The smart container service provider TRAXENS has announced a new financing round of €23 million (US$25 million) from the company’s existing shareholders.
The funds will be used to fuel Traxens’ international expansion starting with the acquisition of NEXT4, a fast-growing French supplier of removable and reusable shipping container trackers.
Traxens’ Internet-of-Things (IoT) solution is based on a technology that enables access to the most comprehensive, precise and timely data for managing assets in transit anywhere in the world.
In addition to tracking container geolocation, it detects shocks and monitors temperature and humidity, as well as the open-or-closed status of container doors.
The acquisition will allow Traxens to streamline and merge NEXT4’s offering into its suite of solutions, providing customers with solutions, including shipments scheduling, collaborative risk management, and analysis reports.
“Integrating NEXT4 into our company dramatically increases our ability to serve the growing needs of our customers as they digitalise their business processes while adding freight visibility, cargo security and goods integrity,” said Traxens CEO, David Marchand.
Founded in Toulouse in 2018, NEXT4 provides trackers that can be attached to containers from point of origin to the final destination. This provides freight forwarders with a premium tracking solution and gives customers 24/7, real-time data on the status and location of their goods via sensors inside the containers.
As it moves into new markets in the US, South America and Asia, the Marseille-based Traxens will also use the funding to further expand its portfolio of solutions to address the increasing needs of freight forwarders and beneficial cargo owners (BCO) for supply chain transparency.
“Joining the Traxens group enables us to market our innovative solution on an international scale and to jointly develop new products and solutions with their team,” said NEXT4 CEO and founder Cédric Rosemont, who added, “Our highly complementary solutions will meet the current and future challenges of shippers and their logistics providers. This means NEXT4’s customers also can benefit from Traxens’ solutions, which are now being widely deployed by container owners.”
NEXT4 will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Traxens with offices in Toulouse. In addition to remaining as CEO of NEXT4, Rosemont will serve as Traxens’ chief marketing officer.
