The Brisbane Truck Show, currently under threat from TIC’s plans for a new rival show, has had some good news, having taken out two major national event awards.
The Brisbane Show which has been the nation’s premier Truck Show for the past 50 years, has had the 2019 show named Australia’s Best Corporate Event and Best Exhibition, Trade or Consumer Show of the year.
The news was announced at a ceremony at Optus Stadium in Perth with the judging criteria including all aspects of event management including best practice, innovation, marketing, stakeholder engagement and management, sustainability and event legacy.
Organiser’s of the Brisbane Truck Show, the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) should take the awards as yet another endorsement of the Show’s premier position in the truck calendar with he biennial expo again attracting huge crowds and interest when it was staged in May.
HVIA, chief executive, Todd Hacking said the calibre of award finalists and other category winners highlighted the scale of the achievement.
“To have the show acknowledged alongside such a range of phenomenal national events is a great honour that should be celebrated by the entire heavy vehicle industry,” Mr Hacking said.
“I want to publicly thank our members and exhibitors for supporting the show as it continues to evolve and grow.
“The Brisbane Truck Show is your show,” he said. “It is owned by industry for the benefit of industry, with every cent reinvested in the industry association’s work program.”
“I also want to acknowledge our sponsors, particularly BP Australia and NTI, our venue partner the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and our many show partners who come together to help us deliver the show.
“Through new partnerships with the Queensland Government and City of Brisbane, we extended the show through an umbrella tag of Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry Week.
“With so many exhibitors already holding dinners, drive days, factory tours and other activations around the city, this was a great opportunity to help them leverage those investments,” Mr Hacking said.
“It allowed us to implement a Jobs Hub, engage with Ministers, host the Executives Club, hire out Mt Cotton, add the KPMG Insights Centre, link in with NatRoad’s national conference and focus on innovation and technology.”
Mr Hacking said the collaborations with Tourism and Events Queensland, Brisbane Marketing and South Bank Parklands enabled the truck show to extend beyond the walls of the convention centre.
“It led to the creation of the South Bank Roadhouse, including the closure of Little Stanley Street for a major truck and trailer display, and was complemented by amazing CBD activations in Queen Street Mall and Reddacliff Place.”
Event Manager Noelene Bradley says the show fulfilled its key objective as the Southern Hemisphere’s largest automotive business event.
“The halls were busy and, most importantly, exhibitors were meeting with the people they needed to, reporting strong business on the stands,” Ms Bradley said.
“Visitors were greeted by a comprehensive array of trucks, trailers, components, technology and equipment presented in inspiring displays, all contributing to deliver a world-class event.”
HVIA President John Drake says the Board are extremely proud of the result of the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show.
“It does dominate the association’s attention throughout the year but to be there and to network and hear the buzz that was on the main floor during the show makes it all worth it,” Mr Drake said.
“Not only was the show’s attendance up 10 per cent to 37,000 visitors, the response to new innovations was all really positive.
“To think the HVIA team are able to pull off such an amazing show time after time is a credit to them,” he added.
“It is great news that the show has been acknowledged by the Australian Event Awards and we are already in discussions to ensure the 2021 edition is even better.”
The Brisbane Truck Show is scheduled to return to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from Thursday 13th to Sunday 16th May in 2021.
The mooted rival TIC organised Truck exhibition is scheduled for the middle of march 2021 in Melbourne, however despite saying that an official announcement about the new show would be made on 31 July, TIC has made no further comment save for an initial announcement of its plans in early July.
TTA understands that there is still some disquiet and some misgivings on the part of some truck manufacturers about the staging of a rival show up against the traditional Brisbane Truck Show.
