Marco Dellarciprete’s path to becoming a diesel technician at Johnson & Towers was not always a straight line. Growing up surrounded by many family members working as diesel technicians, it was natural for him to gravitate towards a hands-on career. However, it was through personal exploration and the guidance he received at Johnson & Towers that Marco discovered he was meant to be a diesel technician.
Upon graduating high school, Marco was initially interested in automotive mechanics after years spent working on pickup trucks in his family’s garage. A few years into his career, Marco realized the automotive world wasn’t a good fit for him and began exploring options to get into a diesel shop. Marco found Indel Power Group’s Technician Apprentice Program on Indeed and applied, hoping his automotive experience would be enough to open the door to the diesel industry.
To Marco’s surprise, he was brought in for an interview with Gary Wright, On-Highway Service Manager in Egg Harbor, NJ, and Erik Sigtermans, the shop’s Lead Technician and Marco’s future mentor.
“Erik is a great judge of technical knowledge, while I look more for the interviewee’s personality and how they’ll fit in our shop. Even with vast technical knowledge, if someone doesn’t fit well with the team, it won’t work out,” explains Gary. Marco passed both the technical and personality assessments and was brought on as the third Technician Apprentice in Egg Harbor, NJ in September 2023.
“I wasn’t worried about having three apprentices working through the program at the same time. I was confident in our team’s ability to support them and after seeing Mary Williams and Nick Devecchio thriving, I knew Marco could do the same,” Gary says. Shortly after starting, Marco’s technical abilities began to flourish.
“I was able to learn more from Erik this year than I have from any other mentor I previously worked with. He is very patient and explains things in a way that makes sense to me,” Marco says.
Erik’s teaching style focused on hands-on training and stresses that it is okay to make mistakes while learning.
“The best way to learn this job is to do it yourself. Mistakes are bound to happen, and apprentices need to learn how to correct them. To be a successful technician, you need to understand the whole piece of machinery you’re working on and how each part is connected. Once you know that, you can fix anything,” explains Erik.
Now a year into the program, Marco has completed light-duty engine training courses online and in-person at the Cummins headquarters in Indiana. He will continue his training this fall by traveling to Arlington, TX for medium and heavy-duty training.
“I want to be good at everything. Gary gives us the opportunity to try new things and doesn’t lock anyone into a set role here. He wants us all to be well-rounded technicians. I hope to continue to learn and complete projects on my own,” Marco says when asked about his career goals.
