OTA says it has exclusive commitments from truck show exhibitors

TORONTO (March 25) — The Ontario Trucking Association said it has commitments from “major original equipment manufacturers” to attend the association’s inaugural trade show next year.

The event will take place nearly one month before Truckcan, the biennial show the OTA previously endorsed for a negotiated fee.

The OTA’s show, called the “Canadian International Truck Show – Truck World 2000,” is scheduled for Sept. 14-16, 2000, at the National Trade Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto.

The OTA, North America’s third-largest trucking association, said it expects 350 exhibitors on the 400,000 square foot exhibit floor. In addition to product displays, the show will feature a major educational program focusing on maintenance and technical issues, as well as informational seminars for owner-operators and company drivers. A number of exhibitors are also planning to feature headline entertainment, the association said.

The carrier members sitting on the OTA’s Board of Directors pledged to send their employees to Truck World 2000 only, and not to Truckcan.

The OTA has called its exhibition a show “for the industry, by the industry,” noting that profits from the event would flow to the association instead of being paid to a third party. The OTA plans to share earnings from the show with the Canadian Trucking Alliance, a federation of Canada’s seven provincial trucking associations.