Teletrac, Navman Wireless to Develop Unified Telematics Platform Following Merger
Recently merged fleet-tracking providers Teletrac Inc. and Navman Wireless are working to develop a unified telematics platform while continuing to support their current product lines and customers.
The firms, both owned by science and technology conglomerate Danaher Corp., effectively merged Jan. 1, a company spokesman said.
The joint company announced the combination March 3 but has not selected a new official corporate name and continues to operate under the Teletrac and Navman Wireless brands.
“We realized that both companies were highly synergistic, and we had the opportunity to leap forward by partnering strength on strength,” said Navman Wireless President TJ Chung, who is leading the combined business.
The joint company said the combination of the two engineering teams and research and development budgets will pave the way for greater product innovation.
“We expect that both Navman Wireless and Teletrac customers will be able to greatly leverage the enhanced feature set in the coming years as a result of this combination,” said Mike Jarvinen, vice president of marketing for the joint company.
The merger also expands the company’s geographic reach to markets across the globe. Headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, the company has offices in the United States, Mexico, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
The joint company is working to combine Teletracs’ compliance features with Navman’s strength in data delivery and infrastructure, company spokesman Dennis Jaconi told Transport Topics.
“Our end goal is to have a unified platform, taking the best feature sets from both products,” he said. “That’s currently being developed. In the meantime, we are continuing to support the product roadmaps for both brands.”
The combined business said its technology currently tracks more than 500,000 vehicles and assets owned by more than 40,000 organizations on five continents.
That deployment volume is split nearly evenly between the two brands, with each providing services to about 250,000 vehicles and assets prior to the merge, Jaconi said.
Teletrac, which offers applications for electronic hours-of-service and driver vehicle inspection reports through its Fleet Director product, provides services for about 100,000 Class 8 trucks in the United States, he said.
Jarvinen said the merger of Teletrac’s business with Navman Wireless will improve the company’s position in the trucking and private delivery fleet space, particularly with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration scheduled to finalize a rule requiring the use of electronic logging devices later this year.
“As the ELD mandate marches forward over the coming year, we believe we will be one of three or four major players that can provide the technology and scale to meet the needs of current and future customers in Class 8 trucking,” he said in a statement.
In addition to its business in the trucking and logistics sector, the Teletrac brand also supplies tracking technology to service and utility fleets, towing companies and providers of passenger transportation.
Navman Wireless provides telematics to customers across the globe in a variety of industries, including construction, mining, oil and gas, government and local service fleets, such as towing, landscaping, pest control and utility businesses.
Parent company Danaher purchased Teletrac from Vector Capital in 2013 shortly after acquiring Navman in 2012.
The recent merger of those two companies continues the trend toward consolidation among the transportation industry’s technology suppliers.
