The 2015 annual conference of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada took place in June, and once again proved itself to be 
the single best educational and networking forum for the private trucking community. This year also saw the continued growth of this conference, as we set records for both registered attendee’s, as well as conference sponsors. On behalf of the PMTC, a huge thank you to all who came out and supported us. During this year’s conference, the PMTC also announced a new Education Program, called the PMTC Logistics Management Certification Diploma, comprised of select courses from the CITT Program of study. In conjunction with this, PMTC also announced a Young Leaders Education Bursary, which will provide, starting in 2016, two emerging Young Leaders with over $1300.00 in funding to use towards taking the CITT courses. (visit our website at www.pmtc.ca for full details)
Also new this year, the PMTC presented its inaugural Presidents Award, and honoured Bruce Richard’s for his 21 years serving as the PMTC President. Bruce recently stepped aside in January. The PMTC is grateful for the place Bruce took the association to, and we could not think of a more deserving first time recipient of this new award! For the educational portion, this year’s seminars, all led by knowledgeable and professional speakers, continued the tradition of providing fast-paced, in-depth, learning opportunities on timely and important topics for private carriers and their suppliers.
In addition to the seminars, the learning continued with receptions in our Exhibitors’ Showcase. This showcase gives participants the opportunity to view and discuss products and services with suppliers in a relaxed, congenial atmosphere. PMTC members will agree that one of the most important benefits derived from their membership is the opportunity to learn and share information and ideas with other fleet operators. This conference provides these opportunities, as attendee’s are provided with 3 dedicated times for networking and camaraderie. Many sponsors noted that even after the dedicated networking time had ended, a good number of conference attendee’s still stayed around and mingled together well afterwards. The Private trucking community is a close knit group, and this is in part one of the great benefits of being part of the PMTC, these companies freely share ideas and insight, whether in a formal setting, or informal after.
One of the most important features of the conference continues to be the celebration of excellence, both personal and corporate, in the world of private trucking. The induction into the PMTC Hall of Fame for Professional Drivers, sponsored by Huron Services Group, is one such opportunity. The competition to be inducted is fierce as the number of inductees each year is limited. Limiting the number of inductees ensures that those who receive the honour are truly the best of the best. And given the number of exceptional drivers in PMTC member fleets those that are inducted are truly at the top of their game.
This year the committee selected 3 drivers for the Hall of Fame.
Maynard Wideman began driving for Home Hardware on March 7th, 1978 and has maintained an accident free driving record for the last 37 years, accumulating over 4million km’s during that span.
William Purvis has been employed with Huron Services group since 1987, and is assigned to TMH Logistics Ltd. Bill has been a professional driver for a total of 36 years, and has amassed over 5 million km’s of accident free driving during this time.
Bernie Casale began working with Cardinal Health Services 10 years ago, after gaining 23 years of safe driving experiences with other companies, for an incredible 33 years, and over 1.5m km’s of safe driving.
Bob Boyich, vice-president of CPC Logistics, the parent corporation of Huron Services who co-sponsor the Hall of Fame, put these driving records in context: he pointed out that together these drivers have made the equivalent of 25 trips to the moon or 250 trips around the earth, all without a preventable accident!
The Private Fleet Safety Awards, co-sponsored by MEE, a division of ISB Canada, recognizes excellent fleet performance over an
extended period of time. Two PMTC fleets were recognized for their achievements in developing, implementing and maintaining stringent safety protocols that result in outstanding on-road safety records. The 2015 awards were presented to John Deere, in the Medium Fleet Category, under 75 power units, and Home Hardware in the Large Fleet Category, 75 and over.
John Deere has operated its private fleet in Canada for over 39 years. It consists of 53 power units and 145 trailers running 11 million kilometres per year. Their awe inspiring CVOR violation rate of .5% is proof that their efforts towards safety pays off.
Home Hardware has operated it’s private fleet in Canada for over 51 years. The fleet consists of 129 tractors, 510 trailers, and 5 straight trucks, and in the current year they operated over 17.5 million kilometres.
Both of these award-winning fleets incorporate extensive pre-screening, background checks, personal interviews, and road tests into their hiring process. They also include in-house training, and mentoring programs, along with regularly scheduled safety meetings. Each has a written safety manual that is kept current. The PMTC’s first statement in its goals and objectives, written in 1977 and still applicable today, is to “Promote Safety in Private Trucking,” and both the Hall of Fame and the Private Fleet Safety awards exemplify our commitment to those goals. And for something entirely different, the Vehicle Graphics Design Awards, co-sponsored by 3M Canada, were presented along with a video of one of the finest displays of truck graphics to be seen anywhere.
For more information on all the award winning drivers and fleets, please visit our website at www.pmtc.ca.
At the PMTC we are proud of the efforts of our association to educate and reward, and we are grateful to each of the award sponsors that support safety in private trucking. We are as proud of the recipients of these awards as they must be themselves.
About the Author
Mike Millian, President Tel: 905-827-0587
Private Motor Truck Council of Canada Fax: 905-827-8212
1660 North Service Road East, Suite 115 email: info@pmtc.ca
Oakville, Ontario, L6H 7G3 website: www.pmtc.ca
