Newly-formed industry association Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA) today announced plans to invest heavily in building a national voice for the manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of heavy vehicles and their components, equipment and technology.
HVIA CEO, Brett Wright announced the appointment of four new staff and the establishment two new offices to ensure that HVIA delivers on its promise to build a strong, national voice on behalf of the entire heavy vehicle industry. The HVIA was formed late last year from the former Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland (CVIAQ) with the aim of better resourcing the advocacy and representation of the industry.
‘We are delighted to build upon our strong reputation for technical and regulatory advocacy and member service,’ Wright said when announcing two of the new roles. ‘Our National Manager, Policy and Government Relations and our Chief Technical Officer are both engineers and each bring deep experience from government and industry.’
Greg Forbes – National Manager, Policy and Government Relations and Manager, Southern Region
Greg Forbes has more than twenty years’ experience in formulating and implementing strategic reform programs at both the state and national level. Greg spent more than two decades working in a series of senior roles within the WA Department of Transport. Critically, Greg has spent the last five years assisting in the development of two Council of Australian Governments (COAG) reform projects. He served as the Principal Manager of Policy and Systems in the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Project Office and more recently worked within the Heavy Vehicle Charging and Investment project.
Along with Brett Wright, Greg will be responsible for developing policy and representing the industry to government and through various industry forums. As Manager of the Southern Region, Greg will be responsible for serving existing and recruiting new member companies from its new Melbourne office.
Paul Caus – Chief Technical Officer
Paul Caus is a mechanical engineer with a solid technical foundation in product development and
vehicle regulation. He brings experience in industry and government in equal measure. Paul worked for companies including Toyota, Hino and UD Trucks for a combined total of twelve years and in government at both the state level and the Commonwealth. Most recently, Paul fulfilled senior regulatory roles in the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and in NSW Roads and Maritime Services. Paul will play a leading role in ensuring that regulation affecting the industry is both practical and workable for manufacturers and services companies. Importantly, he will provide guidance to members on how to comply with regulations and deal with technical issues. Paul will work from the HVIA National Office in Brisbane.
Two new HVIA offices will open over the next two months, one in each of Melbourne and Perth. ‘We are committed to being a truly national voice,’ Wright said, noting that HVIA will have offices in the three main manufacturing centres of the heavy vehicle industry – Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. ‘As part of our distributed national structure, each office will lead a national function for the organisation,’ he said. The Perth office will be home to the national VET and Career Promotion function and Membership and Communications will be managed out of Melbourne. Accordingly, two additional appointments were announced.
Mark Tucek, Manager, North-western Region and National Coordinator, Career Promotion
Mark Tucek is an experienced association executive who has served as the CEO of two industry
associations in the agricultural sector in Western Australia. He is highly experienced in delivering
membership benefits via industry representation, government relations, consultation and program
development and delivery. Mark also brings experience in national workforce planning and career
promotion.
As Manager of the North-western Region Mark will have responsibility for developing the membership in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Nationally, he will have responsibility for coordinating HVIA’s extensive career promotion program and for participating in national training package development and VET policy forums. Mark will be based in HVIA’s Perth office.
Communication and membership development will be two key priorities for HVIA. These dual national functions will be managed from the Melbourne Office.
Savio D’sa – Manager, Communications and Membership
Savio D’sa is a highly-trained and experienced organisational communicator. He has a solid grounding in member-based associations having worked for the Australian Association of Gerontology and the Law Society of Western Australia.
Reporting to the National Manager, Policy and Government Relations and Manager, Southern Region, Savio will play a leading role in expanding the membership base and effectively communicating and engaging with members nationally.
The Melbourne office is slated to open by the end of March and the Perth office will follow in early April.
‘We are delighted with the calibre of professionals who have chosen to join HVIA,’ said Brett Wright. ‘It is an exciting time to be in the heavy vehicle industry and we look forward to building a strong national voice to represent our members.’
This article was sourced directly from Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia and can be viewed online here.
