ATX to Open Second Telematics Facility in Dallas Area
Facility in Irving to Process Vehicle Data Signals, Conduct Research and Development
DALLAS, and FORT WORTH, Texas, April 27 -- ATX Group today announced the opening of a second facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area dedicated to the development and processing of telematics services to vehicles and first-class customer care to telematics subscribers.
ATX is the world's second largest provider of telematics services for the automotive industry. Telematics services are provided through the two-way communication of voice and data between a consumer's telematics-equipped automobile and an operator-staffed response and data center.
The new, leased facility, located in the Las Colinas Commons business park in north Irving, encompasses 11,000 square feet and initially will accommodate approximately 60 employees associated with the company's burgeoning research and development section and its customer care center. The center also will serve as the hub for the company's emerging services involving the processing of data remotely pulled from telematics-equipped vehicles.
ATX's world headquarters, located in the Freeport Center Business Park north of DFW Airport, employs approximately 350 employees and includes an operator-staffed response center that primarily handles wireless voice calls from drivers for assistance utilizing the GPS satellite positioning technology embedded in telematics-equipped vehicles. The requests range from seeking directions or traffic reports based on the vehicle's exact location to summoning emergency assistance or recovering a stolen vehicle. The center in Las Colinas will be able to provide redundant service to the Freeport response center should the need arise.
"The need for a second facility was primarily driven by the growing demand within the automotive industry for new, data-centric services and our need to have a dedicated Research and Development facility to meet the market requirements for new services utilizing new technologies," said Steve Millstein, ATX President and Chief Executive Officer. "We also wanted to dedicate an expanded area to our customer care group to emphasize their growing importance in improving customer retention and loyalty in the automotive industry."
Millstein said ATX decided to stay in the area to leverage the expertise the company has in place at its corporate office and response center but also to take advantage of the Dallas-Fort Worth area's superb air connections and the extent of telecommunications and technical expertise in the local workforce.
ATX's Research and Development section focuses on the development of customized services for vehicle owners, automakers and automobile dealerships that utilize leading-edge technologies in mobile communications, in-vehicle electronics, and interactive and automated voice response. ATX's Customer Care group ensures telematics subscribers receive quick resolution to account inquiries.
In the past, ATX has primarily offered services into the vehicle that were primarily voice-centric and, therefore, required an extensive call center operation.
"We always thought once we reached a half million customers, we would need to lease or build a second facility that would serve primarily as a response center," said Millstein, noting the company today has over 650,000 vehicle owners who are customers. "But, as the result of increased automation and the deployment of interactive voice response technology in telematics vehicles, we're seeing dramatic gains in the efficiency of our response center operations which has allowed us to delay the investment in an additional response center."
The company has not made a decision on the location of an eventual, second response center.
A couple of years ago ATX's response center operations required one response specialist (a call taker with skills sets unique to the telematics industry) for every 2,000 vehicle-owners/customers. Today, the company requires a response specialist for every 6,000 customers.
Emerging today and dramatically increasing in the future, telematics services will primarily entail data transmissions. Such applications will include remote diagnosis of a vehicle's operation or the downloading of current navigation, traffic or other information to an in-vehicle computer system that can provide a playback of the information to the driver whenever it is needed. Also under development are services that give vehicle owners the ability to remotely control vehicle functions (e.g. starting the ignition and begin cooling the interior of the vehicle).
ATX provides drivers with multi-language response by either live operator or automated, interactive voice technology.
Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area and Dusseldorf, Germany, ATX Group is the world's second largest provider of telematics services for the automobile industry, serving both North America and Europe. ATX telematics services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security and driving convenience to vehicle owners. These services include location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics and real-time traffic and navigation assistance. ATX, the largest independent telematics provider not owned by an automobile manufacturer or telecommunications firm, also provides telematics services designed to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships to use telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.