SAT Track: A GPS device that delivers on its promise

PROCON Inc.'s proprietary technology sets it apart in the theft and retrieval industry

On any given day, auto dealer Al Lentsch, president of Northland Auto Enterprises Inc. of Burnsville, Minn., must know where thousands of his rent-to-own vehicles are on North American highways.

That's why in September, the man credited with inventing America's rent-to-own industry began supplying his 1,000 subprime leasing dealers with global positioning satellite devices that were brand new to the market for each of the vehicles they lease.

Distributed by PROCON Inc., of Knoxville, Tenn., Lentsch says his Northland Tracker has been 100 percent successful in locating a vehicle when needed. Lentsch experimented with several other GPS brands before settling on PROCON's product.

"Of all the models we've had, this has been the most reliable," Lentsch said. "With as many (vehicles) that we have out there, we cannot afford to have a GPS device break down."

Lentsch's Northland Tracker is the same model that PROCON sells as SAT Track. In the South, it's branded as Wolftrax GPS. Other distributors, such as GPS World Tracking of Columbus, sell the device under PROCON's SAT Track name.

All of them are supported by PROCON's proprietary technology and a state-of-the-art call center in Vermont, making SAT Track one of the top five GPS devices available in North America, just 10 months after the product was introduced.

"Procon does what they say they'll do," Lentsch said. "When PROCON commits to us, they get it done."

What makes PROCON different?
PROCON Inc. was founded five years ago by Brian Boling, president and CEO, and Tim Welsh, COO, as SecureAlert Telematics. Boling and Welsh, both veterans of Phillips Consumer Electronics Corp., repositioned the company in 2004 as PROCON Inc. to offer business-to-business products in the Location Based Services (LBS) industry.

Today it sells mass-market products to businesses that want to protect people and things they care about by staying connected to them using GPS, wireless and computer technology.

PROCON's business clients can depend on SAT Track, because it is built on the same GPS platform that PROCON uses to serve major clients, such as the U.S. Air Force and ADT Securities.

BHPH dealers embrace PROCON for its dependability and convenience. Auto dealers need only a laptop computer or a cell phone to access the information.

Further, auto dealers like Lentsch can disable a vehicle with just a few computer key strokes and then recover it at their leisure. That simplicity something that Sri Alexander Valarino, vice president of PROCON's software services and another PROCON founder, takes a special pride in.

"You should be able to do everything you want to do on a Web site within two or three clicks," Valarino said. "We're always thinking about how we can make the Web site easier to use. â€¦We pride ourselves in that we quickly adapt to any new devices or technology that's out there."

PROCON's use of Microsoft.net technology allows Valarino and his staff to integrate new features quickly after Microsoft introduces new capabilities.

PROCON support
While Valarino and his staff provide back-end support for SAT Track, Danny Neveu, vice president of sales, and PROCON's North American distributors provide help on the front end.

"Not everyone is familiar with computers," Neveu said, "so we do everything we can to make it a user-friendly experience."

For example, PROCON builds Web sites free of charge for its distributors, and it helps them develop collateral sales materials, such as brochures. (To access Web sites, go to track.northlanddealers.com or trak.wolftraxgps.com.)

Help is available for even the most inexperienced computer user. When a client new to computers had trouble logging in, Neveu worked with him to figure out why.

"The technology is complicated, but accessing the information is easy," said Neveu. "We're here to help however we can."

The result is satisfied clients and a growing field of resellers.

"PROCON's Reseller out of Charlotte North Carolina, Ched Hargett said, "PROCON's reliability is excellent," "The (SAT Track's) retrieval rate is excellent. The (device's) geo-fence feature is excellent. PROCON's reliability is very, very good."

PROCON's strong future
Further, PROCON executives plan to become an even bigger player in the LBS industry, which should comfort buy here, pay here dealers as they look for a stable GPS tracking device supplier that will provide continuing product support.

PROCON recently launched a subsidiary, GES Inc., to develop a market in private search and rescue services useful for, say, outdoor enthusiasts who might become lost in a remote area.

Starting next year, GES will offer a family of personal locator products that individuals can use to send out a distress signal if they need help. When that beacon reaches PROCON's Vermont call center, it can use global positioning satellites to locate the individual and, in turn, notify the appropriate rescue agency.

The Vermont call center is a subcenter of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Additionally, PROCON secured a no-cost contract to use a global search-and-rescue satellite system known as Cospas-Sarsat.

The combination means that PROCON's personnel at its Vermont call center can contact state agencies on behalf of the U.S. government, if necessary. GES is headed by Scott Morgan, a former commander of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and a man who played a key role in legalizing the sale of personal locator beacons in the United States in 2003.

"This technology is so well-suited to handling a life-threatening emergency in any kind of remote area or in any instance where a life-threatening incident must be reported," Boling recently told the Knoxville News in Knoxville, Tenn.

In addition to outdoorsmen, Boling believes personal locator beacon (PLB) products will be useful among government, homeland security and transportation clients. Eventually, GES could realize $100 million in annual sales.

"Our plan is to come out with the smallest, most competitive consumer PLB in the world," Boling said, "and we're on track to do that."