Transtech Driven buys Omnistar’s IAP assets to cement foothold in the market and expand its services
By Brad Gardner | August 20, 2010
GPS specialist Transtech Driven is expanding its presence in the trucking industry after taking over the assets of competitor Omnistar.
The company this week finalised its purchase of the Intelligent Access Program (IAP) business of Omnistar, securing its hardware, software and customer base.
Transtech already runs IAP services and company CEO Shaun Owen says nothing will change for Omnistar customers under the new deal.
“The price won’t change, the terms won’t change. We are going to run the Omnistar business as it is,” Owen says.
He says Omnistar’s customer base has grown since he first expressed interest in purchasing its IAP assets three months ago.
“This is why we bought them. The market is growing.”
The deal comes as Transtech prepares to take advantage of the Queensland Government’s decision to open up the route from Toowoomba west of Brisbane to the Port of Brisbane for 30 metre trucks.
The 154km route cost $280,000 to assess and took more than 10 months of work. It will be open to vehicles under the performance based standards (PBS) scheme.
Trucks will need to be fitted with onboard mass scales linked to in-vehicle IAP units. The units will record the mass of the truck and feed the information to the authorities and the Port of Brisbane.
Owen says the weight of the truck will be recorded automatically by the IAP unit, which can notify the Port of Brisbane if an overweight truck is approaching.
Owen is also planning to expand Transtech’s reach into electronic work diaries if governments decide to introduce them as an alternative to the paper-based method.
“We see that as very significant under chain of responsibility,” he says.
Transport Certification Australia (TCA), which is responsible for approving IAP providers, says it is working with Transtech to ensure a smooth transition for Omnistar customers.
The takeover of Omnistar assets follows the announcement earlier this week from Vehicle Management Systems that it had bought Minorplanet.
The brand and assets will be absorbed into a new company known as VMS-Minorplanet.
The company now owns Minorplanet’s 1200-strong customer base, software, hardware and name.
The IAP was introduced in Queensland and NSW for heavy vehicles using higher mass limits (HML).
Victoria and South Australia linked the scheme to higher productivity vehicles working in the Green Triangle, but decided against mandating it for HML access.
Related stories:
• Minorplanet bounces back as new entity
• $280k PBS trial pays off for Queensland