Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine - 25

Reducing the
trucking industry's
carbon footprint
Two Seneca grads taking on empty miles
and Mr. Atkinson after reviewing data collected
through the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate
in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to co-founding FleetOps,
they had started a tech company in 2014 that built
technology on behalf of savvy entrepreneurs looking to
create their own start-ups.
The business partners met in Seneca's Business
Administration - Marketing program, which they graduated
from in 2011. For Mr. Keller and Mr. Atkinson,
their time at Seneca was life-changing not only because
they were able to forge a friendship and a business
partnership, but also thanks to the lasting connections
with mentors and industry experts they made.
Looking back on their time in Seneca, they credit
THE IDEA TO BUILD FleetOps, a freight matching platform
explicitly built for brokerages, came to Joshua Keller
and Chris Atkinson when they identified an industry
pain point: truck drivers delivering freight from point A
to B are returning without cargo from point B to A. This
means that drivers are not only facing net loss, but they
are also contributing greenhouse gas emissions that cannot
be justified.
" The problem that exists in the truck industry is
that there is about a one in four chance that a truck you
see on the road is driving without cargo, for about 320
km on average. These 'empty miles' total the CO2 emissions
of Spain each year, " said Mr. Atkinson.
FleetOps addresses this problem by matching
drivers with shipments based on the drivers' location,
schedule, preference and truck capabilities, thereby
helping reduce the industry's carbon footprint and
raising its efficiency level. Their system connects brokers
to 227,000 drivers.
The idea for FleetOps started to form for Mr. Keller
different professors for helping them on their path.
Mr. Keller attributes his conversation with Robert
(Bob) Carroll, the late professor, for his decision
to attend Seneca. " I was deciding between Humber
and Seneca when I visited Markham Campus and
met Bob Carroll, " he said. For Mr. Atkinson, it
was a conversation with another Seneca professor,
Brian Broadway, during his second year that inspired
him to engage in extracurricular activities where he
met Mr. Keller.
With FleetOps having raised $8M to date, Mr. Keller
and Mr. Atkinson look forward to further creating value
for investors and all those who contributed.
FleetOps has
raised $8M to
date.
RED 2021
25
PHOTO: IAN PATTERSON
Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine

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