West Swedish Companies Establish Telematics Valley

West Swedish Companies Establish Telematics Valley Ericsson, Mecel, Saab, Volvo Cars, Volvo Global Trucks and WirelessCar initiate regional association for telematics Göteborg, Sweden August 28th, 2001 The companies Ericsson, Mecel, Saab, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Global Trucks Corporation and WirelessCar have formed an open organization for companies involved in telematics. The forum has its base in Gothenburg and currently has 26 active members. The joint organization, Telematics Valley (www.telematicsvalley.org), will be a forum for regional networking and communication and a cooperative effort for the global promotion of west Sweden as a region of telematics expertise. All telematics-related organizations with a presence in the region are invited to join. The initiative is expected to set benchmarks for the telematics industry worldwide. The term "telematics" refers to any kind of vehicle service intended to promote safety, productivity, mobility and convenience, which relies on a wireless communication link and often includes a positioning system. "Within the Göteborg region we have a unique situation with really strong players within the Automotive and IT industries. We now join forces to create state-of-the art knowledge within the area of telematics, which is an area with great potential for the future. The region has a unique opportunity to become a global competence center for telematics and the Volvo Group supports this development" says Leif Johansson, CEO of AB Volvo. "The Telematics Valley initiative will establish and strengthen the Gothenburg region as the leading telematics center in the world. Not only will the participating companies profit from this initiative, the telematics industry as a whole will feel the benefits as well," says Tomas Gabinus, Chairman of Telematics Valley. Key Objectives: -To promote the wide-spread adoption of telematics on a global basis -To establish West Sweden as a global leader of telematics knowledge -To generate telematics innovation among the involved companies and the region -To facilitate cooperation and interaction between telematics companies in the region -To actively work together with regional Universities to establish research and education within the area of telematics The following companies/organizations are active members of Telematics Valley: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Cell Network, Chalmers Industriteknik, Consignit AB, CR&T Knoppfabriken, EDS, Enea Real time AB, Ericsson, Evidente, Gatespace AB, Guide IT Consulting, Hewlett Packard, HiQ, IBM, Mecel, Melco, Meridium, Oracle, QrTech, Saab Automobile, Teleca, Telia Mobile AB, WirelessCar, Volvo Cars, Volvo Global Trucks, Volvo TU Partnerships are now established with CONNECT Väst and BRG Business Region Göteborg. These organizations will take the lead in establishing and operating the Telematics Valley association. More information on the initiative can be found on www.telematicsvalley.org For More Information Contact: Marcus Holhammar Project Coordinator Phone: +46 31 772 8378 e-mail: mh@connectvast.se Tomas Gabinus Chairman of Telematics Valley Phone: +46 31 651 920 e-mail: tomas.gabinus@wirelesscar.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/08/28/20010828BIT00190/bit0002.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/08/28/20010828BIT00190/bit0002.pdf