MONCTON, N.B. – The 2003 Atlantic Truck Show was a success, organizers say.

Over 10,000 people passed through the gates at the Moncton Coliseum Agrena Complex June 13 and 14, to visit over 500 exhibitors.

The event surpassed organizers’ expectations in terms of turnout for both exhibitors and attendees, says Mark Cusack, show manager for Master Promotions, who partnered with the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA) this year to produce the show.

“This is a must attend event in the Maritimes,” says Cusack.

APTA president Ralph Boyd says the 2003 show compared in attendance to the 2001 show but it was a much larger show and included many new exhibitors.

The show is designed to show the best of the industry’s innovations, says Boyd.

Everything from new product lines, safety and efficiency features and the big rigs themselves were on display.

“We (Atlantic Canada) have a very small market area in comparison to others to draw on with the population of Atlantic Canada being 2.4 million so it can be hard to draw on people from all areas, but I hope that if they have an interest in trucking they were at the show,” says Boyd.

This year’s show added another 25,000 square feet of indoor space, with the opening of the Agrena C complex, and had a larger outdoor space than ever before.

The APTA made a conscious decision to raise the bar with the truck show, says Boyd.

“It was a very successful show, but it couldn’t have happened without the excellent partnership with Masters or the very loyal group we have as part of our APTA advisory committee,” says Boyd.

There is a lot of history and a lot of loyalty with the APTA, says Cusack.

“The APTA are the grass roots of this industry out here, and any time we go into a region to do a show, it makes it so much nicer when we can hook up with a group like the APTA,” he says. “We do 30 events each year and it is hard to find the kind of loyal following with exhibitors like they have at this show.”

Putting on an event of such size cannot be done without a few difficulties, says Boyd.

But the APTA show committee and Master Promotions are meeting soon to discuss the final results of the show and discuss some areas where the show can be improved as initial planning for the 2005 Atlantic Truck Show, he adds.

“One of the areas that we will improve upon is coming up with a way to bring more people over from Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a long haul in from there and we could make it easier by providing charter flights, we will be looking into that for the next show,” Cusack says.

Another initiative to reach the Newfoundlanders is the launch of the first Atlantic Truck Show – Newfoundland, which is set to go May 28 to 29, 2004 at Mile One Stadium in St. John’s, Nfld.

“It is a whole new venture for next year but we think it is an extremely important one. So we have decided to partner with Master Promotions and head to St. John’s, and hopefully, put on a fine example of the trucking industry coming together for a couple of days,” says Boyd.