Note: Story has been updated to clarify fundraising details.
Trailer telematics provider FleetPulse announced Wednesday that it is spinning off as its own company after being incubated by trailer manufacturer Great Dane since 2017.
“As the first OEM to develop a smart trailer solution, Great Dane is proud of the growth FleetPulse has achieved and excited that these offerings can now be made available as part of an independent company to drive the wider industry forward,” Rick Mullininx, president and COO of Great Dane, said in the release.
The telematics provider is launching independently with $11 million raised, including a $6 million seed round led by Four More Capital.
“We’re proud investors in companies like Platform Science and thought about where we can continue to shine a light on different aspects of the trucking ecosystem. … When the opportunity arose to invest in technology aimed at strengthening the very element that protects consumers’ valuable products, the trailer, we were excited to contribute,” Andrew Crown, co-founder and partner at Four More Capital, told FreightWaves .
FleetPulse is also enlisting the help of industry experts on its executive team and advisory team as it takes its first independent steps.
Former Uber Freight executive Carl-Christoph “CCR” Reckers will lead as CEO, having previously served as vice president of operations at Uber Freight, where he oversaw a host of projects, including the Powerloop offering.
Former Convoy co-founder and CEO Dan Lewis, who is now a technical advisor to its acquisition, Flexport, will also advise FleetPulse as it works to develop its telematics offerings.
“FleetPulse solves a problem that costs trailer operators millions of dollars annually and delivers real improvements in trailer safety, security and efficiency – which are becoming increasingly important as we see a renewed industry focus on the trailer as a strategic asset. We are excited to welcome CCR to drive progress,” Lewis said of the company’s new leadership and direction.
The future of the trailer
The FleetPulse offering was originally a research and development project under Great Dane to digitize the trailer.
“Since day one of the project, the team has been working with trailer customers, understanding their needs and feeding this into the product development process. I think this differentiates other telematics solutions in the market,” Reckers told FreightWaves.
Reckers explained that now the company is looking to become independent to serve the needs of all fleets by becoming OEM-agnostic.
“We’ve just started working with other OEMs, but we’re also trying to start developing our partnerships with software and data companies in a much more flexible way. Being on our own, we can move faster towards these opportunities,” he explained.
He also believes the industry is just seeing the beginning of where trailer deals can go.
“A trailer was a black box. Even in a decade where telematics is becoming standard, the trailer hasn’t really been touched. This also means that fleet managers simply buy a trailer and it then becomes a steel asset. With telematics, that journey changes because you can add features to the trailer even later in the life cycle,” said Reckers.
The FleetPulse team plans to leverage modern technology to improve cargo security, safety, trailer utilization and performance now that it has the independence to align with the market and more aggressively attack its go-to-market strategy.
Reckers emphasized that, fueled by its capital infusion, the company is poised to rapidly advance its technology roadmap. In addition, it will strengthen both the commercial and support infrastructure to provide enhanced assistance to fleets using FleetPulse, improving service standards.
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