Skyjack division announced a partnership with Trackunit Inc. at the ALH Conference & Awards event in Miami, Fla. The partnership is aimed at meeting an increasing demand for machine connectivity and supporting the connected fleet goals of Skyjack’s customers.

Brad Boehler, Skyjack president and Tom Valbak Aardestrup, COO of Trackunit, were together in Miami to announce the partnership.

“Skyjack aims to provide simple and reliable products that deliver a proven value. 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,” said Boehler.

Trackunit has been providing telematics solutions developed for the off-highway and construction sector for more than 10 years. With customers in more than 65 countries, Trackunit is a strong company focusing connected equipment technology.

“As part of this partnership, we look forward to continuously pushing the boundaries for technology involvement within the construction industry. Skyjack is ... dedicated to creating unique solutions for the equipment rental and construction industry,” said Aardestrup.

David Swan, product manager at Skyjack, said, “Skyjack has partnered with Trackunit largely due to their understanding of the off-highway rental industry. This 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 the off-highway rental industry and construction operations, officials said.

With an increasing demand for built-in connectivity for its machines, Skyjack has partnered with Trackunit with the aim of providing easy access to machine data, in order to support the connected fleet goals of rental companies and their customers.

“We see providing machine connectivity as important to supporting our customer’s goals, which are ultimately our goals. We’re looking to provide a solution that delivers actionable insights to improve existing fleet management processes. What you’re going to see coming out of this partnership is a solution that reflects Skyjack’s 'easy to do business with' approach,” said Swan.

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. These have previously made it difficult for a rental company to adopt an OEM solution where most fleets contain multiple makes and models. 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 solution will be offered. In addition, 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.