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Trimble Inc.

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Trimble Inc.
FormerlyTrimble Navigation Limited
Company typePublic
IndustryGeospatial, Construction, Agriculture, Transportation and Logistics, Telematics, Asset tracking, Mapping, Utilities, Mobile Resource Management, Government
FoundedNovember 1978; 47 years ago (1978-11)
FounderCharles Trimble et al.
Headquarters
Westminster, Colorado
,
U.S.
Key people
RevenueDecrease US$3.68 billion (2024)
Increase US$461 million (2024)
Increase US$1.50 billion (2024)
Total assetsDecrease US$9.49 billion (2024)
Total equityIncrease US$5.76 billion (2024)
Number of employees
12,100 (2024)
Websitetrimble.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Trimble Inc. is an American software, hardware, and services technology company. Trimble also develops hardware for Vehicle tracking systems including global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers, scanners, total stations, laser rangefinders, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), inertial navigation systems and software processing tools.

History

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1978-1998

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Trimble Inc. was founded as Trimble Navigation in November 1978 by Charles Trimble and two engineers from Hewlett-Packard.[2] The company originally operated out of Los Altos, California.[3]

One of the company's first moves was to acquire the rights to a Loran-C navigation technology that Hewlett-Packard had stopped developing. Trimble bought the technology for $50,000.[2] By 1982, Trimble was selling approximately $1 million of Loran equipment per year.[2] In the mid-1980s, Trimble began to move into the GPS technology space. For example, in 1985, the company introduced GPS tech that could be used for offshore drilling surveying as well as GPS navigation tools for aircraft.[2] In 1986, Trimble moved its headquarters from Los Altos to Sunnyvale, California.[3]

Trimble held its initial public offering in 1990.[4][5] That same year, Trimble began selling GPS-enabled personal position finders to the U.S. military. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, U.S. military demand for these finders increased significantly and Trimble's sales revenues grew from approximately $5 million per month to $19 million per month.[2] In 1991, the company had about 750 employees.[2]

In the early 1990s, Trimble began developing real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) tools for surveying. The company's first commercially available RTK product, called the Site Surveyor System, was released in 1993.[4] The following March, Trimble released its first RTK receiver with on-the-fly capabilities.[4]

In 1995, Trimble began working with Caterpillar to develop global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers for heavy construction vehicles. The first product of this partnership was a blade-mounted GNSS tool for bulldozers.[4]

1998-2019

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In 1998, Charles Trimble left the company.[6] Steve Berglund, who was previously president of Spectra Precision, took over as CEO in 1999.[7] In May 2000, Trimble announced that it was acquiring Spectra Precision. The acquisition allowed Trimble to integrate Spectra's software development team and virtual reference station technology into its business.[4]

In 2002, Caterpillar and Trimble formed a joint venture, Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT), to develop machine control systems for construction equipment.[8] By 2003, Trimble had started selling a combination GPS and laser grade control system for earthworks equipment, to help farmers level land and control water drainage.[9] By March 2004, Trimble had acquired and integrated the staff and technology of the 3D laser scanning company MENSI.[10] Between 1999 and 2007, Trimble's annual revenues grew from $270 million to approximately $1 billion. By 2008, it employed approximately 3,400 people in 18 countries.[11]

In May 2011, Trimble announced that it would be acquiring Tekla, a Finnish firm specializing in building information modeling (BIM) software.[12] The acquisition was completed later that year.[13] The following January, Trimble announced that it would purchase StruCad and StruEngineer from AceCad Software in order to expand the capabilities of Tekla's BIM software.[14] Trimble acquired the 3D modeling software package SketchUp from Google in 2012 and acquired TMW Systems the same year.[15] In 2016, Trimble further built out its design-build-operate portfolio by acquiring the building design software company Sefaira.[16] In April 2018, Trimble agreed to acquire the construction software company Viewpoint from investment firm Bain Capital in an all-cash $1.2 billion transaction.[17][18]

2019-present

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In October 2019, Trimble announced that Robert G. Painter would become the company's president and CEO, effective January 4, 2020.[19] In November 2020, the firm signed an agreement with Boston Dynamics to integrate construction data collection technologies into BD's robotic dog Spot.[20] In December 2021, Trimble purchased AgileAssets, a SaaS company helping corporate and governmental clients manage infrastructure assets. AgileAssets was absorbed into the buildings and infrastructure segment of Trimble's business.[21]

In September 2022, Trimble acquired B2W Software, a New Hampshire-based developer of software for the heavy civil construction industry.[22] The following month, Trimble announced its headquarters had relocated to Westminster, Colorado from Sunnyvale, California.[23] In December 2022, Trimble acquired the transportation management platform Transporeon in order to strengthen its existing transportation management systems offerings.[24][25]

