Teletrac

Teletrac (branded as Teletrac Navman; formerly Trafficmaster) is a software as a service company headquartered in Southern California, with offices in the United Kingdom. It provides cloud-based GPS fleet tracking software, stolen vehicle tracking and connected services such as eCall, bCall and Concierge[1] and is a subsidiary of Vontier.

Teletrac Navman
FormerlyTrafficmaster
TypeSubsidiary of Vontier
IndustryGlobal Positioning System
Headquarters
Garden Grove, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Global
ParentVontier
Websitewww.teletracnavman.com

History

Teletrac was founded as International Teletrac Systems in 1988. It received initial funding from a unit of AirTouch Communication (formerly known as Pacific Telesis)[2] in exchange for 49% equity of the company. Teletrac launched two service offerings in 1990 for its flagship Los Angeles market: a consumer service called "Stolen Vehicle Location Services" and a fleet/enterprise service called "Corporate Vehicle Location services". Los Angeles was followed by Detroit, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, and Houston.

In 1991, following the lifting of information services restrictions from the AT&T consent decree, AirTouch increased its equity stake and the company became known as AirTouch Teletrac.

Teletrac was purchased from Airtouch in 1996 by James McQueen and its headquarters were moved to Kansas City.

Trafficmaster

Founded in the United Kingdom in 1988 by entrepreneurs David Martell and Ian Williams, Trafficmaster provided road congestion information to drivers, using a network of sensors on major roads.[3] The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1994 and expanded into Germany and other countries; it added fleet management and stolen vehicle tracking to its services.[4] By 2000, during the dot.com bubble, the company was valued at £650 million and had partnerships with several car manufacturers.[3]

In 2001, Trafficmaster purchased Teletrac in order to expand into the United States. The Teletrac brand was retained for the subsidiary.[5] In early 2002, the company pulled out of the fleet management market in Europe after issuing two profit warnings.[6]

Vector Capital

Trafficmaster plc was purchased by private equity firm Vector Capital in 2010, in a deal valued at $145 million. The company was taken private after the purchase.[5] Prior to the purchase, the bulk of Trafficmaster's income came from its operations in the United States.[7]

Danaher / Fortive / Vontier

In 2013, Vector Capital sold Teletrac to American conglomerate Danaher Corporation;[8][9] it was reported that Vector made three-times return with the sale.[10] Teletrac was among the businesses spun off in 2016 to create Fortive, and in 2020 Fortive split out its transportation businesses to create Vontier.[11][12]

Teletrac merged in 2015 with Taiwan-owned Navman Wireless, a maker of GPS navigation devices, and the resulting company was headquartered in Glenview, IL.[13]

In 2016, the company rebranded as Teletrac Navman[14] and the UK company was renamed from Trafficmaster Limited to Teletrac Navman (UK) Ltd.[15]

Products

The company's initial product was stolen vehicle location and corporate fleet vehicle location, using a technique called Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) Multilateration. Specialized base stations and receivers were installed throughout a city, and vehicles equipped with special transmitters could have their location determined on command. Once GPS receivers became affordable, Teletrac discontinued its network-based positioning system and began marketing products and services centered around a cloud-based GPS tracking platform. It has been used for numerous purposes over the years including tracking stolen vehicles and monitoring fuel consumption. The software platform has built-in capabilities that track for compliance with EOBR and FMCSA. The software can be used for basic GPS vehicle tracking as well as compliance with electronic driver logs. Its capabilities allow for the tracking of a few vehicles or a fleet of vehicles for larger companies.[16][17]

Teletrac Navman diversified into connected services in 2020, providing cloud based TCU connectivity to brands in the UK, Europe, United States and Australia such as Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover.

References
  1. "Navman Wireless takes its telematics back-end to AWS". zdnet.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  2. "History of AirTouch Communications – FundingUniverse".
  3. "The jam buster". The Independent. August 9, 2000. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  4. "Traffic jam firm in a pickle". BBC News: Business. June 27, 2001. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  5. Neate, Rupert (June 2, 2010). "Trafficmaster sold to US private equity for £73m". Telegraph. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  6. Vaughan-Adams, Liz (January 24, 2002). "Trafficmaster shares hit by profit warning". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  7. Swamy, Mini (July 30, 2010). "Vector Capital wraps up USD145m takeover of Trafficmaster". TMC News. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  8. "Washington Area Business Diary for Week of Aug 12". The Washington Post. August 12, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  9. "About Trafficmaster". Teletrac. 2014. Archived from the original on November 23, 2014.
  10. Wursthorn, Michael (August 2, 2013). "Vector Sells GPS Services Business for Three-Times Return". Down Jones. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  11. "Fortive Announces New Global Industrial Company: Vontier". Industrial Distribution. January 20, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  12. Root, Al (September 28, 2020). "What Wall Street Is Saying About Industrial Firm Fortive's Upcoming Split". Barron's. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  13. "Teletrac and Navman Wireless Announce Merger Creating Global Telematics Leader". www.prnewswire.com. March 3, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  14. Barry, Robert (July 19, 2016). "Navman Wireless and Teletrac announce unified brand". Autotalk. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  15. "TELETRAC NAVMAN (UK) LTD". Companies House. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  16. King, Suzanne (April 19, 1998). "New program tracks fleets". Kansas City Business Journals. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  17. "ABout Teletrac - Our Company's History". Teletrac. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
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