Mario Gionet, NAFA President, Québec Chapter
, NAFA's Vice President for Canada
The AMETVS is proud to rely on Mr. Mario Gionet, NAFA President, Québec Chapter and NAFA's Vice President for Canada, as the Honorary President of the SIVIC 2010.
When Denis Robillard, General Manager of the AMETVS, asked us to preside the SIVIC 2010, it only took us a few minutes to measure the impact and implications of this commitment for the members of our association (NAFA).
The Québec regional Chapter (NAFA), which has over 80 members, holds several meetings in a year through exchange committees and various activities such as conferences and industrial visits. Its members manage more than 50,000 vehicles which operate in Québec and all around North America.
I will look forward to greeting you at the International Industrial Vehicles and Body Trade Show (SIVIC) from September 13th to 15th, 2010. Join us; we will be waiting for you!
(NAFA has its head office in New Jersey, USA. NAFA is comprised of 34 regional sections called Chapters across the US and Canada.)
Biography
Mr. Gionet started out in 1975 as a licensed heavy equipment mechanic with the inter-city bus company Voyageur. During his time at Voyageur, he took on new challenges, such as managing personnel, negotiating collective agreements, implementing preventive maintenance procedures and computerizing the maintenance parts inventory. He was called on to help develop and implement organizational changes and to manage entire sectors of the company. He also went back to school, studying management at CEGEP and HEC (Université de Montréal).
He was then offered a position at Purolator as manager of the vehicle fleet and mechanical workshops in Eastern Canada. Once again, he was involved in restructuring the maintenance department for the vehicle fleet, and for implementing Purolator’s first computerized management system for tasks and spares.
In the mid-nineties, he went back to managing a fleet of urban buses, this time with the Réseau de transport de la Capitale in Quebec City as manager of the mechanical workshops and network infrastructure (bus shelters, signage and buildings). He was in charge of introducing the first low-floor vehicles in Quebec and creating the first training centre for maintenance employees at the RTC.
In early 2000, he had an opportunity to return to Montreal and work for natural gas distributor Gaz Métro. In addition to running the mechanical shop, he was put in charge of implementing an SAP management system, obtaining ISO 14001 certification for the shops and vehicles, and participating in the CEO’s employer/union steering committee.
With CBC/Radio-Canada since 2001, Mr. Gionet is responsible for developing and implementing a vehicle fleet management program, and for writing and applying policy guidelines for vehicle maintenance and use. He is also in charge of acquiring and disposing of vehicles.
Mr. Gionet has been a member of the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ) and the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA). He is currently the president of NAFA’s Quebec chapter and was a member of the Curriculum Committee for NAFA’s FMI conferences in 2008 and 2009.
The SIVIC really fits perfectly well with our objectives of exchange, networking and training of our members. Like Denis Robillard was saying: “several of our members already do business with members of NAFA”, our partnership had become inevitable and is a natural fit.
Therefore, I was enthusiastic about the idea and I accepted with great pleasure to act as President of Honour for the SIVIC 2010, on behalf of our association!
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