TYLER, Texas - Feb. 9, 2004 - Until now, the ability to track flatbed trailers electronically and economically had been a holy grail of sorts for the trucking industry.
Disenchanted with high-priced tracking equipment, hampered by the lack of an adequate place to mount a unit and unable to hide a self-sufficient device effectively to avoid tampering, many flatbed trailer owners had given up hope of finding a good solution. But for Texas-based Transport Continental Inc., a carrier that specializes in flatbed trailers, that search came to an end when the company tested a single wireless tracking unit from Teletouch (AMEX: TLL).
"Teletouch has provided us with something we weren't sure we would ever have - the ability to know exactly where our flatbed trailers are," said TCI President Jim Cowart. "We've already had additional business wins based on our ability to track the trailers, meaning the Teletouch devices have paid for themselves."
In the past, the price of tracking devices has been a major sticking point for many companies, but Teletouch offers its product for less than $300. That price point, coupled with Teletouch's ability to covertly mount one of its wireless, self-contained, battery-powered devices on a flatbed trailer, prompted TCI to outfit all 171 of its trailers with the devices. The trucking company, which focuses its attention on shipping throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, needs to be able to track its trailers to ensure on-time delivery and high quality service for its customers.
"Outfitting a flatbed trailer with a satellite-based tracking device wasn't an easy task," said Teletouch President J. Kernan Crotty. "But Teletouch was up to the challenge, and TCI has been able to serve its customers even more successfully as a result of the tracking capabilities." Teletouch's wireless tracking system is small, entirely self-contained, durable and cost-effective. Placed on each vehicle or piece of equipment, it utilizes transmission of information via satellite to provide users with a logistically simple, low-cost method of tracking and monitoring far-flung assets from their desktops.
