Tech” Skills Competition: Celebrating a Quarter Century of Technician Excellence Recognition

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 30, 2026--

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Top Technician (“Top Tech”) Skills Competition next month, honoring a quarter century of excellence, innovation, and professional achievement among the maintenance technicians who keep the company’s commercial fleets running safely and efficiently. Since 2002, Top Tech has grown to be one of Ryder’s most celebrated employee recognition programs.

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The milestone culminates on August 13 in Nashville, Tennessee, where 10 professional technicians will gather for the championship finals to compete for a chance to win the $50,000 grand prize and earn the title of Ryder’s 2026 Top Technician. In a day-long test of technical skill, speed, and precision, finalists will move through 10 timed competition stations, diagnosing and resolving real-world maintenance challenges on Ryder vehicles under the watchful eye of expert judges.

This year’s competitors represent some of the most skilled maintenance professionals across Ryder’s operations in the United States and Canada.

“Our ten finalists represent the very best of what our maintenance workforce stands for—technical mastery, problem-solving, and an unwavering commitment to keeping our customers moving,” says Bryce Kinsley, vice president of maintenance operations at Ryder. “Twenty-five years in, Top Tech continues to set a higher standard for our profession, and this year’s class of finalists reflects the depth of talent, dedication, and pride that defines Ryder’s technicians every day.”

By the Numbers: 25 Years of Top Tech

Each year, technicians from Ryder's roughly 5,000 U.S.- and Canada-based maintenance professionals advance through a multi-stage qualification process—beginning with written and hands-on assessments, followed by head-to-head regional competitions testing speed and diagnostic precision. The top two scorers from each region earn a coveted spot among the 10 finalists competing on the championship stage.

Over the past 25 years, Top Tech has grown into one of Ryder’s most visible and lasting employee recognition programs, shaped by milestones that reflect its growth and impact:

“What makes Top Tech unique is that it evolves with our industry,” says Rob Alley, senior director of maintenance training at Ryder. “The vehicles, tools, and technologies have transformed over the last 25 years, and thanks to close collaboration with our OEM partners, the competition has transformed with them. That commitment to continuous learning is what keeps Top Tech relevant—and what makes it so special.”

A Legacy Built on Technician Excellence

While Top Tech has grown in size and scope over 25 years, its purpose has remained consistent: recognizing the technicians whose expertise keeps Ryder’s fleet of approximately 240,000 commercial vehicles operating safely, reliably, and efficiently. For many participants, the impact extends far beyond the competition floor — shaping careers, elevating shops, and influencing the broader profession.

While Top Tech identifies Ryder’s annual champion, former participants say the experience often extends beyond the competition itself.

“Preparing for Top Tech continually challenged me to expand my technical knowledge and sharpen my diagnostic skills,” says Wade Robinson, field maintenance manager and 2021 Ryder Top Tech Champion from London, Ontario. “The experience and increased visibility across the organization helped prepare me for new career opportunities within Ryder.”

Kyle Walton, technician in charge and 2025Ryder Top Tech Champion, says, “The competition also benefits technicians throughout the organization. The knowledge and experience I gained through Top Tech, including conversations with the other nine competitors, didn’t only stay with me. I brought those lessons back to my shop and shared them with other technicians. The true benefit of Top Tech is that the program can make all technicians better, even those who choose not to compete. A rising tide raises all boats.”

The event will be livestreamed with the 2026 Top Technician champion being crowned live.

Highlights from the week-long event will be shared on Ryder’s Facebook and LinkedIn channels.

Editor’s Note: To coordinate media interviews or learn more about attending in person, contact Jonathan Mayor at jonathan_c_mayor@ryder.com or 305-500-3161.

About Ryder System, Inc.

