Event: TMC Trucking Industry Show
Dean Middleton's pics of his best trucks
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This year’s show was the biggest and most successful yet
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After being delayed several times due to COVID restrictions, the 2022 TMC Trucking Industry Show was held on Friday, 25 November and Saturday, 26 November at the Canterbury A&P Showgrounds.
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Truck bling from all over the country filled the showgrounds
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Truck bling from all over the country filled the showgrounds for a spectacular two-day event, which saw 478 trucks enter the UDC Show & Shine. It was well worth the wait, with this year’s show being the biggest and most successful yet.
The show saw the introduction of a number of industry competitions: the TR Group NZ Truck Driving Championships 2022, Palfinger NZ Crane Championship 2022, NZ Forklift Association Operator Championships 2022, and the Liebherr All Terrain Crane Competition. This year also saw the introduction of the BP Classic Trucks Showcase.
On Friday, students and adults looking for a career change from all over Canterbury arrived at the event bright and early for the Careers Showcase. The senior high school students were identified by their teachers as being interested in a transport career.
They were hosted in groups around the participating exhibitors who gave them a behind-the-scenes look at career opportunities in the industry. Many students showed a strong interest, with their questions coming as a surprise to the exhibitors.
Some students were offered work experience, while others, including most of the teachers, were surprised at the opportunities and pay rates. The Careers Showcase was a success, with more than 300 participants now more knowledgeable of the career opportunities and requirements to pursue a career in the transport industry.
The careers discussions continued on the second day, with one trucking company reporting more than 30 enquiries at their stand. The career participants were treated to a barbecue lunch, and they had plenty of free time to explore the rest of the show.
They all left with goodie bags, filled with exhibitor giveaways throughout the day. The feedback has been positive, with a number of schools committing to adding future trucking industry shows to their career programmes.
Friday Trade Day meant companies were able to host their customers with lunch and refreshments at the end of the day. This was followed by the New Zealand Trucking Magazine Networking event that saw more than 500 attendees on the Teletrac Navman Show Lawn and hospitality area. Television crews from Māori TV and TV3 also reported on the event.
On the second day, at daybreak, trucks lined the motorway to get the perfect spot in the Show & Shine and Classic Trucks areas. A total of 478 trucks, including fleets of up to 30 trucks competed for the 45 awards that were given out at the end of the day.
The industry was extremely generous, with more than $50,000 of prizes awarded at the Teletrac Navman Awards Function. The Show & Shine trucks were the stars of the show, with many travelling hundreds of kilometres to get there in time.
The effort the drivers and the trucking companies go to, to prepare their trucks is amazing and greatly appreciated; they truly make the event spectacular. On Friday, TR Group ran the NZ Truck Driving Championships 2022, with the finals held on Saturday.
Competition was close, with entries from all over New Zealand. Category winners were Adam Goddard Spartan Finance Class 5 Tractor Semi; Corey Pettifer Hydraulink Class 5 Truck & Trailer; Simon East EROAD Class 2; special awards for TR Group Young Driver were Brayden McMillan-Phillips; and the EROAD Woman Driver was Samantha Fraser.
The overall TR Group NZ Truck Driving Champion winner was Corey Pettifer. Each class winner received a prize of $2500 cash and a return trip for two to the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show.
The winner of the NZ Forklift Operator Championship was Keith Sollitt. Lyndon Hills won the Palfinger NZ Crane Championship, and the Liebherr All Terrain Crane Competition was won by Chris Borrows.
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The event saw close to 40,000 visitors
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The show attracted close to 40,000 visitors, including a large Australian contingent, 110 plus exhibitors, and more than 500 trucks on-site for the public open day on Saturday.
The kids’ activities on Saturday were all free and included the world’s biggest 23-metre-long truck bouncy castle, Road Metals giant sandpits, kids colouring tent, nine-hole mini golf, the Valvoline road safety scooter track, RC Haulers radio control trucks, tyre obstacle course, and truck photo boards.
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The newly refurbished Road Safety Truck was launched at the show
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The show shop was also popular and completely sold out of around 800 remote-control toy trucks bought in especially for the event. The newly refurbished Road Safety Truck was launched at the show, including the new Australian Trucking Association SafeT360 Virtual Reality programme (nztruckingassn.co.nz/safet360).
The team was kept busy all day, sharing safety tips on how to share the road safely with big trucks, as well as giving the drivers insight into how they can stay healthy on the road.
The day was rounded off with a celebration event and awards ceremony for 700 people, which was held at Teletrac Navman Show Lawn. The Trucking Industry Show just keeps getting bigger and better with many exhibitors confirming their space for the next one in 2024.
The show has been described as having the X-factor, and this is because the NZ Trucking Association team put a lot of effort into every detail. For a small team, they have set the bar high for future shows. Counting the days now until 2024, as the team already has more great ideas to make the show bigger and better.
A full list of the 2022 UDC Show & Shine winners is available at nztruckingassn.co.nz/show-shine-winners.
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