Textron Specialized Vehicles acquires TKVGPS

Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., a Textron company, has acquired TKVGPS, a provider of GPS-based fleet management solutions and GPS technologies to enhance the on-course experience for golfers.

Going forward, TKVGPS’ business will operate as part of Textron Specialized Vehicles’ Golf business, which offers a product line of E-Z-GO golf cars, Jacobsen turf care equipment and Cushma® utility and hospitality vehicles to golf courses and resorts worldwide.

TKVGPS’ fleet management solutions provide golf-course owners and operators with extensive, real-time information to help them monitor, maintain and protect their fleets of golf cars and utility vehicles. Among TKVGPS’ extensive list of features are remote amp-hour and odometer monitoring, state-of-charge reports and charging histories for electric vehicles; vehicle travel histories, fleet utilization and rotation reports, pace-of-play monitoring, remote diagnostics, and geofencing capabilities with remote vehicle shutdown that allow courses to keep vehicles within specified boundaries for safety and security.

In addition, golf courses can opt for TKVGPS’ TKV 7, TKV 7EX and TKV 10EX systems, which provide golfers real-time rangefinding and course layouts using bright, high-resolution 7-inch and 10-inch displays. These systems also provide automatic and two-way messaging capabilities between the clubhouse and the golfer. TKVGPS’ web-based fleet-management software allows its systems to be managed from a wide range of PC and mobile hardware platforms, often by leveraging hardware already in place at the golf course.

“TKVGPS fleet-management systems add an important dimension to Textron Specialized Vehicles’ portfolio of products and solutions for today’s golf-course operator,” said Kevin Holleran, president and CEO of Textron Specialized Vehicles. “Courses can select from a range of proven fleet-management solutions to meet the specific needs of their particular facility, protect their investments in vehicle fleets and turf-care equipment, monitor events on their course, and enhance the playing experience for their golfers.”

“In addition, Textron Specialized Vehicles will leverage TKVGPS technology across our many other product lines, including Cushman commercial utility vehicles, Jacobsen professional turf-care equipment, and Textron GSE ground support equipment, to provide fleet-management solutions to our customers across many different industries and end-use environments for our products,” Holleran said.

TKVGPS will continue to operate from its facilities in Vancouver, Canada and Pitesti, Romania, with its workforce of 36 employees largely intact.