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R) is a nearly $13 billion leading provider of outsourced logistics and transportation services throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Ryder offers supply chain, dedicated transportation, and fleet management solutions that integrate every step of the supply chain port-to-door, including cross-border logistics, fleet and transportation management, warehousing and distribution, and final delivery to customers’ doorsteps. Ryder’s broad portfolio of services encompasses managed transportation, freight brokerage, dedicated contract carriage with professional drivers, full-service fleet leasing and maintenance, commercial truck rental, automation and robotics, digital technologies, contract manufacturing and packaging, omnichannel retail fulfillment including e-commerce and last-mile delivery, and used vehicle sales. Serving more than 20 industries, Ryder manages approximately 240,000 commercial vehicles, operates nearly 800 maintenance locations, and runs approximately 320 warehouses totaling more than 100 million square feet. Ryder is consistently recognized for technology-driven innovation and industry-leading practices in safety, health, security, talent acquisition, and environmental management, and was most recently named to Fortune’s “America’s Most Innovative Companies” list. www.ryder.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information included in this news release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on our current plans and expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including those risks set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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Kyle Walton, technician in charge and 2025 Ryder Top Tech Champion, works through a critical diagnostic challenge during the 2025 competition. Walton says "the lessons learned on this stage ripple across the company, elevating every shop and every technician.

Ryder celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Top Technician Skills Competition in August. The milestone culminates in Nashville where the company's top maintenance professionals will compete for the championship title and a $50,000 grand prize.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans' demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.

After failed negotiations forced the delay of a committee vote to advance Blanche's nomination, Trump suggested he was holding firm against pressure from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis. They have expressed concerns about the controversial settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, which a judge denounced as an exercise in self-dealing.

The senators said the Justice Department seemed interested in reaching an agreement with them, but the White House wouldn't budge to aid the confirmation of Trump's loyal former personal attorney, who has aggressively pursued the administration's priorities as acting attorney general. Instead, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blanche's nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year.

“I think as far as Blanche and the Department of Justice, we were pretty much on the same page,” Cornyn said Thursday. “But then when the president got wind of it, he wasn’t willing to go along with it.”

Hours after Trump's post, however, Blanche held a meeting with Cornyn and Tillis and the two sides were back to working collaboratively, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations around Blanche’s confirmation.

Cornyn and Tillis have said they won't back Blanche's nomination without additional assurances in writing about the settlement, which included a deal to drop tax claims against the president and a now-scrapped plan to create a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” meant to compensate Trump allies.

With all Democratic senators opposed, just one Republican holdout on the Senate Judiciary Committee could sink Blanche’s chances for confirmation. And even if Blanche makes it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, it’s unclear if he has enough Republican support to be confirmed by the full chamber.

Cornyn wrote in a social media post Thursday that the president is “mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.”

While the Justice Department dropped plans for the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” after bipartisan outrage about the potential of payouts going to violent Jan. 6 rioters, officials have said that another piece of the settlement — granting Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits — remains in place.

Though Blanche has repeatedly insisted that the “Anti-Weaponization fund” is dead, skeptical lawmakers have pushed for a commitment in writing — especially since Trump has expressed continued support for the idea. But the senators suggested the White House is resisting putting it in writing.

“The president’s getting bad advice. He should listen to Blanche and others who think if it’s dead, it should be rendered completely dead,” Tillis told reporters about the fund.

Another sticking point was the settlement's audit immunity provision that said the U.S. government is “forever barred and precluded” from scrutinizing or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization’s current and past tax examinations. Cornyn and Tillis have pressed the administration to modify the agreement to make clear that it covers only existing audits and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.

While the majority of Republican senators oppose the settlement, the main pushback to Blanche has come from Cornyn, who lost his seat earlier this year when Trump opposed him in a GOP primary. Trump has also frequently targeted Tillis, who announced last year that he would not run for re-election and has criticized the administration over the pardons of Jan. 6 rioters and other matters.

Though it would be politically embarrassing for the Trump administration, pulling Blanche’s nomination would likely have little practical impact on the management of the Justice Department.

Blanche, who took the reins of the department after Pam Bondi's firing in April, can still lead the agency as either acting attorney general or deputy attorney general, the No. 2 post to which he was confirmed last year. The deputy attorney general, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the law enforcement agency, can perform the duties of the attorney general if that post is vacant.

Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sworn in as he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)