Israeli traffic management technology start-up Traffilog Ltd. is moving into high gear. Sources inform ''Globes'' that the company is currently in the midst of a financing round to raise $10 million. The company's current fund raising effort follows the $1.5 million convertible loan it obtained a month ago from Technological Development and Automation Ltd.(TASE: TEDE). Tedea has also become a 49% partner in a subsidiary that Traffilog recently launched in the US, and believes the loan will ultimately become an investment.
According to IVC Online, Traffilog had $8 million sales in 2006. Traffilog chairman and CEO Robert Izraeli says the company reached breakeven in late 2007 and has an orders backlog of $20 million. He confirmed that the company was currently raising finance, which would be used "to expand our global marketing operations. We're trying to find 'smart money' that will help us make a quick entry into the market."
Traffilog was founded in 2003 by Izraeli and executive VP R&D Adi Amihai. The company has developed a technology for vehicle fleet management with an emphasis on the significant reduction of operating costs. Its solution is in the form of a control box fitted in a vehicle that collates relevant data such as speed, location, technical status, or external events. The control box sends the information over a cellular network system to the vehicle fleet's control center with the aim of ensuring drivers use their vehicles properly and more economically. According to Izraeli, the human factor, meaning the driver, can affect fuel consumption by as much as 20%.
Traffilog's communications system is supported by Orange, which markets the company's service and has a designated support center for Traffilog customers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 7, 2008
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