Jan/Feb 2004

Addison Lee, the big London-based courier company and motorcycle delivery firm, has followed up its ongoing trial of the QuikTrak vehicle tracking system by placing an order for 800 installations. The company says it now plans to fit all future vehicles with the QuikTrak system.

The company has chosen the QT6050 system - a covert, secure tracking service for cars and vans. It plans to use this to track its vehicles constantly, gaining efficiencies in the way it allocates vehicles to jobs.

Addison Lee's chief executive, John Griffin, says other tracking systems evaluated by the company "proved just too expensive," and were unable to offer the performance benefits of the QuikTrak system. "We have been able to implement QuikTrak at a fraction of the cost," he says.

QuikTrak chief executive Chris Kryiakou describes the development as "the beginning of a partnership" which will help the two companies to build up their respective businesses. Initially the deal runs for five years.

 

QuikTrak differs from nearly all other mainstream tracking systems by using spread-spectrum wireless technology based on a hosted transmitter network to handle location and communications, rather than existing wireless data or mobile phone networks. The company has had to build up this network from scratch, but is steadily extending it across the country.

The company now has new funds to support that expansion, following a private placement announced in January. It has raised £1.5 million through placing 12.5 million ordinary shares. Directors themselves subscribed £198,000 of the money.