The 2023 Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show is shaping up as the biggest and best event in its history, with organiser Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) Queensland revealing it will hold its state conference on the first day of the May 18-21 show.
For the first time, the event, held in conjunction with the Brisbane Truck Show, will also feature a live machinery auction held by naming sponsor Pickles Industrial on Friday, May 19.
Featured speakers at CCF Queensland conference will include alternative energy expert Dr Ben Heard, Brisbane 2023 executive director of Olympic Infrastructure – Aaron Broughton, demographer Bernard Salt, QIC principal economist Drew Klease, comedian Dave O’Neil, and more.
Also returning in 2023 is crowd favourite ‘Trimble Inn’ eatery and bar, offering great coffee, food and drink options to enjoy during the show.
Previously the Civil Construction Field Days, the 2023 Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show also marks a shift to a new venue, the Brisbane Showgrounds, to better showcase the latest innovations for the civil construction and infrastructure sector.
Its new ‘forever home’ sees the big yellow machines return to the Ekka for the first time since 2009. From 1983 to 2009 they were a key part of the Queensland Truck, Trailer and Equipment Show – which was renamed the Brisbane Truck Show when it shifted to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre in 2011.
CCF QLD CEO Damian Long says the new venue delivers a platform for a bigger and better show in 2023 and beyond.
Presented alongside the 2023 Brisbane Truck Show, the event is expected to attract more than 6000 attendees and in excess of 80 exhibitors over the four-day showcase.
The 2021 show – which ran over three days at Hamilton Northshore – featured around 60 of the industry’s most well-known companies and drew some 3500 attendees, significantly up on the first Civil Construction Field Days created by CCF QLD in 2019, a two-day event which was hosted at the Pickles Industrial site at Archerfield with approximately 40 exhibitors and 900 attendees.
Following the success of its official partnership with Brisbane Truck Show in 2021, including reciprocal ticketing and free shuttle buses, Long says he anticipates significant growth in the show again in 2023.
“There are great synergies between the Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show and the Brisbane Truck Show, so we are thrilled to partner with them again for 2023 to provide Australians with access to both heavy equipment, trucks and everything in between by just purchasing one ticket,” he says.
Positioned on the doorstep of the show’s official hotel, the 4.5-star Rydges Fortitude Valley, the new site is also conveniently placed in the lively and stunning heritage of the world-class Royal International Convention Centre and the Brisbane Showgrounds Precinct, with access to The Tivoli music venue and the city’s newest and most exciting restaurant and bar precinct, King Street, and on the fringes of Fortitude Valley, Brisbane’s entertainment quarter.
As well as free shuttle buses operating between the Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show and Brisbane Truck Show every 30 minutes, the new venue offers plentiful parking on-site. It’s also less than a 10-minute walk from Bowen Hills and Fortitude Valley train stations and close to numerous other public transport options.