Mercury Associates, Inc., the largest independent fleet management consulting company in North America, today announced several new client engagements as it celebrated the start of its fifth year in business. Recent contracts for fleet-related consulting, market research, and management training services include projects for Spencer Trask Ventures, New York; Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma; the National Renewable Energy Labs, Boulder, CO; the cities of Houston and Colorado Springs; the states of New York and Virginia; the University of Massachusetts; and Shell Canada, Slovak Telecom, and Singapore-based Asia Business Forum. Incorporated by Paul Lauria, Randy Owen and Brad Kelley in February 2002, Mercury has grown to include more than 25 fleet management professionals located throughout the United States and international partnerships with firms in Europe, the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region. “Our fifth anniversary is truly a milestone for everyone at Mercury Associates to celebrate,” commented Lauria, the company’s president. “We have achieved a remarkable level of success thanks to our consultants’ hard work and dedication to the highest standards of professionalism. I want to thank all of them for what they have enabled us to accomplish over the past five years.” Mercury’s consultants include fleet industry experts in public sector, military, and corporate fleet management; fleet financing; facility planning and design; and employee travel and relocation. Several of the firm’s employees have held senior elected positions in prominent professional associations, and three have received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA), the industry’s oldest and most widely recognized professional and trade association. The company’s consultants have also contributed technical guidance, quality assurance, research, and best management practice development services to internationally recognized groups such as NAFA and the American Public Works Association and prestigious research organizations such as the RAND Corporation and the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board. Mercury’s mission as an independent, employee-owned firm is to provide objective and unbiased consulting services that improve fleet performance and fleet management effectiveness and reduce employee mobility costs for businesses and government agencies. The firm has secured contracts with more than 130 client organizations since mid-2002. “We are looking forward to our next five years. During that time we expect to expand our international work and help our clients deal with a number of significant managerial and operational issues,” commented Lauria. “Industry trends ranging from globalization and global warming to the increased use of telematics devices and strategic sourcing methods are already confronting the fleet industry with new challenges and opportunities. We look forward to helping our clients tackle them.” Mercury Associates is a U.S. Department of Defense- and U.S. Small Business Administration- certified small business enterprise. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., the firm has full-time consultants located throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.mercury-assoc.com.