Truck and Bus News has been told by an industry insider that the Truck Industry Council has chosen a successful tenderer to stage its new Australian Truck Exhibition and Technology Symposium which is and we understand the new show could be staged Melbourne in March 2021, although TIC is saying the process is still ongoing
It is believed that the Council has chosen Hanover Messe, One of the largest exhibition organisations in the world which already stages the CeMAT materials handling and supply chain management exhibition in Melbourne every two years.
However we also understand that the Council is not unified in its support for the new show with at least two of the major industry players opting out of the vote, with a couple of other manufacturers believed to be wavering in their support for the new show that will be a rival for the Brisbane Truck Show, due to be staged next in May 2021.
TIC CEO Tony McMullan told T&B News that the process of selecting a tenderer is “still ongoing and when we make a decision we will be making an announcement.”
Asked when TIC expected the process to be completed , Mr McMullan said:’We are still going through some of the finer points, but we expect to make an announcement by 31st July.”
Asked if the TIC was unified in its decision to stage its own show, Mr. McMullan said that the members who participated in the vote were all in agreement.
“Members of TIC participating in the decision were unanimous in the vote to call for expressions of interest in staging the show,” he said.
Mr McMullan would not confirm whether some manufacturers opted out of the voting, saying that decisions made by the council behind closed doors were confidential and could not be discussed with the media, but that a majority of makers did vote.
However it is understood both Daimler and Volvo opted out of the decision process, with the two companies covering six brands between them.
Truck and Bus News understands that Daimler Trucks opted out of the vote to avoid being seen as colluding with other makers, while we understand Volvo Group opted out of the vote, however its reasons are unclear.
A spokesperson for Daimler Trucks made it clear that the company felt the HVIA was doing an excellent job with the Brisbane Show and that the company was not interested being involved in discussions to stage an alternate truck show.
Volvo Group Australia spokesperson Paul Illmer told T & B News “ TIC matters are all confidential and we don’t discuss them”.
There appears also to be some disquiet with the proposed date for the TIC truck exhibition. It is believed the current preferred date is around mid-March 2021, and could be problematic given the possible clash with the Australian F1 Grand Prix , which is usually held around this time. The Victorian Government recently signed a contract extension for the GP that will see it continue to be the opening race of the World Championship through to at least 2025.
Staging the truck show around the time of the GP would mean accommodation costs and availability may create issues.
