Loxam chooses Qualcomm as its telematics solution

The company is initially fitting the system to the 150 machines in its Loxam TP division, which rents large and specialist equipment for long periods, and is now considering whether to follow up that by installing the systems on other machies.

Denis Verbockhaven, Loxam's technical director, and David Gravez, national technical manager, told IRN that the two big benefits for the TP division where the ability to see the daily hours worked - allowing Loxam to charge for extra hours as they happen - and the ability to track the working hours and location of the machines for maintenance purposes. The TP equipment is rented from two locations in France and typically for long periods, which makes the maintenance issue and location of the machine important for servicing.

Mr Verbockhaven told IRN that Loxam was now considering whether other equipment in the fleet should be fitted with the telematics devices. The systems fitted to the TP machines are used primarily for working hours and location - which together provide a good economic argument for the investment - but Mr Verbockhaven said that using telematics on other equipment may require more information, such as diagnostoics etc.

Loxam, which is the largest rental company in Europe, is having the system fitted as an aftermarket solution, although in some cases it will buy equipment already equipped with the GlobalTRACS system - both JCB and Bobcat, for example, are now using Qualcomm for their machine telematics systems.

The Loxam agreement follows Qualcomm's announcement last month that it would be concentrating on selling GlobalTRACS to OEMs rather than directly to fleet owners. However, Laurent van de Brouck, Qualcomm's European sales director, told IRN that Qualcomm would still deal directly with major rental companies - defined loosely as the 20 largest rental companies in Europe - as well as dealing with OEMs.

JCB said in March that it would use Qualcomm's GlobalTRACS system for its new LiveLink telematics solution "JCB LiveLink provides our customers with an extremely high-tech solution that will help them run their businesses more efficiently and profitably by improving productivity and by enhancing customer service," said Matthew Taylor, chief operating officer of JCB. "It also provides an extremely powerful deterrent to thieves and makes it simpler to recover stolen equipment."

Bob Walton, vice president and general manager, Qualcomm Enterprise Services, said; "We are very pleased to be working with market leaders Loxam and JCB to enhance their ability to better serve their customers, manage assets and streamline operations".