The Austrian traffic technology group SWARCO AG has acquired the APT Group of Companies, creating one of the largest traffic and parking management systems businesses in Europe.
In a deal signed by SWARCO founder and owner Manfred Swarovski on 7 May 2014, SWARCO purchased 100% of the shares of the APT Group based in Harrow/Middlesex, comprising APT Security Systems, APT Skidata Ltd, APT Street Services, APT Technologies, SignPost Solutions Ltd and ParkingPal Ltd. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
SWARCO CEO Cees de Wijs acknowledges the natural fit between the two groups, their products, and their current and prospective target markets: “We have complementary rather than competing products and solutions, and strong synergies in terms of business ethics, culture and corporate dynamics,” he said.
SWARCO Group CFO Daniel Sieberer, who managed the transaction over the past months, is convinced that the acquisition of APT Group will significantly upgrade SWARCO‘s position on the UK Traffic Management market. “In particular we will strengthen our parking and electromobility business, which strategically is one of our most important investment focuses.“
SWARCO is particularly strong in the adaptive control of urban and interurban traffic including public transport solutions and parking management systems – everything from LED-based signage and parking guidance solutions to efficient parking information and communications technologies. APT similarly has strength and depth in its range of solutions that are centred on the safe movement and management of vehicles and people for the future urban environment.
Dermot Murphy, Chief Executive of the APT Group of Companies, describes the merger as a ‘win-win’ for customers: “Customers will benefit from having an even broader range of products, services and indeed people with whom to work,” he said. “But more than this, the combined resources of both businesses can be focused on researching and developing new products, and bringing those products to market in a more timely fashion in line with customer demands. The two companies will be able to share product development, service, sales and marketing resource. There will be a significantly increased number of field-based resources on hand to support the two companies’ customers nationwide.”
SWARCO and APT have previously worked successfully together on a number of projects and proven the concept and the advantages of a combined offer to the market, for example in the parking guidance management of major UK shopping centres. In Scandinavia SWARCO moreover is the exclusive partner for Skidata parking systems.
In the UK SWARCO is now operative with its subsidiary SWARCO TRAFFIC Ltd. and their manufacturing presence in Richmond (North Yorkshire) and sales and service centre in Milton Keynes, and through the APT facilities in Harrow and Tipton.
About the SWARCO Group
SWARCO – the Austrian-based traffic technology corporation of Tyrolean entrepreneur Manfred Swarovski – is an international group providing the complete range of products, systems, services and solutions for road safety and intelligent traffic management. With almost five decades of experience in the industry, SWARCO supports the growing mobility needs of society with turnkey systems and solutions in road marking, urban and interurban traffic control, parking, public transport, detection, infomobility and energy-efficient, LED-based signaling and lighting technology. Not including APT, the Group consists of roughly 70 companies in 24 countries with a total staff of nearly 2500 employees and annual revenues of almost half a billion Euro.
About the APT Group
APT is a €37 million Group of companies whose expertise helps address key issues in parking access control and payment systems, electrical vehicle (EV) charging, support structure for traffic signs and signals, road safety systems, and crowd control systems. Its portfolio also includes vehicle blockers, barriers, bollards and other similar counter-terror hardware. The Group, which has operated in the UK for 45 years, employs 170 staff across two sites.
For further media enquiries contact:
Sean Feast Gravity London
+44 (0) 20 7330 8810
sfeast@gravitylondon.com
Richard Neumann Corporate Communications Manager
SWARCO AG, Wattens / Austria
T. +43-5224-5877-45
E. richard.neumann@swarco.com
