CFMS to return with condensed format, lower prices
TORONTO, Ont. — The Canadian Fleet Maintenance Seminar will see its 50th birthday after all.
The storied event, which brings together fleet maintenance managers from across Canada, was cancelled last year, casting its future in doubt.
This year, however, the 50th rendition of the event will proceed, albeit in a downsized format. The downsizing applies not only to the event itself, but importantly, to the cost of attending as well. That was one of the objectives when new organizers, the Toronto, Belleville and Ottawa branches of the Automotive Transportation Service Superintendents Association (ATSSA), took over management of the conference.
“We needed the time off last year to see if we could do it a little differently, a little bit cheaper,” Dan Cushing, president of the Toronto chapter of ATSSA told Trucknews.com. “We wanted to make it more attractive price-wise.”
The other challenge was that, under the previous format, maintenance managers struggled with the commitment of spending two or more days away from the shop to attend the conference, Cushing said.
The new CFMS will take place Apr. 24 at Paradise Banquet hall in Concord, Ont. The cost to attend has been ratcheted down to $135 per person, including lunch and dinner. The fee also covers the seminars, which this year will include: Are fault lights keeping you up at night?; Annual safety inspection – Compliant with the NSC?; and New products, trends and technician training. The Volvo Fleet Maintenance Manager of the Year award will be presented at the event as well.
And as before, a trade show will be held, but Cushing said costs to exhibit at, and to sponsor the event have been decreased to make it more accessible. The changes, said Cushing, have been well received.
“So far it has been pretty positive,” he said of early feedback received by ATSSA. “There were a lot of rumors on the street, people thinking we weren’t coming back. The more we talk to them, the more they’re getting involved.”
More information on the event can be found at www.cfms-atssa.ca.
Have your say
This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.