Fleet Complete, a provider of global IoT provider of mission-critical fleet, asset, and mobile workforce management solutions, has expanded its European operations with the acquisition of Ecofleet, a telematics provider in the Nordic and Baltic regions of Europe.
The deal, terms of which were not announced, is the second major acquisition for the Toronto, Canada-based company. In 2016, Fleet Complete acquired ITmobile, which eventually changed its name to Fleet Complete Europe. That company operates in Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria and Germany.
Ecofleet is the current top telematics provider in the north European market, Fleet Complete says, providing cost-effective, high-benefit mobile asset management solutions in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It has over 80,000 subscribers across small-to-medium businesses and large enterprise fleets and expands Fleet Complete’s subscriber base to over 110,000 in Europe and over 400,000 globally.
Ecofleet complements Fleet Complete’s existing business, Tony Loukaris, CEO of Fleet Complete. “Ecofleet is a market leader in Scandinavia and the Baltics and they have a very similar business model and KPI’s to Fleet Complete. If we built a business in their region it would look a lot like Ecofleet so we felt it was an extremely good fit,” he tells FreightWaves.
Loukaris says that the decision to move into this region of Europe followed extensive research on potential markets. “A number of months ago we did a strategic exercise to identify the top geographies around the world we would like to expand into based on priorities we identified as important to our business model,” he explains. “The Nordic region (Scandinavia and the Baltic’s) stood out as an important market for us. When we identify a new geography we want to be in we explore both options of entering the market organically ourselves and finding an acquisition opportunity. When considering an acquisition we seek to find a market leader that has similar values, performance, culture and business model to Fleet Complete. We found a perfect match with Ecofleet.”
The current Ecofleet management will continue to operate the business. The company’s signature product is Autolog by Ecofleet – a GPS-powered automatic mileage logging solution for business tax claims. It will continue to be offered as a standalone brand, Fleet Complete said in a press release.
The release noted that Fleet Complete is intent on “developing strong relationships with commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Western Europe” that will help “power cutting-edge IoT solutions to help businesses reduce their fleet downtime and total cost of ownership while increasing the efficiency of freight and passenger mobility.”
“The combination of Fleet Complete and Ecofleet brings together exceptional product and technological capabilities,” says Stig Lyngsie, COO of Ecofleet. “We are perfectly aligned on our corporate values and internal cultures and, together, we will achieve greater success on the international stage. Both of our companies are customer-centric and continuously invest in innovation. We are excited to be part of the Fleet Complete team and look forward to excelling together.”
Lourakis tells FreightWaves that some Ecofleet technologies could find their way to North America. “In particular, Ecofleet has great capabilities around ride sharing and automated personal verses business mileage logging that we intend to bring into Fleet Complete and make available in all the markets we serve,” he explains.
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