MONTREAL, QC-At noon on Saturday, April 18, one skillful dedicated and deserving truck driver will find himself in possession of a check for $10,000 and a fistful of other prizes worth half that amount again. That driver will be the 2015 Highway Star of the Year and the eleventh recipient of the award.

The Highway Star of the Year announcement and check presentation is just one of the highlights of ExpoCam, Canada’s largest annual heavy duty trucking show, which this year, runs from Thursday, April 16 to Saturday, April 18, at Montreal’s Place Bonaventure.

ExpoCam is owned and operated by Newcom Business Media, which also publishes Today’s Trucking, Transport Routier, Truck News, Truck West, Fleet Executive and their attendant websites.

Organizers of the show are reporting that this year’s ExpoCam will be the biggest ever. Booth space has sold out.

“We were thrilled with the last show’s attendance,” says Joan Wilson, manager of ExpoCam. “We had 11 percent more attendees in 2013 than in 2011 and the 2015 show will be even bigger.”

More than 15,000 trucking industry members and 300 exhibitors attended ExpoCam 2013. Montreal’s ExpoCam and Truck World in Toronto take place alternate years.

Wilson is also happy to report that Shell Rotella, Manac Trailers, and International Trucks have signed on as Platinum Sponsors.

The Highway Star of the Year prizes are provide by Freightliner, Espar, Meritor, Chevron, Cummins, and the Owner-Operators Business Association of Canada (OBAC).

The 2015 version of ExpoCam will also feature:

• 200,000 square feet of trucks, trailers, and other equipment and services;
• 5,000+ parking spaces, access to two nearby subway stations and the VIA Rail train station;
• 300+ exhibitors;
• A Recruitment Pavilion.

Read this story and get into ExpoCam for free!

Because ExpoCam is owned by the same company that produces this magazine, we are offering free admission to the show to anyone lucky enough to be reading this issue of Today’s Trucking. It’s free, that is, as long as you preregister by April 15.

Go to www.expocam.ca, fill in the blanks and where it asks for a VIP code, type in TR14.  Your free pass will be waiting at the door. And please feel free to share this code with as many colleagues as you like. And then when you get to the show be sure to come visit us at Booth 4000.

Bring your story ideas.  Editors love talking to readers.       

Otherwise, admission at the door is $20. Pre-registered admission without the VIP code is $10. Boys and girls under 16 get in free but must be registered and accompanied by an adult.

Hats off to Quebec Truckers

On Saturday, April 20, the first 2,000 visitors to the show get a free trucking cap, courtesy of ExpoCam exhibitors.  You have to get there early to get one.

Other prizes are up for grabs, too.  Registered visitors will receive specially marked tickets to drop in to drums at the booths belonging to Manac Trailers, Navistar, Shell and Newcom Business Media. After the show is over, a ticket will be drawn from each and the winners will receive free Mac iPads.

Your home office away from home

Although it’s entertaining, educational and fun, ExpoCam is really all about business. You’ll meet contacts, make sales and negotiate.  And sometimes, when things get serious, you will want to take the discussion away from the bright crowded booths to someplace quieter, more businesslike.

That’s why, for 2015, the organizers of ExpoCam are introducing the Business Centre, on Level 200, where you’ll find an instant office, away from the crowd.

Available for your business use will be: a fax/scanner/printer and computer; a charging station for cellphones and tablets; desks and chairs; 45-minute time slots, scheduled on the hour. For more information about the Business Centre, contact ExpoCam’s Louise Germain, at 1-877-682-7469, ext 251 or email her at louise@newcom.ca.

Germain, who will be in the show office during ExpoCam also reminds people that the business centre is open only to registered users and their visitors.  You will be asked to sign in with your customers.

“This is not a lounge,” Germain reminds visitors.

Looking for a job? Looking for workers?

And returning to ExpoCam this year will be the recruitment pavilion, where upwards of 30 carriers will set up displays and promotions where drivers can learn more about what various companies offer in terms of benefits, pay and home time. The recruitment was very popular when it was introduced at Truck World 2014 in Toronto; and since that time, the driver shortage problem has only gotten worse so organizers expect the Montreal version to be packed.

Other potential recruits will be on hand, too.

Walking the floor on Thursday the 18^th and Friday the 19^th will be hundreds of trade-school students from three Montreal-area schools. They will have special badges on. They’re ripe for luring to the trucking industry.