Cooltrax is collaborating with Phoenix AZ-based Advanced Energy Machines (AEM) to give fleets real-time visibility of temperatures and related operating information from AEM’s “groundbreaking” All-Electric transport refrigeration unit (TRU).
The provider of cold chain fleet management solutions says it formed the strategic partnership because AEM is the frontrunner in the electrification of refrigerated trailers with a completely electric, solar-powered TRU that leverages proprietary battery and solar technologies developed by Ronald and Robert Koelsch.
The two AEM co-founders are engineers with decades of experience designing and developing next-generation technology for the automotive and aerospace industries.
“Cooltrax has existing customers that actively manage their fleets today with telemetry and temperature data, and these same early adopters are placing orders for our electric units,” Robert Koelsch said. “Food Distributors already rely on Cooltrax to deliver real-time information, and the integration of Cooltrax with our AEM proprietary onboard data is a natural evolution.”
AEM’s electric equivalent for diesel-powered TRUs delivers ample charging hours to support the needs of fleets with demanding requirements, such as food and beverage distributors, that deliver perishable products on multi-stop truck routes, the companies said.
With the Cooltrax integration, fleets gain real-time telemetry and exception management for battery levels, power state, compartment temperatures, door events and more, when they adopt the next-generation technology from AEM.
As state and federal laws for diesel emissions continue to evolve, the transportation industry is looking for solutions to significantly reduce their carbon footprint. CARB laws in California, for example, will eventually require fleets to eliminate all diesel emissions.
“As you can imagine, moving from the old reliable diesel engine to electric brings some pause,” Robert continued. “Fleets can be assured that their TRUs are charged and performing as good or better than the old diesel units from the integration of our technology with the Cooltrax Fresh IoT platform.”
Added Brad Bartlett, senior vice president of Cooltrax: “The partnership with AEM gives food distributors and other types of fleets the ability to visualize electric units within the same Cooltrax IoT platform they already use to manage diesel-powered trucks, trailers and temperatures at their distribution facilities.
“Companies already rely on Cooltrax to ensure temperature in transit. Now, more than ever, they will leverage our integration with AEM to validate that units are charged and exceed the cooling performance of their traditional reefer units.”
