Meritor, Accel Partners and Gen3 Partners to Launch FleetWorks.com
21 March 2000
Meritor Automotive, Accel Partners and Gen3 Partners to Launch FleetWorks.com(TM), a New Internet-Based Parts and Service Exchange For the Trucking Industry
TROY, Mich., March 21 Meritor Automotive, Inc.
, Accel Partners, a leading venture capital firm in California's
Silicon Valley, and Gen3 Partners, an integrated strategy and technology firm
based in Boston, announced today their intention to launch FleetWorks.com(TM),
one of the first business-to-business (B2B) Internet-based service parts
trading exchanges to serve the United States commercial medium- and heavy-duty
truck aftermarket industry. FleetWorks.com will operate as an independent
company, and will be located in Boston, Mass. The U. S. commercial truck
aftermarket business currently generates about $25 billion in parts
transactions annually.
FleetWorks.com will function as a comprehensive open electronic
marketplace for commercial truck aftermarket parts and services, and will be
available to all industry participants. For the first time, buyers and
sellers will be able to use one Internet service to seamlessly reach all of
their parts and service providers at the click of a mouse. Moreover, OEMs,
truck dealers, parts distributors and service providers will be able to
electronically co-locate on one common site to reach existing and new
customers simply and quickly.
"Our decision to invest in FleetWorks.com is driven by Meritor's vision to
offer complete solutions to meet our customers' broader business needs," said
Larry Yost, Meritor's chairman and chief executive officer. "With the
combination of Meritor's years of experience in and knowledge of the
commercial truck industry, Accel's history of developing world-class
technology companies and Gen3 Partners' expertise in architecting
Internet-enabled strategic solutions, we are confident that FleetWorks.com
will create great value and be exceptionally effective.
"FleetWorks.com will create an exciting new revenue channel to all of its
stakeholders, while at the same time establish a neutral vertical market
exchange for the trucking industry. FleetWorks.com will provide aftermarket
customers with a broader trading community from which to draw essential
products and services, as well as help buyers and sellers build stronger,
mutually beneficial business relationships. It's a win-win for all of us."
"This is an excellent opportunity to partner with a strong company that
develops and manufactures superior products, and help it repackage its
Internet initiatives into a separate company," said Jim Swartz, founding
partner of Accel Partners.
"We're delighted to be playing a fundamental role in this venture. The
opportunity to strategically leverage Meritor's great track record in
commercial trucking, link that wealth of experience with robust Internet
technology, and launch one of the first-to-market ventures like FleetWorks.com
is exactly what Gen3 Partners is all about," said Jim Sims, CEO of Gen3
Partners.
Susan P. Kampe is named chief executive officer of the new company.
Kampe, who championed the development of FleetWorks.com, has been senior vice
president and chief information officer of Meritor Automotive since 1997.
FleetWorks.com, which is expected to be online in late summer 2000, will
have its own board of directors and management team. Meritor will hold the
majority stake in this initiative, with Accel Partners and Gen3 Partners
holding minority stakes. Boston was chosen as the company's headquarters in
order to have greater access to the outstanding pool of Internet technology
talent in that area.
The formation and terms of the new venture are subject to various
contingencies, including the negotiation of definitive agreements.
Meritor, with 1999 sales of $4.5 billion, is a global supplier of a broad
range of components and systems for commercial, specialty and light vehicle
OEMs and the aftermarket. Meritor consists of two businesses: Heavy Vehicle
Systems, a leading supplier of complete drivetrain systems and components for
medium- and heavy-duty trucks, trailers and off-highway equipment and
specialty vehicles, including military, bus and coach, and fire and rescue;
and Light Vehicle Systems, a major supplier of roof, door, automotive body,
access control and suspension systems and wheel products for passenger cars,
light trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Established in 1984, Accel Partners (http://www.accel.com) has a history
of excellence and innovation in the venture capital business. With more than
$1.4 billion under management, Accel has a long legacy of helping
entrepreneurs build world-class companies.
Gen3 Partners (http://www.gen3partners.com) is an integrated strategy and
technology company dedicated to creating, architecting and launching
Internet-enabled, B2B enterprises in partnership with established companies
and Internet start-ups. Based in Boston, the company currently has 80
employees, and expects to open offices in New York City and San Francisco by
the summer of 2000.
This news release contains statements relating to future results that are
"forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, including statements about future business operations,
formation and terms of the joint venture, financial performance and market
conditions. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
connected with negotiation and creation of a new joint venture and start-up of
an Internet marketplace, acceptance by industry participants, competition, and
those inherent in business forecasts. Actual results may differ materially
from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties,
including, but not limited to those summarized above and detailed from time to
time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Meritor World Wide Web Site Address: http://www.meritorauto.com