Welcome to the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show & Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry Week
It is an honour to welcome you to the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show, whether this is your first- or twenty-first-time meeting here with your industry friends and peers.
The Brisbane Truck Show has an incredibly rich, continuous history that dates back fifty-five years.
It has always been about coming together, sharing ideas, discussing challenges – and showcasing the innovative ways we can address them.
In 1968, when the first Queensland Truck Show was held at the premises of Haulmark Trailers in the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea, Australia’s population was just twelve million.
Last year’s sensis counted 26 million of us! To cater for such a rapidly growing population Australia’s heavy vehicle industry has always been there, stepping up behind the construction, mining, retail and agriculture sectors that underpin the nation’s economy.
How we do that has always had a common thread too – always setting higher benchmarks for safety and increasing productivity through innovation – and knowledge sharing.
Our high-productivity vehicles are the envy of industry around the world; ingenuity in design, engineering and manufacture that delivers amazing trucks and trailer combinations, ready to undertake any and every task imaginable.
This year’s show will no doubt be remembered for the landmarks in our sustainability journey, though to suggest it has come out of nowhere would be to ignore decades of action and improvements to our environmental footprint.
The Government estimates that since 1990, heavy vehicle noxious emissions standards have reduced CO and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by over 80 per cent.
That is despite the fact there are almost 60 per cent more heavy vehicles on the road, and the total distance travelled by those vehicles has increased by over 80 per cent over the same period.
This year the industry is again showing its leadership – well ahead of regulation and standards; on every truck manufacturer’s stand you will see Euro 6, alternative fuels and/or the unveiling of battery or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Not surprisingly, technology is a major category of the show these days. Whether it is the sophisticated fleet management and compliance management systems, electronic diaries, driver alert devices, and so much more.
There was a time when operators tended to be suspicious about new tech looking over their shoulders, but these innovations have proven time and again to be life-savers, time-savers and cost-savers. It is worth spending a day just looking at the opportunities to improve your business efficiencies.
The truck show presents a great opportunity to showcase the diverse and rewarding opportunities available across our industry. We are hosting a record number of school students this year, with well over 1600 students from over fifty schools signed up.
They will watch heats of the National Apprentice Challenge, where Australia’s best have been selected to represent their States for two days of dynamic competition, and they’ll take the Brisbane Truck Show careers walk, where exhibitors are geared to talk to them.
Australian Heavy Vehicle Industry Week was the result of consultation with HVIA members and other Brisbane Truck Show exhibitors.
The idea was hatched a bit over five years ago as an umbrella that takes in the Brisbane Truck Show and all the events and activations that happen alongside it.
From a major event perspective, that now also includes the Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show at Brisbane Showgrounds, the South Bank Truck Festival in and around the parklands adjacent to the convention centre, and the Heritage Truck Show at Rocklea Showgrounds – just around the corner from where it all started for the Brisbane Truck Show all those years ago.
There are numerous other meetings and events taking place alongside the show this year such as the ALC Supply Chain Summit, NBTA Bulk Tanker Day, TCA Telematics Forums, the ATA’s Industry Technical Council, Transport Women’s Association breakfast, ATIC, CCAA and more.
It isn’t just about all those events though; it is about every one of you – spending some valuable time together, and in amongst the community, showing them the big heart that unites us all.
To that end, we have Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds as our official charity partner this year. In its few short years this amazing industry initiative has done phenomenal work shining a light on health and well-being.
As for ourselves, HVIA is a member association that was born out of that first truck show. It is our honour and privilege to be custodians of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest transport industry event, and we are delighted you could join us.
Enjoy your time amongst friends in Brisbane and all the memories you will take with you when you leave.
Todd Hacking
HVIA Chief Executive
Acknowledgement of Country
The Brisbane Truck Show and South Bank Truck Festival acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and Elders both past and present.
The region of South Brisbane is culturally significant to indigenous Australians and was frequently used as meeting places for visiting peoples from the north and south of the Brisbane River – the Turrbal and Yuggera people.
The Yuggera nation encompassed a vast region south west of Brisbane, which included Ipswich.
The Turrbal people primarily occupied areas to the north along the Brisbane River including what is now known as Coronation Drive.
Historical records speak of many regional ceremonies, including marriage and trade ceremonies, taking place in South Brisbane and Musgrave Park.
We also recognise those whose ongoing effort to protect and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures will leave a lasting legacy for future Elders and leaders.
About our industry
Like to know more about the industry?
HV101 is an engaging, short, online course that will answer heaps of your questions about the heavy vehicle industry. You’ll know all the lingo in no time.
A career in the heavy vehicle industry is about far more than just your singular skillset – it is how your contribution fits into the big picture. Your role is a vital cog in the machinery that allows the trucking industry to keep Australia moving.
Our training programs will help you achieve your full potential in your career, your workplace, and in the heavy vehicle industry.
At the completion of the dynamic, interactive online course, you’ll be able to follow non-technical discussions around heavy vehicle topics and understand what is being discussed, having learned a working vocabulary of common heavy vehicle terminology.
