Bill Gagnon of Big Freight Systems has been named the Manitoba Trucking Association/Volvo Trucks Canada Driver of the Year.

Gagnon, a 43-year veteran of the highway, was named the province’s top driver during a recent awards banquet. He began his driving career with the Canadian Armed Forces and continued working as a driver in the military until 1983 before moving into the trucking industry.

He began his stint as a civilian truck driver as a bush driver in northwestern Ontario. Gagnon then moved on to haul Super-Bs for six years before transitioning to reefers for a seven-year stint. Next, the driver took on grain hauling for eight years before finally joining Big Freight.

Adrian Van Rassel, operations/ CC planner with Big Freight Systems, says Gagnon is “courteous and on-time, all the time” and that he “goes out of his way to make himself available for any jobs.”

Gagnon is also known to help new drivers with tarping and load securement and has a great relationship with dispatch and other office staff, his employer says. Gagnon has a wife, Tisha, and six children. He runs about 110,000 miles per year coast-to-coast in Canada.

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SAF-Holland has added to its Canadian sales and service team by appointing new representatives in eastern and western Canada.

Brent Hameluck will cover Alberta and Saskatchewan while Bruno Auclair will represent the company in Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, SAF-Holland announced.

Both reps have more than 10 years’ experience in sales and marketing within the commercial vehicle industry. Hameluck, a Calgary, Alta. resident, previously served as the southern Alberta territory sales rep for Manac Western.

Auclair, a Granby, Que. resident, has worked extensively in the aftermarket distribution channels through the OEM segment of the industry and also ran his own marketing agency focused on heavy-duty transportation industry product sales.

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Colin Nice has been appointed a sales representative for Hutchinson Industries, specializing in parts and service. Nice has spent 10 years on the factory floor, where he has gathered experience in manufacturing, service and parts management, the company says. Nice will be getting out to meet customers in the weeks ahead. “We welcome him to the sales team,” Hutchinson said in an announcement.

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The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) has announced its first board of directors. The organization is comprised of seven sector-specific advisory councils and was created when the Transportation Health and Safety Council was merged with several other safety groups in January.

Representing workers from the transportation sector are: Bud McAulay and Peter Burgess of the Teamsters and Len Poirier of the Canadian Auto Workers. Representing transportation sector employers are: Tim Holdaway, Midland Transport; Stuart Morrish, UPS; Ted Dezsenyi, FedEx; and Barry House, FirstGroup.

The new board gets to work this month, the association says, and will first elect co-chairs and officers before getting busy eliminating injuries and illnesses in the industries covered by IHSA.

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Tom Payne, Jr. of Payne Transportation will serve as new president of the Manitoba Trucking Association. Payne was selected by the MTA’s board of directors at a meeting June 22.

Payne will be taking over the reins from outgoing president, Susan Snyder of Searcy Trucking. MTA officials say Snyder has resigned her position for family reasons, but Snyder herself noted how much she enjoyed her tenure as MTA president.

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Canada Cartage has appointed Brian Martin as the company’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

Martin joins Canada Cartage with more than 20 years of business experience, including 15 years in solution-based trucking, warehousing and freight forwarding. Most recently, he was vice-president of sales and marketing for Schenker Canada where he was responsible for the national sales team and marketing activities for ground, air, ocean, warehousing and 4PL services. Martin’s prior experience includes positions of increasing responsibility in operations and sales with Nalco Canada, General Motors Canada and Karrys Wholesale. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University.

“Brian Martin is a highly talented individual with world-class experience in the logistics industry. We are extremely confident that he will reinforce Canada Cartage’s position as Canada’s largest and most experienced provider of fully-outsourced, specialized transportation and warehousing services,” said Jeff Lindsay, president and CEO of Canada Cartage. “We look forward to Brian joining our executive team as a key contributor to our future growth.”

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Xantrex Technology has appointed Will Tomkinson as sales manager for the company’s North American mobile product line, based in Vancouver, B.C.

In his new position, Tomkinson is responsible for servicing and developing both OEM and distributor accounts in the commercial and industrial segments including EMS, material handling, work truck up-fitting, equipment OEM and fleet management.

Prior to joining the company, he worked in power electronic sales in the industrial, marine and commercial markets, as well as in marine appliance sales, servicing both OEM and distribution customers. He has also worked in the passenger rail, transport truck and mineral exploration markets.