Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/748269
T he burgeoning online heavy equipment rental/shar- ing marketplace is about to get a bit more crowded thanks to a recent round of funding raised by Canadian startup Dozr. Founded by former contractor Kevin Forestell, his wife Erin Stephenson, and his brother Tim in June 2015, the company has already amassed more than 2,200 custom- ers in its home country. The fast growth impressed Toronto's FairVentures, which recently agreed to a $1.9 million equity financing round. According to a company release, Kevin Forestell was inspired to start the company in order to give equipment owners a way to earn money with equipment that would otherwise be sitting idle between jobs. The Dozr founders say the FairVentures investment will help them with their plans of eventually expanding the company into the United States. Plus, the deal has added a new feature to Dozr rentals that will provide a major element of differentiation for the com- pany as it embarks on such an expansion. Federated Insurance Company of Canada has developed a coverage plan that will be built into all future Dozr rentals. Dozr says it is now the first company in the heavy equipment market to provide insurance as part of the platform. Beyond the ease of online renting, built-in insurance cover- age, and the ability to rent from fellow contractors, Dozr says its rates tend to be about 40 percent cheaper than retail rental rates while offering a great variety of equipment. – Wayne Grayson November 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 12 reporter | staff report Briefs For more on each of these stories go to equipmentworld.com. ing equipment from John Deere, Hitachi and Topcon. The new site is located on Interstate 10 in Chandler, and has more than 31,300 square feet and a 12-bay service shop. It is the eighth RDO location in Arizona and the 78th in the company's 10-state network of dealerships. Komatsu America is celebrating the 30th anniversary of U.S. machine production at its Chattanooga Manufacturing Operation in Ten- nessee. The Chattanooga plant was opened in February 1985, and was Komatsu's first U.S. plant. The facility currently employs 370 people and manufactures medium hydraulic excavators and forestry equipment. In order to better integrate planning for and analysis of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flights on construction jobsites, San Francisco- based software company Airware has acquired French drone data startup Redbird. While Red- bird's software focuses on providing data visual- ization on the jobsite level, Airware's platform is more focused on the management, planning and operation of drones. Redbird has partnered with Caterpillar to provide drone services. The first Deutz Power Center, which will provide dedicated engineering and technical sales resources to small and mid-sized machin- ery manufacturers, has officially opened in North Kansas City, Missouri. Deutz Power Center Mid- west will help OEMs using Deutz products in the region. In addition to support, the location will be able to design, engineer and manufacture Deutz-branded engines, and be able to buy new and Deutz Xchange remanufactured engines. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Florida Polytechnic University plan to build a 400-acre transportation tech- nology testing site, dubbed SunTrax, in Polk County between Tampa and Orlando. SunTrax would include a 2.25-mile oval track and would be developed as a "high-tech hub for the research, development and testing of emerging transportation technologies related to tolling, intelligent transportation systems and auto- mated and connected vehicles." Officials say the track would be used to test high-speed toll- ing, and will feature multiple lanes and parallel tolled express lanes similar to ones currently used in Florida. PreView Sentry at the show, an object detection technol- ogy that uses a different radar bandwidth than previous versions. This gives it a fully adjustable detection zone, and the ability to detect objects from the face of the radar up to 98 feet. The device can accurately and simultane- ously identify the location and velocity of up to 16 people or objects. Preco says it will eventually be able to tie in the Sentry to a machine's telemat- ics systems, so users can ex- tract information such as near misses and how quickly an operator applies the brakes. – Marcia Gruver Doyle (continued from page 11) (continued from page 11) Canadian equipment sharing site Dozr integrates insurance coverage, eyes U.S. expansion