Skyjack to Provide Telematics Solution with Trackunit
Skyjack has announced a partnership with telematics provider Trackunit, aimed at meeting an increasing demand for machine connectivity and supporting the connected fleet goals of Skyjack’s customers.
“Skyjack aims to provide simple and reliable products that deliver a proven value,” said Brad Boehler, Skyjack president. “We’re at the point with telematics where our customers see the value, and partnering with Trackunit puts us in a position to continue to deliver great ROI with this product.”
Trackunit has been providing telematics solutions developed for the off-highway and construction sector for more than 10 years. With customers in more that 65 countries, Trackunit is a global leader in connected equipment technology.
“As part of this partnership, we look forward to continuously pushing the boundaries for technology involvement within the construction industry,” said Tom Valbak Aardestrup, chief operating officer of Trackunit. “Skyjack is a leader in their space and they are dedicated to creating unique solutions for the equipment rental and construction industry.”
“Skyjack has partnered with Trackunit largely due to their understanding of the off-highway rental industry,” said David Swan, product manager at Skyjack. “The OHV sector presents unique challenges with regard to telematics. For Trackunit, it’s part of their core business. It’s what they do: deliver value to offhighway and construction operations. We see providing machine connectivity as important to supporting our customers’ goals, which are ultimately our goals.”
A key benefit to partnering with a third-party telematics provider is avoiding the pitfalls of proprietary hardware and software that have bogged down prior OEM-provided solutions, Skyjack said. Trackunit currently provides telematics connectivity for mixed brand fleets across the globe, allowing a Skyjack/Trackunit solution to flow into that ecosystem.
The service is targeted for a launch date in the first quarter of 2018, and while full product and feature details are yet to be revealed, packages for both data-only (supporting rental company ERP systems), and a standalone end-to-end solutions will be offered.
Also, Skyjack plans to offer services directed towards the end user such as access control, familiarization, and safety check tracking as integrated components of the solution.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.