FleetPaths was founded by Steven Heystek, whose family has been deeply involved in public works, construction, and fleet management for over a century.

It all began in 1897, when Steven’s great-grandfather, Richard Heystek, immigrated from the Netherlands. Faced with a shortage of willing workers in the U.S., Richard reached back to his homeland and hired the trusted crew he had worked with there. He soon became the second contractor in the State of Michigan to build public highways. His son, Nelsen Heystek, went on to establish Nelsen Heystek Concrete Contracting, a business later passed down to his son, Art Heystek.

By the time Steven joined the family business, then known as Heystek & Sons, he realized his interests lay not in construction, but in technology and electronics. In 1986, he launched an IT company, which he now runs alongside his son, Josh Heystek.

In 2018, Steven and Josh partnered with the City of Portage to develop a snowplow tracking application with a public-facing portal, allowing residents to monitor when their roads were cleared. That project became the foundation for what is now known as SnowPaths.

Building on SnowPaths’ success, Steven expanded the platform into a full suite of fleet management tools. Today, FleetPaths is trusted by public sector agencies across the United States. The platform has even caught the attention of Verizon Connect, which promotes FleetPaths nationally as an integrated enhancement to its fleet tracking system.

FleetPaths continues to grow, driven by its legacy in fleet operations and its close relationships with public works departments. With fleet management woven into its DNA, FleetPaths remains true to its mission: built by municipalities, for municipalities.