If you've ever wondered how work crews can safely leave large fleets of trucks laden with tools on site overnight, the answer might involve Ypsilanti Township-based EAVX. The spinoff of commercial vehicle body maker and parent company J.B. Poindexter provides safety, security, and productivity tools for vehicle fleets.

The company held a technology open house Nov. 21 and invited industry partners to come see demos of their smart truck technologies. For instance, most truck cabs can easily be wired for security, but most truck beds with built-in tool chests aren't covered by the same security and safety technology. EAVX creates the smart technologies that signal an employee back at headquarters immediately if someone tampers with a truck or tool chest.

Jacob Larimore, EAVX's vice president of operations and business strategy, says EAVX moved into its Ypsi Township prototype and test facility at. 1150 James L. Hart Pkwy. about a year and a half ago. The company is also getting ready to expand into a second location on the south side of Ann Arbor, which Larimore describes as an "innovation center" and "more of a customer-facing space."

Larimore says the company started with a focus on fleet electrification, which represents part of the EAVX acronym: Electric and Autonomous Vehicle Integration. However, EAVX's focus has expanded beyond that original mission. Larimore says EAVX staff thought that, while they were electrifying fleets, they might as well include many of the safety and security features available in passenger cars today.

"Frankly speaking, most commercial vehicles are pretty dumb boxes," Larimore says. "We started tackling some of the problems around electrification, but as we grew, we realized that the commercial truck was due for some major changes, not just electrification."

Larimore says construction is wrapping up on EAVX's 20,000-square-foot Ann Arbor innovation center. He says the design team will be working out of that location, which will include a showroom, a workspace, and possibly an event center. 

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township and the project manager of On the Ground Ypsilanti. She joined Concentrate as a news writer in early 2017 and is an occasional contributor to other Issue Media Group publications. You may reach her at sarahrigg1@gmail.com.