ELOG now is putting internet info/ads on trucks!!
Elite Logistics Inc., Fleet Tracking Inc. and Fleet
Advertising Media Group Bring GPS Tracking, Monitoring
and Control to Fleet Advertising and Commercial Market
FREEPORT, Texas, Aug 7, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Agreement Will Enable Fleet Side Advertisers to Gain
Measurable Audits Providing "Proof of Performance"
for Auditing Advertising and Managing Commercial
Trucking Fleet Accounts
Elite Logistics Inc., (OTCBB: ELOG chart, msgs) developer of the PageTrack(TM) family of
Intelligent Vehicle Systems (IVS), today announced signing an original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) agreement with the Fleet Advertising Media Group (FAMG) and Fleet
Tracking Inc. to expand Elite Logistics' wireless tracking systems into the fleet advertising
arena.
Through the Agreement, Fleet Tracking Inc. will supply Elite's PageTrack(TM) (marketed
under the FTI brand name of TrakPak(TM)) technology to FAMG for the purpose of auditing
truck side advertising. "The object," says Tom Swiech, vice president of market development
and operations for FAMG, "is to have a dependable inexpensive system for locating vehicles
via global positioning systems on semi-trailers, that can go for long periods of time without
being connected to a power source yet continue to store and report a trailer's position
throughout the day. We have tried numerous systems, but none could be sustained for any
long period of time without being connected to a truck/tractor. PageTrack(TM) technology not
only fulfills this requirement, but surpasses it. Elite and Fleet Tracking Inc. have made it
possible to track our vehicles via the Internet and offer a menu of additional services for our
clients to manage their programs and equipment."
FAMG offers a variety of services for advertising clients and trucking partners. For example,
FAMG provides trucks to the Texas Lottery that have digital electronic displays of the current
"Lotto Jack Pot" recessed into the trailer walls. The TrakPak(TM) unit supplied by Fleet
Tracking Inc. utilizes Motorola's ReFLEX(R) wireless technology and communicates over the
SkyTel paging network. This cost effective method of communication has supplied FAMG
with the ability to remotely change the numbers on the sides of the trailers when the Lotto
Jack Pot changes. Access to the trailer's activity is available through any means of
connecting to the Internet. FAMG's lottery clients now have the ability to change the numbers
via a succession of security codes, and to data log the movement of each vehicle. A variety of
reporting services including demographics and simultaneous auditing are available to clients.
Fleet Tracking Inc. has created other options for TrakPak(TM) system clients that will allow
trailer owners to monitor trailer location, load status, measure temperature variances,
measure the length of time cargo doors are open in addition to other customized needs.
"We are pleased to be a part of an exciting growth industry such as the fleet advertising
market and to be associated with the Fleet Tracking Inc. and the Fleet Advertising Media
Group," says Joe Smith, president and CEO of Elite Logistics. "With an estimated three
million plus trucks and trailers on the road nationwide, we feel this advertising medium has
great potential and that our PageTrack system along with the Fleet Tracking customizations
is uniquely qualified to meet the market's information needs."
About PageTrack(TM)
PageTrack(TM) can pinpoint the location of a vehicle through a small Global Positioning
System (GPS) mounted in the vehicle or mobile asset. The system integrates the GPS and
Motorola's CreataLink(R) 2XT transceiver utilizing ReFlex(R) two-way wireless telemetry
technology over the SkyTel paging network to provide a cost-effective, end-to-end asset
locating, command and control system.
Fleet managers and drivers can track any vehicle through Elite's Web site (www.elitelog.com)
via a PC or any Internet-enabled wireless device (such as a cell phone, Personal Digital
Assistants and pagers with e-mail capabilities). Vehicles also may be tracked by telephone
through Elite's 24-hour control center. Online tracking generates a vehicle's location and
street address on a map, along with vehicle speed and direction.
More importantly, PageTrack(TM) provides valuable benefits and cost advantages to
successfully operate a fleet business. PageTrack(TM) offers fleet administrators many
management capabilities including controlling and monitoring overtime, company loss, fuel
costs and safety/compliance, as well as evaluating productivity, performance and routes. It
also can analyze the performance of individual drivers and obtain street addresses, speed
and the direction of travel. The system also helps fleets save money through anti-theft
discounts from insurance companies, confirm vehicle travel times for billing purposes and
verify vehicle time of arrival to improve customer service.
About Elite Logistics Inc.
Elite Logistics Inc. is the parent company of Elite Logistics Services Inc., its wholly owned
operating subsidiary based in Freeport, Texas. Elite is best known for its patent-pending
PageTrack(TM) family of Intelligent Vehicle Systems that integrate global positioning systems
and two-way wireless telemetry technology to provide Internet-enabled tracking and control of
vehicles and other assets. The company provides a comprehensive solution to the logistics
needs of fleet managers and security needs of private vehicle owners. The PageTrack(TM)
family of Intelligent Vehicle Systems is distributed within the United States through an
expanding network of distributors and dealers. Elite is a certified value-added integrator for
Motorola (NYSE: MOT chart, msgs) and utilizes the paging network of SkyTel, a subsidiary of
MCI WorldCom (Nasdaq: WCOM chart, msgs). For additional information, visit the company's
Internet site at www.elitelog.com or contact John Dunn at 979/230-0222 or
jdunn@elitelog.com.
About Fleet Tracking Inc.
FTI Inc. is a supplier of GPS tracking services and reporting packages for fleet clientele. In
the fast moving technological environment of today, FTI realizes that credibility; up to the
minute informational service and individual attention to client needs are the keys to success in
the market. The company believes that sales follow up, installation, maintenance, training and
warranty support are the reasons their clients choose them above others. FTI sees its
relationship with Elite as a major step in its goal to provide its customers with a hybrid form of
the PageTrack(TM) system, offering the most advanced fleet and asset management (vehicle
load, temperature etc.) products on the market. "We are very pleased to be a supplier of
PageTrack(TM) to FAMG. Our goal is to bring Internet-based location services to market
more rapidly. With FAMG's strong management team, financial savvy and focus, we believe
that we can execute other opportunities for the advertising and trucking industries," said Don
Ryndak, president of Fleet Tracking Inc.
About FAMG
FAMG's goal is to provide its advertisers a service that will cost a fraction of traditional
out-of-home (billboards) and also to provide a host of value added services to its clients and
contractors. FAMG recognizes the opportunity to utilize the "real estate" on the sides of trucks
and trailers nationwide to offer an additional revenue stream to the trucking industry which
has struggled to maintain profits during escalating fuel and operational costs. FAMG along
with 3M have been the catalysts for developing a national methodology to develop an
auditable means of verifying visual impressions made by commercial carriers as trucks deliver
products throughout major metropolitan markets. The agreement announced today will
provide agencies and advertisers a verifiable means to measure all ad placements on FAMG
contracted advertising vehicles. George Gearner, chief executive officer, comments on the
agreement, "The combination of customized enterprise capability from FTI and the advanced
wireless data solution expertise of Elite provides FAMG a unique opportunity to better serve
our customers in three of our key growth areas: fleet and asset management, advertising and
information services." The company intends to provide the purest form of media measurement
throughout the entire advertising industry. For more information on FAMG please contact Tom
Swiech, vice president of market development, at 800/948-4807 or at mrfamg@hotmail.com
Forward Looking Statements:
This release as it relates to future events, revenue projections and other company matters,
contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.
Contact:
Elite Logistics Inc.
John Dunn, 979/230-0222
jdunn@elitelog.com
or
Rich Hansen, 979/230-0222
rich@elitelog.com |
