Sheffield-based rail industry specialist, Zonegreen, is marking a major milestone in its 12-year history – the 2,000th order of its depot safety equipment.
The firm has secured a contract with Volker Fitzpatrick to install its flagship Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS) at Metro operator, Nexus’, facility in Newcastle.
The project will see DPPS control a new four-road shed at the Gosforth depot, along with the wheel lathe road and underframe cleaning (UFC). This latest order follows hot on the heels of Zonegreen’s first project for Nexus, at its new skills centre in South Shields and continues a longstanding relationship with contractors, Volker Fitzpatrick.
Zonegreen is known as a leading expert in rail depot safety, combining the latest technology with engineering expertise to produce automated systems that protect staff by reducing the margin for human error. DPPS is installed in some of the most advanced maintenance facilities worldwide, including two in Australia and three in Qatar.
Christian Fletcher, Zonegreen’s technical director, said: “Reaching 2,000 orders is a significant achievement in just 12 years. It reflects our increasing popularity globally and the excellent professional relationships we have developed with key customers, such as Network Rail, Siemens, Hitachi, Alstom and Bombardier, to name but a few. Thankfully, the safety of personnel is now fundamental to the construction and refurbishment of rail maintenance facilities and our state-of-the-art systems are considered best in class.”
It is just four and a half years since Zonegreen reached 1,000 orders and since then, the popularity of its technology has grown exponentially, thanks to the launch of its New Generation DPPS in 2015. Improvements continue to be made to the high-tech system, for example, the recent introduction of radio frequency identification cards.
