Trimble continues its fast-paced acquisitions with the announcement late yesterday that it is acquiring Ashtech in order to expand the Spectra Precision portfolio of survey solutions. The press release made little mention of the MobileMapper series of GIS and mapping products that compete with Trimble’s own data collection products. Further indication that these products weren’t the focus of the acquisition is the fact that the acquisition will be reported within Trimble’s Engineering and Construction segment.
The Ashtech name resurfaced just a little over a year ago when the venture capital firm Shaw Capital Partners split the company with the consumer GPS business going to Taiwan-based MiTAC, and the professional products going to a core group of executives located in Carquefou, France. In coincidental news, just last week the MiTAC corporation announced their return to the professional GPS market with a new offering called the eXplorist Pro 10.
The handheld GIS data collection market continues to see strong innovation, with greater precision, and lower price points. This volume-side competition is much different and less lucrative than the higher priced precision instruments. Given Trimble’s strong offerings, it likely makes sense to retire and subsume the MobileMapper brands. I have some calls into both Trimble and Ashtech to learn more about these handheld implications, and will report later on my findings.
