As visitors to the Q-Free booth at the ITS World Congress Detroit will see, the company has transformed its portfolio, shifting from a predominant focus on tolling to cover all aspects of road operations – financing, condition monitoring, real-time management and emerging cooperative ITS applications.
September 7, 2014
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Transforming the portfolio: Jenny Simonsen of Q-Free
As visitors to the 108 Q-Free booth at the ITS World Congress Detroit will see, the company has transformed its portfolio, shifting from a predominant focus on tolling to cover all aspects of road operations – financing, condition monitoring, real-time management and emerging cooperative ITS applications.
With the event being staged in Detroit, it provides Q-Free with an opportunity to highlight its appreciable presence in the North American market. Recently it acquired 5660 Open Roads Consulting, a specialist in advanced transportation management and traveller information systems that operates mission-critical traffic systems and undertakes video-based surveillance of critical assets in 30 states across the US.
Previously, Q-Free bought 7045 TCS International, a US-based, international supplier of advanced parking guidance systems. Meanwhile, Dacolian USA, another Q-Free group company, is North America’s major supplier of automatic number plate recognition and vehicle signature recognition image processing software.
Nevertheless, says Thomas Falck, CEO, these developments have to be considered in an international context: “The North American region will play an increasing part in our future but it is the international nature of our business which remains one of our core strengths. We will be keen to demonstrate at the 6456 ITS World Congress that with offices around the world, we have a huge range of talent and experience on which to draw. This means we can create solutions which benefit from the best of global practice but which, nevertheless, are closely tailored to local needs.”
Product enhancement and new launches feature on the SVS-Vistek stand. The company’s Tracer series of cameras now features better heat management a customer-requested improvements to casings’ screw fixings. But alongside improvements sits something wholly new – the SVCam-evo 12040. This is a CMOS-based camera, available in 12MP versions, which offers capabilities – high blooming suppression, low image lag and dynamic range – which matches those of CCD-based rivals, said the company’s Roland Maier.
Schneider Electric’s new EcoTrafiX advanced transport management system will make its debut in Dallas, Texas, by the end of this year, it was announced at the ITS World Congress in Detroit.
Swarco will use its ITS World Congress exhibition stand to focus on the company’s integrated solutions capabilities in urban and interurban traffic management, parking and e-mobility and public transport. The company’s Omnia all-in-one solution for intelligent traffic management will be on display as will its solution for energy-efficient intelligent street lighting. A premiere is a joint application of carmaker BMW with road operator Asfinag and signage specialist Swarco to foster knowledge about the Rettu
Australian firm Saferoads is offering an improved roadside protection product in the shape of its new Omni Stop Bollard. The product is suited to installations such as around construction workzones or pedestrian and commercial areas, where there may be site personnel or people congregating alongside a busy roadway. The Omni Stop Bollards can be spaced so as to allow free access for pedestrians or cyclists, while providing protection from errant vehicles.
