QUEBEC CITY — If the local trucking industry was going through hard times, there was little evidence of it at CamExpo.

The three-day truck show took place in Québec City and featured more than 200 exhibitors from across Canada and the U.S. Attendance was just as strong as it was at the last CamExpo and visitors were more than pleased with what they found.

“CamExpo is a good truck show,” added Jean-Maurice Richard, Entreprises J.M Richard. “I wanted to see the new Mack Titan and International LoneStar, but also the new products in the Quebec trucking industry. I saw everything I wanted to see.”

By the time the show closed on November 9, fleet owners, managers, owner-operators, purchasing managers, maintenance and IT managers and drivers – 6,929 in total – had checked out the new trucks, trailers, engines, lubricants, tires, wheels, dispatch software, suspensions, and more.

“I wanted to see new trucks, as well as any new products or services for trucking,” said Louis-Charles Pelletier of Lévio Transport. “I like to get answers to my questions and to know what is new in my industry and that’s what CamExpo gives me. It’s is an excellent show for Quebec City. I never miss an edition and I will be back in 2010.”

The new VIP Luncheon at CamExpo featured NHL coaching legend Jacques Demers. Demers, a Stanley Cup winner, told the audience of truckers from across Eastern Canada that leadership and motivational abilities are the key to leading successful teams, particularly when times are tough.

“When you have a difficult season,” he said, “it’s time for the coach to stand up and show leadership. And it’s during the bad times that you see the real leaders.”

Exhibitors had high praise for the 12th edition of CamExpo.

Said Frank Mangifesto of Truck-Lite: “I’m impressed with CamExpo. The show gets bigger and the quality of the visitors is always getting better. The traffic at our booth was excellent and our participation in CamExpo 2008 was very profitable.

For Royal Mat / Si-Mart, CamExpo was their first trade show experience. Martin Caron noted: “CamExpo allowed us to get input from our customers and measure their level of satisfaction with our products. It also allowed us to reach and make deals with new customers and meet others in person who we had only talked over the phone with before CamExpo. We are very satisfied and looking forward to be in Montreal for ExpoCam next April.”

Marie-Claude Plante of Canado/Nacan Secure-T was also enthusiastic about CamExpo and said it was: “An excellent show for us. I appreciated having input from users of our products. We met with several existing customers, but CamExpo also brought to us over 50 new customers. We took many orders. I can’t ask for better!”

Newcom’s Show Division Manager Elizabeth McCullough says the show, which coincided with the historic 400th birthday of Quebec City, was a welcome addition to the local business scene.

McCullough says she was particularly pleased at the “full-house” turnout to the Energotest presentation by FERIC/FP Innovations, presented by Yves Provencher and Rejean Laflamme. Energotest 2008 is part of Project Innovation Transport, which is examining various technologies designed to enhance fuel efficiency and minimize greenhouse gases within the road-transportation industry.

CamExpo is a production of Newcom Media Quebec and Newcom Business Media, which also publish Today’s Trucking, highwaySTAR, Transport Routier, Logistics, Truck and Trailer as well as Truck and Trailer West magazines. Newcom also produces the Truck World and ExpoCam trade shows.