Palmerston North company wins high-speed train contracts

1.00pm

Palmerston North engineering company Conzept Engineering has won contracts to supply door control units for high-speed trains worldwide.

Conzept general manager Keith Smith said the company had received export orders worth more than $1 million for the units which are designed to replace older systems no longer considered reliable or robust enough for new high speed passenger trains.

The "fail safe" control units detect obstructions and ensure doors remain closed while the train is moving without being affected by vibrations or rattles.

Conzept developed the units in partnership with German company Noske-Kaesar's local design and project management unit and R&D Technology Solutionz (RDTS), Mr Smith said in a statement.

Noske-Kaeser markets the product while Conzept produces it.

Mr Smith the key factor in the project's success was " that we had our customer on board before development work began".

Conzept established a relationship with Noske-Kaesar NZ in 1990 when its parent company won the contract to supply air conditioning units for ten ANZAC frigates.

Mr Smith also said the project had been supported by government funding agency, Technology New Zealand, who contributed $120,000 through its Technology for Business Growth (TBG) scheme.

Mr Smith, says the project may not have got off the ground without this help.

"We may have had to look for a new investor or gone offshore without the government support," said Mr Smith.

The company has already delivered the first of its door units to Australia where they will be used on high speed Melbourne to Perth trains.

Mr Smith said further negotiations were underway to supply a large number of units for a European train project.

Conzept, which has 75 staff, is relatively unknown in this country as most of its manufacturing work is subcontracted by companies, such as Noske-Kaeser.

- NZPA