Advantex is on the right track after winning a contract to provide Hitachi Rail’s rail vehicle manufacturing facility in County Durham with a new infrastructure to deliver enterprise-grade IT services and wireless internet connectivity across the £82m facility, which covers 32 acres in Newton Aycliffe.
Opened by Prime Minister David Cameron in September, the facility will employ 730 people working on the production of the new InterCity Express trains (IEP) for the East Coast Mainline and Great Western Mainline, as well as AT200 commuter trains for Scotland.
Featuring audio-visual, Wi-Fi and network switching technology, Advantex’s solutions’ package will meet the needs of staff and visitors to a site that will see the first IEP trains go into passenger service in 2017 on the Great Western Main Line.
Specifically designed to accommodate future upgrades and expansion by Advantex, the new IT system will provide high grade and flexible site-wide voice and data services.
A key feature will be the installation of wireless technology that will enable production staff and engineers to complete inspection and audits using portable hand held devices during the production of train cars.
The contract is the latest success for the Follingsby Park-based firm, which is on target to turnover in excess of £5m by 2016.
Currently employing 45 people, Advantex sales and marketing director Stephen O’Connell says investment in a skilled workforce to support customers is paying dividends and securing growth.
Advantex has already supplied IT to manufacturers Nissan Motor Manufacturing Ltd in Washington while Caterpillar Articulated Trucks and GE Oil and Gas have also benefitted from the firms technical expertise.
Hitachi Rail Europe’s IT manager at Newton Aycliffe Malcolm Brown said: “Advantex secured the work based on its expertise in developing complex IT solutions for large scale manufacturing environments comparable with ours.
“Advantex impressed with their expertise and ability to deliver on time and to budget in complex engineering environments. The Advantex team has worked hard to win our trust with a solution that will reflect the scale and ambition of a state-of-the-art, multi-million pound train manufacturing facility.
“The test of the overall solution proposed will be the delivery of a high quality WiFi signal in every area inside the facility and external extremes, surpassing our initial requirements. The ultimate test will be the signal strength inside the train carriages around the facility.”
Stephen O’Connell added: “This is another prestigious win for us, strengthening further our position as one of the foremost suppliers of wireless network infrastructures. We are going from strength-to-strength, demonstrating that we can deliver high quality projects to the biggest names in manufacturing, to the highest standards of quality and service.”