In September 2023, AGCO announced that it would acquire an 85% stake in Trimble's agriculture business.[26] This acquisition created a new joint venture called PTx Trimble.[27]

In March 2024, Trimble joined the Alliance of OpenUSD.[28] That same month, the company announced that it would be partnering with Nvidia to provide model data for Nvidia Omniverse RTX viewers.[29] In May 2024, Trimble acquired Flashtract, a company specializing in payment, compliance, and documentation exchange. Trimble subsequently rebranded Flashtract's technology as Trimble Pay.[30] In September 2024, Trimble announced that it would be selling its transportation telematics business to Platform Science in exchange for a 32.5% stake in Platform Science.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Trimble, Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 25, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Perry, Tekla S. (April 19, 2018). "Charles Trimble Bet His Company on GPS—and Won". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Mehrtens, Savannah (October 6, 2022). "Trimble Inc. relocates headquarters to Westminster office". Denver Gazette. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hartmann, Stacey (October 12, 2021). "History of RTK—Part 4: Birth of a Utility". The American Surveyor. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  5. ^ "Briefs". New York Times. June 12, 1990. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  6. ^ "GPS Innovator Charles Trimble Receives von Kármán Wings Award". Caltech.edu. November 21, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  7. ^ Eule, Alexander (May 25, 2013). "Harvest Time at Trimble". Barron's. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  8. ^ "Caterpillar boosts investment in 3D software joint venture". Geo Week News. January 6, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  9. ^ "Trimble helps farmers level land, manage water". Farm & Ranch Guide. February 21, 2003. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Jackson, Kim M. (March 2004). "Chelates joint venture". Hydrocarbon Processing. Trimble completed its acquisition of MENSI, which is now a business unit within the Trimble Geomatics and Engineering (G&E) division. It is responsible for 3D laser scanning solutions … The MENSI sales team has been integrated into the Trimble sales organization in order to leverage its distribution network with laser scanner technology.
  11. ^ Benda, David (July 1, 2008). "GPS company buys SECO; Bay Area's Trimble Navigation takes over longtime partner". Record Searchlight. Trimble, a public company whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq exchange, was founded in 1978 and has more than 3,400 employees in more than 18 countries … Since 1999, Trimble's revenue has grown from about $270 million to more than $1 billion in 2007.
  12. ^ "Trimble likely to acquire BIM software-maker Tekla". Geo Week News. May 10, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  13. ^ "In focus: Tekla corporation acquired by Trimble Navigation". November 23, 2011.
  14. ^ "Trimble to tack StruCad onto Tekla business". Geo Week News. January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  15. ^ Webster, Andrew (April 26, 2012). "Google sells 3D modeling tool SketchUp to Trimble Navigation". The Verge. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Staff Writer (February 21, 2016). "US: Trimble acquires software developer Sefaira".
  17. ^ "Trimble to buy privately-held Viewpoint in $1.2 billion deal". Reuters.com. UK. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  18. ^ Soper, Taylor (April 25, 2018). "Trimble will pay $1.2B to acquire Portland-based Viewpoint Construction Software, including former Dexter + Chaney office in Seattle". GeekWire. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  19. ^ "Trimble Announces CEO Succession". Geospatial World. October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  20. ^ "Trimble and Boston Dynamics form autonomous robot alliance". November 17, 2020.
  21. ^ Geschwindt, Sion (December 16, 2021). "Trimble adds AgileAssets to infrastructure portfolio". Build In Digital. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  22. ^ "B2W Software acquired by California industrial tech company". New Hampshire Union Leader. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  23. ^ Boyanton, Megan Ulu-Lani (October 6, 2022). "International tech company relocates headquarters to Westminster".
  24. ^ Avila, Larry (January 20, 2023). "Why Trimble spent $2B on a European logistics firm". Trucking Dive. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  25. ^ Mahoney, Noi (December 13, 2022). "Trimble to acquire transportation management platform Transporeon for $1.9B". FreightWaves. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  26. ^ Deka, Kannaki (September 28, 2023). "AGCO Corp to acquire $2 billion stake in Trimble unit to boost agri portfolio". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  27. ^ "PTx Trimble introduces next-generation guidance controller". High Plains Times. April 30, 2025. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  28. ^ Collins, Matt (March 12, 2024). "Alliance of OpenUSD marks progress in mission with a series of announcements". Geo Week News. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  29. ^ Corke, Greg (March 18, 2024). "Nvidia to extend reach of Omniverse with new Cloud APIs". AEC Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  30. ^ Thibault, Matthew (May 15, 2024). "Trimble acquires payments, compliance platform Flashtract". Construction Dive. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  31. ^ "Platform Science to acquire Trimble's global transportation telematics business units". FreightWaves. September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
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