Isaac Instruments is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a provider of telemetry data to the transportation industry. As part of the year-long celebration, Isaac unveiled a 25th-anniversary logo and is planning anniversary-themed giveaways at trucking industry events throughout 2024.
“Isaac Instruments has 25 years’ experience developing technology for vehicles, with many of these years focused on research and development of OEM prototypes,” Jacques DeLarochelliere, Isaac co-founder and CEO, said in a news release. “We were initially involved in projects that were extremely sophisticated and complex.”
This year also marks a decade since Isaac focused exclusively on the trucking industry and launched the Isaac InControl mobile tablet. During the decade since this decision, Isaac has achieved an average organic growth rate of 33% per year.
The organization has grown to 200 colleagues across Canada and the U.S., with more than 500 fleet clients and 50,000 connected trucks. In 2019, Isaac opened a 37,000-square-foot headquarters building in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec. A few years later, it opened a U.S. office in Cleveland.
“Isaac ‘grew up’ in a tough, competitive neighborhood, and 10 years ago, we saw that the trucking market could leverage our solution more than others,” DeLarochelliere said. “That is why we decided to focus our mission on connecting people and technology to simplify trucking and keep the wheels turning.”
Cofounder and EVP Jean-Sebastien Bouchard said this decision allowed Isaac to focus on one application.
“This made it easier to scale product development and use our innovation to grow our base with carriers excited to grow with our solution,” Bouchard said. “Our objective remains to provide the best in-cab technology available to the trucking industry, and I am very proud of the relationships Isaac has built—and continues to strengthen.”
Humble beginnings in motorsports
Isaac’s origins date back to 1992. DeLarochelliere, then a mechanical engineering student who enjoyed auto racing, developed a data acquisition system to collect and process vehicle and driver behavior data. He registered “Isaac Motorsports” with childhood friend David Brillon, as a way to honor physicist Isaac Newton whose 2nd law of motion is core to Isaac’s solution. These early days were more about fun than creating a company and making money.
“You don’t count the hours when you are doing the things you enjoy,” said Brillon, who serves as Isaac’s chief technology officer. In the years that followed, the two began to see the potential beyond motorsports. That led to the addition of Bouchard as a partner and the official creation of Isaac Instruments in February 1999.
Continued growth amid global challenges
Isaac found success working with the world’s largest automakers, such as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota. The company also worked on early-model electric vehicles and continued to branch out into other industries.
However, like so many other companies, Isaac faced hurdles as the 2008 global financial crisis unfolded. Instead of faltering, Isaac dove further into the transportation market as fleets ramped up efforts to lower fuel consumption, track vehicle and driver performance, and enhance safety.
10 Years of built-for-trucking solutions
DeLarochelliere knows to some observers, it may have sounded like a crazy idea to concentrate solely on trucking.
“It was a dramatic shift that required trust and patience,” DeLarochelliere said of the decision to scale back from nine markets.
The Isaac InControl mobile tablet gave fleets in Canada a leg up on the competition. Its ease of use and unique features, including the Isaac Coach, propelled the company to the top of the Canadian market and led to its expansion into the United States.
Bouchard expects the trucking industry to see a dramatic transformation in the next several years from the proliferation of automation and artificial intelligence tools to more accurately analyze data. And Isaac will remain at the forefront.
“We have many exciting years in front of us, and many more milestones to reach,” Bouchard said.
One unforgettable evening
In late January, Isaac’s colleagues from across Canada and the United States came together at the company’s headquarters just outside Montreal for a special dinner and party to commemorate the 25th anniversary.
“The party was a joyous occasion for all of us,” DeLarochelliere said. “Fun is a corporate value at Isaac. That doesn’t mean we are any less serious about our success and the success of our fleet clients and partners. But we also make sure to have fun along the way.”
Isaac’s commitment to a positive work-life culture and technological innovation is reflected in the many accolades the company has received. These include being named to the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in North America.
For Brillon, the 25th anniversary party was among his most meaningful memories of the past quarter-century.
“I was proud as I looked at all of our team enjoying the moment,” Brillon said. “It’s similar with our annual summer party when so many bring their families and have fun together. This is what I am most proud of.”