28.11.2008 Fastrax Seals a 5 Million USD Deal with GE Equipment Services Europe

Fastrax Selected as Design and Manufacturing Partner for Custom-Made Tracking Devices

Helsinki, Finland – November 28, 2008 – Fastrax Ltd., a provider of high performance GPS receivers and GPS software solutions for original equipment manufacturers, today announced the partnership agreement with GE Equipment Services Europe to develop a custom design concept for tracking devices. The value of the first phase of the project is 5 Million USD. The deliveries have already started and all units will be shipped within a year. Demand for the following year is expected to grow fast.

GE Capital Solutions Europe’s Equipment Services is one of Europe’s leading providers of trailers, vans, railcars, construction equipment, trucks and associated services for rental and lease. Fastrax has worked with GE Equipment Services since 2007 to develop a unique tracking solution for their equipment services business. GE Equipment Services has previously used off-the-shelf solutions, but in order to meet and exceed customer expectations decided to partner with Fastrax to develop a custom-made solution that caters for their specific needs.

GE Equipment Services required a tracking device with over five years of technical life. The device had to be quick and easy to install and work without cabled sensors. In addition, the device needed to support multiple asset management applications and provide connectivity to third party systems including Electronic Braking System (EBS), reefer engines and On Board Diagnostics (OBS).

The result of the first joint project, the tracking device DG100, utilises a wireless sensor network for flexible monitoring of trailers. DG100 offers considerably longer technical life through the use of a custom-made battery and extreme environmental testing. It provides better application flexibility and is more cost effective than off-the-shelf solutions. With the DG100, GE Equipment Services can provide a new service for their customers interested in monitoring the use of their mobile assets.  

"With their expertise in GPS and asset tracking applications and platforms, Fastrax is a natural choice as a design partner for a demanding project like this," comments Walter Verhelst, Director Asset Intelligence, GE Equipment Services, Europe. "Our product portfolio and the service level towards our customer are significantly improved as a result of the cooperation.”

"GE with their world wide coverage and market knowledge is an ideal partner for Fastrax. The project truly demonstrates the flexibility of our Track&Trace Platform for different types of tracking applications. Also the great concept of the wireless sensor network fits well with Fastrax’ core competence area," explains Taneli Tuurnala, President and CEO, Fastrax. “This development project is a good example of how GPS technology and asset tracking design expertise can be utilised in industrial tracking systems in order to improve logistics and customer service, and simultaneously make savings in real life situations.”

Fastrax and GE Equipment Services Europe signed the project contract in spring 2007 and the collaboration will continue with follow-up projects that are currently under development.

The new tracking concept DG100 is based on Fastrax Track&Trace Platform and the uTrace03 module with GPS and GPRS capabilities. DG100 includes additional HW expansion for local 2.4GHz wireless network, CAN bus, 3D accelerometer and support for several different power sources. All software in the tracking devices is over-the-air upgradeable via GPRS connection.

The Fastrax Track&Trace Platform is a collection of products and tools targeted for telematics applications. The uTrace03 telematics module is a part of the Track&Trace Platform and consists of a GPS receiver with an integrated antenna, a GSM/GPRS modem with an integrated quad band antenna, and connectors for easy implementation. The uTrace03 Development Board allows immediate development and evaluation of extended customised hardware and software applications without having to wait for prototypes.

For more information and detailed technical data, please see the Fastrax web site at http://www.fastraxgps.com

Further information:
 
Fastrax contact:
Mr. Karl-Kristian Högström
Sales Director, Track&Trace Products
Tel. +358 (0) 424 733 1
kalle.hogstrom (at) fastraxgps.com

Fastrax agency contact:
Netprofile Tech PR
Hanna Manninen
Tel. +358 9 6812 080
hanna (at) netprofile.fi
 
GE Capital Solutions contact:
Willem Duijf
Strategic Marketing Leader
Tel. +31 (0) 20 504 1639
willem.duijf (at) ge.com

About Fastrax Ltd
Fastrax provides industry-leading receivers and software solutions for optimal utilization of GPS (Global Positioning System) and other GNSS location services (Global Navigation Satellite Systems). Fastrax transforms GPS technologies into highly scalable solutions with open interfaces, combined with ultra low power consumption and miniature hardware design. With industry-leading performance, Fastrax GPS receivers navigate continuously even in extreme conditions. Receivers are ideally suited to both industrial location applications and high-volume consumer products such as cell phones and sports accessories. Fastrax Engineering Services provide expert services in application design. Fastrax is headquartered in Finland and founded in 1999. More information: www.fastraxgps.com

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide satellite navigation infrastructure funded and controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense, originally developed for U.S. military purposes. GPS provides satellite signals that enable GPS receivers to calculate their exact position, velocity and time. The GPS infrastructure has three segments. The space segment nominally consists of 24 satellites that orbit the earth every 12 hours. The control segment consists of monitoring stations located around the world, with the master control station located at Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado. The user segment consists of GPS receivers and users utilizing the information provided by the system. GPS is widely used in applications such as marine and automotive navigation.