ZTR AND BLACKBERRY PARTNER TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE RAIL INDUSTRY

MINNEAPOLIS, MN and WATERLOO, ON – April 6, 2020 – ZTR, a market leader in delivering innovative locomotive modernization solutions, and BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB), today announced they are combining their proven technology expertise to offer railcar owners, operators and suppliers a powerful new digital monitoring solution.

Recognizing there was an immediate industry need for a remote railcar monitoring solution that could withstand the rugged conditions of the railway, provide greater fleet insights and operate with extended battery life, the two companies decided to leverage their mutual strengths. The partnership combines ZTR’s decades of railway industry expertise, world-class technical support and Railway IoT experience with BlackBerry’s industry-leading communication technology, battery management, security, and hardware capabilities.
It was an easy decision for ZTR to work with BlackBerry, according to Sam Hassan, CEO and President of ZTR. “We’re always looking ahead to anticipate customer needs and improve availability, reliability and efficiency through innovation, so it made sense to join together to deliver greater customer value,” he said.
The new railcar solution is an end-to-end solution for owners, OEMs, lessors, shippers and managers to achieve increased efficiencies. Available now through an intuitive online dashboard, the service offering includes location-based services, utilization, motion, mileage, and cargo capacity for railcars and other non-powered railway assets.
“Known as the railway experts, ZTR is the perfect partner to help us expand the reach of our asset monitoring solution in an otherwise underserved market and one in which visibility and fleet insights can make a major difference in railway profitability,” said Christopher Plaat, Senior Vice President and General Manager of BlackBerry Radar®.  “Together with ZTR, we share a vision to bring digital transformation to the railroads so that they can make better, data-driven decisions that lead to greater fleet efficiency.”
Backed by the strength of partnership and expertise, the new railcar product is the solution customers have been awaiting. Now with solid location information, they’ll be able to realize huge efficiency gains through analytics and reporting, and get unparalleled visibility into their operations, allowing them to optimize asset utilization.