Panasonic acquires UK rail comms specialist

Panasonic Europe has announced the acquisition of Alan Dick Communications, a leading UK technology integration specialist providing end-to-end telecoms-based services to the transportation and mobile telecoms sectors.

Panasonic says the acquisition of Alan Dick Communications (which will trade under ADComms), which includes ADComms’ companies IPS, AIB and Rail Order, will provide it with an opportunity to expand into the rapidly growing rail market, incorporating mainline rail, London Underground and other light metro infrastructure in the UK.

The company says the acquisition is part of its wider approach to provide turnkey solutions to its customers that include connectivity, hardware and software alongside engineering services, and also reflects Panasonic’s continued commitment to the ‘digitisation of transport’.

“We already provide a range of technologies and services specific to the aviation and automotive industries; rail is our next strategic key vertical,” said Tony O’Brien, Panasonic’s managing director of system solutions.

In July 2015, Panasonic teamed up with ADComms to provide a trackside trespass warning system for the UK railway network, using a combination of Panasonic security cameras and analytics software to alert the operator to people leaving the platform.

Pictured: Jason Pearce, Alan Dick Communications (left) and Tony O'Brien, Panasonic (right).