PeopleNet Announces Acquisition of Cadec to Expand Reach in Private-Fleet Sector
By Seth Clevenger, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the June 1 print edition of Transport Topics.
Trucking technology supplier PeopleNet announced it acquired Cadec Global Inc. in a move that expands the company’s reach in the food-service and private-fleet sectors.
PeopleNet, part of Trimble Navigation Ltd., provides mobile communications systems and fleet-management software. Cadec’s PowerVue platform is tailored to the needs of private fleets and multistop operations.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but PeopleNet President Brian McLaughlin told Transport Topics the company will continue to maintain, support and sell Cadec’s existing systems and intends to develop a new product offering for private fleets.
“What we’re doing is taking the best of both and bringing them together,” he said.
McLaughlin said Cadec’s strength lies in its dashboards, analytics, scorecards and workflow tools that cater to time-intensive, private-fleet and food-service operations whose workers make many deliveries.
“That’s what Cadec has built such a fantastic brand on and they’ve really owned that market for years,” he said.
The Cadec acquisition represents the latest move in Trimble’s rapid expansion in the trucking technology sector. Trimble entered the space by purchasing PeopleNet in 2011 and went on to acquire several other firms, including TMW Systems, ALK Technologies and GeoTrac.
Trimble’s continued acquisition activity is part of a larger trend toward consolidation among trucking’s technology suppliers.
Another prominent example is Omnitracs, which has acquired Roadnet Technologies and XRS Corp. in recent years following its 2013 spinoff from Qualcomm Inc.
“If you look at who’s out there in the trucking telematics sector, a lot of the players of any [considerable] size have been acquired,” said Clem Driscoll, founder and principal at research and consulting firm C.J. Driscoll & Associates.
Although PeopleNet already had some private-fleet customers, the Cadec acquisition gives the company a stronger position in that market, Driscoll added.
PeopleNet declined to share information about Cadec’s install base, but C.J. Driscoll estimated that the acquired firm has roughly 30,000 to 40,000 systems in service providing real-time information. That compares with about 200,000 units in service for PeopleNet, Driscoll said.
Moving forward, Cadec’s operations will be organized as part of PeopleNet, which is included in Trimble’s Mobile Solutions segment.
Cadec will continue to operate out of its office in Manchester, New Hampshire. PeopleNet is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Cadec’s chief customer officer, Angela Shue, will transition to a new role as general manager of Cadec and will work together with PeopleNet’s leadership on product development. With the addition of Cadec, PeopleNet will have nearly 500 employees.
“We are excited to work together to broaden PeopleNet’s presence in the market and bring a new level of safety, compliance and cost-reduction solutions to our customers,” Shue said.
PeopleNet credited Cadec with several key developments in fleet-management technology dating back to 1976, including the first automated driver logs certified by the U.S. government, the first fleet-management system to interface with engine control modules, the first system to interface with GPS and the first system with a graphical touch screen.
Cadec has previously changed hands several times over the years, according to Driscoll’s records.
The company, founded in 1976, became publicly held in 1983 and was acquired by Cummins in 1986. The company later reacquired its product line from Cummins in 1999 and was next acquired by Thule Investment of Iceland in 2006. New York-based investment firm BlackBern Partners purchased Cadec in 2011.
PeopleNet recently established a separate business line for partnerships with equipment manufacturers and has announced remote diagnostics partnerships with truck makers Kenworth Trucks Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co. and engine maker Cummins Inc.
The firm has also created a separate business line for energy services, supported by Trimble’s 2012 acquisition of GeoTrac, a provider of fleet-management technology for the oil and gas industry.
PeopleNet also announced plans to provide onboard video technology, which it expects to launch later this year.
“I think you’re going to see more acquisitions and organic growth focused on diversifying our product set and becoming a more complete mobile provider,” McLaughlin said.
