Taking a step toward enhancing its logistics tracking and monitoring capabilities in over-the-road long-haul trucking and cold chain logistics, Satamatics — a wholly owned subsidiary of Satamatics Global — has entered into an agreement with the Carrier Transicold division of Carrier Corp.
Satamatics, based in the United Kingdom, provides tracking and monitoring capabilities to the logistics and shipping industries globally using the Inmarsat D+ satellite-based packet data network; Carrier Transicold, based in Farmington, Conn., is a supplier of truck, trailer, container and rail refrigeration systems to the logistics and shipping industries.
Satamatics says its refrigerated tracking system provides essential information on a refrigerated trailer’s status, location, temperature set point, fuel levels, battery and history using the world’s most financially secure and technically advanced satellite network, Inmarsat. Satamatics’ solution also is designed to remotely start the refrigerated system.
Cold-chain logistic companies utilize this information and capability to provide the most reliable and protected services to the shippers of perishable commodities. The arrangement with Carrier allows Satamatics to use its true-global satellite-based tracking and monitoring technology for the purpose of extracting and transmitting pertinent data remotely to end-users from truck, trailer and rail equipment employing Carrier’s refrigerated systems.
Satamatics says its SAT-201 is the first satellite modem to run Carrier’s new refrigerated system third-party communications protocol in its firmware, which improves reliability and cost for this technology. The agreement broadens Satamatics’ ability to offer a complete tracking and monitoring system to its customers, and expands the company’s presence in the United States and across the globe.
“Up until now, refrigerated control and monitoring was more complex, with several microprocessors communicating to the refrigeration systems microprocessor and backhauling the resulting data through various satellite- or cellular-based communication modems,” says Brian Hester, president and chief operating officer of Satamatics. “Our goal was to reduce the multiple failure points in the communication of this critical refrigeration information. In doing so, we have created a highly reliable system at half the cost of the traditional offerings in the market.
“For the same cost of a terrestrial system, Satamatics has the ability to deliver locally or globally through its Inmarsat D+ satellite network critical cold-chain logistics information,” Hester says. “Satamatics is pleased to announce our agreement with Carrier Corporation and will provide end-users with critical real-time information for better management, usage and protection of refrigerated cargo and the assets that move them.”
