Garmin acquires incident response and monitoring business Geos

Flying a little under the radar at the start of 2021, Garmin has bolstered its business with the acquisition of Geos WorldWide, an emergency monitoring and response service.

The privately held firm operates the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC), a platform that triggers SOS rescue efforts via satellite communications.

As a result of the firm’s tech, over 83,000 emergencies around the globe have received an enhanced response since 2007 time thanks to the alerts provided. Garmin devices alone are said to have accounted for 5,000 of those incidents and the efficiency of the tech has thus caught the attention of the fitness computer giant.

“With this acquisition, Garmin is now able to provide even more peace of mind to our inReach users,” said Brad Trenkle, vice president of Garmin’s outdoor segment. “In an emergency, every moment matters. The addition of the IERCC to the Garmin family reinforces our commitment to helping our active lifestyle customers make it home safe from their adventures.”

“GEOS has enjoyed a strong collaboration with Garmin over the years, and we look forward to continuing to work together to continue to provide best-in-class emergency response and safety services for customers around the globe,” added Peter Chlubek, GEOS executive chairman. “GEOS has been a force for good in this world, and I am very proud of our superb staff, who have helped to save over 12,000 lives in the 198 countries where we have provided our global service. This will now continue to grow and be further enhanced thanks to new synergies with Garmin.”

The detail of the acquisition have not yet been made public.